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| Abbreviation | GSA |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1874 |
| Purpose | Professional association for headteachers of independent and state girls' schools |
| Headquarters | Suite 105 108 New Walk Leicester England |
Region served | Mainly United Kingdom |
President | 2024–25: Alex Hutchinson, Head, James Allen's Girls' School[citation needed] |
| Affiliations | ISC |
| Website | gsa |
TheGirls' Schools Association (GSA) is a membership association for the heads of independent and state girls' schools in the United Kingdom. It is a constituent member of theIndependent Schools Council (ISC), and works with theAssociation of School and College Leaders (ASCL).
The GSA started life as theAssociation of Headmistresses – an organisation founded in 1874 byDorothea Beale andFrances Buss, with the intention of improving access to education for girls.[1] Buss was the founding president.[2]
Enid Essame ofQueenswood School was an honorary secretary before she became president in 1960.[3] She was succeeded byDiana Reader Harris in 1964.[4] She was in post until 1966, and organised a response to thePlowden Report.
In the early years of the twentieth century, the association was involved in supporting teachers who emigrated to thecolonies, or returned to Britain having taught abroad; it had links with theColonial Intelligence League for Educated Women.[5] Later in the twentieth century, the organisation promoted the teaching ofdomestic science at girls' schools.[6]
The GSA was established in its current form in 1974 following the amalgamation of two of the AHM's sub-groups: the Association of Heads of Girls' Boarding Schools and the Association of Independent and Direct Grant Schools. It moved from London to new headquarters in Leicester in 1984, where it shared offices with theAssociation of School and College Leaders (ASCL) before moving to its current office, still in Leicester.
The chief executive isDonna Stevens.[citation needed]
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