Mary Quant inspired amazing creativity in our school

Welcome to our special Mary Quant themed edition of Highlife this month. We are delighted to be hosting a special Blackheath Society event at Wemyss Road next week when the curators of the fabulous V&A Quant exhibition will talk about the life and work of one of our more well-known alumnae.

I am particularly proud to count Mary Quant as one of our former students at Blackheath High. Her creativity, courage and ability to think outside the box are amongst the qualities we most prize in our students to this day. Whilst she is probably most well known for the creation of the iconic mini-skirt, I think I most admire the way she was unafraid to turn all the accepted fashion norms on their head. Her designs were relaxed, wearable, daring and fantastically popular as a result. As a role model for our pupils she also demonstrated qualities of resilience and determination. Her parents didn’t want her to attend a fashion course after school. So she studied illustration instead at Goldsmiths. Quant was a self-taught designer, attending evening classes on cutting and adjusting mass-market printed patterns to achieve the looks she was after. In her first boutique, Bazaar, she stocked the shop with her own designs, frustrated by the wholesale clothes available. She saw a gap in the market and filled it with her creativity and originality. Soon, young women travelled to Bazaar to enjoy shopping for 'something different' in a much less formal environment. When I see the fantastic quality of our annual Fashion Show and the amazing creativity and entrepreneurial spirit amongst our current students, I am convinced it can’t be too long before we see our next Mary Quant at Blackheath High School!

In other news, it’s been a fantastically action packed couple of weeks since half term. Highlights for me have included two lovely Year 5 class assemblies showcasing the girls’ personality and confidence; the news that two of our Year 12 girls in our Sixth Form, Maddie and Shona won a careers taster trip to GCHQ as part of a STEAM careers day and the ever wonderful House music competition. Community spirit, courage and determination abound!

Finally I’d also like to mention our inaugural BHSA Firework event last week. The whole team did a wonderful job in creating an event that was family friendly and full of joy and fun. Even the rain couldn’t stop us! Thank you so much to all the parents involved in traffic marshalling, running stalls, serving delicious hot chocolates, waffles and mulled wine (adults only!) and the site team for all their support. Mrs Chambers and Mrs Rosset, none of it would be possible without your organisation, we salute you!