Welcome ONLs!
We are excited to publish the third Old North Londoner's termly newsletter where you can read updates and announcements from ONLs themselves and find out what happened this term at North London Collegiate School. We look forward to our calendar of events in the next academic year and hope to see many of you there. Please click on the relevant event below to register! If you want your news published in the next termly newsletter, please email your news to onla@nlcs.org.uk or message us on our socials. The next newsletter will be published in July. If you would like to be informed about current news and events going on in school, you can email us at onla@nlcs.org.uk to subscribe to the weekly School newsletter
Events Calendar: Class of 2021 Reunion - 07/09/2022 Class of 1971 Reunion - 12/09/2022 Class of 1972 Reunion - 19/09/2022 Frances Mary Buss Fellowship Lunch - 28/09/2022 Class of 2018 Reunion – 13/03/2023 Classes of 1983, 1993, 2003, and 2013 Reunion – 13/05/2023 Classes of 1978, 1998, 1998, and 2008 Reunion – 11/06/2023 Please click on the links above to sign up.
The 1850 Club Named after the School's year, The 1850 Club is a way for us to recognise and thank our supporters who make a recurring gift to NLCS. Designed to be accessible to all and make donating a positive experience, the 1850 Club also provides a sociable platform to thank regular supporters. Simply pledge a regular donation of your choosing to support bursary students, capital projects or a specific area of interest. We want to recognise your support and show our appreciation for your generosity, so all members are listed in our Annual Donor Report and invited to special events hosted by the Headmistress and Governors. Joining the 1850 Club is simple - to find out more please click here.
Career Networking Groups As you may have seen, we have relaunched our Career Networking Groups. Previous ONL networking events have been very successful in helping ONLs in their careers and in deepening the relationship between ONLs and the School. The groups give you the opportunity to network with ONLs in your industry. Each networking group will have a Committee whose aim is to raise awareness and champion that specific industry to both current students and other ONLs. They will also assist in the running of networking events. If you would like to be involved in a Career Networking Committee please email onla@nlcs.org.uk. To find out more about the different networking groups, please click here.
A Note From Your Alumnae Relations Officers As we come to the end of our roles as Alumnae Relations Officers, we wanted to say how much we have enjoyed working in this role and how lovely it has been to come back to the School as staff members. We also wanted to thank the ONL community for their help over the past year and for being such a warm and welcoming community. We hope to be back at the School as ONLs in the near future! Emily and Claudia ONL News: Tiara Ataii (Class of 2015) Tiara Ataii was honoured in Forbes 30 under 30! In 2017, Tiara founded 'SolidariTee' to raise money for legal aid for refugees by turning her t-shirts with pro-refugee slogans into a source of fundraising to get refugees legal aid. The non-profit is now partnered with 80 universities, including Harvard and Science Po. Read her full profile here.
Hannah Kessler (Class of 2015) Congratulations to Hannah Kessler and her husband who gave birth to Flora Merrill Kessler-Jess. She was born on the 19th of May 2022 at 5.59am via c-section in Whitehaven, Cumbria. She is doing great, and mum is tried but very happy.
Eve Mason (Class of 2017) On a sunny May weekend, I left the vibrant metropolis of Berlin (where I’m now studying) for an ever so slightly smaller destination – Buckinghamshire’s Chalfont St Giles, a charming village tucked away at the end of the Metropolitan line. The village holds a regular literary festival, though that’s not its only scholarly claim to fame: Chalfont St Giles is perhaps best known for Milton’s Cottage, the only surviving home of the esteemed poet. I was delighted to be invited this year to interview Professor Rosemary Ashton about ‘Middlemarch’, a novel she and I both hold close to our hearts. Ashton has written critical biographies of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Thomas and Jane Carlyle, G H Lewes, and George Eliot (or Marian Evans, to use her real name), as well as several cultural studies of the nineteenth century, such as ‘Victorian Bloomsbury, 142 Strand’ (cultural hub and home of the radical publisher John Chapman), and her most recent book, ‘One Hot Summer: Dickens, Darwin, Disraeli, and the Great Stink of 1858’. I’ve been a fan of Ashton’s work for many years now. My well-thumbed copy of ‘Middlemarch’ that I bought back when studying the novel in Year 12 – now covered in scribbled notes – is the Penguin edition that she edited and introduced. My decision to study English and German literature was in part inspired by her: she studied the same joint honours combination and has written two books about Anglo-German relations in the nineteenth century – ‘Little Germany’ and ‘The German Idea’. I read ‘The German Idea’ back when I was writing my personal statement in Sixth Form at NLCS, and I returned to it when I wrote my dissertation on George Eliot and her German friend, Fanny Lewald, a fellow woman writer. To meet and interview Rosemary at this festival was an honour, and really rather moving – like coming full circle in a way. 150 years on from ‘Middlemarch’s’ publication, we discussed George Eliot’s experience of writing the novel; readers’ responses from 1871–72 to the present day; Eliot’s web-like plotting; her use of dialogue, wit and humour; and her psychological analysis of the many inhabitants of the ‘provincial’ town of Middlemarch. All rather a lot to fit into one afternoon! I am very grateful to Peter Langdale – my former French teacher at NLCS, now retired – for organising the event with the festival’s committee and for introducing the talk. I also wish to thank Ruth McLoughlin for putting me back in touch with Peter, and for inspiring me with ‘Middlemarch’ back in the Old House’s classrooms.
Classes of 1970, 1982, 1992, 2002 and 2012 Reunion On Saturday 21st May, the School was delighted to welcome back the Classes of 1970, 1982, 1992, 2002 and 2012 for their 50, 40, 30, 20 or 10-Year Reunion. ONLs had the opportunity to explore the School, enjoy a delicious lunch in the Dining Hall and hear from Hazel Bagworth-Mann, Interim Headmistress, about ongoing developments at the School. One ONL commented that she had "lost her voice from all the chatting and laughing that went on during the day!"
ONLA Summer Picnic On Sunday 12th May, the School opened for the ONLA Summer Picnic. It was great to see ONLs and their families and friends at Canons in the sunshine, enjoying their picnics and taking advantage of the grounds to play tennis and cricket!
Classes of 2019 and 2020 Reunion On Thursday 23rd June, the Classes of 2019 and 2020 came back to Canons for their (delayed) One-Year reunion. The ONLs had the opportunity to reconnect with other ONLs and some current staff members who taught them when they were at the School.
ONL Publications
Jemma Wayne (Class of 1998) ONL and Women’s Prize listed author Jemma Wayne published her new book 'When I Close My Eyes' earlier this year: "For so many years it haunted. And in the end, all it took was a decision. One decision. When an old friend reappears in her life, Hollywood screenwriter Lilith is forced to confront childhood demons that threaten to destroy the world she has created to keep herself – and others – safe. Can she trust anyone? Can she even trust herself?" The book is available here.
Elizabeth English (Class of 1981) Dr Elizabeth English recently published her book, 'Journeys to the Deep: A Gentle Guide to Mindfulness Meditation'. Elizabeth took up meditation just before heading to Bristol University – “when it was very unfashionable” – and has meditated ever since. She now holds a ground-breaking post, teaching mindfulness at Cambridge University. She dates her interest in the inner world back to her school years. She remembers perching in the corridor on one of the ancient low radiators (“a great place to keep warm”), talking in depth about the wonders of the mind with her best friend, Monica. That fascination stayed with her and is allied in the book with her years of experience teaching mindfulness and meditation. Elizabeth also includes her own poems, each of which captures an aspect of her own ‘journey to the deep’. The back cover reads: ‘This book is a treasure-house for anyone who enjoys quiet times, for those who ‘meditate’ in the widest sense. Each page holds precious insights that speak as clearly to those just setting out, as to experienced meditators looking for fresh inspiration. Full of kindness, humour and quirky aphorisms, the author dovetails lyric prose with original poems that conjure up the world of meditation. She describes how to meditate ‘as you can’, and so to escape the pitfalls of meditating in ways that feel difficult or limiting. Accessible and relevant, this book will illuminate and delight, guiding you ‘onwards and inwards’ in a journey to fulfilment and joy.’ At the end of a delightful Foreword by Rt Rev Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop writes: ‘This is a book of real wisdom and grace; a travelling companion for the work that is done in silence, far below the surface of the mind.’ Elizabeth can be contacted via her website (www.elizabethenglish.life) and is also running short online courses for alumnae. If you wish to sign up, Elizabeth offers a special alumnae discount (CODE: 2022ALUM15).
The Archives As the Summer Term draws to a close, we wanted to share a picture of Sport’s Day from 1938. The picture below shows students enjoying the Sports Day ‘Lemonade’ Tea under the Oak Tree at Canons.
ONL Regional Coordinators: The ONL Community is a wide international community, and we have ONLs living in all parts of the world. We have regional coordinators for several parts of the UK as well as overseas. Please find their details below should you want to get in touch. We are always on the hunt for more regional coordinators, so please contact us if this is something you are interested in doing. Cornwall/Devon - Jill Hall (née Hankins) - jill22hall@gmail.com Midlands - Kate Jones (née Levinson) - kate.levinson@talk21.com South-West – Jane Watkins - janewatkins645@btinternet.com Scotland - Alison Harris - ali.hope@talk21.com Hampshire - Amanda Collins - alcollins@doctors.org.uk Australia - Kay Moyes - moyes_kay@hotmail.com USA - Sophia Breslauer - sophia_breslauer@yahoo.co.uk
Summer Term at NLCS: Looking back at some of the news and events that took place this term at NLCS. For more school news, please click here.
SIX:TEEN EDITION This term, NLCS saw a momentous occasions as some of our Year 10 students became the first school in the world to premiere SIX:TEEN EDITION, a new version of the hit musical 'SIX' about the six wives of Henry VIII, which earlier this year took home several Tony Awards for the Broadway production. On opening night, the School had the immense privilege of welcoming the writers of the musical Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss to mark this special occasion. After the show, the writers celebrated with the cast and gave the production rave reviews: “This was truly, truly a sensational production. Every cast member was so talented and charismatic and had such ownership over the material. They made me laugh in ways I hadn’t before over the songs. Such congratulations to everyone!! 5 stars!”- Toby Marlow "Honestly, I had the best time ever…It was amazing they should all be very proud. If I was free again tomorrow I would come back!" - Lucy Moss
Mini-Model United Nations (MUN) On Sunday 26th June, NLCS hosted a Mini-MUN, the first global conference of its type! Year 5 students from Bute House, Pembridge Hall, and St Christopher's joined NLCS pupils to form the four committees. To read more about the conference, please click here.
Platinum Jubilee Celebrations The Platinum Jubilee was celebrated throughout the School. Senior School students came into school wearing their 'Royalty' themed outfits and enjoyed a lunchtime disco. Life-sized cut-outs of the Queen could be found in the Dining Hall, alongside a jubilee themed lunch. The library staff created a fantastic display and reading list for the students to mark the historic event. The First and Junior School also celebrated in style, dressing up as different decades of the Queen's rule and partaking in a fashion show. There was also a Lower School Jubilee cake design competition and a street party!
Anansi – Year 7 and 8 Production: This term, Year 7 and 8 students took to the stage in a vibrant staffing of ‘Anansi the Spider and the Middle Passage’. An ensemble of 60 students brought the classic folklore stories of West Africa to life, with lively characters and delightful dance routines performed by the whole cast. The production offered thought provoking moments of real poignancy, as the story follow the historic injustice of the Middle Passage.