A Welcome Message from the Headmistress

I took up my role as Headmistress at Truro High School for Girls in April 2009 having come from Wellington School in Somerset (a large co-educational independent school), where I was Deputy Head. Having taught girls in my Physics lessons for many years I thought I knew how they learnt, played and generally 'ticked' - how wrong I was! Now, in a single-sex school, I can see just how much more the girls at Truro High are prepared to be challenged, how much more they are keen to get involved and how much happier they seem to be in their learning, their dealings with friends and staff and with those in the wider community. Indeed, aside from being achievers, our girls are always regarded as confident rather than arrogant, polite, interested and interesting.

I was lucky enough to have a Grammar School education in the South West of England where high standards of education and an active school life involving Drama, Sport and Outdoor Education were my goals. Sadly I am not particularly musical but I suppose 'missing' something in yourself makes you appreciate the talents of others all the more. And what musicality there is here at Truro High! Our 120-strong senior choir has just won the Most Outstanding Choir (adult or youth) of the Cornwall Music Festival and our Prep School choir also won the Best Junior School choir. Quite a double feat!

The same ambition to succeed is true of our girls on the sports field too and our teams boast several County titles with girls participating at County, Area, National and International level in hockey, netball, fencing, swimming and high jump. It is perhaps in this extracurricular arena where I feel most comfortable. Following my degree at Bristol University I trained as a Physics teacher in London, whilst at the same time preparing for the Barcelona Olympics where I competed in the Women's Eight Rowing Squad. I experienced the thrill of achieving a dream and working as a team to reach a goal and I see this drive and determination in the faces of our sporting girls who seek constantly to improve their personal best, support their team mates and make the whole school community proud of their achievements.

After the Olympics I qualified as a mountaineer and went to live in Northern India for six years running my own Outdoor Education Company. What a delight to experience another culture first hand and I strongly believe that a variety of overseas boarders and the many international trips run by the Departments add a cultural diversity to our school life. And this experience of, and preparation for, the wider world is key to the ethos at Truro High School. Whilst our girls are lucky to live and be educated in one of the world's most beautiful, safe and low-pollution areas, we are, as educators, opening the door to the greater world through international trips, charitable works and sometimes a mixture of the two. In 2010 I took 22 girls for the whole of July to India for a 12-day trek in the Himalayas (which some will use as their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Expedition) followed by the building of a science classroom in a school I founded in 1997 plus, of course, some sight-seeing and shopping!

Whether our girls are highly academic or struggling in one or two subjects, sporting, musical, theatrical, artistic or simply a 'giver' to our school in many less obvious ways, I am proud to be their Headmistress. I have been overwhelmed by their friendliness, their confidence, their ability both academically and in their extra-curricular interests and the level of support and encouragement they give to each other.

Please do come and visit us so that you and your daughter can see - and feel - all that is Truro High School for Girls. It really is quite extraordinary.

Caroline Pascoe BSc(Hons), MSc, NPQH
Headmistress

My Daughter.com

I often write for a website called MYDAUGHTER.COM that helps girls and their parents through all the ups and downs of school life.
Here are just a few:

• Long live Latin!
• New school survival tips for parents
• Young people need adventure as well as exam results!
• Encourage curiosity and watch your children grow
• One sports day a year simply isn't enough!
• Help - I've got homework!