A girls’ high school in Sydney just made “life skills” feel real. Stella Maris College in Manly brought in Galmatic—an all-female automotive education team—to run a hands-on workshop for Year 11 students. The goal was simple: teach teen girls the basics of car care and what to do when something goes wrong on the road.
Instead of a day of lectures, the girls worked in small groups and practiced the stuff every new driver actually faces. They learned how to check oil and coolant, read tire pressure, change a flat, and handle a roadside breakdown or minor crash safely—step by step, tool in hand. By the end, the mystery was gone. It wasn’t theory anymore; it was muscle memory.
The program ran under the school’s “Essential Life Skills” banner, which mixes practical training with classroom learning. It’s the type of lesson that sticks because students don’t just hear it; they do it.
Galmatic’s founder, Eleni Mitakos, has built the workshops to be clear, calm, and confidence-first. Her team has already taught more than 100,000 teenagers across Australia, giving young drivers a plan for the bad moments—like a flat at night or steam under the hood—so those moments don’t spiral.
The community reaction was loud and positive. Parents and alumnae praised the school for teaching skills that matter the second a student gets the keys. One parent called it “the type of education our kids need in every school.”
Another thanked Stella for “teaching our girls how to be strong & independent.” A former student chimed in that “all high school, especially girl school should do this.” You could feel the same theme in every comment: this should be standard, not special.
Why it works is obvious. New drivers need more than rules of the road—they need the basics that keep a car running and themselves safe. Knowing how to pop the hood, read a gauge, or swap a tire turns panic into a plan. Workshops like this one do exactly that in a single school day.
Bottom line: Stella Maris College gave its students the confidence to handle a flat, a warning light, or a breakdown without freezing up—and proved that car maintenance belongs right next to math and English on the list of things every teen should learn.