For young women, learning to trust their own judgement sits at the heart of their agency and self-belief. It is something that we nurture every day at school, not in big, grandiose acts, but in the small every day moments. Of course there are times when the choices feel weightier than others, but whatever the moment, confident decision making is the key to autonomy and I see it in our students every day.
As we continue to celebrate the links that The Abbey School shares with Jane Austen, it felt right that this author was central to my contribution to Lit Soc this year. Lit Soc is a wonderful, student-led society founded last year by Violet – one of our alumnae who has since flown the nest for the dreaming spires of Oxford. I enjoy the opportunity to hear from our students each week about their interests in Literature, and when choosing a topic for my own talk, I decided to focus on Austen’s women.
Many people assume Austen’s women are conventional heroines of Literature, marrying happily at the end of the novel to secure a (usually) handsome man. But when looked at more closely, Austen’s women are presented as intelligent, witty, brave, resilient, impulsive, curious – and often wrong. Their act of marrying for love, rather than financial security, was radical in a conservative society.
Austen showcases women’s choice and agency frequently in her novels – when deciding whether to marry, whom to marry, or something even smaller, we see it again and again: Austen’s women make their own decisions and are allowed to make mistakes without punishment, offering opportunities for personal growth and reflection. Whichever choice the heroine makes allows for further growth of her character and therefore a sense of ownership and autonomy.
This brings me back to the importance of choices for our students. Recently our Upper V students have been considering their A Level options – the choice of subjects is vast, and that move from Senior School to Sixth Form feels significant. It has been a pleasure to meet with so many Fifth Form students these past few weeks, discussing their futures, how A Levels fit into that picture, and what they really want from the next two years of their lives. It is telling that in those meetings they have the courage to articulate what matters most to them. In these early acts of self-authorship, I am confident they will make thoughtful choices which keep their own goals and passions at the forefront.
Choosing to approach mock examinations with a calm and purposeful demeanour is something I witnessed our Upper VI students do with confidence in January. Mock examinations represent a decisive moment in our Sixth Formers’ lives. Time and again I witnessed Abbey students meet the challenge of that moment with resilience as they actively chose self-belief. As their university offers come flying in from institutions all over the country, I see them mull over their options – which choice is the right one for each of them? In one-to-one conversations, it is clear they possess the judgement to navigate these decisions with care.
Recognising the courage that many of our Upper VI showed in deciding to apply for courses at the very best universities is something that has resounded with me particularly this year, as I also prepare to study part-time alongside work. I am reminded how formative those moments of choosing can be and the excitement that comes alongside them. Each student held their nerve throughout the arduous university application process and I commend them for choosing to do something challenging – that is where real growth happens.
When I think back to Austen’s famous characters: Elizabeth Bennet, Anne Elliott, and Emma Dashwood, I see our Abbey values reflected in their decision making; if we were to hold a mirror up to these Regency heroines, we would also see our own students painted in their image. We are forming students who choose challenge over safety, integrity over security, and intellectual risk-taking over familiarity, comfort and certainty. Where Austen’s women showed the way, our students now lead, and it is inspiring to watch them exercise their own agency and autonomy as they shape their own futures.
Charlotte Hart, Assistant Head and Director of Sixth Form