Building confidence and leadership skills in girls? schools has never been more important in empowering young women, writes Charlotte Methven
More House School in central London prides itself on providing a ?nurturing environment that is high in challenge, but low in stress?. Never has this approach mattered more. Young women today seem to face more pressures than ever (as evidenced by top female athletes like gymnast Simone Biles and tennis star Naomi Osaka pulling out of events, citing mental health). 
Even Godolphin and Latymer ? which sits at the top of the league table ? places as much emphasis on developing ?soft skills? as it does on academic excellence. The skills in question include ?leadership, creativity, innovation, flexibility, self-belief, problem-solving, resilience and purposeful collaboration?. The school recently launched a programme to help students develop the tools to become ?compassionate leaders and positive change-makers?, primed to succeed in a 21st-century workplace, with a ?trickle-down effect?, whereby older students inspire younger ones. Head Dr Frances Ramsey explains: ?We believe the school should give them the skills and learning opportunities to equip them to work collaboratively with others.? Forging friendships on the field at St Catherine?s school
Antonia Beary, headmistress of Mayfield School, a leading Catholic boarding and day school in Sussex, sums up why single-sex brings out the best in girls. ?Girls today are growing up in a world...