THE self-esteem of teenage girls was given a boost at a school’s annual Women’s Day.

Cheney School held the event for the second year on Friday for its Year 10 girls.

The project’s leader Sam Best said it was started just over two years ago when there was a concern that girls at the school may start to underachieve. Miss Best, also head of chemistry at the Cheney Lane school, said this never materialised but the project has boosted girls’ confidence.

Speakers from across the county came to engage with the 14 and 15-year-old girls.

The event was held at Oxford Brookes University’s Gipsy Lane campus. Included in the speakers was founder, and trustee, of Helen House Sister Frances Dominica, founder of the world’s first children’s hospice, Helen House, who gave the introductory address.

Miss Best said: “We want to educate them on the bigger issues, such as feminism, how to look after themselves, and their future aspirations; as well as boosting their self-esteem.”

The teenagers also heard from Sue Holmes, the university’s director of estates – one of only 10 women in the country to hold such a role, Caro Howell, director of the Foundling Museum in London, and Oxfordshire Association for Young People (OAYP).

OAYP’s Emmy Tulane-Cassia and Laura Sewell spoke to the pupils about the portrayal of women in the media.