Empowering girls in the Exeter area for a brighter future

Published: 20 July 2023

A mentoring programme furthering the career aspirations and confidence of year 9 girls in the Exeter area has celebrated a successful year of achievements.

Empowering Girls recently held their end-of-year celebratory event at Winslade Manor. The event brought together students, mentors, school coordinators, and the project team to celebrate the successes and stories of the past academic year.

Empowering Girls - previously known as Inspiring Girls -  is a mentoring service coordinated by Exeter City Council. It has been made possible by funding from the Howmet Aerospace Foundation, which has agreed to support the programme until December.

Victoria Hatfield, advisory board member and mentor, provided an inspiring welcoming talk on the origin, purpose and aspirations of Empowering Girls. The students then received their mentee certificate, plus a gifted book: ‘Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Changemakers’.

The book is a collection of stories about inspiring women from throughout history, and is a great resource for girls to learn about the many possibilities that are open to them.

Despite the torrential rain and strong winds on the day, there was a great atmosphere at the event, with lots of smiles and chatter all round.  The students were clearly excited to have the opportunity to celebrate their accomplishments.

The Empowering Girls programme works with secondary schools in the Exeter area and offers a mentoring programme to girls in Year 9 (aged 13-14), with mentoring provided by a wide range of businesswomen from across the Exeter area. Through a structured mentoring programme they are able to explore the girls’ passions, build their confidence, and raise aspirations for the future.

For anyone interested in supporting the programme as a mentor can email empowering.girls@exeter.gov.uk.