2021 Stevens competition prize-giving ceremony - Honouring Mrs Penney 

The winners of the Stevens Competition have been announced, including the design that the school has chosen to commemorate former Headmistress Mrs Penney. The Worshipful Company of Glaziers & Painters of Glass, one of the oldest City of London’s Livery Companies or craft guilds, founded in 1328, organises the Stevens Competition, the only annual Competition in the world based on a real‐life commission brief, for new and emerging glass artists.

The competition this year was based on a commission to design an architectural glass commemorative screen for former Haberdashers’ Girls’ School Headmistress, Mrs Penelope Penney. Its aim is to bring new glass artists to the attention of the wide public and critics alike. Achievements of emerging architectural glass artists were honoured at an online prize‐giving civic ceremony, attended by City of London Aldermanic Sherif Alison Gowman. Many past prize‐winners have gone on to achieve international acclaim, creating many prestigious commissions in the UK and beyond.

This year’s commission has been won by Gouda Kvietinskaite. Rose Hardy, current Headmistress of Habs’ Girls’ School, said:

Our school has been delighted to work in partnership with The Worshipful Company of Glaziers & Painters of Glass. Being the subject of this year’s Stevens Competition has been an honour and we were very impressed with the range of responses. Mrs Penney played a pivotal role in the success that the school enjoys today; she was a much loved Head and was a trailblazer in the sphere of education. We hope that our new window will be a fitting tribute both to her life and to the important contribution that she made to the history of our school. Gouda’s design excited all of us for both its vivid use of colour and the way in which it depicts the figures as engaged in a range of activities; the idea of an all‐rounder, a polymath, is central to our philosophy at Habs where our students are encouraged always to broaden their horizons and range of experiences.

We look forward to sharing the finished art work when the production and installation is complete. The school would like to thank the Worshipful Company of Glaziers & Painters of Glass for running the Stevens Competition and for their support throughout the process.