A Girls' Guide to Starting High School written by Chloe Blake
"This is a fantastic book that mixes approachable wisdom with thoughtful activities that lets girls take control of handling the many challenges of high school. Beautifully designed and laid out, it is user friendly and strikes the right tone for this age group, never patronising but presenting complex issues in a clear manner. Absolutely recommend." Emma, English & Drama High School Teacher
" It is a lovely clear and warm read with guidance to help girls navigate the uncertainty stepping into high school. Really like the handouts to help build awareness, and moments to take take stock of change, and see adversity as growth." Matthew Stanton Clinical Psychologist at LifeMatters Psychologists
Why I wrote this book
My daughter Libby started high school in 2020 and it was much harder for her and for myself as a parent than I had ever thought it would be.
For the 2020 cohort of kids, they only had a few weeks of being at their new schools before COVID lock down restrictions kicked in and online learning was the new way of doing things.
I wanted to help set other girls up for a more confident start to high school and find out more about other people's experiences as part of the process.
I'm from Scotland and on a call from our home in Australia to my mum in Scotland, the 3 generations of women in our family my mum Tishy, myself and my daughter Libby, were talking about how tricky this change is and how moving to a new school is not easy.
Change is uncomfortable and it's hard. This is when we grow, learn and develop resilience that will serve us well for the rest of our lives. I believe as parents, we need to let our kids find things out for themselves, it's what makes them stronger and more resilient over time. We can't protect them from everything, however applying the skills and knowledge I have as a leadership development coach and facilitator in the book and combining this with advice from girls who have walked in their shoes will give them the confidence they need for success. You can read a review of the book here.