STUDENT-LED RESEARCH SURVEY · 2026
No Small Ambition
Beyond Ability: How School Culture Shapes Girls’ Confidence, Identity and Achievement
A student-led research project into why capable girls hold themselves back, and what helps them step forward.
No Small Ambition explores how school culture, confidence, peer norms and identity shape the experiences of girls in academically ambitious programmes such as the International Baccalaureate. Through an anonymous survey, interviews and observation, it asks a simple question: why do capable girls sometimes make themselves smaller, and what can schools do to help them step forward?
Student-led research · Advised by Prof. Sarah Hetrick · Supported by Saint Kentigern College