Illumine

Teenagers are facing a momentous cultural shift. On 10 December 2025 the Federal Government’s Online Safety Amendment Act lifts the age of access from 13 to 16 years for a range of popular social media platforms.

In this episode Principal Jacinda Euler Welsh speaks to a key changemaker, hears how students are feeling, and unpacks the challenges and opportunities ahead with School psychologist Dr Jody Forbes. 

Resources:

·       See our FAQs on the new laws here.

·       Find Greg Attwells’ 36 Months parenting podcast on Apple or Spotify.

·       Australia’s e-Safety Commission resources for families are here.

Brisbane Girls Grammar School celebrates its 150th anniversary this year. 

To recognise and celebrate this significant milestone, Historian, Ms Helen Penrose, has researched and created a book—to be released later this year—that will explore the School’s pioneering history as one of Queensland’s original Grammar schools and leading girls’ school.

In this episode, Principal, Ms Jacinda Euler Welsh, is joined by Ms Penrose to discuss her discoveries during this process.

Three years ago, Illumine released an episode on sexual consent education which greatly resonated with not only our school, but the wider community. 

In this new episode of Illumine, hear from Year 12 students, Scarlett and Molly, to learn what they think has changed since then and what could be further improved in 2024.

In 2021, Chanel Contos sparked a national movement when she invited young women to share their experiences of sexual assault—resulting in mandated consent education in the Australian national curriculum from Kindergarten to Year 10, and inspiring conversations around the country.

In this episode, Principal, Ms Jacinda Euler Welsh, joins Director of HPE, Mr Stephen Fogarty, and Head of HPE—Curriculum Development, Ms Jane Martel, to review what has changed since this time and discuss what still lies ahead.

In 2024, more than half of the world’s population will take to the election polls. With rising trends of authoritarianism against a backdrop of increasing global conflict, some commentators are predicting this could be democracy’s biggest test to date. 

In this episode of Illumine, Principal, Ms Jacinda Euler Welsh, speaks with Director of Humanities, Ms Alison Dare, and Head of Subject—Humanities for Year 7, Mr Christian Moffatt on how to educate for good citizenship.

Earlier this year, a group of students and staff visited Italy, exploring places of significance in Western culture, from ancient societies through to the Renaissance … and of course, some of the nation’s gelaterias.

In this episode, Principal, Ms Jacinda Euler Welsh, sat down with students Charlotte, Ruby, and Grace to hear about the highlights, experiences, and learnings from the Latin and Roman World Study Tour.

Few of us can say that, in our lifetime, we have fulfilled a dream we have harboured since we were seven years old. One lucky person who can make that claim is celebrated writer and Brisbane Girls Grammar School alumna, Anna McGahan (2005).

Earlier this year, Anna was awarded one of Australia’s most prestigious literary awards for young writers, The Vogel Prize, which was won by her uncle, Andrew McGahan, in 1991.  

In this conversation with Principal, Ms Jacinda Euler Welsh, Anna reflects on the challenges, victories, and unexpected detours that have characterised her journey and career so far. 

In this episode, we’re flipping the script: Head Girls for 2024, Iha and Aoife, interview our usual host of Illumine and Principal of Brisbane Girls Grammar School, Ms Jacinda Euler. 

If you've ever wondered what daily life is like as a Principal, what a career path into teaching can look like, and how Principals manage competing priorities, this episode is for you. 

Australia's National Financial Capability Survey 2021 has found that 94 per cent of young Australians aged 14 to 17 feel it is important to learn how to manage their money, but only 42 per cent felt confident to do so. 

A few of our students here at Brisbane Girls Grammar School are taking their financial wellbeing seriously, through the establishment of a new Financial Literacy student club. 

In this episode, hear from founders Maddie and Lily as they discuss their goals and inspiration behind the club with Principal, Ms Jacinda Euler. 

Should artefacts currently in museums be returned to their country of origin? 

In recent years, the debate has been gathering momentum, kick-started again in 2022 in light of the death of Queen Elizabeth. Reconciling the actions of those acting in the past with our values in the present is an issue fraught with tension, and no easy answers are apparent. 

In this episode, Head of Ancient History, Dr Rashna Taraporewalla, discusses this topic with Principal, Ms Jacinda Euler, and explores some of the factors at play when teaching History to secondary school students.