“We’re going to scream and shout today.”

Sounded good to me. The school bell hadn’t quite rung yet, the satisfaction of having lunch was wearing off and I wasn’t yet allowed to go home. Indeed, some screaming and shouting sounded rather satisfying at that moment in time.

With a cry of “Yes! Yes! Yes!” and a whack of the hand against a solid plank of wood, we were going to be screaming, shouting, and breaking a board in half with nothing but positive thinking and the power of the palm.

Kevin, our wood splicing expert, held up a sizeable piece of pine. “At this moment in time, you’re looking at this and going ‘I don’t know if I can break that with my hand.’” The girls laugh nervously, disbelief rippling across their faces. Kevin continues, with complete conviction: “in forty five minutes time, you’re going to have two bits of wood in your hands.”

He trained us for the battle of the board. One arm was outstretched, while the other remained bent by our sides. Our palms were at the ready, our stance wide. Our bodies pivoted, bringing the bent arm forward in a swift blow. Physically, we were all ready.

There was only one more step; the aforementioned screaming and shouting. “YES! YES! YES!” Kevin cried as he confidently punched the air, proclaiming the paramount importance of a positive mental attitude. The girls followed suit, albeit whilst giggling.

It was time. With thirty three cries of “yes”, eleven boards were broken, leaving us with twenty two pieces of wood. All before the clock struck three. There wasn’t a splinter in sight, nor a broken hand, as the girls seemed to fear. Some didn’t quite achieve a break through upon the first attempt, but in rounds two or three their perseverance carried them through to success.

Though it’s fairly unlikely the girls will ever need to utilise the ability to break a piece of wood in two again, they had persevered with a task they had thought would be difficult or impossible to complete; an attitude that if applied in life, would allow them to reap rewards for a long time to come.

We all left with our palms a bit pinker than normal, but we were all rather pleased with ourselves.

What shall I do with my life? A question that has undoubtedly throbbed in the backs of most minds at some point in time. A question that perhaps pleads for the most attention in our youth, when the path of life seems long and uncertain. A question that, according to the wonderful working women we met on a sunny day in March, will one day be answered.

In a beautifully bright room in the ‘We Are What We Do” offices in London, where the walls were whiteboards and the flowers of the overflowing window boxes concealed the city bustle, ‘Speed Mentoring’ was on the agenda.

The white-board wall.

In the space of three hours, seventeen women with careers of all kinds sped from one table of girls to another, talking about the paths they had pursued. Answering our questions and alleviating our concerns were ex-Channel Four directors, midwives, feature editors, bankers and leadership coaches, to name but a few.

Ex Channel Four producer, Dominique, speaking with the girls.

With only ten minutes per table, there was barely time for breath amidst the stream of questions and answers. However, a mass sigh of relief was almost audible when each and every woman uttered “at fourteen, I had no idea what I wanted to do”.

Each successful woman in the room had their own story to tell, but the same advice was sung by all.

-          You should work hard, as then you can’t really go wrong.

-          You can learn through failure, and it may in fact be the way in which you learn the most.

-          You must to do something you love, as you’ll be doing it an awfully long time.

It all seemed to clear, simple advice for success if you like.

The girls listen as lawyer, Abi, tells them about how she got into her career.

Within a matter of minutes, the speed mentoring sessions seem to come to an end. The general consensus from the observing teachers was that it had been more successful, and by far a lot more satisfying, than any speed dating they’d ever experienced. The girls had learnt that any worries or confusion concerning careers would one day dissipate, and they didn’t need to follow any one path in life.

As for me and what I want to do with my life? I’m not sure; but I’m not really worried either.

In January, the mum’s came to school.  No one had been misbehaving; though one may have thought as much owing to the amount of mothers marching through the school gates. In this session, the girls got an education like no other. However, it wasn’t from the teachers at the school, but bodies altogether closer to home….

The morning begun with mind maps plastered to the walls, begging for answers from both generations: ‘What’s your greatest achievement?’ ‘What are your flaws?’ ‘What do you think you need to do to improve?’

The mums stood back, looking at what their daughters were writing. ‘Confidence.’ Around 75% had claimed this is what they needed to improve.

‘Everyone’s got something to bring to the table’ claimed Helen, mother to Alice Davie, with true fervour. She had been shocked to see the lack of self belief amongst the girls. ‘Grades aren’t the only thing that matter…. Everyone has something to give.’

As each mother spoke to the group, it was as though they didn’t have just one daughter, but a complete roomful; all of whom listened in complete silence when one mum declared ‘you can all do whatever you want to do.’

As the day pressed on, pens were put to paper and letters were written to truly inspirational women, whom worked in fields where the girls’ interests lied. In doing so, it was hoped that dreams of joining the TOWIE crowd would dissipate, and future paths may begin to form in the young females’ minds.

On of the mums, proof reading her daughter’s letter.

It appeared to have worked. Envelopes were stamped and addressed to Shelina Permalloo, J K Rowling and Rebecca Adlington, to name a few. We now wait, quite impatiently, for some replies.

It is said that you should always listen to your parents; a principal, I imagine, most children find difficult to adhere to. Yet, honestly, I believe that in listening to their mothers, the girls have learnt more morally than they ever would when in a classroom. All in all, I think mum knows best.

After much planning, the project’s first session took place this December. In the Ivory Rooms, Billericay, we began the project by looking at the big picture: how are women perceived and portrayed in society?

Copies of ‘Closer’ and ‘Look’ littered the white linen tables, with their gaudy colours and somewhat ghastly celebrity snaps glaring from the covers. The girls flicked through the glossy magazines, where ‘fat’ thighs were criticised, celebrity divorces were dramatised and ‘mum tums’ received the circle of shame. Women’s money, bodies and relationships, as opposed to talent, intellect and achievements, seemed to fill the pages.

These were the magazines the girls admitted to reading on a regular basis, and they couldn’t shy away from the negative representation their gender there received.

‘What would an alien make of us, if they saw these magazines?’ one of our female leaders asked. We discussed what a Martian would make of the female race, based on their depiction in the media. Then, on a six foot long piece of paper at the back of the room, the girls noted their thoughts.

The words written blackened the page, declaring the magazines showed women to be ‘vein, bitchy bimbos’ whom mimicked ‘walking mannequins’. It was clear the girls thought an alien wouldn’t like what they saw in the pages of ‘Reveal’.

In spite of the negativity oozing from the page, there was indeed a positive outcome. The girls had recognized that the media did not paint a positive picture of women, and it failed to celebrate female success.

To round off the day, we put away the magazines and turned to ‘TED’, an organization dedicated to spreading ideas from technology, entertainment and design sectors by uploading speeches from its two annual conferences to its website.

As we listened to speeches from former Paralympic athlete, Aimee Mullins, and scientist, Jane Chen, we were awe-struck and inspired, all within the space of ten minutes. Less time than it would take to go from cover to cover of ‘Look’.

The last question of the day came from the girls; ‘why don’t we see more women like that in the media?’ No one really knew the answer, but it’s a good question. Don’t you think?

What sort of women are making up our media? When we look around, it is the rulers of reality television, the provocatively dressed performers of the music industry and those with no merit other than being married to someone with money in their pocket. Where are the real women, the real role models? In a day and age when women are strong, equal and capable of anything and everything, why does the spotlight fail to shine on the truly inspirational?

Fortunately, there is a project combating this issue. For the third year running, the Real Women Role Model Project is seeking to raise the aspirations of young women. It desires to clear away the conviction that celebrity status and appearance are paramount, and to promote the real female achievers in this world.

When we asked the group of fifteen year old girls taking part in the project to name the women they looked up to, they listed their mothers and grandmothers, alongside other female relatives. Without doubt, I adore my own mother, whom is not only an inspiration but a force to be reckoned with. Yet, I feel compelled to ask, why couldn’t our young women name female role models outside their family and in the public eye? The answer being they simply have to look too hard to find them.

Among the 22 young women participating, there is a poet, a horse rider and a writer. There are those possessing great confidence and those on the quieter side, but they all bring something to the table. The paths open to them in their lives are limitless, and yet they do not believe it.

With a deconstruction of their media, a speed dating session with successful women and even an army assault course, the Real Women Role Model Project aims to push them onwards and upwards, showing them that they can succeed.

They collected stories from the internet and other websites and made them into reports that can be seen on the Billericay School Website or BBC News. It was a great success with many stories of the latest news being heard.

Billericay students said “it was great fun to be of time table and showed us what a reporter has to do!”

The Billericay school has been doing this for a few years and will hopefully carry on!

Some people may think that the teachers will struggle and maybe they do but they keep the students under control.

This happen every year but last year there were 157 between the whole year, this year we are hoping to beat our own score.

There are three groups. New reporters, TV and radio.

Yesterday Chancellor George Osborne also joined the social network Twitter. Then he posted his first message on the website, showing how popular it really is.

5 weeks ago Billericay School joined Twitter too, and already have 127 followers, where most of them are sixth formers as well as staff. They use the account for posting information about exams and universities, and they receive messages from sixth formers and staffs, they are also thinking about posting school events on there. They set up the account because Billericay School realised how much sixth formers go on their phones and 90% of sixth formers have Twitter. They have not had any negatives comments yet, but if they do and it affects the account they will close it down. The Billericay School think the pupils think it is a good idea.

The fight between the reality TV stars, broke out during the final episode of the previous series of The Only Way is Essex. Some threats were dished out, in including Bobby insulting Gemma about her hair threatening to rip her hair off her head, calling it a cheap wig.

Other stars thought that their feud was ridiculous and were laughing behind their backs. They are now talking and being Seville but are still not the best of friends.

Sebastian plays a match every weekend and has to wake up at 5;30am every morning to train for an hour. His hopes are to become an Olympic champion.

When we interviewed him, he said, “It’s perfect practise that makes perfect”