Empowering Young Women to Be the Best for the World

At St Mary’s DSG, our mission is clear and deeply rooted in purpose: to empower confident young women of integrity to make a positive change in the world. This mission found profound affirmation at the recent Head of Junior School’s installation ceremony, where the Vicar General, Moses Thabethe, reminded us of a vision that transcends conventional aspirations of success: we are not striving to raise girls who are the best in the world, but girls who are the best for the world.

This distinction is more than semantics; it is a philosophical and moral shift in how we define success, purpose, and leadership for the next generation of women. It demands a reimagining of what education looks like and calls for a collaborative partnership between schools and parents to realise this vision.

What It Looks Like from a School’s Perspective

To raise girls who are the best for the world, schools must first provide more than academic excellence. While excellence remains a key value, it must be grounded in ethical action, empathy, and the willingness to serve others. At St Mary’s DSG, this means:

• Fostering Purpose-Driven Learning: Our curriculum must connect classroom learning to real-world contexts, helping girls understand how knowledge can be used not just to get ahead, but to uplift others and solve pressing societal issues.
• Creating Opportunities for Leadership and Service: Leadership at St Mary’s DSG is not about titles, it’s about influence. Girls are given platforms to lead with courage and humility, to champion justice, and to serve their communities, locally and globally.
• Upholding Integrity and Compassion: Integrity is not negotiable. We hold our girls to high standards of character, encouraging them to do what is right even when it is difficult, and to act from a place of empathy.
• Celebrating Diverse Strengths: Not every girl will excel in the same way, and that is celebrated. We nurture individuality, resilience, and a sense of belonging, so that each girl knows she is enough and that she has something uniquely valuable to offer the world.

What It Looks Like from a Parental Perspective

Parents play a crucial role in reinforcing and supporting these values at home. When the school and family operate from a shared philosophy, the outcome is a powerful ecosystem of support and growth. From a parental standpoint, being part of this journey means:

• Valuing Character Over Comparison: Choosing to celebrate your daughter’s integrity, kindness, and service, not just her achievements, sends a clear message about what matters most.
• Encouraging Curiosity and Independence: Allowing girls to explore, to fail safely, and to find their own path helps develop resilience and self-awareness, key traits of those who make lasting change.
• Modelling Integrity and Responsibility: Children learn by example. When parents act with honesty, compassion, and social responsibility, girls learn that these values are not just school ideals but life principles.
• Partnering with the School: Open communication, shared values, and mutual trust between parents and educators create a strong foundation for consistent messaging and mutual reinforcement of positive behaviours.

The Power of a Unified Partnership

When schools and parents are aligned in their vision, we move beyond educating for achievement and begin educating for impact. Together, we shape girls who are not seeking to be above others, but alongside them, lifting, guiding, and healing.

These are the girls who will go on to be engineers who care about sustainability, lawyers who fight for the voiceless, artists who challenge injustice, entrepreneurs who reinvest in communities, and leaders who speak with conviction and act with conscience.

They will not only be the best in the world—they will be exactly what the world needs most.

With purpose in our teaching, consistency in our parenting, and unity in our mission, we can and will raise young women who are confident, principled, and ready to lead change, not just for themselves, but for all. The world doesn’t just need excellence. It needs goodness, courage, and compassion.