BHSA SAY A FOND FAREWELL TO PRINCIPAL REBECCA MAHONY
W L
BHSA SAY A FOND FAREWELL TO PRINCIPAL REBECCA MAHONY
Wirral Life sat down with Mrs Mahony, Principal at Birkenhead High School Academy, as she prepares to say goodbye after years of dedicated leadership. During her time at BHSA, she has been instrumental in shaping the school’ s ethos, inspiring both students and staff, and fostering a true sense of community. In this interview, she reflects on her journey, proudest achievements, and what she will treasure most as she moves on to her next chapter.
Tell us about yourself & BHSA I have been working on Wirral since 2002 and living here since 2006. I am originally from a small town in North Wales, Dolgellau, where I grew up on a farm. I spent my childhood speaking both Welsh and English and am very proud of my Welsh roots. As a child in school I loved most subjects, but especially English and languages. I also enjoyed most sports and anything to do with music and drama. Our girls at BHSA have heard many stories in assemblies over the years about Wales! Before I was a headteacher, I taught French and German and have worked in schools in Nottingham, Shropshire and most recently was the Deputy Headteacher at Wirral Grammar School for Girls before taking up my post as Principal here at BHSA in 2016. I live locally with my husband and I have one daughter who is 26 and working in London- she too inherited my love of languages and travel! My three stepsons all live on Wirral.
There has been a school on the BHSA site in Oxton since 1885 and it was originally a private school until 2009, when it became an all ability 3 to 18 state academy for girls. We are part of the Girls’ Day School Trust, a family of 26 schools in England and Wales. With over 1200 students we are the largest school in the GDST. Our students and staff really benefit from this amazing network, giving them many extra educational, sporting and cultural opportunities. We are also part of a global network, the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools, and I was honoured to be invited to speak at their conference in Cleveland Ohio in 2023 and to be able to share some of the pioneering research work of the GDST and also talk about our own developmental projects here at BHSA.
What achievements have you made at BHSA? After 9 years of leadership, there is much to be proud of- survival is right up there! As any other headteacher will know, you need to be prepared for the unexpected everyday and each day will bring a new challenge or puzzle to solve. I am incredibly proud of the achievements of our students and our most recent Progress 8 score placed us as one of the leading schools for progress on Merseyside. School life is not just about exam results, however, and I am most proud of the community spirit and strong family ethos of the school, which we have built together over the
years. An example of this was the Start A New Story campaign, which I launched during the pandemic. This linked us up with Linghams bookshop in Heswall and our aim was to fundraise for a book for every child in the Junior School and Key Stage 3 at a time when many of our children had little access to books at home. The whole BHSA and the GDST community came together and we smashed our initial target and enabled us to also replenish our two amazing libraries.
One of my goals 9 years ago was to ensure that we were making the most of our unique all-through status and this is certainly the case now when we have regular partnership events with students from the Junior School working on curriculum projects with older girls. Our annual school production cast ages range from 7 to 18 and our sports day also reflects everything that is brilliant about an all-through school.
What will you be moving on to do? Next year I will be working as a consultant executive coach and mentor within the education sector and for the wider GDST. After 34 years of full time work, I am looking forward to working on a part-time basis and having some more time to travel, learn some new languages and improve my golf!
Who will you be your replacement? BHSA’ s new Principal will be Elizabeth de Boorder, who is currently the deputy head at Wirral Grammar. She is really looking forward to September and eager to meet all of the students and their families.
What legacy would you like to leave at BHSA? Our amazing library facilities and the celebration of reading at the core of everything we do.
Any final words? A wise friend of mine, who was my mentor for many years( she will know who she is when she reads this) always said that leadership was basically“ all about the people”. This is so true and no amount of intricate spreadsheets or shiny new buildings will create a good school.
Our school community never ceases to amaze me with their generosity of time, energy and spirit. When you step into BHSA you just feel that spirit and I know that the school will thrive and continue to go from strength to strength in the future.
8 wirrallife. com