Sixth Form students hosted a conference to celebrate the achievements of women.

Westonbirt School hosted their inaugural ‘Empowering Women and Leadership’ conference, an event, inspired by International Women’s Day, was developed and planned by year 13 student, Anissa Joseph, with the support of her fellow Sixth Formers.

Year 10 and Year 12 students from Westonbirt were joined by visiting students from Badminton School, The Maynard School, Malmesbury and Sir William Romney’s on Monday, May 21.

The students engaged in a panel-led discussion exploring leadership and empowerment, before experiencing a series of workshops.

The panellists and workshop leaders included director of the Dyson Institute, Duncan Piper, a leading female STEM ambassador from Renishaw who was recently voted in the Telegraphs ‘Top 50 women in Engineering’, a female director of operations for international development, a media specialist from Zest Media and a female apprentice from St James’s Place Wealth Management, who discussed breaking down barriers in a traditionally male dominated sector.

Aimee Neaverson, director of a multi-million pound international development project, which supports five million people across South-East Asia said: "I was honoured to be part of the Leadership and Empowerment event at Westonbirt School.

"It was inspiring to meet and work with so many young women across the five schools involved. A key message from the day that resonated with me was that leadership is about empowering others. From interacting with the students during the workshop sessions, it is clear to me they are going to take this message forward for the bright futures ahead of them.”

Westonbirt plan for students from each participating school to continue to work together to build upon what they hope will become an exciting annual event.