Tanya Byron delivers the first Arthur Rouse Lecture

Professor Tanya Byron received a fantastic response at her lecture on “21st Century Girl.

Renowned psychologist and media personality, Tanya Byron, gave a thought provoking lecture on Wednesday 20th January in the Arthur Rouse lecture at Westholme School on the challenges facing girls and families in the 21st Century.�Tanya is well known for her appearances on television programmes such as ‘The House of the Tiny Tearaways’ and ‘Little Angels’ and also writes regularly for Good Housekeeping and The Times (which is also edited by an Old Westholmian, Vanessa Jolly).

An entertaining and honest speaker, Tanya tailored her lecture to the audience and received a fantastic response from those who attended, especially when describing how it felt to be kissed by Barack Obama! Professor Byron explained her views on challenges facing society and young people today and her worries about children growing up in captivity, highlighting the importance of children and young people being able to critically evaluate the world around them and being able deal with risk. Tanya also talked about how girls schools such as Westholme Senior School help to teach girls to be confident, assertive and to be happy with who they are.

Students, staff, parents and friends of the school were able to take part in an interactive question and answer session at the end of the lecture, and when asked by a member of the audience what she would want for her daughter, she simply said I want her to be happy and to be my friend forever, something that struck a chord with every parent in the theatre.