Girls Under Excessive Pressure At School

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New poll reveals school girls are under too much pressure through their education.

School girls are under too much pressure to achieve academically both from their parents and themselves, according to the head of the Girls School Association (GSA).

Jill Berry, recently appointed president of the GSA for 2009 is also the headmistress of Dame Alice Harpur School in Bedford. Mrs Berry shared the concern of parents who were worried they were pressuring their daughter to obtain outstanding academic results.

The GSA president said in an interview with the BBC: “There is no doubt that many mothers and fathers are worried about getting the balance right”. In response to the worry of parents, the GSA have launched a website to help parents.

As Mrs Berry explained: “Our new website will offer advice on the educating and raising of girls up to school-leaving age.”

It is well documented that historically girls outperform boys almost across the board in academic subjects at school. One of the resultant problems with this trend is that the expectation is often higher on girls than boys to achieve excellence.

The stress of desperately wanting to be successful can come just as much from the pupils themselves as it can from ‘pushy parents’.

Part of the role of the website is to provide information for parents on watching for telltale signs that their daughter is expecting too much of herself.

Mrs Berry warned that unrealistic expectations in young women led to a higher tendency toward eating disorders. The pressure to “have it all” being academically bright and to look like celebrity models can put an awful strain on school girls.

Mrs Berry concluded: “The results of the survey show there is a need for the kind of specialised advice and guidance mydaughter.co.uk will be giving.”