'I've taught girls for 25 years. The pressures now are unlike anything I've ever seen.'

There's a moment at every school assembly when you look out across a sea of blazers and ponytails and think: some things never change. Girls whispering to each other, fiddling with their uniforms, rolling their eyes when a teacher reminds them to tuck in their shirts.

Some things never change. But many, as it turns out, do. The world these girls are growing up in is unrecognisable from the one many of us remember.

Social media is in their pockets before they even hit high school. Conversations about consent, gender equality, and body image happen in classrooms as often as maths equations do. And while the pressures of growing up have always been there, the way we talk about them, and the way we prepare girls to face them, has shifted completely.

"There's no such thing now as a typical year group," said Lorna Beegan, Principal of Strathcona Girls Grammar told Mamamia, who has been working in education for more than 25 years.

Watch: What type of school parent are you? Post continues after video.

The COVID pandemic in particular disrupted the usual rites of passage we took for granted. Some girls missed kindergarten altogether. Others didn't get to walk across the stage for their year six graduation or start high school in the usual way.

But the most notable agent of change has been technology, whether for better or for worse. At the end of 2024, the Australian government passed legislation to restrict social media for children under the age of 16. They did this in an attempt to counteract the negative impact of social media on young people, particularly with regards to mental health and wellbeing.

Out of similar concerns, many schools have placed bans on phones in classrooms. The thing is, however, every school is doing it differently. And every home. No one quite knows how to tackle the formidable beast that is social media.

"We have strong restrictions on certain apps and things at school, but we are very aware that those lines between home and school can often be very blurred," shared Lorna.

While they try to keep up, Lorna says that the girls will always "find some other kind of form to communicate".

"Students are very, very savvy," she said. "So, for me, it's much more about teaching them responsible behaviour and conduct… and how to navigate a world that's shifting at such a fast pace."

According to the principal, it's about "adapting quickly", not opting for a quick Band-Aid solution, and "being proactive rather than reactive".

This includes looking at advancements in Artifical Intelligence (AI).

"We want to make sure that our students are at the forefront of understanding how AI is going to impact and play in our world," she said.

"AI agents are becoming ever more prominent and prevalent by the day, and we are aware that, in many ways, they've been set up largely with male unconscious bias."

She goes on to say that we cannot risk this cohort of women "falling behind again in this age of agency".

In a similar vein, while the past few years have seen an increase in the number of women in STEM, Lorna says we have a long way to go for school girls.

In July 2023, the Department of Industry and Science revealed that the number of women in STEM-qualified jobs had risen to 15 per cent, a modest increase of four percentage points from the previous year.

But a further study by the department shed more light about the disparity in STEM, explaining that Australia's talent pool is limited by the under-representation of half of Australia's population – girls and women – in STEM education and careers.

"The causes of poor attraction and retention of girls and women in STEM begin from an early age and compound as progression to more senior careers is made," read the report.

At a school level, Lorna says ensuring "equity in STEM is a constant challenge".

"Our role now in schools, whether it's social media, whether it's STEM, is to ensure that girls' education is designed for them, for their voices, so that they can actually really be their own spokespeople." 

This also means talking openly about issues that were once brushed aside. Consent education is no longer a one-off talk or an anonymous question box in science class, it's embedded into the curriculum from the early years.

Lorna Beegan, Principal of Strathcona Girls Grammar. Image: Supplied

In December 2024, research from Our Watch showed that, since 2018, the average age at which girls are first viewing pornography dropped to 13.6, which prompted discussions about sex education.

"The role of sex education should be preventative," Consent Labs CEO Angelique Wan told Mamamia at the time. "So if we know that, on average, young people and young girls are accessing or first seeing porn at 13.6 years old, we need to have conversations about those media literacy skills before that age.

"I really believe that education around media literacy and supporting young people to be able to critically analyse what they're seeing on screen, and question whether that is something that should be reflected in their interactions in real life — that skill is something we really need to nurture in young people, and I believe it can be done in an age-appropriate way."

For Lorna, the way schools talk about things like puberty and sex education has completely shifted.

"We openly, from early years, talk about consent education. Something that was often a little aside is now very central to our discussions. And of course, we have families involved in that," she said.

"We engage with boys schools as well and within our own programs for respectful relationships. These are conversations that didn't happen when I was at school."

The main goal, says Lorna, is to "empower the girls".

"To ensure that they're aware of their rights and their responsibilities, to realise that there's the strength of females coming together, and from an early age, to be much more aware of being cyber safe, protecting themselves online, and being aware of body image."

There is also a focus on helping girls to embrace their individual identity.

"There's a sense now of 'be what you want to be, not what you're told to be,'" Lorna said.

This mentality is showing up in the choices girls are making too. Lorna shared that more girls are opting not to bring partners to formals if it doesn't feel right for them.

"They're making better choices for themselves," she said. "They're prioritising their wellbeing, and we're prioritising it too… If there's a mental health issue, it has to be a team effort between schools, parents and medical providers," Lorna said.

Parents, for their part, have never been more invested in their daughters' schooling, not just academically, but socially and emotionally, too.

"Education feels much more personal, and it's higher stakes," Lorna said.

"What parents want is that partnership. They want to have an insight into the school. They want to have a voice. In schools, we work very diligently to ensure that we're navigating this new relationship with parents, to ensure there's clarity, professionalism and mutual respect.

"Sometimes people do think they're an expert at school, because they all went to school, and they'll say, 'Well, you're just a teacher', but they would never say 'Well, you're just a speech pathologist'…

"So we talk about being on the same page and having this tripartite relationship with the child at the centre, two-way communication, and a shared purpose between the families and the school."

With an emphasis on wellbeing and individualism, there has also been a rise in personalised learning for girls.

"One size doesn't fit all. No child should feel failed by school," Lorna said, adding that schools should be asking girls what they want to learn.

"If you find what a student wants to learn, you don't need to do so much. You just nudge them in the right direction, and they'll take off."

For Lorna, that's what education should be about, giving girls the tools and confidence to shape their futures.

"Girls' schools have a responsibility now to be powerhouses of possibility, not just for equality, but for influence, to really change the world."

Feature Image: Getty