King Edward VI School Becomes a Licensed 'Girls on Board' School

King Edward VI School, Southampton, is proud to announce that it is now officially a Girls on Board licensed school, with staff across both the Prep and Senior Schools trained to deliver this nationally recognised wellbeing programme. 

Girls on Board is a pastoral approach developed by school leader Andrew Hampton to help girls aged 8–18 navigate the often-complex dynamics of female friendships. The methodology encourages girls to take ownership of their social relationships, promoting empathy, self-reflection, and emotional resilience.  

The initiative has been widely praised in the education sector, having been shortlisted for ‘Wellbeing Initiative of the Year’ at the TES Awards in both 2019 and 2020.  

Rebecca Boyes, Pupil Wellbeing Manager at King Edward’s, commented: 

“Girls on Board provides a powerful framework to help pupils work through the emotional turbulence of friendship issues in a safe, non-judgemental way. We’ve already seen how effective it can be in helping girls articulate their feelings, and in reducing anxiety around social conflict. We’re really proud to be adopting this approach more widely across the school.” 

With training already delivered to a number of staff, the school plans to expand implementation throughout the pastoral system over the coming year, further strengthening its commitment to pupil wellbeing and positive mental health.