Girls' Day School Trust

Our vision and values

We are pioneers in girls’ education and aim to reshape the future of learning itself. We empower girls to believe in themselves and value the positive contribution they can make to the world.

We have four values that we live by: We always put girls first. We are forward-thinking. We are fearless. And we are a family of schools.

Our environment and culture

While each GDST school has its own unique identity and character, they are all wonderful environments in which to learn and work, with both beautiful heritage buildings and state-of-the art facilities. As a family of schools, our collaborative ethos is deeply embedded, we aim to share our learnings and experience, supported and facilitated by the experts at Trust Office. We have a strong culture of improvement, of encouraging each other to be the very best we can be.

Our network

The GDST has strength in numbers. At an operational level, for example, our scale supports a centrally organised and serviced IT infrastructure. Our size also means individual schools can benefit from advice and guidance from the centre; Trust Office is host to experts who support the schools and set policy from the centre. This includes the Innovation and Learning team who work closely with each school, constantly improving and developing the first-class education that the GDST is known for.

Our structure

As a charity, the GDST owns and operates 23 independent schools. We also sponsor two academies. The Council of the Trust is legally responsible for the GDST’s activities. The Chief Executive and Senior Management Team work together to support Council and manage the day-to-day activities of the Trust. Each school head is accountable to Council via the Chief Executive. Each GDST school also has a School Governing Board.