The North Londoner YEARS 2017
An Independent School for Girls aged 4-18
NORTH LONDON COLLEGIATE SCHOOL | SCHOOL MAGAZINE 2017 | 1
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School 2017 magazine W
elcome to The North Londoner 2017 As a team, we have enjoyed documenting the exciting, lively and thought-provoking events, trips and extra-curricular activities in all areas of the School. This year, NLCS girls have had access to a varied range of visiting speakers, ensuring that everyone, no matter their interests, were given the opportunity to enrich and broaden theircurrent knowledge and also to learn about new and exciting fields and cultures. For example, this year the School hosted their first Interfaith Conference which not only taught the girls about other religious backgrounds but also celebrated the incredible diversity of students we have within the School. Girls have continued to embrace the opportunities to help better the lives of others. There have been weekly visits to residential care homes for the elderly and schools for children with disabilities, as well as trips to community service projects abroad. This year we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the cultural exchange partnership with the Flying Angels School in Zambia and saw the inaugural trip to The Sobha Academy, a school in Kerala. These visits have highlighted how fortunate we are here at NLCS and have forged some truly memorable experiences for those involved. Girls in all year groups have travelled far and wide, visiting countries overseas and closer tohome, to enrich their cultural perspectives as well as their subject knowledge.
EDITORIAL TEAM
Also, girls have participated in numerous language exchange trips with our partnerships schools in Australia, USA, Colombia, Germany, France, Madrid and to our sister school on the island of Jeju in South Korea. 2017 was also full of unforgettable performances, ranging from our Year 7 Dance Display, Middle School performance of The 39 Steps, Hispanic Theatre Festival, to the spectacular Senior School Production of West Side Story. Full of upbeat songs and an incredible set and lighting design, this was one of the highlights of the entire year. This production was, as always, a huge accomplishment for the Drama Department and stood out as one of the best musicals the School has ever produced. It has been a pleasure to record the amazing array of events which the students have taken part in this year. We hope that you enjoy this latest edition of The North Londoner, as we have certainly enjoyed creating it! Ashlin Gadhia, Student Editor The Editorial Team: Meghna Amin, Ashlin Gadhia, Bianca Fung and Jungmin Seo Staff Editor: Larraine Bristow
Meghna Amin, Ashlin Gadhia, Bianca Fung and Jungmin Seo NORTH LONDON COLLEGIATE SCHOOL | SCHOOL MAGAZINE 2017 | 3
North London Collegiate School
2017
School magazine 6
OFFIC AL 6 FOUNDER’S DAY ADDRESS 2017 12 INTERVIEW WITH MRS MCC ABE 16 EMERALD BALL 77 LEAVERS’ DESTINATIONS 81 PRIZE LIST 83 SERVICE PRIZES 84 ALUMNAE & DEVELOPMENT NEWS 86 COLOURS 88 INTERNATIONAL 91 HOUSE ACTIVITIES PROGRAMME 95 STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES
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Contents 24
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CHARITY
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LIBRARY & ARCHIVES
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PERFORMING ARTS
TRIPS
VALEDICTORY 2017 NORTH LONDON COLLEGIATE SCHOOL | SCHOOL MAGAZINE 2017 | 1 5
OFFICIAL
FOUNDER’S DAY ADDRESS 2017
W
hen Sophie Bryant was appointed to succeed Miss Buss and became the second Headmistress in 1895, she told the School that to work in the traditions of the Founder needed a willingness to embrace new directions, because since its origins in 1850 North London Collegiate had been a pioneering school in the reform of education and a force for change in women’s lives. But the qualities necessary to launch a reform movement are not quite the same as those needed to carry it on. The second stage needs
a bridge–builder; someone who can maintain the impetus of reform with courage and even a degree of anarchic drive, yet someone who is also able to persuade others with tact and diplomacy. The role can easily be overlooked by historians, yet it is essential if the movement is to grow and adapt to changing circumstances in society. [Mary Wilkinson in her research for Victorian Studies argues that] Sophie Bryant, the second Headmistress of North London Collegiate School, was the bridge builder in the movement for the education of women in the late 19th century, the leader of the generation that succeeded Frances Mary Buss. She was also a key figure
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in the development of teaching as a profession. It is Sophie Bryant’s portrait that strikes the visitor who walks into our entrance hall for the first time – an imposing picture, with red and gold academic robes worn with the pride of the first woman to achieve doctoral honours, and with the conviction of someone who had insisted on her right to wear academic dress when others of her generation had dismissed it as unfeminine. And here is the clue to her personality. For the radical Sophie Bryant, life was an exciting adventure. Her story is one of extraordinary courage and diversity, lived with the passionate conviction of someone who was not afraid to challenge the expectations of women in her time. Mathematician, Philosopher, teacher, published author, suffragist and Irish Nationalist, she loved the freedom of the mountains. Yet her greatest achievements were in the field of education and in the advancement of women. Sophie Bryant was born in 1850, the year North London Collegiate School was founded, in an Irish country parsonage on the shores of Lough Erne near the mountains of Donegal. Her early surroundings gave her a lifelong passion for walking, cycling and mountain climbing. She was someone who always had to be doing something: there were weekend country walking parties in term time out to the fields and farms north of London still there at the end of the 19th century, with tea at a farm near Mill Hill. Her holidays were filled with rock climbing in the Lakes or Welsh mountains, or mountaineering in Switzerland. In 1895 she conquered the Matterhorn, accompanied by only two guides. One of my favourite pictures from the archives is of her rock climbing, in a long skirt, aged 54! Something you may not know is that in the staff room there is a rather irreverent competition every year to supply the best caption for a picture from the theme of that year’s Founder’s Day. Mr Hardy in the Art Department usually wins: “Between a
Frock and a Hard Place” was his effort this year for this image of effort against the odds. But none of us can work out why that man is acting as a human bridge between the two pinnacles… Sophie Bryant was apparently the first woman in Hampstead to ride a bicycle, and gave a demonstration of cycling to the girls in the school gymnasium – a practice considered, according to some teachers, not quite nice at that time. Politics interested her – she took an active part in every progressive movement of her time, despite the view of some of her colleagues that this was not always in the best interests of her school. Sara Burstall (ONL and later a Headmistress herself) said, “even had this been proved to her [that people were offended by the overt expression of her political views] the fault would lie with the people who were offended.” She was a passionate Irish Nationalist. When the demand for Home Rule for Ireland became urgent in 1886, she made the cause her own, arguing that a country knows best about its own affairs, and advocating tolerance between people of different
Sophie Bryant rock climbing in a long skirt, aged 54
religions. An ardent feminist, she was a keen exponent of women’s suffrage and spoke at public meetings wearing the purple, green and white sash of the movement; but she chose to be a suffragist rather than a suffragette because she disliked the violent tactics of the latter. But the radical idealism of Sophie Bryant’s personality found its true outlet in her work for education. She knew she wanted work of a “world-building” kind and she saw that her hunger for reform could be satisfied in the post Miss Buss gave her at the pioneering school of the girls’ day school movement, North London Collegiate. Her early life had had its disappointment and setbacks. She failed the Biology paper for her BSc and therefore lost an opportunity to be among the first women to achieve a Batchelor’s degree at London University. Her friend from youth, the writer George Bernard Shaw, whose mother taught at NLCS, described a novel Sophie Bryant published when she was young as “the most unreadable ever written”; and she suffered a life-altering personal tragedy: the husband she had married when she was only 19 died within a
Tryfan mountain
Sophie Bryant Sophie Bryant’s portrait
Suffrage march NORTH LONDON COLLEGIATE SCHOOL | SCHOOL MAGAZINE 2017 | 7
year of their wedding. Newly widowed, she needed to find a way of supporting herself and just like her heroine Hetty in that early novel, the young Sophie Bryant wanted desperately to find an occupation with some purpose in it to give her life a new, meaningful direction. She too felt,
Doctor of Science
like Hetty, “I want to feel I am of some use in the world…I will learn to do some one thing well…I have not found [it] yet…but I will find one – I will.” Education gave her that purpose. Miss Buss saw her potential and encouraged her to build the career that allowed the passionate young Irishwoman to influence not only the girls in her care and the teachers she went on to lead, but also the wider educational world, by developing the standing and reputation of teaching as a profession. Her achievements in education grew out of a rebellion against injustice and inequality. Frances Mary Buss and her fellow pioneers fought to win educational opportunity for girls. In 1884, nine years after joining the teaching staff of NLCS, Sophie Bryant became the first woman to be awarded the degree of Doctor of Science at London University. Throughout her period of study she had taught full time, determined to prove that women had stamina as well as intellect.
Emphasis on the mental training and intellectual development of her pupils became a driving purpose during her career at the School. In 1900 she wrote in the School Magazine about the Importance of Knowledge. Countering those who argue it is not important what we know but rather how we learn, she used a characteristic mountaineering metaphor: “We may climb the misty mountaintop, and win all the advantages of exercise, but we want to see as well..we crave to know… [because] by learning we rise above our own narrow sphere of self…to share..in the particular experience of [others], great and small, who have shaped History and created literature. It is in knowledge that the individual soul finds its humanity.” The Victorian writer Matthew Arnold, in his 1869 essay “Culture and Anarchy”, had argued similarly for the importance of the acquisition of knowledge, defined by him as “the best that has been thought and said”, knowledge as an antidote to the anarchy of materialism and individualistic self-interest. For Sophie Bryant, knowledge was of course far more than the mere acquisition of facts: she believed in encouraging her pupils to think for themselves. One of her earliest students said: “she counted it [an] error in a teacher to aim at getting a pupil simply to understand either the lesson or the text book…she set us thinking”. And, in her view, mere cleverness was not enough, not even the most effective means to an end. She wrote, “Those who hunger and thirst after knowledge win more surely to understanding than those whose skill of wit is great, but cold.” But what was she like as a person? A contemporary magazine gave a pen-picture of the new Headmistress in her study at School…”in a very cosy sitting-room, with artistic decorations in a shade of gobelin-blue, a quaint fireplace inlaid with china tiles beneath the high mantleshelf, cabinets of china, dainty knick-knacks, and a large portrait of Miss Buss hanging in a place of honour…Mrs Bryant has a
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youthful energy of speech and manner, whilst on the other hand there is something magnetic and pleasantly authoritative in her way…” Some of her former pupils also remembered she had an aloof, slightly Olympian air “we in the sixth form called her Urania, the Heavenly Muse…she had a spiritual quality like a being from a higher world”, but like all school children they were capable of bringing any heavenly pretensions down to earth. In remembering their Headmistress’s favourite hairstyle “a cylindrical coil that completed her smooth upswept hair”, one or two of them added, “to tell the whole truth, the knot was not always absolutely central.” But most memories of her are of a woman who was fun to know: girls at school found her smiling cheerfulness a contrast to the rather terrifying Miss Buss. Sophie Bryant endeared herself to her community by relaxing into a less authoritarian style than had been forced on her predecessor who had to set standards for girls’ education when there were none: when Dr Bryant’s sixth formers complained that they were too old to be subjected to the restricting code of regulations applied to the younger girls, she wisely asked the prefects to draw up a list of rules they thought were inapplicable which she would submit to her teachers to see what could be done. During the years of Sophie Bryant’s headship of our school, the battle for bringing women’s education into the mainstream continued, but probably her most significant achievement was to lead the way in the movement to professionalise teaching. The beginnings of the training of teachers had been seen in the 19th century when the basic skills of maintaining discipline were needed to enable hundreds of pupils to be taught at a time in the large elementary schools that sprang up around the country after the Education Act in 1870, which set the framework for the schooling of all children between the ages of 5 and 12. These training colleges were designed to make sure their student
teachers had a level of knowledge just above that of the pupils they would be teaching… and the education provided was often not only dreary and repetitive but its subject matter became encrusted with pretentious jargon. For example, an Inspector reported with disgust (in 1869) on a student who said she would teach a subject by adopting “the catechetical picturing-out exhibitory explanation.” And, sadly, today, teacher training institutions still send out young teachers who rely on the clotted jargon of a pseudo-science rather than talking about how they will inspire their students to love the subject they will be teaching! And at the public schools in the 19th Century there was a different challenge – in that any young man who had taken a brilliant degree at Oxford or Cambridge could secure a good teaching appointment there, despite the lack of understanding of any method of teaching the young people in his care. In the Illustrated News of November 1900, Sophie Bryant is quoted as saying that girls of the middle classes were very badly educated in many cases because of the incompetence of their governesses, whether at home or in small private schools. The development of more academically ambitious schools like NLCS needed, Sophie Bryant argued, properly trained graduate teachers, who understood “the art and power of imparting knowledge.” She felt that teaching should be as much a profession as medicine or law. Universities had long been sceptical about giving status to the training of teachers. No one did more to remove this prejudice than Dr Bryant, according to contemporary academics. She was able to achieve this change in perception partly because of her own personal scholarship, and partly through her belief that people could be won over by reason and persuasion to a cause she believed in; she was instrumental in the founding of the London Day Training College, which became part of the University of London; she was also a member
Harrow School
London Day Training College
of the committee that founded the Cambridge Training College, later also recognised as part of that University. The idea was that if teacher training was available in the university town itself, some women graduates may be persuaded to stay on to prepare themselves for a career in education. She worked with the College of Preceptors, the original College of Teachers, which recently gave up its Royal Charter to the College of Teaching, a new professional body my Co-Director, Chris Pope, at The Prince’s Teaching Institute did so much to establish. But there were still challenges even for NLCS in recruiting high calibre teachers. In the Inspection Report of 1914 the quality of teachers is noted
as not as good as it should be for a school with such a “high reputation”. So, new strategy for teacher recruitment and training was developed: Sophie Bryant lectured once a week at the Cambridge Training College and by 1916 there were 17 student teachers at NLCS. A plan was drawn up for teacher training in the Frances Mary Buss schools: theory was to be taught at College, supplemented by lectures in school given by the Headmistress and staff on the scheme of studies and principles of method and discipline as well as voice production and breathing. Because of this successful pioneering work during the second half of the 19th Century North London Collegiate came to be regarded not
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just as the template for all girls’ day schools, but also as a model for the training of teachers and Headteachers. The Girls Public Day School Company was formed to “secure money for the building and equipping of new schools along the lines of the North London Collegiate”. Each Headmistress appointed to a new school under this Trust was required to make a study of the methods and organization of NLCS, and a “certain unity of scholastic tradition, with diversity of development” was established. There are records of GPDST Heads spending time at NLCS before taking up their own posts. In recent years, the Head of Norwich High School, and the current Heads of Blackheath and Notting Hill and Ealing
High Schools have all been teachers here, so the tradition continues. Dr Bryant’s influence beyond NLCS continued to the end of her career: Dame Henrietta Barnett relied very much on her advice when she was establishing her school in Hampstead Garden Suburb in 1911. Sophie Bryant was the school’s honorary director and served as a governor during the early years – having drafted the first prospectus and identified the first Headmistress. On leaving the School in 1918, Sophie Bryant offered a bridge to her successor, Isabella Drummond, which echoed her words on taking over from Miss Buss 23 years earlier: “Remember that the School is a living and growing thing, and that all living and growing things must change and develop…I have always felt that we should not
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stand still and do as we have always done but should feel our way into the new kind of life that is developing around us.” And, in her turn, Isabella Drummond, at the time of her own retirement reminded her community that the School that had been a pioneer school in 1850 must be a pioneer school a hundred years later if it was to retain its traditions… Any study of our archive reveals this remarkable continuity as the school passes from one generation to the next. It perhaps comes from the belief, expressed by each Headmistress in her time, and that Kitty Anderson spoke of [at the centenary of Miss Buss’s second school] that each generation opens up the road that the next generation travels. Miss Buss and Dr Bryant, pioneers in the education of girls in the 19th and early 20th centuries, carved out a pathway that has widened into the road we travel today. Of all the Founder’s Day subjects I have chosen over the last 20 years,
Sophie Bryant and her era has been my favourite. Those astonishing pictures of her rock climbing in Wales in a long skirt capture for me not just her spirit but the spirit of the part NLCS played in the women’s movement. I share these pictures with you because our past is part of us and we are joined to the people in these old photographs with unbreakable cords. This school has a very special legacy and Sophie Bryant was a jewel of that inheritance. It is not the imposing portrait of the entrance hall that captures her essence for me; the pictures of the fearless mountain climber expresses better the spirit of the Headmistress who invigorated the atmosphere of North London Collegiate with a lasting sense of freedom, tolerance and intellectual independence. Dr Sophie Bryant’s death was every bit as dramatic as the way she had lived her life. Not long after she retired from NLCS in the summer of 1918, she disappeared while on a walking holiday with her family in the Alps. On 14th August 1922, she had set off alone from her hotel and apparently lost her way, slipping into a gully and spraining
her ankle. She seems to have lost consciousness, bathing her injured foot beside a stream, perhaps stunned by the shock of the fall. Her body was found a fortnight later. She was buried at Chamonix. The shock at her early death to the School community she had only recently left must have been great. Her contribution to the world of education was honoured in Memorial Services in London at which the great and good of the education world remembered her. But the most moving memorial to the work of Sophie Bryant is the one expressed in the words of Clara Collet, who had been one of her own pupils. Clara gave her former headmistress a tribute that any teacher would wish for, because it recognises what we all strive for in our schools, for our staff and our pupils, inspired to join the profession Sophie Bryant did so much in her lifetime to build. “By some magic of her own, she set free what was best in those around her” Bernice McCabe, Headmistress March 2017
Founder’s Day 2017 with the Senior Committee NORTH LONDON COLLEGIATE SCHOOL | SCHOOL MAGAZINE 2017 | 11
Interview with Mrs McCabe The Prince’s Teaching Institute
It is with much sadness that we said goodbye to Mrs McCabe, who stepped down as Headmistress of North London after 20 years. In the busy weeks leading up to the end of the Summer term, we had the pleasure of interviewing Mrs McCabe, for her last edition of Canons Life. She spoke about those who have inspired her, working with Prince Charles and her favourite memories of NLCS.
Q: A:
What do you think makes North London so special?
Q:
As an English teacher, do you have one book that you would recommend to all the students?
The students and the teachers. The vibrancy and positivity of the community is phenomenal. I always enjoy coming to work every morning, and I don’t think many people can say that. My office is deliberately near the classrooms because I love the buzz that the students create and when I have visitors, I want them to feel that too.
A:
Middlemarch by George Elliot. I love the story of Dorothea and her emotional development throughout the book. It shows how a woman finds her way in the world when she has got so much 12 | NORTH LONDON COLLEGIATE SCHOOL | SCHOOL MAGAZINE 2017
to offer intellectually. It’s also about the development of Dorothea’s heart and is as good as any romantic novel. I have also always loved The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. When I first read it at University, I wrote on the front cover: ‘the most amazing novel that has ever been written’. I love the character of Gatsby; as, despite his
The Herbaceous border
and I thought that the School was so beautiful. What struck me most though, were the students - they were amazing. I loved the ambition and confidence that was so apparent amongst them and, together with the vibrancy of the place, I knew instantly that I would love it here.
Q: flaws, he stands for aspiration and unwavering belief in an ideal.
Q: A:
Were you a good student at school?
I wasn’t terribly well behaved and therefore was never made a prefect. Not being the perfect student has made me more empathetic towards the more quirky individual- the person who wants to be different from the norm. I was told to speak more in lessons, and I found that being told I needed to do something, without giving me the guidance and tools to do it was difficult. That’s why at North London, we give students the opportunity to do different things and encourage activities where they take the lead.
Q: A:
When you started working with Prince Charles as Co-Director for The Princes Teaching Institute were you nervous or excited?
A:
I was a little bit worried about whether I would be able to deliver what he wanted me to do. You can’t say no to such a great chance to do something to help
Q: What were your first impressions of NLCS? A: When I first arrived in June 1996, I walked along the herbaceous border,
Junior School girls on Founder’s Day NORTH LONDON COLLEGIATE SCHOOL | SCHOOL MAGAZINE 2017 | 13
ONL Cocktail Party
teachers and to inspire them. He loved visiting the School in 2005. He said he felt like a rock star because it was so nice for him to have people cheering and pleased to see him. Every time I see him he asks “How are those amazing girls?” He was so impressed.
Q: A:
Who inspires you?
My parents. My mother was a teacher and passionate about education. She instilled a strong work ethic in me; she was also very glamorous. I always have a picture of her on
my desk. My dad loved reading and would always read his books to me; I think this is where is developed my passion for English. The Headmaster from my previous school also inspired me. He believed that every child, irrespective of their background and abilities, should have access to a good education and he was the one that made me see how that was possible.
Q: A:
What will you miss about NLCS? The people! I love coming into work. My favourite moment at
Prince Charles visit to NLCS in 2005
School is Founder’s Day when the girls come in holding their daffodils, it just absolutely blows me away. This year the Junior School joined us for the first time. Watching the girls process, with that kind of discipline, which speaks of respect for the tradition, is something that I love. Seeing the whole School, honouring Frances Mary Buss is incredible. That’s the key memory that I will always hold with me forever.
Q: A: Portrait of Mrs McCabe
Sophie Bryant
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Do you have any advice for the School during this transition? Embrace change. This year for my Founder’s Day speech I deliberately chose Sophie Bryant who was told
this by Miss Buss. This message continues to be passed onto each new Headmistress -to be pioneering and to be confident to seek out opportunities is what this school has always been about. The heart of the School will always stay the same, but it needs to move into a different era.
Q:
Any regrets?
I have no regrets about my time here at North London Collegiate. I have truly loved it, and it has been the most extraordinary privilege to be Headmistress of this wonderful School. If I changed anything, I would not be the person that I am today.
A:
Interviewing Mrs McCabe NORTH LONDON COLLEGIATE SCHOOL | SCHOOL MAGAZINE 2017 | 15
The Emerald Ball On Saturday 1st July, the beautiful grounds at Canons were transformed into the venue for The Emerald Ball, a fundraising evening and opportunity to mark Mrs McCabe’s 20 years as Headmistress. Thank you to
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everyone who sponsored the event and donated prizes for the auction. Money raised from the event was donated to chosen charities, WhizzKidz and Grief Encounter, plus a variety of projects for the School. The evening was a great success, with fantastic food and entertainment, and Parents, Staff and Governors danced into the early hours!
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MUSIC
In the Autumn Term, the music department was extremely busy with rehearsals for many performances, festivals and concerts.They started with a wonderful concert at St George’s Church, Hanover Square in Central London. A group of thirtytwo girls came together for a celebration of the fine tradition of music at North London.The concert was an excellent showcase of the outstanding talents of our music scholars.
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T
his was not the only event which saw NLCS musicians representing the school in the local community. Year 11 singers visited a local care home for the elderly to put on a short concert for residents. Four members of the School played for the British ambassador in Dubai to launch our new school there, and Mr Ham organised a number of exciting visits to the opera, the Royal Academy of Music Museum and Evensong at Westminster Abbey. The Senior Concert featured our larger choirs and orchestras. The String Orchestra took on the challenge
of playing Suk’s Serenade for Strings; the Senior Orchestra performed a tone poem by the little known Scottish composer Hamish McCunn, and the Concert Band performed an arrangement of Aaron Copland’s beautiful Appalachian Spring. In all cases, the music performed was of the highest level and as ever the students responded with enthusiasm and commitment. The second half belonged to the Senior Choir as they sang Purcell’s birthday ode to Queen Mary Come ye sons of Art as well as Pergolesi’s beautiful setting of the Stabat Mater.
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Students had the opportunity to take part in a singing concert, as part of a week-long ‘Singing Festival’ performing trios from Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Following this, Mr Caley held a Masterclass helping the girls to develop their singing in this challenging, three-part-harmony piece. The Middle School Festive Concert was a wonderful way to end the term. This year all members of Year 7 sang at the concert as a massed choir. We also heard solos from our two new music scholars in Year 7 as well as the orchestra, chamber choir and instrumental ensembles.
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As ever, the festivities at the end of the Autumn Term were rounded off by the annual carol service and the Christmas assembly sing-along, where it is always inspiring to see every member of the School community joining in with Christmas songs at the top of their voice. The Spring Term always denotes the start of the South East Chamber Music Competition, a competition founded by NLCS, Harrow and Wycombe Abbey. Only a small number of groups from various schools are selected to play at the finals at St John’s Smith Square, so we were delighted that NLCS had three groups selected for
the finals (the most groups from any school). Congratulations to the cello quartet in the junior division and to the Year 10/11 piano trio, which won the intermediate division, and to the senior piano trio who were ‘highly commended’ in the senior division. In all, ten NLCS chamber groups played at the school’s chamber concert, and the standard of playing was, as ever, very high. Many of these groups also played at school assemblies over the year and devoted much time to playing and practising their challenging but highly rewarding music. Congratulations also to members of
the Middle School Chamber Choir for competing successfully at the Watford Musical Festival in March and winning their category. Other concerts taking place in the Spring Term included the Senior Instrumental Concert, in which the flute, clarinet, brass, saxophone and bassoon groups played with great commitment and polish. Another major highlight was the performance of the Senior School Musical West Side Story. This musical composed by Bernstein is a most ambitious and challenging score, and the students involved in the production pulled off a stunning set of performances each
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night. Considering the vocal parts are largely designed for male voices, the performances were even more impressive. Congratulations also to the instrumental staff for accompanying in such a superb professional way with music of the highest degree of difficulty. The Senior Concert in March
celebrated music in all its many forms, from the String Orchestra playing Elgar, to the Chandos singers and the Senior Choir singing various repertoire from the classical tradition. The Concert Band played extracts from The King and I and a real highlight of the evening was Sixth Form student Tiffany Cheung, accompanied by
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the Senior Orchestra, playing the first movement from Grieg’s piano concerto in A minor. Tiffany was given a standing ovation at the end of the concert, something rarely achieved but thoroughly deserved. This last major concert of the year for the Senior School is always a time to say ‘thank you and goodbye’ to our Year 13 musicians and this year was also a time to say goodbye to our second Graduate Musician in Residence, Mr Quintin Beer, who had made a great impression on the students. Later in the term, many of the students were involved in the Middle School Summer Concert, which featured larger ensembles including the Orchestra, String Orchestra and Middle School Chamber Choir, to smaller ensembles including the clarinet, violin and flute ensembles. It is most encouraging to the see the wealth of talent coming through the school and bodes well for the future. We would like to thank all students, parents and music staff for another wonderful year of music making.
By Mr Lawrence Haigh, Director of MusicDirector of Music
Music Tour to Tuscany
A
s School prepared to close for the summer break, thirty-eight girls boarded a plane to Italy for the NLCS Choir Tour. Girls sang at beautiful venues across the region of Tuscany including Lucca, San Gimignano and Florence. Girls also had time to explore the cities of Montecatini Terme, Pisa and Siena. During their performances, the choir sang extracts from Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Handel’s Come ye Sons of Art and many more pieces. There were also
instrumental performances of Bach’s Prelude C minor by Suyeon Kim and Vivaldi’s Concerto Grosso in B for four Violins. The girls really enjoyed this trip because they were able to perform at such amazing places and it gave them a chance to bond with girls from different years, strengthening the School spirit throughout our trip.
By Bianca Fung, Year 13
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Saskia Zanstra
Tamilore Ogunyemi
Anya-Sabree Thakerar
Hannah Buluwela
Tilly Mattich
Hannah Buluwela
Tilly Mattich
Olivia Lake
Anya-Sabree Thakerar
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Anya-Sabree Thakerar
Tamilore Ogunyemi
Aliya Siddiqui
Hana El Chamaa
Aliya Siddiqui
Anya-Sabree Thakerar
Olivia Lake
Hana El Chamaa
Saskia Zanstra
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Claudia Chiew
Amee Shah
Abigail Petter
Darcey Goldstein
Coral Harding
Amira Osbourne
Francesca Magnus
Lulu Hao
Maria Gkoutzini
Cara Chedid
Jesal Doshi
Silvia Sicheri
Anya Rajani
Kate Greenberg
Ellie Berg
Defne Artun
Honi Pein
Georgina Fennessy
Josephine Tan-Sikorski Daniella Abrams
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Arianne Obi
Lizzie Quinn
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Cecily Cohen
Cecily Cohen
Iyla Maharasingham Shah
Arjuna Keshvani Ham
Arjuna Keshvani Ham
Yasmin Verghese
Iyla Maharasingham Shah
Lizzie Quinn
Cecily Cohen
Iyla Maharasingham Shah
Arianne Obi
Saillee Khurkejar
Lizzie Quinn
Saillee Khurkejar
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Arianne Obi
Yasmin Verghese
Yasmin Verghese Saillee Khurkejar
CHARITY
Embedded in the School ethos is the importance of giving back to society and girls are encouraged to participate in many charitable activities, not just within the School community, but also with an international outlook. Students have the opportunity to take part in many charitable ventures, such as visits to care homes and specialneeds schools, participating in fundraising events and even travelling to support projects overseas. This year, as always, girls have been extremely busy singing at the local hospital, taking part in a National Volunteering day, organising a fashion show and participating in the 10th anniversary cultural partnership with the Flying Angels School in Zambia.
Community Service
I
n addition to organising and taking part in many fundraising and charity events, girls have been busy volunteering their time at local care homes within the local community and schools for children with special needs and disabilities. Their after-school visits to the Livability residential homes for the elderly and Knights Court, a specialist care home for people who have dementia and Alzheimer’s have enabled girls to take an active role in improving the lives of the residents. Students were also able to contribute their ideas in the designing of a sensory garden at Knights Court care home. Their input was fed back to the designers to create a place where residents can relax and interact. This year also saw the start of visits to Woodlands, a school that caters for pupils with severe and complex educational needs. Girls gained valuable insight into the challenges faced when working with pupils with severe autism, and how these barriers can be overcome by communication, body language and the use of visual measures. The Canonaid (Sixth Form) and Time Out (Year 11) charity committees have been extremely busy this year organising events such as mufti
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days, the Harvest Festival collection, a Macmillan coffee morning and a charity Bureau de Change, raising funds for a number of selected charities, including MIND in Harrow. In the Spring Term, a new Middle School Charity Committee was appointed. This involved a committee of ten students tasked with increasing charitable and community participation in the Middle School. They have been very busy organising events including a bake sale and mufti day. We look forward to more activities next year.
Mr Chan and Mr Murray
Zambia – Charitable Partnership with the Flying Angels School
Happy Child International The Year 12 IB girls fundraised for the charity Happy Child International as part of their IB project, dedicating hours to raising money for the underprivileged children in Brazil. Happy Child International aims to ‘create a world where every street child can have a childhood’ by working in Recife, Brazil, to offer safety and opportunities for young mothers in danger on the streets and their babies. Since 1993, the charity has helped over 11,000 children and raised
In July, a team of eighteen students from Year 12 and four members of staff travelled to Zambia for the annual visit to Flying Angels School in Lusaka. This trip marked the 10th anniversary of this partnership, which remains as strong as ever. In advance of the trip, we were all provided with a timetable which showed what lessons we would be teaching during our time at Flying Angels. This allowed us time to plan our lessons, which was key as resources were minimal in the School. We also sat in some middle school lessons at NLCS to gain an understanding of the structure of a lesson. After a day of observing at the school, we began teaching. Teaching was an amazing experience, and even though we were the teachers in the classroom in some ways, it felt like the students taught us more than we taught them. As well teaching, we had great fun getting to know the students during break time allowing us to develop friendships and find out more about their culture and daily
lives. We bonded as a group not only through conversation but also through countless games. Some of their favourites were ‘Down in the Jungle’ and the ‘Macarena’, which we seemed to end up playing at least three times a day. One of our favourite parts of the trip was walking in the afternoon, through the village, to see children in the Junior School. Not only did we learn new games and songs from the children, but we read with them. Getting so attached to the children made it difficult to say goodbye. We were all so proud of how quickly their reading in English improved. Some of us were able to teach them simple maths and English, while others helped paint the school. Most of us read with different children every day, and learned about their traditional folk stories like ‘The Giant
➔
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Yam’ which is their take on ‘The Enormous Turnip’. We also spent several afternoons painting the Junior School buildings. We took designs from the Junior School at NLCS, including a giant Elmo and tree on the first-grade building. We also painted games on the floor of the courtyard including hopscotch and mazes. It was amazing seeing how excited the children were to have new games to play, even if they did start playing while we were still painting! We ended our week at
Flying Angels with sports day; a real highlight. We raced in and supported the 100m, 200m, 400m and were amazed by the high jump in particular. After a very competitive staff race, we all played a great football match. On the last day at Flying Angels, we headed to the Junior School for the infamous Cultural Exchange. As expected, we were blown away by the Zambian students’ displays from all ages: which included tribal dress, traditional dances and songs, and a show of historical tribal behaviour. In comparison, we stood up and
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awareness internationally. During the October half term, two girls were honoured to be invited to the House of Lords and learn more about the charity before they started fundraising at school. They not only learnt about the work and history of the charity but were also given ideas about fundraising at school, and were lucky enough to meet Paul Bennet, Rio 2016 Olympic Gold Medallist. The first fundraising event, a Krispy Kreme Sale, raised £100, and following this, to celebrate International Volunteering Day, the students launched a ‘Life Cycle’, a whole day cycling activity. Girls in the Sixth Form, helped by younger girls, were challenged to cycle, on an exercise bike, non-stop from 9am to 4pm. With a target of 150km, the girls raised over £70 thanks to donations given by students and staff.
This was a great platform to highlight the importance of volunteering and generate funds for a great cause.
By Meghna Amin Year 12
just about made it through a dance to the song ‘Mamma Mia’, and an Indian dance showing the groups multi-culturalism. This experience stood out to us as one of the most immersive moments of the trip. But, as all good things must come to an end, we sadly had to say goodbye to our new friends. We gave hugs, and gifts which we had brought for them from the UK, and in return, received heartfelt letters, which we will surely treasure forever.
By Ashlin Gahdia, Year 12
Madagascar The Madagascar trip was a trip of a lifetime. Spanning 15 days, it not only provided opportunities for the girls to immerse themselves in Malagasy culture, but also gave them the unique experience of interacting and talking with people from all walks of life. It allowed the girls to push themselves out of their comfort zones, and also experience life without Wi-Fi, a seemingly herculean task. The trip started with a two-day journey, spanning two flights, a seven-hour stopover in Kenya, and more aeroplane food than is good for you. After a relaxing night in Antananarivo, the girls began the long drive to Andranasoa School, and arrived there to the excited screams of the children and a turnout of the entire village to welcome them. Helping
to teach and play with the children at the school was so rewarding as the children’s generosity with their time and smiles was infinite, and there was not a dry eye in the minibus as the girls drove away after an incredible 4 days. The girls then proceeded onto an arduous two-day drive to the Tsiribihina River for a three-day long pirogue trip. This involved napping under the baking sun, trying a hand at rowing, much to the locals’ amusement, and camping on sandy beaches along the way. Next was the exciting, yet terrifying Grand Tsingy, a nature reserve where the girls scrambled up the fantastic landscape of limestone pinnacles and ventured across an alarmingly wobbly suspension bridge. Finally was the Avenue of the Baobabs and the Lemur Park, where the girls made sure to take some Instagramworthy photos to immortalise their time spent in Madagascar. From stargazing in the mountainous Andranasoa, to dancing around a bonfire on a beach at night, to diving into a crystal-clear waterfall under the scorching sun, Madagascar provided a beautiful backdrop to a fun and eventful trip. All in all the Madagascar Trip was the most unique and incredible trip which has changed the girls’ perceptions of the world, and they will never forget my experiences there.
By Manika Patel, Year 12
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Gymnastics and Dance Fundraisers Girls from Years 7 to 12 organised two performance-based fundraising events in the Spring term. The first event consisted of the gymnastic team performing their routines and several gymnastic tricks to students who paid money to watch. The second was a dance workshop led by the Dance Society. Girls learnt an energetic dance routine to All That Jazz, from the musical theatre production Chicago. These creative events allowed all the students to get involved and enjoy themselves while raising money for charity.
Livability Parties At the end of the Autumn term, the school hosted the annual Christmas party, inviting guests from the Livability
residential home in Edgware and Harrow. It was a fun and festive afternoon with a performance of the
Year 12 Christmas pantomime, which included the characters of ‘Princess Hilary’ and ‘Witch Chump’, and a Year 11 student organised choir who performed many classics, including ‘Let It Snow’ and ‘White Christmas’. The party also included gifts for the guests given by each form and festive treats such as mince pies, sausage rolls and star-shaped cookies. It was a great party that is always a highlight of the school calendar and an excellent way to start off the festive cheer weeks before Christmas! The Summer Party was a fitting way to crown another successful term, with residents from Livability, Meadowside, and Knights Court enjoying the traditional strawberries, cake and musical entertainment provided by the students. A brilliant time was had by all.
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Fantasy Fashion Fantasy Fashion, held annually, raises money for the Karenni Student Development Programme (KSDP). Organised by the Art Society, this was the 20th Anniversary of the fashion show and celebrated the girls͛ imagination and creativity, exhibiting an array of designs and outfits revolving around the theme of ’Time’. The first Fantasy Fashion show was founded in 1998 by Stephanie Lee (ONL) who was the chair of Art Society. During her gap year in 1999, she founded KSDP, with the aim to provide homes and educational support for Karenni refugees. Tragically, Stephanie was killed in a motorbike accident in 2001, aged only 21, and her
parents continue to run KSDP in her honour. Steve and Beryl Lee have since developed KSDP which now provides funding for three orphanages, teacher training programmes, village schools and the Caring Stars Clinic, which offers medical support and facilities to the Karenni refugees. This year’s outstanding show featured concepts taken from historical events and futuristic ideas. Prizes were awarded by the three judges: ONL Chloe Nelkin, founder of a PR company which focuses on the arts, ONL Holly Pollack, make-up artist, and James Lakeland, a British Fashion Designer. We congratulate all those who participated, and especially the two winners for their innovative and brilliant designs!
By Meghna Amin, Year 12
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PERFORMING
ARTS
It has been another jampacked year of performing arts at North London. In the Autumn term, Glimmers was staged in the Performing Arts Centre. Featuring girls from Years 7-13, the event merged monologues and duologues from a vast array of plays including works by Shakespeare, George Bernard Shaw, Noel Coward, Alan Ayckbourn and Caryl Churchill.
A
fter weeks of rehearsals, the Middle School Production The Trojan Women was performed by girls from Years 8 and 9. Supported by a large team of girls in directorial, technical, backstage and front of house areas, the cast worked with outstanding commitment and maturity to bring this challenging text to life. Throughout the Autumn Term, Year 7 students attended a weekly
Glimmers 2016
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Glimmers 2016
Drama club led by Year 12 students and our newly appointed Dramatist in Residence ran weekly after-school workshops for Years 8-10 exploring directorial approaches. At the end of the term over forty students from Years 10-13 performed Our World. A number of heart-warming news stories were delivered and provided a stimulus for original dance work. Using a range of styles and
The 39 Steps
The 39 Steps
The 39 Steps
The 39 Steps
A Comedy of Errors
physical theatre techniques students performed solos, duets, trios and large group pieces exploring the ideas from the different articles. Pieces included stories about an air hostess who rescued a stray dog, a busker who raised money for homeless people and an article about the benefits of sunshine. This was a highly original evening showcasing the talents of both actors and dancers. In the Spring term, audiences were treated to a remarkably special production, as packed houses filled the Performing Arts Centre for the Senior School Musical West Side Story. Combining a wonderful book and score, fifty-five students from Years 10-13 displayed astonishing talent, commitment and emotional depth to bring this take on Romeo & Juliet to life. The acting, singing, and dancing were of the highest calibre,
The Importance of being Earnest
A Comedy of Errors
The Importance of being Earnest
and audience members constantly commented on the professionalism of the production. Featuring over sixty performers, the Year 7 & 8 production of The 39 Steps was a wonderfully entertaining production revealing the students’ flair for exaggerated characterization and
comic timing. Riotously amusing, these young performers demonstrated great skill and control creating a wealth of personalities and performed the piece with style and energy. In the Summer term, rehearsing over a very short period, two casts of Year 10 Students showed wonderful skill and comic timing bringing Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors to life. Given the high standards set in auditions, it was decided that two separate casts would have the opportunity to perform the play. Sandwiched between the two evenings, Amber Hyams in Year 12 directed her own fantastic and highly amusing production of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, featuring students and guest appearances by staff!
Ms Gibbs, Director of Drama
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Hispanic Theatre Festival In the Autumn term, the fourth annual Hispanic Theatre Festival was held at Canons. It was a night full of amazing talent, attended by many schools. The students showcased their fluent Spanish skills, reflecting many weeks of preparation. Some schools chose to re-enact plays written
by the students themselves while others performed 5-10 minute extracts from famous plays such as Lorca’s Yerma. The extracts were presented to a panel of highly revered judges who awarded a number of prizes in different categories. The standard this year was impressive and the performances were riveting, proving a hard decision for the judges. Mill Hill School were the overall winners, and NLCS was also awarded ‘Best Overall Spoken Spanish’.
By Laila Arain, Year 11
West Side Story This year’s Senior School production of ‘West Side Story’ was not one which was to be missed! Performing in this spectacular production left both the cast and audience in awe of the incredible work with which Miss Gibbs and Mr Haigh, along with the technical team, had put in. Personally being a part of this seemingly West End level production gave me a sense of pride and despite the many tears of sadness which were shed at the end of the four nights, it was an experience which I shall never forget. Although the many after-school rehearsals, alongside the occasional Sunday rehearsal, left our energy levels fairly depleted, the adrenaline rush from performing on the stage was one which was indescribable. This has been one of North London’s most breathtaking productions and will forever remain the minds of those who took part in it, as well as watched it.
By Aanya Shah, Year 11
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Canons Follies To celebrate their last year at school, students in Year 13 organised and took part in Canons Follies, the annual humorous production about school-life, teachers and students. The night was full of laughter as the whole year group sang, danced and acted out scenes from their school days at NLCS. Performances included the Acapella Choir, several dance acts, and many group songs parodying wellknown music. Some of the highlights of this year’s show included the NLCS Carpool Karaoke, an eight-hand piano performance, and a battle between the Drama and Sports departments. The show was a great success; a perfect send off to a wonderful group of students!
By Ashlin Gadhia, Year 12
The Trojan Woman With an overall number of 110 cast and crew members, the Year 8 & 9 production of The Trojan Horse, was the largest Middle School production to ever perform in the Performing Arts Centre. This adaptation blended two of Euripides’ popular tragedies, ‘The Trojan Women and Hecuba, whose narratives run parallel to each other. It explores the aftermath of the Trojan War and how it affects every character from a Grecian Soldier to The Queen of Troy: Hecuba. The claustrophobic world of Troy was created beautifully with an abstract monochrome theme for the set, including a large revolving chessboard which brought to life the idea that this is a strategic game with planned
manoeuvres. Black and white globes and steps were also used to fit with this idea with white representing Poseidon and his alignment to the Trojans and black representing Athene with the Greeks. It was a spectacular play with commendations awarded to both the girls involved and the Director; it is sure to be a production remembered by many.
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SPORTS Netball
The highlight of the season for the Year 7 team was the performance of the U12s who qualified to represent Harrow at the London Youth Games. The U12A team further established their dominance in this sport by being crowned Middlesex Champions at the County Tournament. They did not lose a single
game in their section and played with maturity well beyond their years, and their well disciplined approach helped them to emerge victorious with a 13-1 win in the final – an outstanding achievement. The U14A team once again proved themselves a real force to be reckoned with. They finished 2nd in the County Round of the National Finals having beaten both St Paul’s and LEH, qualifying for the Regional round of the
National Competition – a magnificent achievement. Their commitment and desire to succeed makes them an exciting prospect for the coming years. For the first time, we entered the Independent Schools Cup with a combined U14 and U15 team. Having narrowly lost to Forest School by one goal 33-34 they were then placed in the Plate competition. After many close and exciting games, they made it to the semi-finals against Stockport Grammar where they played very well but unfortunately were not quite strong enough to progress to the final. Well done to all girls in this squad for an excellent achievement.
Lacrosse The Senior Lacrosse squad battled numerous time and commitment pressures to ensure that they had a successful season. They have been a dedicated, committed and enthusiastic squad of forty-six, who have pushed and stretched each other to attain their best performances. They have produced fast flowing attacking play, strong defence and consistent draw control to see them achieve a number of plaudits, most notably: Abbots Hill 40 | NORTH LONDON COLLEGIATE SCHOOL | SCHOOL MAGAZINE 2017
tournament winners, South East of England Plate champions and Silver medallists in Division 2 of the National Schools Lacrosse championships. Individual successes included four students being selected for Super Counties, with two going on to represent South East B and one representing the South East A, and the same student captaining England U19 to victory against the Japanese Senior World Cup team. The Year 7 squad consisted of fifty-six students, and they have had a phenomenal season in their first fully competitive year. They have been crowned Champions in the Invitational tournament, and both teams narrowly missed out on medals at the County tournament with the U12B team drawing with LEH, while the U12A successfully defeated both LEH and St Paul’s, narrowly missing out on becoming County Champions by one point. During the Easter break, a combined Year 9 and 10 Lacrosse squad of thirty-three students departed to the USA to play some highly competitive matches against some high-level schools. They enjoyed some feisty matches and the generosity of their hosts.
Gym and Trampolining The Under-13 and Over13 teams competed at the annual GISGA 2-piece competition on 13th November and performed excellently. The U13s placed 4th overall and we gained a 2nd individual place. The O13s placed 2nd overall with
individual placings of 2nd and 5th. Both teams qualified for the National 5-piece finals in March. The teams also competed in the annual Independent Schools Gymnastics Association National
Finals in Surrey. There were notable performances from all of the girls in the U13 category who finished in the top twenty out of eighty competitors. The O13 team placed 9th overall with some exceptionally strong
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performances from all five girls in particular areas such as the floor, on the vault and overall individual performances. Trampolining has had a number of notable successes, not least of which involved a Year 9 student who, after winning the London round of the British Schools Trampoline competition, attended the Zonal round in Somerset in February. She faced incredibly tough competition from the whole of the South of England securing 9th place overall in a large category. In the Harrow Trampoline Competition, we placed 3rd individually in the Junior category, while a Year 9 student competed above her age in the Senior category and won section. In the team competition, the Junior A team placed 1st, and the Senior girls came 2nd overall.
Water Polo Water polo has once again been offered as an after-school activity. There has been an excellent level of interest in the sessions on a Monday after school with twenty girls from Years 7 to 12 trying it out. An experienced coach has been working with the girls along with Mrs Dowe to teach the skills required to form teams and play matches. The water polo teams trained hard to prepare for the English Schools Water polo Tournament. The U15 team, consisting of girls from Years 7 to 10, competed in the first round in early February. For many, this was their first experience of matches, and they were up against some teams with experienced county and national level players. The team showed solid
defence and great progress in attack. In particular, one student stepped up as goalie and showed excellent progress. Two students from Years 8 and 9 were stalwarts for the team. Overall water polo has made great progress at NLCS, and we look forward to continuing to improve next academic year.
Swimming Gala In the Summer term, North London hosted the annual Harrow Swimming Gala, inviting both boys and girls from local schools to take part. Our girls from Years 7 to 10 had been training for this event for many weeks, as it is known throughout the squad to be one of the greatest highlights of the swimming calendar. And indeed this year did not disappoint; the atmosphere of the event was one of cheering, support and sportsmanship, and every girl swam their best. Their hard work and passion shone through when the results were revealed, with NLCS proving victorious in every age group, before then going on to become the overall girls’ school winner.
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Skiing It has been an exciting year for skiing as we have introduced the Middle School Ski Club, as well as continuing to enter the annual British School girls ski races in Flaine, France. Ten girls in Years 7 to 10 attended weekly skiing lessons at Hemel Snow Centre and had a fabulous time learning or refining their skiing techniques. At the beginning of the Spring term, the NLCS Ski team participated with more than 50 other schools in the annual British Schoolgirls’ Ski Races competition in Flaine, France. After two days of intensive training and competition, the girls achieved some impressive results with the A team coming 5th overall and the B Team 28th overall out of 50 teams in total. In the Under 14 age category, Giselle Gorringe was placed 1st in the giant Slalom and 2nd in the Slalom. In addition, in the non-registered category, Lilyella Stevens placed 3rd in the Under 16’s Slalom, and Annecy Stevens placed 3rd in the Under 18’s Slalom. Congratulations to all the team.
scored, and conceding no goals until the semi-final penalty shootout. The senior team travelled to UCS to play their first 11-a-side fixture on a full-size pitch, and the defeat only spurred the girls on, and they are now eager to play their next competitive matches next season.
Tennis
Cross Country
Football
A total of thirtyfive girls entered the Harrow Cross Country Challenge representing Years 7-11. All teams gained first place, and individually three girls medalled 1st, two 2nd and one 3rd. An outstanding performance from all involved. The Spring Term was fantastic for Cross Country, despite the inclement weather, as thirty-four girls braved the Harrow Schools Cross Country course. Strong performances across the year groups led to the Minor, Junior and Inter teams all finishing in 1st place, an outstanding achievement. A further nineteen girls went on to gain the honour of representing Harrow. Within this competition, a Year 13 student ran an excellent race to be placed 3rd overall. This earned her the well-deserved honour of competing on behalf of Middlesex at the English Schools competition.
Players from Years 7 and 8 competed in two Harrow tournaments and performed exceptionally well against more experienced teams. Most notable landmarks over the two tournaments include being the team with the highest number of goals
We have had a fantastic tennis season. Nearly fifty Year 7 girls trialled for tennis this year. Fixtures this year have included the U15 and U13 AEGON League, the Harpenden Invitational National School Girls Tournament and an array of friendly matches. Two U19 girls represented NLCS at the Harpenden Tournament, one from Year 12 and one from Year 9 and came a very well deserved 3rd. The annual Pamela Flower tournament took place at the end of the summer term, with girls in all years competing.
Climbing Middle School Climbing Club has been running throughout the school year, with groups of students from Years 7 to 9 getting the chance to scale the climbing wall in the Sports Hall under the guidance of a visiting instructor. Twenty-four students in the Middle School have attended a block of climbing sessions during the course of the year and have thoroughly enjoyed
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the experience. Some students in the Upper School have also had the chance to use the climbing wall as part of the Tuesday Afternoon Activities programme.
Athletics The Inter Track and Field Team consisting of twelve athletes and one reserve enjoyed a fantastic qualifying round performance where they emerged as victors – an outstanding achievement, and as a result, they qualified for the Regional A Final on 15th June in Kent. In the same competition, the Junior athletes performed well and finished 3rd. Thus they qualified for the Regional B final held on 12th June at Uxbridge. As always a highlight for the school community is the culmination of the Athletics extra-curricular programme at Sports Day where the majority of girls in Years 7 to 10, and many from Year 12, compete for the honour of their Houses. This event took place on the morning of 4th July and was the final event counting towards the overall House points competition which ran for the first time this year. Aitken House emerged victorious at Sports Day!
Sports Celebration Evening On Monday 27th March, the third annual sports celebration evening took place in the PAC with special guest speaker, Beth Tweddle! Beth is an Olympic Bronze Medalist, a three-
time World Champion, a six-time European Champion, a Commonwealth Champion and a seven-time National Champion. She gave an incredibly inspirational talk about her journey towards being Britain’s greatest female gymnast, which certainly inspired all those who attended. After her talk, she proceeded to help present the sports awards, which included awards in each sports category and player’s player in each year. Congratulations to all those who were nominated and those who won awards. A special thank you goes to the sports department and the sports committee for organising such a great event.
Gym and Dance Display This innovative and impressive display brought together more than 80 girls from
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Years 2 to 13 who had all worked collaboratively to showcase the skills they have learnt all year. The show was a huge success, and the 200 strong crowd were wowed by 26 different and exciting artistic performances including gymnastics, trampolining, cheerleading and dance routines. Within these, disciplines there were a variety of other styles such as rhythmic gymnastics, sports acrobatics, artistic gymnastics, ballet, Bollywood, hip-hop... the list goes on!
matches in football, volleyball and indoor hockey. The week’s debate focused on the topic of sport, with an engaging and thought-provoking discussion about the ethics behind the issue of performance-enhancing
drugs in sports. England cricketer, Fran Wilson, gave a Senior Societies talk on nutrition and badminton sessions where led by Olympic Silver medallist, Gail Emms MBE. During an assembly, students heard
PE Week In the first half of the Autumn term, the School held its annual PE Week. Girls attended a wide range of sports clubs, from indoor hockey to water polo. Girls also took part in new activities such as golf and Rock ‘n’ Roll dancing. Members of staff also got involved in staff versus students inspiring talks from track athletes Desirèe Henry, who won an Olympic Bronze medal in the 400m relay at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, World Junior Championships Silver medallist Shona Richards and Laviai Nielsen, European Junior Champion. They spoke about the importance of perseverance and resilience in every aspect of their lives. Overall the week consisted of some fantastic, fun and entertaining events which celebrated the student’s love and dedication to sport.
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Year 7 Dance Display The Year 7 Dance Display was an unforgettable show. After weeks of practising, the Year 7’s passionately performed their pieces inspired by the theme ‘emotion’. There was a fantastic range of styles from contemporary pieces that explored loss to hip-hop
dances exploring mania and courage. These pieces were further enhanced by spectacular costumes featuring U-V paint, capes and truly frightening masks. With the help of older students, some girls even contributed to the choreography and costumes. The
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dance display was an opportunity for the new Year 7 girls to make new friends, work with new people and develop useful skills such as confidence, teamwork and of course dance!
Badminton The senior girls have continued to impress this year with two Year 13 students winning the RMS Tournament and two Year 12 students winning the RMS Elite tournament. The Middle School Badminton players have made great progress too. In the league, both Year 7 and 8 players deservedly earned 2nd place, while in the RMS Invitational Tournament two Year 7 couples and one Year 8 couple made it through to
the quarter finals, with our Year 7 first couple reaching the final. An excellent level of focus enabled them to come
from five points behind to win against St Helen’s.
Sports Day The sun was shining on Canons as the whole of the Senior School gathered on the field for Sports Day. After a busy school year, it is the perfect opportunity for everyone to come together and have some fun. In addition to many superb performances by the girls, the highlight, as always, was the teachers’ relay race and once again it didn’t disappoint!
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ENRICHMENT
European Day of Languages Symposium
The Modern Languages Department organised a special event to mark the European Day of Languages on the theme of migration and crossing cultures. The evening of talks was also designed to showcase the work of university modern language departments and how they are responding to such issues in their research and teaching. Professor Charles Burdett, Professor of Italian at Bristol University described the work of his “Transnationalizing Modern Languages” research project, and Professor Margaret Little, Professor of German at Manchester University, introduced us to issues with attitudes in Germany towards immigrant communities. Dr Siobhan Shilton, Reader in French at Bristol University gave a talk entitled “Cultural Encounters in French Video and Performance Art” providing a starting point for an examination of the role played by the visual arts and artists in establishing or contesting conceptions of cultural identity in modern France. The symposium was attended by a large number of students and staff from North London, but we were also delighted to welcome students and their teachers from Queen Elizabeth’s School in Barnet, The Henrietta
Barnett School, St Michael’s Catholic Grammar School in Finchley, Presdales School in Ware, Dr Challoner’s Grammar School in Amersham and our close neighbours, London Academy.
Mr Peter Langdale
Philosophy Week This year’s theme of Cosmopolitanism allowed the school community to investigate the relationship between different nations and cultures, while appreciating the importance of social bonds in an ever-changing and progressing world. Our aims of the week involved dispelling rumours about what Cosmopolitanism is and is not, as well as encouraging students and staff alike to get involved in philosophical contemplation. There were a range of exciting and
Simon Blackburn - Philosophy Week
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interesting collaborations on offer; from Feminist Society’s discussion about “Does Cosmopolitanism benefit women?” to Film & Media Society’s exploration of films including Lion and Elysium which investigate the themes of nationality and identity; from Maths Club’s discussion about paradoxes to Science Club’s exploration of Aristotelian physics and the laws of motion through the construction of bouncy balls. Particular highlights of the week included lectures such as acclaimed philosopher Simon Blackburn’s talk on “How not to believe in God: lessons from David Hume”, and Miss Richman’s talk on “Mindfulness and Meditation: Buddhism’s encounter with the West”, which was then immediately followed by a thought-provoking debate from Debating Society with the motion “This house believes that minority
Scheme and published the new edition of Speak Out their mental health magazine. The society has strived to end the stigma that comes with mental health and ran a stall every day outside the dining hall, which directly addressed this issue. Overall, the week was an extreme success, well done to Mental Health Society for an amazing and eye-opening week!
French Soiree On the last Wednesday of the Spring term girls from Years 11-13 came together to create a wonderful evening of French entertainment. Parents, teachers and students gathered in the music school hall around candlelit tables to enjoy a range of French poems, songs, music and dances. The theme this year was Bleu, Blanc,
groups should conform to the culture of the majority.” We took advantage of the links between our sister schools in both Jeju and Dubai: the released issue of Plato & Co., the School’s philosophy magazine, featured an article from a student at NLCS Jeju and Simon Blackburn’s talk was filmed and will be passed on to NLCS Jeju and NLCS Dubai; the Year 13 performance of Huis Clos, Sartre’s famous existentialist play, was also filmed as part of Senior Societies to be passed on to our fellow schools. The Philosophy Society assembly at the end of the week summed up our thoughts on Cosmopolitanism; that we are, as Maya Angelou expressed beautifully in her poem Human Family, “more alike than we are unalike.”
By Sailee Khurjekar, Year 13
Rouge and the evening was split into three sections based on the mood of the pieces. The evening was further enhanced by a glorious spread
of French food including cheese, chocolate and wine. The evening had a lovely ambience, and the performances from students and the staff contributions from Mr Langdale and Ms Rice were all of a high standard and thoroughly enjoyable. The success of the evening was due to the support of the MFL department especially Mlle Dean and Mlle Bonnal and the effort from girls in Year 12, in particular, Ava Cohen without whom the whole evening would not have been possible. Nous espérons vous revoir l’année prochaine!
By Kezia Levy, Year 11
Classics Week On the week beginning Monday 20th February, a passionate assembly lead by Miss Picton created a dynamic start to Classics Week 2017 - a week with plenty of activities for the Senior School to take part in! Not only were there some beautiful cake designs entered in the ‘Fornacalia’ Classics baking competition, but Middle School were also able to join a creative writing and illustrative contest redesigning the ending to any classical myth or legend. Mrs O’Sullivan, Mrs Fotheringham and Mr Linscott all gave some truly fascinating ‘Classics shorts’ every other short break about their favourite historical artefacts as well as a little more insight into the classical world. There was even a ‘Classical University Challenge’ where, buzzers at the ready, students competed fiercely (but entertainingly) to receive the most points; and impress everyone along the way with their extensive knowledge! Overall, the week was a great success, with activities for everyone to take part in!
By Onali Perera, Year 9
Mental Health Week Mental Health Society was one of the new societies set up this year. In the Summer term, they organised their inaugural society week, packed full of events and activities such as merengue classes for the Sixth Form and discussions about ‘How is Mental Health Portrayed in Fiction?’ The society also took this week as an opportunity to launch their ‘Tea and Chat’ sessions, their Peer Mentoring NORTH LONDON COLLEGIATE SCHOOL | SCHOOL MAGAZINE 2017 | 49
available available to take within this career. What was noteworthy was that each ONL spoke about their love for their job with passion, and this was one of the most important things the girls were able to learn from this evening.
By Vita Rottenberg, Year 9
MUN Conference
Careers in Medicine Symposium One of the great things about NLCS is the Old North Londoner (ONL) network. In March, eight ONLs who have pursued a career in medicine came to the Careers in Medicine Symposium. Together the panellists worked in a range of areas such as paediatrics, radiology, medical research, surgery, cardiology, neuroscience and being a GP. The evening began with a keynote speaker, Dr Natalie Greenwold who talked about how she had used her degree throughout her life, in ways both personal and scientific; and how it led to helping women in less developed countries during difficult labours and later led her to set up a charity: Medical Aid Films, after recognising
that a doctor’s impact was limited after leaving a village. The charity makes films that guide doctors and nurses on how to perform certain operations in rural settings. This innovation has had a direct impact on many women and was just one of the examples given showing how a degree in medicine can lead to many outcomes. It was a wonderful way to start the evening and gave the girls an amazing insight into what a career in medicine can lead you to do. Everybody in the audience had the opportunity to ask the panellists questions about a career in Medicine. The panellists answered every question in depth and they explained what their favourite part of their job was as well as one thing they would love to change about working in medicine. Each panellist’s path to where they are now was different, and it showcased the range of routes
Over a weekend in March, a group of NLCS girls went to Haberdashers Aske Boys School for the annual Model United Nations conference. HABS MUN is an international conference which stimulates the procedures of the real United Nations. Students are designated countries and assigned to committees in which they represent the views of their respective nation. It was an excellent opportunity for girls from Year 10 to 13 to expand their knowledge on current affairs, criticise the nature and actions of international bodies and meet new people along the way. NLCS girls spoke to a particularly high standard this year with every girl contributing significantly. Moreover, NLCS left the conference proud with six individual awards. Zusi Inegbeniki, Kezia Levy and Ela Tandon received Highly Commended Delegate awards along with Alana Bradford, Zandy Udueni and Francesca Shaw who received Distinguished Delegate awards. NLCS is ready to take on HABS MUN 2018 with an enthusiastic group of younger girls prepared to assume more challenging delegations.
By Zusi Inegbeniki, Year 12
Duke of Edinburgh Award THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD.
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The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) is the world’s leading youth achievement award for 14 to 24-yearolds. The programmes are at three progressive levels which, if completed, lead to a Bronze, Silver or Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Over 70 North London girls from Year 9 to Year 13 take part in the DofE each year. One of the challenges the girls enjoy most is the expedition. Girls travel all over the UK for their practice and qualifying expeditions with many completing their Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards.
(which involved actual running). Unfortunately, the team did not place in the top three, but they had a great time, and their poster made it on to the board of honour. Hopefully next year the School will get another chance! Well done to everyone involved!
By Imogen Woods-Wilford, Year 11
Philosophy Conference
Interfaith Conference
UKMT National Finals
On Wednesday 7th June, North London Collegiate held its first ever Interfaith Conference, an evening inspired by the theme, ‘Creation: A Dialogue Between Science and Religion’. Girls from Year 12 organised a series of talks, given by a diverse panel of speakers from all faiths and backgrounds. Their topics of discussion presented students and audience members with thoughtprovoking insight into the role of science and religion in our everyday lives, and how the two concepts may be more interlinked than one might think. Meanwhile, the evening provided an opportunity for Year 12 students to raise funds for North London’s partner school, the Flying Angels School in Zambia. Many thanks must go to Interfaith Society for coordinating and hosting such a successful and wonderful event.
In February, the NLCS maths team, consisting of Wendi Fan in Year 13, Vera He in Year 12, Heeral Shah and Imogen Woods-Wilford from Year 11, participated in the National Finals of the UKMT Senior Team Maths
By Jasmine Chen, Year 12
challenge, after qualifying during the Autumn Term of 2016. There were five rounds; a poster round on cellular automata, a group round, a crossnumber, a shuttle and a relay
In the Spring term, 135 philosophy students gathered together for the annual philosophy conference hosted at North London Collegiate School. It was a way for students to air their philosophical opinions on various texts and concepts, regardless of whether they had formally studied philosophy or not. Students travelled from as far out as Northamptonshire and from various schools including QE Boys, Oundle School, Bedford School and Hitchen Girls’ School for the rare opportunity to listen to lectures delivered by four distinguished speakers: Chris Hamilton, Roger Crisp, David Miller and Angie Hobbs. Chris Hamilton discussed the famous French philosopher Simone Weil, Roger Crisp unpacked Hedonism and Utilitarianism, David Miller assessed how useful philosophy is in science and technology and Angie Hobbs compared Plato’s critiques of democracy to our modern day. Their lectures showed the timelessness of some canonical ideas by drawing parallels between ideas from Ancient
Gold Award teams MEADOW PIPITS While our Gold expedition to the Yorkshire Dales had its literal ups and downs, I think that our group, the Meadow Pipits can conclusively say that we had a lark of a trip. The rugged terrain and volatile weather were trying at times, for example when we as a group nearly drowned in a bog, which was marked on the map as an innocent moor. There were kilometres of seemingly endless marshes, which when shrouded in mist became almost unnavigable, leading
to a few incidences where we found ourselves frustratingly lost. On one occasion, we even lost pipit number 4, Jo, to a thigh-high mud pit from which rescuing her required the strength of all three other pipits. We did get to experience some of the more beautiful sides of the Yorkshire Dales National Park as well. From Janet’s Foss, the waterfall with the crystal but freezing pool, in which we and the Merlins had a lovely paddle, to Malham Cove, the prehistoric glacial cliff which offered the most exquisite views of the valley below. We also grew as a group on this expedition. On the penultimate
day, a few members of the pipits were expecting very important exam results, and even though we were all pleased in the end, it certainly led to a nervous few hours, however, in this time we came together and supported each other as a group. On this expedition, our aim was ‘modern farming’,
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Athens with present-day society, and although they tackled some complicated concepts, their lectures were incredibly attainable. These speakers each felt passionate about their fields, and this passion became infectious, leaving students of all interests engaged and inundated with critiques and challenges. This passion is best exemplified by the fact that Angie Hobbs, the last speaker of the day, went straight from the conference to the demonstration at 10 Downing Street. Yet, this would come as no surprise to any attendee of the conference as Angie Hobbs left the audience fired up about the current political situation after an engaging and contentious Q&A.
By Zusi Inegbeniki, Year 12
GSK Fight Malaria Challenge On 29th November two Year 8 students competed in the GSK Fight Malaria Challenge Final. Their task was to come up with a novel method of combating the risk of malaria faced by millions of people across the world. Gaya and Schulyer in Year 8 presented their idea to a panel of expert judges, beating fierce competition from five other teams to be become the winners. The final was a culmination of months of hard work. Over the previous summer in Sri Lanka, Gaya had begun experiments which proved that the Sri Lankan native plant Ocimum sanctum exhibited a mosquito repellent effect.
She went on to perfect a method to produce incense coils containing the vital Ocimum and scientifically validated their repellent quality. Back in the UK Gaya enlisted the support of Schulyer to further research Malaria and produced presentations and prototype kits to explain how families in affected countries could produce the incense coils themselves. On the day of the final, held at the Science Museum, Gaya and Schulyer had to sell their idea to the judges and faced tough questioning on many aspects of the project. On announcing their win, the judges commented on how impressed they were by the enthusiasm and passion of the girls and the practicality of their idea.
LGBT+ Society Conference The LGBT+ Society hosted a conference in March, featuring four guests who spoke on the theme of ‘Identity and Expression’. Four speakers spoke on a variety of subjects, including the new exhibition of ‘Queer British Art’ at the Tate Britain and we used this as an opportunity to visit local farms and interview their inhabitants. We discovered many interesting things both about the local Yorkshire farmers and their views and about the farming industry on a national, even global scale. The subject of Brexit also came up in many an interview. Most farmers felt that the northern hill farmers like themselves had been hard done by under the European Union, who have been known to give more money to arable farmers, usually in the South. This led many to highly anticipate our exit from the EU, which was an interesting perspective, one which I don’t think we as inhabitants as a quite staunchly Remain area hear much of. All in all, it is safe to say that the Pipit’s Gold Duke of Edinburgh expedition was
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and the function of an LGBT+ society in the 21st Century. The speakers included Niranjan Kamatkar, founder and artistic director of London’s LGBTQI cross art annual event Gaywise FESTival, Jacob Mallinson Bird, male model and an international drag performer, Eleanor Jones, PhD student, working with the Tate Britain and Nasser AlTell, chairman of Cycleout London, an LGBT+ sports and social club. It was a fantastic evening, generating a lot of thought-provoking discussion and we thank all our guests for sharing their views and experiences.
Condé Nast Masterclass On Wednesday 1st March Darius Sanai, Editor-inChief at Condé Nast Contract Publishing visited NLCS and gave a talk about glossy magazines and the media. He explored what makes a great
publication, careers in the media and publishing, how to get ahead in magazines, the future of magazines and fashion media. Overall, the talk was engaging, and the students were allowed to ask questions about the media, questions ranging from the lack of racial diversity in the media to the effect of social media on publications such as magazines. This was a fantastic opportunity to hear from someone who has a high profile in the world of magazines and was extremely beneficial to students who are involved in school publications, or simply interested in the world of media.
By Ashlin Gadhia, Year 12
discussions. It was an enriching experience for all.
By Honi Pein, Year 11
The Prince’s Teaching Institute
The T.S. Eliot Symposium with Queen Elizabeth Boys was a great success. Students from both schools came together to discuss and analyze modern poetry which does not appear in the GCSE syllabus. It was, therefore, excellent for students wanting to enrich their English knowledge and explore the world of modern poetry, often looking at poems which are unique and sometimes strange, while being able to hear the opinions of different people who all share the same passion for poetry. The symposium was full of lively and engaging
Mrs McCabe was asked to direct the first Prince of Wales’ Education Summer School for teachers of English and History in 2002. From this Summer School grew what became the Prince’s Teaching Institute (PTI), an independent education charity for state school teachers of which HRH the Prince of Wales is President and Mrs McCabe Co-Director, responsible for educational direction. The links between North London Collegiate School and the charity are naturally close, with the same philosophy of inspirational subject teaching at the heart of both organisations. A number of former and current NLCS staff are involved in designing PTI programmes and contributing to their programme of events.
that they had come to cycle; there are many popular cycle routes across the Dales. We also learnt about the history of the area. The rugged landscape was created by erosion after the melting of glaciers and is roughly 300 million years old. The Dales are formed out of limestone, which is easily dissolved, resulting in unique limestone formations, such as caves, limestone pavements and the dramatic waterfalls. The Yorkshire Dales has remained an important part of human history for thousands of years, with
early humans visiting the site before following their herds of deer west towards the coast, the Romans constructing their roads across the Dales, and the Normans building their castles around the area. All in all, we had a fantastic trip, discovering the true Yorkshire Dales.
T.S. Eliot Symposium
a veritable success and a thrilling experience which none of us will forget anytime soon.
EAGLES Our aim for the expedition was to explore tourism in the area, focusing on tourism for families, activities to do in the Dales and geological and historical reasons as to why the Dales are such a popular tourism site. Through speaking to tourists and researching at information centres, we discovered the most popular family activities. Many families were staying in villages such as Settle or Malham and hiking to places such as Ingleborough, which we climbed on our first day, or Malham Tarn, which we walked to on our third day. Other s said
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Working in partnership with the University of Cambridge, the PTI organises events and conferences for state school teachers and Headteachers, often with high profile academics, writers, scientists and performers delivering inspiring lectures on topics far beyond the constraints of exam syllabuses. NLCS staff and Sixth Form students are given the opportunity to take part attending lectures and participating in panel discussions with other Sixth Formers and teachers from schools across the country.
Summer School Residential I was very excited to be invited to attend the annual The Prince’s Teaching Institute Summer Residential, which took place at Homerton College at the University of Cambridge in June. This year’s three-day residential course focused on the Arts, and included workshops and lectures for Art, English, Geography and Music. Featuring seminars, lectures and workshops, each subject had a variety of speakers giving lectures and leading workshops on a range of different topics, including key-note speakers Professor John Mullan, from UCL, a specialist in eighteen century literature, and Tim Lihoreau, author and Classic FM radio broadcaster.
The Art course included a visit to The Fitzwilliam Museum and a Life Drawing workshop, whereas the Music course included a Recital by musicians from The Royal College of Music. The Geography course contained lectures by key speakers such as ‘Atlas of countries that don’t exist’ and ‘Changing places: Or why A-Level geographers should study Hackney hipsters’. There was also an afternoon of planning fieldwork, despite an outpour of rain, where teachers were able to share and explore different fieldwork techniques. The English course featured a variety of lectures on topics including ‘Imagining what cannot be said in Victorian fiction’ and ‘Shakespeare: New worlds and infinite spaces’, a lecture which developed this year’s theme of Freedom and Constraint in regards to the performances of Shakespeare’s plays. Furthermore, there was also an opportunity for the English teachers to take part in a Royal Shakespeare Company workshop, which provided an afternoon of active education about The Tempest. Alongside over 100 teachers from different schools, 7 Year 12 girls from NLCS were also invited to take part in the residential course, which gave us an insight to teaching as well as provided us with the opportunity to listen to University-style lectures.
By Meghna Ahmin, Year 12
John-Paul Flintoff
Senior Societies This Academic year saw another packed programme of Senior Societies lectures each Thursday. The keynote lecture to launch the annual programme was delivered by the award-winning journalist, writer and performer John-Paul Flintoff. His interactive and exciting talk, based on his award-winning novel ‘How To Change The World’, allowed students to discuss the elements of the world, and society today, which they would want to change, and how. John-Paul made it clear to the students that even a small change, whether it is physical or mental, can make a big difference. This is a key lesson that they can carry with them throughout their school life and the world beyond. Other notable speakers have included Paloma Strelitz, the architectural designer and ONL who was part of the Turner Prize-winning collective Assemble (Archipelago Society); the journalist and author Peter Hitchens who gave a thoughtprovoking talk entitled ‘The Rage Against God’ (Philosophy Society); and
MERLINS Equipped with squeaky clean trangias and 10kg of snacks, seven girls under the name of Merlins set off from Kings Cross Station. Oblivious to the three peak perils of the Yorkshire Dales, we were quickly awakened by an arriving air ambulance, a disappearing river and a 100-metre climb. At the end of day two we witnessed the amazing spectacle of Malham Cove, which once, 50,000 years ago, was a waterfall but now only its legacy remains in the form of a limestone pavement. After a build-up of excitement, we finally reached the much-awaited roman camp on day 3 and were greeted by a field of sheep and cows staring blankly at us.
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Professor David Abulafia of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, who gave a fascinating talk entitled ‘How to Write the History of the Sea’ (History Society). In the Spring and Summer terms, a range of academics and specialists introduced students to a variety of topics from the worlds of the arts, science, business and other areas. Highlights included a talk to mark Holocaust Memorial Day given by Noemie Lopian whose father Dr Ernst Israel Bornstein was a Holocaust survivor who spent time in seven concentration camps (Jewish Society); the poet, academic and editor Dr Sarah Howe giving a talk and delivering a reading of some of her poetry (Literary Society); and Mike Jackson, on whom one of the main characters in the 2014 film Pride was based, who spoke about the progress of LGBT+ emancipation in the UK, with special reference to the role of mining communities (LGBT+ Society). Many thanks to all students involved in organising and hosting these talks, which have been an enriching experience for all students attending.
various trade sales and even through websites they had created. XS bags created useful foldaway bags in three different colours and with different slogans. Nanopac sold small and stylish rucksacks, perfect for carrying essential items around and appealing to the young market. Ortus created bracelets to raise awareness and money for Black Lives Matter, the Syrian Refugee Crisis and LGBTQ+. There were two further competitions for which they had to prepare a Company Report, take part in interviews, present a trade stand and give a presentation detailing their product and their Young Enterprise journey. At the first competition, the Harrow and Brent Area Final, each of the Companies came away with one or more awards. Nanopac and Ortus both progressed to the second stage, the West London Final, where both teams performed exceptionally well with Nanopac winning the award for best Company Report and Ortus for best presentation.
Business Advisor, all of whom were parents of girls at our school. These Business Advisors came to school on a voluntary basis and offered support and advice to the Companies as they progressed through the various stages of their business experience. It was a successful year for all of our Companies. They worked effectively as a team to raise capital, design products, and conduct market research. At the Young Enterprise Interim Showcase, held at Canons, each company set up a trade stand, which they used to display their product and gave a presentation about their experience. Each Company was judged and received informative feedback to help them in the next stage of their journey. Each Company also attended a trade fair at the London Designer Outlet in Wembley where they had the opportunity to sell their products to the general public. In the Spring Term, they all continued to work hard in their teams promoting and selling their products through sales at school,
By Mrs Jo Demetriou
after a hard day’s trek. As the end approached, we spent the final night exploring Gordale Scar, a magnificent waterfall, whose power was enhanced by the previous days’ rain, right on our door porch step. Overall, our aim was to investigate the changing nature of water features across the varying terrains. After learning about the geology of the surrounding area, we discovered that the PH of the water was influenced by the different rock forms, with limestone creating more alkaline water compared to shale which was more acidic as a result of its volcanic history. Throughout our
experience, we learnt a lot from our aim and found it extremely fulfilling as we were able to find out more about the rivers with which we had been fascinated on previous expeditions. As a group we would like to leave you with one final thought: We were born in London, but we were made on Gold D of E.
By Mr Fred Hitchcock
Young Enterprise This year three companies comprising of forty-two girls in Year 12 were entered in the Company Programme of the Young Enterprise competition. Every person within each Company had a different role ranging from Managing Director to Operations Director. Each Company was supported by a different
The redeeming point of the day came when we reached Janet’s Foss, where a beautiful waterfall and pool awaited our arrival. Paddling through the ice cold water we were able to relax
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TRIPS
China Eleven girls travelled to China as part of a Mandarin trip. Based in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, they were able to take part in a lesson of the traditional martial art of kungfu. They also visited many shopping markets
China including the Ancient Streets of Jinli and later, took a boat to see the largest statue of the Buddha in the
Dujiangy
an Pand a Base
world at Leshan. During the trip they took a cable car up to the peak of mountain E’mei and took a long walk down the mountain, encountering monkeys! A highlight of the trip was volunteering at the panda base in Dujiangyun. Girls learnt how to clean the panda’s cage, feed them and even make panda cake! Their remaining days were spent with a partner school. One of the most intriguing parts of everyone’s trip was the food, everything was extremely different to Western cuisine, but everyone enjoyed trying something new.
By Ms Hickman
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This year, girls have taken part in a wide variety of exciting cultural exchanges and trips both in the UK and overseas. There have been more than 30 trips, including language visits to France, Spain and China, Classists to Sicily, Geographers to Croatia, a Lacrosse tour to the USA and cultural exchanges to Colombia, Germany and Jeju. There were also numerous visits to see theatres productions and art exhibitions, science trips and outdoor adventure excursions closer to home.
Croatia
During the second week of halfterm, a group of girls from Year 10, 11 and 12 visited Croatia for a Geography trip. After an early flight, they explored the town of Lovran and sampled chestnuts at the annual ‘Marunada’ Festival. The next day they enjoyed a boat trip to the island of Cres, and while visiting the town, were able to see some vultures while enjoying the coastal views. Then the girls enjoyed an action-packed day of rafting on the Mreznica River, which
involved jumping into the freezing water and navigating small waterfalls. After a much-needed sleep, they headed off to the Plitvice Lakes, one of the 8 National Parks in Croatia, and despite the persistent rain, enjoyed the beautiful lakes, caves and waterfalls. The following day the girls headed into the mountains for a hike in Paklenica National Park and were able to see the big canyon – Velika Paklenica. After the tiring hike, they were able to explore the city of Zadar, with Roman and Venetian ruins in the Old Town. They visited the Sea Organ designed by a local architect in the evening, which is a set of pipes that sigh with the movement of waves. The architect Nikola Bašić also designed the art installation Sun Salutation, which takes energy from the sun to create a light show. The final full day was spent on a boat trip around Kornati National Park, a collection of 109 islands, the girls enjoyed swimming in the warm sea, and the sun made for nice weather. The girls had an amazing time getting to see lots of human and physical geography.
By Lizzie Bourn, Year 12
ia Croat
Bath & Bristol On Sunday 18th of June, Year 8 travelled to Bath and Bristol for 2 days. When we arrived in Bath, after a 3-hour journey, we were given the chance to roam around the streets of Bath and see how beautiful it was; in this time, we had our lunch to fuel us up for the day. After lunch, we walked to the Roman
Bristol
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Lacrosse Tour to USA
Bath baths and had a talk about what kind of activities would take place in the baths and what equipment they would use for it. The public baths were built around three main rooms: the warm room, the hot room and the cold bath. Then we saw the Roman baths; the baths were very interesting to view and most of the baths were still very well preserved. As we walked around and through the baths, in small groups; we could hear the soft bubbling and sometimes rapid bubbling of the water travelling down the fountains. Later on, in the day, we travelled to Bristol to view the science centre; we found the science centre very interesting and interactive, learning new things along the way. The planetarium was very enjoyable and we learnt new things as we travelled through space. In the evening, we went to Pizza Express for dinner and cooled off with a bit of bowling. After a sleep at the hotel, we set off for Longleat Safari Park. There were many activities to get involved in and many of us dashed straight to the maze to see who could get through first. In this free time, we bought some food, sweets and several souvenirs. We also saw many animals, such as giraffes, tigers and cheeky monkeys, one monkey had even managed to climb on to the back of our coach! After a very exciting day, we finally returned home from the great trip, after a long journey, tired and exhausted. As we were so lucky, we even managed to see Stonehenge on the way home.
During the Easter holiday, girls from the Under 14 and 15 lacrosse squads travelled to the East Coast of America for a USA lacrosse tour. The trip took them from Washington onto Baltimore, to Philadelphia and finally to New York over the course of 10 days. The girls stayed with host families and played games against American clubs and schools, in between sightseeing and visiting different cities. The girls learnt a lot about lacrosse and improved with every game played. Highlights included watching a Princeton vs Harvard lacrosse match, a visit to the National Lacrosse Museum in the USA Lacrosse headquarters and even pouring a bucket of water over Mrs Kiernan after winning their final match against Westtown School!
By Faye Song, Year 10
Berlin During the Spring Half-term holiday, a group of girls from Year 10 and 11 visited Berlin to further explore the topics they are covering in their History curriculum. On the first day, the girls went on a guided walking tour around Berlin to see some of the city’s most famous sites and learn about their historical significance. They got the opportunity to see the Brandenburg Gate and visit Museum Island, an island in the central district of Berlin, where one can find the Pergamum Museum and the Bode Museum
Lacrosse
Tour
among many others. They also visited the fascinating site of 10th May 1933 book burning; where students of the Nazi-run German Student Union destroyed books they deemed to be ‘un-German’. Over the following days, the girls explored many other aspects of Berlin, including a visit to a remaining section of the Berlin Wall where they could widen their historical knowledge and emotionally connect with the personal hardships suffered by so many. Unquestionably, the most poignant experience for the girls was their tour of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. It was one of the first the Nazis built and was important due to its proximity to Berlin. This was a truly moving day as the horrors of the Nazi regime could be understood beyond a textbook. The trip was a great opportunity for us to gain insight into a country and culture we are studying, and to make historical links to places we have seen for ourselves.
By Liberty Leonard-Shaw, Year 10
Western front In November Year 9 travelled to the Western Front in France. On the first day they went to visit the cemetery commemorating the soldiers who lost their lives in the First World War in Passendale. This struck us
By Sarmbavi Prabhahar, Year 8 58 | NORTH LONDON COLLEGIATE SCHOOL | SCHOOL MAGAZINE 2017
Berlin
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as really beautiful and touching as we were able to watch the sunset over the graves. We also went to visit the bunkers along the Front Line, where we were able to see the effects of the shells. It was a really strange experience, as many of the craters were now covered in plants and even trees, which was almost surreal as it was so different from the modern British perception of the war. The next day we went to see the Battle of the Somme, where we discovered that most of the bodies from the battle have still not been recovered, as they had drowned in mud. Our final visit was to Beaumont, a Canadian owned park, where we were able to see trenches and walk through the park which commemorated the losses of the Canadian forces, who fought alongside the Allies.
By Aashni Thakrar, Year 9
Year 9 Adventure Week At the end of the Summer term, Year 9 embarked on Adventure Week at YHA Edale, an outdoor activity centre located in the heart of Peak District. Adventure week provided a range of activities for us to enjoy such as abseiling, canoeing, caving, raft building and many more. Adventure week opened up new opportunities, and at the end of it, we all had a fantastic time trying out new adventurous activities - with many of us trying things we would never have dared to before. Despite returning home drenched in rain and muddy, we were all extremely proud of everything we had accomplished. For many people, the vast range of activities allowed us to explore and pursue new interests, while others got to practice and further advance their skills in the outdoors alongside the expertise of trained instructors, concluding in what was an incredible, once in a lifetime experience of extreme outdoor sports.
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Surfing Over the October half term a team of six girls from Year 7 & 8 travelled to Perranporth in Cornwall to take part in the Independent Schools Surf Championships. The team surfed in all weathers along with 40 other competitors, battling it out amongst the enormous foot waves, braving the cold and even coping with the dreaded weever fish so often found along this piece of coast! The girls were all awarded IAM bands of different levels which was a huge achievement and to our delight won two gold, a silver and a bronze medal in the open and handicapped competitions. Congratulations to the team which included Caroline Utermann who won Gold for the girl’s open tournament and Bronze in the handicapped competition, Honey Morrison who won Gold in the handicapped competition, Jess Curtis who won Bronze in the handicapped competition, and Lucia Dakin, Sonia Lunina and Manya Dyer for being placed in the top 10 in both competitions and winning their IAM bands
By Miss Fiori
Kerala Year 10 and 11, and three teachers embarked on a long journey to Kerala (India), to visit the Sobha Academy, a school for over 900 students which was set up by our partner in the establishment of NLCS Dubai. A key reason for selecting Sobha was the philanthropic projects to which the Chairman of Sobha has dedicated half of his wealth. This exciting community service and work experience trip was set up to enable our students to see more of the world, gain new perspectives and make a difference to the lives of others. During the first two days in India, before arriving at the Sobha Academy, our pupils experienced the buzz of a sea-side market at Fort Kochi and the beauty of Kerala’s backwaters from a houseboat where they were treated to authentic cuisine from the area.At the Sobha Academy, staff and pupils boarded with twenty four Year 11 Indian pupils who were preparing for their matriculation exams. This provided a wonderful opportunity for the girls
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from each school to get to know each other. Outside of lessons, there was much sharing of songs and dancing, sports games, and conversation over dinner each evening. NLCS girls taught the girls Netball and Hot Potato while the Sobha girls showed their version of Dodge Ball. The Academy was keen to show off all the Christmas celebrations they had prepared including a tableau of important scenes from the bible and a Christmas medley, while the NLCS girls taught the choir a few Christmas songs including Ding dong merrily on high. Our pupils valued the opportunity to find out more about these girls’ lives and realised that despite their circumstances they were really quite similar. The Indian girls were extremely interested in finding out about our pupils’ ambitions to study medicine, engineering and law. Shalini, Year 10 said, “Interacting with the students of Sobha Academy was extremely rewarding as we were able to see a new outlook on things and learn from their awe-inspiring attitude towards overcoming obstacles and achieving their dreams.”On the last evening there was a fantastic showcase of Keralan music and dance, organised and put on by the host pupils and the final farewell was quite emotional. Our pupils are determined to maintain contact with their new friends and have discussed using social media to keep in touch. Farhia summed up the trip: ‘This trip was the best experience of my life.
I had the privilege of immersing myself in Keralan culture, but best of all, I had the opportunity to meet amazing people at Sobha, both students and teachers. I made friends with inspiring girls, roughly the same age as me, who had such great ambitions and dreams. The whole experience was incredible, and it showed me a different perspective on the world we live in.’
By Dr Browning and Ishani Shah Year 11
Skiing
Skiing Over the February half term a group of upper school students travelled to Sestriere, Italy to spend a week in the snowy Italian alps. The week was filled with ski lessons and everyone was able to challenge themselves on the slopes. The girls were also lucky enough to have several evening activities, including a very heated bowling competition between the Sixth Formers and teachers. Overall, the girls all had a great week! Thank you to the staff for organising and accompanying the girls on the trip.
By Serena Dilley, Year 12
Student exchanges FONTAINBLEAU In the final week of the winter break, Sixth Form language students took part in an exchange with the Lycée François Premier, in Fontainebleau, a town near Paris. We accompanied our exchange partners to school and took part in a fascinating history lesson, all in French, of course, about the Château de Fontainebleau and how different kings and leaders had added to it. We then had the opportunity to visit the Château itself. On a day trip to Paris, we visited many of the
Kerala
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Education lessons. Additionally, the several visits to the historic sites were fascinating, but the most unforgettable moment was definitely at the beach. The weather was delightfully hot and sunny which was a perfect break from the incessant rainy days in London. Overall, the exchange trip was inspiring, intriguing and amusing, and gave access to Malaga’s distinct culture. It definitely was one memorable encounter!
By Sumayya Manji, Year 8
Ludwigsburg Fontainbleau cities exciting attractions including the Musée de l’Orangerie, an art gallery containing impressionist art, including Les Nymphéas by Monet, shopped in the Champs Elysées and went to Palais Galliera, a museum of fashion, where we saw dresses designed by Yves Saint Laurent, Coco Chanel, and other French designers. We also visited the Palais de Justice, where we were able to watch a few minutes of a trial. During the trip, the NLCS girls took part in a joint concert at our exchange school. This was a lovely event, especially as some of the musical members of our group played duets with their exchange partners. On their last day, we had a final visit to Paris where we visited the Fragonard Museum, where we learned about the process of making perfume and saw the ballet ‘Impressing the Czar’ at the Opéra Garnier. This exchange was an amazing and very
memorable experience for all students involved, and we all can’t wait to go back to Paris again.
By Ava Cohen, Year 12
Malaga On the last day of March, a group of Year 8 girls left school to travel to Malaga, Spain on an exchange trip. The girls were thrilled to meet their exchanges and to discover the numerous adventures that Malaga holds. A few of their exciting experiences include a venture into the multi-cultural and popular city of Córdoba. The girls also got a taste of Spanish education as they joined their exchanges in their schools; taking part in French, English, Music and Physical
Bordeaux
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Girls from Years 9 to 10 took part in an exchange trip with a school in Germany. For one week students from the GoetheGymnasium Ludwigsburg came to England to stay with their exchange partners. The German students English was extremely good, which meant that the NLCS girls were able to form close friendships with their partners. During their time in England, the students went sight-seeing in Central London and visited Cambridge. The NLCS girls taught their exchanges new words and phrases, including idioms such as “not my cup of tea”. One German student was surprised to discover that in England you can get tap water for free, which was one
Ludwigsburg of the many differences between the cultures that the students found. The exchanges students spent time at school, participating in lessons and getting a flavour of differences and similarities between the two schools. The school week ended with a trip to see the Michael Jackson show Thriller Live; it was a lovely way to end the week.
By Vita Rottenberg, Year 9
Germantown During the October half-term, seven girls travelled to the Germantown
Academy in Philadelphia for ten action-packed days filled with lessons, shopping and many more fun activities. They also enjoyed witnessing the progression towards the presidential election! The highlights of the trip were visiting Washington DC and watching Jersey Boys on Broadway in New York, as well as visiting the Amish county. In June the girls hosted their exchanges in London and introduced them to the English way of life. They spent a few days in the girls’ lessons and showed them the highlights of London such as the London Eye and Oxford Street. The experience is one the girls will never
forget, and their exchanges all have a special place in their hearts! The girls are very grateful for our international link with the Germantown Academy and hope others take this incredible opportunity.
By Romy McCarthy, Year 10
Germantown
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Creative Writing
There are many opportunities throughout the year for girls to put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, and explore the world of creative writing. Two competitions, organised by the Creative Writing Society, run annually in November, inviting entries from girls in Year 7 right through to Year 13. Here we share the winning entries, which demonstrate the wonderful creativity of our students.
Creative Writing Competition WINNER: HANNAH WHITFIELD, YEAR 13 –
O
ur postman’s name is Timothy. He’s a skinny man but he’s awfully strong. Every morning he asks me if I’ve learnt something new today and I always say yes. Sometimes I’m lying. Sometimes I haven’t learnt anything new that day but I don’t want to disappoint him. I tell him about the book I’m reading or the colour of the sky that day or what Mummy said to Daddy about cousin Jemima that she made me swear I wouldn’t tell anyone but I know it can be our little secret. I know I can tell Timothy because he’s a postman. It’s hard work being a postman. You have to carry around lots of people’s secrets all day long and you’re never allowed to read them. Secrets are heavy. But Timothy is awfully strong. MY ONLY SUNSHINE Timothy sings under his breath. That’s how I know he’s coming. It’s noisy in our house but not from singing, from the dog and the television and Mummy and Daddy. But Timothy sings and I can always hear him. He sings about the sunshine. Even when it’s raining he always sings the same song about the sunshine. One morning (when the dog was barking and television was on too loud and Mummy was shouting, shouting, shouting) I asked him why he sings
You are my sunshine (excerpt)
about the sunshine. “It’s raining.” I said. “It’s raining and your hat’s all wet and there isn’t any sunshine here.” “Ah, there is in my heart, you see.” He told me. “There’s always sunshine deep inside our hearts.” Later that day I stood on my tiptoes and looked in the bathroom mirror. My chest was pale and cold and I couldn’t see any sunshine at all. YOU MAKE ME HAPPY Daddy keeps asking me what I want to be when I grow up. I tell him that I’m an artist. He never understands me. He smiles and tells me that’s lovely, darling, but he never understands what I mean. I don’t want to be an artist. I am an artist already. I have twenty-three different coloured pencils and I draw something new every day. Timothy isn’t an artist. Timothy is a postman. But in his spare time he loves to draw and he keeps his sketchbook with him in his bag. He always says that if I show him one of my drawings then he’ll show me one of his. I show him a new one every day and he tells me that my shading is great or my colours are interesting or my people look very realistic. That makes me smile. I always smile when Timothy is there. Even though he
spends so much time talking about my drawings that he always forgets to show me one of his own.
WHEN SKIES ARE GREY It’s noisy in our house and sometimes I wonder if the outside is quieter. It must be, because sounds aren’t heavy like secrets are, sounds can float and fly away, but in our house they get trapped in the ceiling and melt into the walls and fill every room with noise, noise, noise. Today is a loud day. The walls are shaking and the windows are rattling and Mummy is shouting, shouting, shouting. When Daddy comes upstairs his arms are purple. “It’s the sounds.” He says. “Loud noises make you black and blue and purple.” He was lying though. Daddy does that a lot. I know he was lying because one time I dropped a vase on the floor and it landed on my foot and it made an awful racket, but all I saw was red. Timothy will know if it’s quieter outside. He spends all day outside and meets lots of different people from lots of different houses. I’ve only met three real people before, but Timothy is my favourite out of all of them.
Short Story Competition – (Year 12-13) WINNER: BERENIKA KOTELKO, YEAR 13 –
T
he night that Elias’ bubble burst was the night he turned nine. He had prepared all the balloons and confetti for the next morning, but when the clock showed precisely seven, twelve minutes and fortyseven seconds, the first bullet pierced the glowing surface of his bubble, making it explode into tiny droplets
About a Boy and his Star (excerpt)
of soap. One of them fall right onto Elias’ pointy nose and woke him right up. In his eyes, now open wide, were hundreds of his stars, now falling and crashing into the ground. The glass balls surrounding the stars burst immediately and the soft, white light roamed free for a bit before faltering and fading into the surrounding
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darkness. Elias leaped out of bed and ran into the back yard, trying to catch some of the lights before they died. But as he saw the other bullets approaching, he understood that it was too late. Grabbing his warmest coat and wrapping his arms around his chest to protect his own star he ran to the edge of his world, and, without
looking, leapt out into the darkness. He felt like he was falling for millions and millions of years, though it could have been seconds. Then, he finally felt the smooth surface another bubble embracing him like a mother’s arms. As he fell down into the world, passing its large stars, he could see in the far darkness his own world, no longer
glowing, surrounded by a white halo of soap droplets and confetti. His birthday balloons were flying off into the distance. He felt tears coming into his eyes when he looked at them go. And then he hit the rock-hard ground and the tears stopped. For a moment he just lay there, unable to breathe, staring
with wide eyes into the darkness which was all he could see. And then he saw the lights. He felt the pain. He drew the air into his lungs. And he screamed. Not the childish, shrieking sort of scream, but a deep cry of agony that came out of the darkest places in his tiny lungs.
Short Story Competition – (Year 10-11) WINNER: MARIA SIGRID REMME, YEAR 11 –
F
or once there was silence in the room. On the table was an empty glass, her computer, a pile of finished documents, a used knife and plate, and an invitation. An invitation for a New Year’s Eve dinner. Sarah smiled. She walked to the window, which had a view over the whole of Regent’s park. In the distance she could see the shining lights of London eye and the outline of the Shard. It would definitely be an important night, and one to cherish. Then she walked over to clear the coffee table, taking away the knife and plate, placing them into the sink. It was at this point that she realised how much washing up she needed to complete. Well, she thought, I can always do it tomorrow. Or even the day after tomorrow. She took a clean glass from the cupboard and walked over to the fridge to fill it up with cold water.
New Year’s Eve (excerpt)
She sat on the steps of the mud house, looking at the parched land around her, which stretched for miles. The soles of her feet were cracking. She licked her chapped lips then glanced around her. Inside she could hear the snores of her grandmother and the breaths of her younger sister and the baby. Where is she? she thought, fiddling with her dress as the straps kept sliding off her shoulders. She heard a goat screech and in the distance she saw a group of young women and girls walk towards the small scattered mud houses. Some were carrying baskets filled with fruits picked from the forest; others were bringing fresh meat. ‘Sabah!’ she screamed with delight and angst as she ran a couple of metres from the house. She lifted herself onto her tiptoes and with one
arm she waved frantically. ‘Sabah!’ The young woman was approaching with a basket of fruit on her head, which she balanced with one hand. With the other she led a goat. Beads of sweat coated her forehead and, despite being a couple months away from her seventeenth birthday, she looked at least twenty-six. She placed the basket of fruit on the ground. Then she took the lead of the goat and tied it to a wooden branch stuck in the ground. She sighed. ‘Sabah!’ Her sister ran to her. ‘Sabah! What took you so long?’ ‘I told you this morning that the journey was going to be longer today.’ ‘Yes, but grandmother was worried. She thought that —’ ‘She always thinks. She thinks too much.’
Short Story Competition – (Year 7-9) WINNER: SAANYA VERMA, YEAR 8 –
A
burst of light. A last breath. A door opening and a window closing. She feels a sinking in her heart. Where was she? Where was her family? She already missed them; her wonderful husband and her naughty little kids. Their antics and pranks were already filling her mind. She starts to choke on her tears, a veil of mist appearing in front of her eyes. Before a river could start its course however, she notices a train. Seeing she had already lost everything that mattered to her, she gets on. As she jumps in and continues the journey till the next station, her memories flash in front of her. Her birth into the world, her giggles and pranks of her childhood, her marriage with the wonderful satin dress adorning her
Creation Story (excerpt)
figure and finally, a strange one she did not recall, her death. She feels the train come to a halt and steps out. It is a whole new world. The bright haze rises into the soft blue sky and throws out spears of pure, divine light and banners of orange, golden and pink. She looks down at her hands and finds they are grey to her horror. Frightened, she quickly hurries over to a nearby mirror and to her shock finds her face has been replaced by an empty oval almost like a painting still to be drawn. How could this be? All of a sudden she knows what she has to do as though the instruction had been planted in her brain. She rushes over to a machine.
It was gigantic with a metallic door embellishing its façade and only thin windows high up near the ceiling. It was the elephant in the room though. How could she not have noticed it? As she comes inside she feels a cold stroke against her skin. When she looks down she can see a peach line on her arm. What was happening? She tries to escape however finds she cannot move. She was rooted to the spot like a powerless tree in the middle of nowhere. She succumbs to her misery and vulnerability and lets the ‘paint’ coat her in a shell of colour. A crazy idea comes to her mind as she feels the cold against her skin again. What if she really was … dead?
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LIBRARY & ARCHIVES A wide range of resources are available in the Library and the Archive, all of which support and complement the curricular and extra-curricular aspects of life at school. There are many opportunities to initiate and to participate in regular events including book groups, visiting authors and competitions. In addition to this, pupils are encouraged to take full advantage of accessing electronic and nonelectronic sources of information. The primary material in the Archive offers students the wonderful opportunity to appreciate North London Collegiate School’s unique traditions and heritage.
AUTHOR VISITS TERRY TERI At the start of the Autumn term, NLCS had the pleasure of welcoming multi-award winning author Teri Terry to our school. Teri Terry (one of my favourite authors) has received multiple awards in recognition of her gripping, intriguing and dramatic Slated trilogy. Slated is a thought provoking thriller set in a dystopian future where the government compete to control the minds of teenagers. We were fascinated to learn how the author draws her inspiration from dreams, real-life places and past events. After the talk we had the opportunity to ask Teri questions about her book, her career, and she gave us some advice on becoming published. She thrilled us with her latest novel Book of Lies and I was excited to learn that her new book Contagion will be released on “Star Wars Day” (May the 4th)! If it is anywhere near as good as the Slated trilogy, then bookshops here I come.
By Jessica Rose, Year 7
KEREN DAVID Students from eight schools across the borough shared their love for books and listened to award winning author and journalist Keren David, in a multi school event. Keren took pupils on a literary journey of her successful career as a writer, political correspondent and play writer. Her novel, Lia’s Guide to Winning the Lottery, will be adapted into a musical later in the year. The event attracted over eighty pupils seated on two floors of the MacLauchlan Library. The event ended with a Q&A where pupils asked Keren her thoughts on how to write a successful novel, what she is planning to write in the future and advice for future journalists. Pupils had the opportunity to purchase a signed copy of Keran’s latest novel Cuckoo. A huge thank you to the following schools who attended, John Lyon School, Haberdashers, Copthall School, QE Boys, Heartlands School, Sacred Heart School, Hemel Hempstead School and East Barnet School.
By Jungmin Seo, Year 12
HOLLY BOURNE In the Summer term we invited award-winning author Holly Borne to talk about her career as a writer. Holly has written a number of books including Am I Normal Yet and The Manifesto on How to be Interesting. Her books all contain strong feminist messages, and explore being teenage girls today. Holly talked about why we need feminism and talked through her Spinster Club trilogy and the pressures we put on boys and girls to be a certain way. Her talk also touched on mental health issues, as gender roles impact our wellbeing in different ways. She also signed some books, and stayed afterwards so girls could talk to her and ask her questions individually. It was incredible meeting an author we all loved so much, and putting a face to the author of these amazing stories was slightly bizarre yet also amazing.
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Strike a Prose – Creative Writing Competition The standard of this year’s Strike a Prose entries was exceptional. The students seemed to relish the opportunity to write a short prose piece complementing this year’s Fantasy Fashion theme, ‘Time’. A total of 45 entries were submitted which made the task of choosing a winner virtually impossible. Congratulations to all the girls for their creativity, inspiration, flair and panache’. Mr Terence Chan, Senior School Librarian
Seasons (excerpt) SPRING
T
he man watched them dancing, their joyful cries echoing through the forest. She was six and he was seven; they played together and danced through a heaven that only they knew and only they could see. He lingered in the shadows - the silent observer, a spectral ghost. The cool sun had begun its descent from the sky, and the forest was beginning to look like night-time. He was there to witness their pact - a young, youthful vow to stay together. Forever. But what did forever mean? The man chuckled to himself and thought them naïve.
SUMMER They returned to the glade. Three years had passed and they were still young. But she was not as happy. Her blue eyes glittered with hidden tears; they seemed to emit a
Hourglass (excerpt)
S
ome people want it. Some people need it. Most people think they have it, but like grains of sand it always trickles out from their grasp. One day it’s there, another day it’s not. It compels death yet it persuades life. It pulls you away yet it inches you closer. It’s the only thing I don’t have enough of. The only thing I’m running out of.
TIME. And so, I found myself upon a crisp, white bed with the pungent smell of disinfectant shrouding me in its acrid fumes. My family was there. My friends too. Surrounding me, joking with me, telling me stories, hugging me. It would have been perfect. It would have been surreal considering the bleakness of the path that stretched before me into the dark mist. The only problem was, I couldn’t laugh with them. I couldn’t
bitter chill that hurt the man’s eyes, as they stood out against the burning sun. The boy didn’t notice or perhaps he didn’t care. They talked about many things, he didn’t remember. His thoughts were like water and he couldn’t seem to grasp anything, as he crouched there behind the evergreen tree, the sweat trickling down the back of his neck. Something about an aunt and a school and, bizarrely, a soldier’s uniform. But there was one, unshakable truth that he was able to glean in his erratic state. She was going away.
AUTUMN The boy came alone. As the golden leaves were shaken from the dying trees, he came. Alone. He had grown taller and his chest broader, but his eyes were still the same. Still young and lacking any sort of wisdom. The boy may have been maturing into a man, he observed, but he was still fundamentally a boy. He
accept their embrace or return it. I couldn’t even open my eyes let alone speak. Such was the pain of the darkness that engulfed me. Such was the pain of the unconsciousness that conquered my every nerve and my every cell. Such was the pain of this coma. Night once more blanketed the realm in its velvety blackness. I lay awake, staring at the darkness of my closed eyelids and felt the weight of it all press down upon me once more. I wanted to cry yet not a single tear managed to run down my pallid countenance. The monotony of being an observer yet not a participator, the agony of hearing everyone around me cry yet to be unable to give them any form of ease and the incident replaying over and over as though my brain existed only as a broken tape recorder; it was all too much for me. I wanted
stayed for hours, carving and etching a piece of dry driftwood, his eyes focused on his task with an intensity that the man had not known the boy possessed. It was only when the day began to draw to an end that the boy stopped and waited, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. But what happened next was even stranger. The boy let out a wild, broken cry, the sound carried away by the wind, before throwing down the carving and stamping heavily on it with his leather boot. It was long after, when the sound of his agonised shout had faded from the man’s ears that he emerged from his hiding place and came upon the driftwood. He realised, with some surprise, what the boy had been making. A gift. One word scrawled onto the chaffed wood. Forever.
By Savannah Harper, Year 13
it to end. I wanted the torture to stop. A ringing began in my ears and once more, I found myself thrown back into the dark abyss that had become my one and only memory. “Aspen! Wait for me!” my mother cries out. She rests her hands upon her knees and takes a gulp of air as she tries to regain her breath. Her face is flushed and she beams at me when I stop and peek back, “Honey, don’t run off like that. We’re on the road; remember what I said about road safety? And I couldn’t see you for a couple of minutes, I got so worried! Stay where I can see you my child!” I can understand it now. She was hiding all of her anxiety behind the mask of a smile but did I understand it then? No. To me it was all just a game.
By Saanya Verma, Year 8
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Time Trapped
T
ears tumbled down her cheek, Riley’s brunette curls cascading down her neck. Her father stood next to her gripping her hand as if he could not lose someone else. Slowly Riley walked to the front her vision of the mysterious death clear as day in her mind. “Mum...” she whispered quietly. She walked behind into the room where her coffin was and lifted the lid. Her mum had long blonde hair, straight and wavy, but now all was gone. Her voice cracked at the sight of the limp, lifeless body, laying helplessly in the cubicle… “Mum, I’m sorry.”
Back at home, Riley sat quietly on her bedroom window-seat; staring silently into the mists. She had packed her bags ready to leave for the country, as her father was a travelling merchant and she could not be alone for a long period of time. Sadly she gathered her bags. Several hours later Riley had settled into her nanny’s home, she was pondering about in the basement when she came across a large clock. There was not anything amazing about the clock but Riley was somehow attracted to it. After a hasty supper Riley rushed downstairs to the place where the clock ticked on, she looked at the
Poet Tree Competition The Library’s ‘Poetree’ marked the advent of National Poetry Day. Girls were invited to write a short piece of poetry on the theme ‘Messages’. All entries were displayed on the tree to form a visual focal point for girls to enjoy and a selection of complementary poetry books, both classic and contemporary, were on display. Girls conveyed various interpretations of the theme from emotional and physical perspectives, whilst others incorporated hidden messages. WINNING ENTRIES
Letters
You hear the scratch of a quill on paper, Then the plop as the nib is dipped into ink You see the ink forming shapes; then letter; Letters; then words. You hear the swish of a match as it is struck, And then the crackle of a lit candle You see the room getting lighter, And bathing in a golden light. You smell the acrid tang of the flames, And the soft scent of paper, You hear the drip of the wax from the candle, Gradually reaching the paper.
You push the letter into the envelope, And then you pull the creamy flap over, Then you hear the gentle whack as the seal presses in, Then the wax dries and the letter is done. You walk to the post box and careless shove it in, Your letter is gone.
By Amelie Gadsby, Year 7
ornate carvings on the wood then to the detailed illustrations on the clock-face. Slowly as her eyes went across the clock she was somehow attached to it. In the reflection of the misty clock she saw her younger next to her mother playing blocks and then similarly her whole family on the seaside. She saw reflections dart across the glassy clock-face. After a while however Riley become lost from the clock’s mystical behaviour and was suddenly worried. Every movement she made was her past, what she was going to make was her future, but there was no time like the present…
By Neesha Murale, Year 7
Parting Words
In a world crashing down with bullets And blood and de ath, There was one m an, all alone, Lying beside me in the mud Lost in the land of the devil. This was a man wi th a dying ambitio n To tell his story on ce and for all Through his dying messages, His parting words. They whispered of fear, of worry, of lo ve And hurt me with a touch of the hear t. The messages we re not black on wh ite, Not ink on paper smudged with care lessness But words which ca me raw from the he ar t Still bleeding and true. Singed with hone sty and forgiveness . Stained with the gr ief of war. Filled with hope an d affection. For these kind of messages hold More close than th e letters of a milli on years. A remembrance fo r our loved ones, A message just fo r them
By Maia Dixit, Year
Hidden Jewel
9
ry; g, solving the myste Uncovering, unravellin a victory; s me co t las sing till at Tearing apar t the ca mes clear; ll the message beco Perusing the pagesti tion is near. e lines till the destina Reading between th hind that; story and the story be The story behind the y vat; ghts poured into ever So many hidden thou es made to reach; decipher, the messag The codes made to novel in each. A poem, a lesson, a
8 By Saanya Verma, Year 68 | NORTH LONDON COLLEGIATE SCHOOL | SCHOOL MAGAZINE 2017
Education. However, her intellectual vivacity did not limit her to the confines of the Indoors. As she was growing up in Enniskillen, she would visit her local farm, or go on boating trips on the heavy four-oar Rectory boat. She continued to pursue her love for cycling throughout her career as Headmistress. Dr Sophie Bryant’s unfettered admiration for mountaineering, which stemmed from the family expeditions on the Leitrim and Cavan borders, is perhaps her most striking pastime. Throughout her life, she continued to partake in mountaineering trips, despite the languorous dress codes of the time and restrictions on Victorian women. Her enthusiasm for mountaineering emanated from her achievements in this field – she had climbed the Matter Horn twice in her lifetime. According to Mary MaCrae, Dr Sophie Bryant was keen to organise social gatherings on these mountaineering trips. She united a whole range of nationalities through initiating discussions in small mountain inns. Dr Sophie Bryant’s final mountaineering expedition began on August 12th 1922, in Chamonix, when she was 72 years old. She had decided to overtake her nephew, but since then, her relatives had never heard from her again. It was soon discovered that Dr Sophie Bryant had slipped from a rock, and had consequently strayed from the original path that was to take her to Chamonix. Unfortunately, this resulted in her rather sudden death. However, it is clear that she ended her life doing something she had always loved. She now lies under the Monarch of the Alps. Indeed, as F. Fleetwood Buss concludes in a tribute to Dr Sophie Bryant, the former Headmistress’ “same love of mountaineering and of mountain scenery led to the final episode (I will not call it tragedy) at Chamonix.”
ARCHIVE FEATURE
By Jungmin Seo, Year 12
Searching through the Archives DR SOPHIE BRYANT’S MOUNTAINEERING CAREER
M
rs McCabe’s final Founders’ Day address was concerned with North London Collegiate School’s second headmistress: Sophie Bryant. From a young age, Dr Sophie Bryant had shown a flair for academic study, showing great passion for the Waverly Novels; even her father’s Dictionary of the Heresies of the Christian Church was something she was “very well up in”. Her father, W.A. Willock, was a fellow and tutor of Trinity College Dublin, who had received honours in Mathematics and Mental Science. Dr Sophie Bryant was to emulate his love for the sciences, as she too was awarded the Arnott Scholarship for Science at Bedford College, and was accepted into Cambridge the following year. Not only that, she is also the celebrated author of Celtic Ireland, The Teaching of Morality in the Family and the School and Moral and Religious
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Valedictory 2017
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LEAVERS' DESTINATIONS 2017 Ahilan, Tayzuki
Bristol
Chemistry
Ala’Aldeen, Avesta
Applying 2018
Ali, Sarika
Birmingham
History and Political Science
Amalananda, Gayatree
Cambridge (Gonville & Caius)
Medicine
Amanan, Sahana
Applying 2018
Armoghan, Maaria
Warwick University - 2018
PPE
Arya, Aparna
University College London
Economics
Bannatyne, Lucy
Oxford (Somerville)
Classics
Beck, Tiger-Lily
University College London
English
Bilimoria, Amanee
Birmingham City
Law
Bispham, Alexandra
Cambridge (Emmanuel) - 2018
Modern & Medieval Languages
Bor, Sophia
Cambridge (Girton) - 2018
Classics
Brent, Serena
Bristol
Law
Brown, Clare
USA Chicago
Liberal Arts
Buckwald, Molly
Bristol
Psychology
Chandaria, Sarina
Oxford (Christ Church)
Geography
Cheung, Tiffany
King’s College London
French with English
Chohan, Aashni
Nottingham University
Law
Cohen, Cecily
Leeds College of Art
Art Foundation
Dartnell-Steinberg, Cara
Cambridge (Girton)
History & Modern Languages
Davis, Caroline
Edinburgh
French & German
Dezyk, Larissa
Exeter
Philosophy & Theology
Dworkin, Shira
University College London - 2018
Medicine (6 years)
Ebner-Landy, Rebecca
Cambridge (Murray Edwards)
Modern & Medieval Languages
Faherty, Hannah
University College London
University College London
Fan, Wendi
Cambridge (Magdalene)
Mathematics
Fernando, Mary Cynthia
Applying 2018
Fitzpatrick, Imogen
Edinburgh
History
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LEAVERS' DESTINATIONS 2017 Gadsby, Katrina
Oxford (Merton)
Medicine
Gangadia, Shivani
Imperial College London
iological Sciences with Spanish for B Science
Gibson, Olivia
Durham
Geography
Ginsburg, Felicity
Oxford (Trinity)
Classics
Godwin, Emily
Oxford (Jesus)
Classics & English
Goodman, Aisha
Cambridge (Downing)
Natural Sciences
Gottschalk, Monica
King’s College London
Classical Studies
Graham, Katie
Bristol
French & Spanish (4 years)
Grint, Isabel
Warwick University
Philosophy
Gupta, Nikita
King’s College London
Medicine (5 years)
Gurmail-Kaufmann, Aysha
Oxford (Christ Church)
Classics & German
Hamid, Aliyah
Edinburgh
Biological Sciences
Harper, Savannah
Queen Mary London
Law
Hazemi-Jebelli, Sara
Cambridge (King’s)
English
Heffernan, Clara
Bristol
English & Classical Studies
Herai, Ashali
Warwick University
Philosophy
Hodes, Sylvie
Cambridge (Jesus) - 2018
Asian & Middle Eastern Studies
Hughes-Morgan, Alexandra
Oxford (Somerville)
German & Beginners’ Italian
Hussein, Leila
Cambridge (Homerton)
Asian & Middle Eastern Studies
Hyman, Mika
Applying 2018
Isaacs, Isabel
Birmingham
Classical Lit & Civilisation
Jeyabalasingham, Donya
Bristol
English
Joseph, Jaline
King’s College London
Law
Kaban-Bowers, Ayse
York University
English
Kadiwar, Krishna
reapplying post qualification
Kasenally, Fatima
Imperial College London
Physics
Keays, Edith
Bristol - 2018
Philosophy
Keshvani-Ham, Arjuna
Oxford (Worcester)
English & German
Khiroya, Riyana
King’s College London
Classical Studies
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LEAVERS' DESTINATIONS 2017 Khurjekar, Sailee
University College London
Philosophy & History of Art
Kim, Suyeon
Applying 2018
Kotelko, Berenika
Oxford (Jesus)
History
Kukendra-Rajah, Kaiisha
University College London
History, Politics & Economics
Kuti, Modupeoluwa
Birmingham
Medicine (5 years)
Leahy-Reynolds, Roisin
Applying 2018
Lever, Stephanie
Bristol
English
Lief, Jordan
Edinburgh
Civil Engineering
Lisitsina, Vera
London School of Economics
Economics
Manoharadas, Abira
Applying 2018
Marks, Claudia
Bristol - 2018
Theatre & English
Marlborough, Georgia
St Andrews
Computer Science & Philosophy
Mason, Eve
Oxford (Queen’s)
English & German
Mathur, Sian
Oxford (St. Catherine’s)
Experimental Psychology
Menon, Rhea
Warwick University
Philosophy
Morrison, Louise
Trinity Dublin
Nash, Elisabeth
King’s College London
English Language & Linguistics
Obi, Arianne
Bath University
I nternational Management & Modern Languages - French
Obi, Kiera
St Andrews
Management & Psychology
Panju, Areej
King’s College London
Psychology
Patel, Riya
Warwick University
Engineering
Pisklova, Kira
Oxford (St. Hugh’s)
French & Beginners’ Italian
Poopalasingam, Gishani
Imperial College London
Medicine
Popat, Ria
Royal Veterinary College
Bioveterinary Sciences
Pope, Millicent
Leeds
Economics & Geography
Prakash, Suditi
Edinburgh
Medicine
Quinn, Elizabeth
Exeter
English
Qurban, Fatima
Imperial College London
Biochemistry
Ramanan, Cynthuja
King’s College London
Biomedical Engineering
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LEAVERS' DESTINATIONS 2017 Rathi, Shraddha
Cambridge (St. John’s)
Razzaghi, Shelly
Applying 2018
Rimini, Lucia
York University University
English
Saxena, Anushka
King’s College London
Chemistry with Biomedicine
Sayers, Anna
Bristol
History
Schwarzmann, Gabrielle
Oxford (Wadham)
History & Politics
Seennapen, Deena
University College London
Applied Medical Sciences
Shah, Iyla
UAL Camberwell College of Arts
Art Foundation
Shah, Laila
King’s College London
Chemistry
Shah, Minal
Cambridge (Jesus)
Land Economy
Shaida, Anam
Applying 2018
Shanmugarasa, Aberami
Cambridge (St. John’s)
Medicine
Sharifi, Parnaz
King’s College London
Biomedical Science
Sheera, Sophia
Cambridge (Robinson)
English
Shringarpure, Aditi
Oxford (Exeter)
iochemistry (Molecular and B Cellular)
Sidoli, Elena
Nottingham University
Medicine
Stauss, Lara
Applying 2018
Subra, Mahaan
Applying 2018
Tanaka, Zofia
Oxford (Christ Church)
Ancient & Modern History
Verghese, Yasmin
Brighton
Interior Architecture
Viswanath, Mallaika
Edinburgh
Medicine
Wang, Iris
University College London
English
Wang, Qianrui (Maria)
London School of Economics
Management
Westman, Ella
Columbia College, City of New York
Liberal Arts
Wheldon, Jennifer
Warwick University
Computer Science
Whitefield, Mia
Applying 2018
Whitfield, Hannah
York University University
History
Wilson, Megan
Cambridge (Queens’)
Medicine
Zhang, Sophie
Cambridge (Pembroke)
uman, Social and Political H Sciences
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Modern & Medieval Languages
PRIZE LIST 2017 Academic Excellence Subject Prizes Dame Kitty Anderson Award Dame Kitty Anderson Award Sophie Bryant Award Sophie Bryant Award
Katie Foxton Naemi Melvin Chisato Tsuji Sabrina Mohamed
Art
R.W. Buss
Elizabeth Quinn
Art
Moy Keightley
Arjuna Keshvani-Ham
Biology
Nicola Goldfarb
Louise Morrison
Classics
John Back
Lucia Rimini
Classics
Hester Armstead
Emily Godwin
Classics
Amy Harris
Felicity Ginsburg
Drama
Clothworkers
Aashni Chohan
Economics
Ridley
Tiger-Lily Beck
Economics
Joan Brackenbury
Aparna Arya
Economics
H D Donaldson
Minal Shah
English
Senior English
Iris Wang
English
Elsie Todd
Mika Hyman
English
Sebba
Sara Hazemi-Jebelli
English
Stella Gibbons Memorial
Arjuna Keshvani-Ham
Geography
Jane Agnes Chessar
Olivia Gibson
Geography
Walton
Sarina Chandaria
Geography
Priscilla Frances Sharland
Minal Shah
Government & Politics
Leonard Brooks
Sophie Zhang
History
M E Gossip
Berenika Kotelko
History
Senior History
Zofia Tanaka
History
Hatfield
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Mathematics
L.E. Walter
Jennifer Wheldon
Mathematics
Edith Collet
Riya Patel
Mathematics
Buss-Crane
Georgie Malborough
Mathematics
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Wendi Fan
Mathematics
Clara Collet
Fatima Kasenally
Medicine
Louise Sinclair Memorial Prize
Nikita Gupta
MFL
Eleanor Lyndon
Shraddha Rathi
MFL
Marjorie Muir
Sylvie Hodes
MFL
Mensbier
Rebecca Ebner-Landy
MFL
Betty Hanemann
Alexandra Bispham
MFL
Patricia Erskine
Cara Dartnell-Steinberg
MFL
Caroline Senator
Lara Stauss
MFL
D’Hondt
Leila Hussein
German
Heinz Ulrich Lachmann
Aysha Gurmail-Kaufmann
Philosophy
John Back
Georgie Malborough
Religious Studies
Alice Lupton
Edith Keays
Religious Studies
Septimus Buss
Sailee Khurjekar
Science
Emma Guggenheim
Aditi Shringarpure
Science
Webb
Tayzuki Ahilan
Science
Doris Gregory
Mia Whitefield
Science
Doris Gregory
Shira Dworkin
Science
Elizabeth Tuckett
Aisha Goodman
Science
Harker
Georgie Malborough
Science
Kay Nicholson Prize for Physics
Wendi Fan
Science
Nachschen
Katrina Gadsby
Science
Leslie Pauline Leader
Gayatree Amalananda
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Service Prizes Service as a Form Assistant
Clothworkers
Hannah Whitfield
Service to Canonaid
Miss Gad Patemean
Oluranti Kuti
Service to Drama
Emma Hedges
Sarika Ali
Service to Junior School
Clara Begbie
Riyana Khiroya
Service to Music
Fanny Green
Tiffany Cheung
Service to Music
Frances Mary Buss
Suyeon Kim
Service to Music
Lucy Welch
Mika Hyman
Service to Music
Agnes Hackney
Aisha Goodman
Service to Music
Enid Hoggan
Hannah Whitfield
Service to School Societies
Elizabeth Hoskyn
Megan Wilson
Service to School Societies
Maclean-Frazer Memorial
Laila Shah
Service to School Societies
Prance
Sailee Khurjekar
Service to School Societies
Maclean-Frazer Memorial
Elizabeth Quinn
Service to School Societies
Elizabeth Hoskyn
Larissa Dezyk
Service to Sport
Windsor Cup
Clare Brown
Service to Sport
Bradstreet Cup
Isabel Grint
Service to Sport
Smallwood Trophy
Elena Sidoli
Service to the Arts
Philippa Threlfall
Yasmin Verghese
Service to the Community
Stephanie Lee
Katrina Gadsby
Service to the Magazine
Mary Sybill Smith
Leila Hussein
Service to the School
Yvonne Grover
Gaby Schwarzmann
Service to the School
Yvonne Grover
Lucia Rimini
Service to the School
Commander Corby
Eve Mason
Service to the School
Dame Kitty Anderson
Aisha Goodman
Service to the School
Dame Kitty Anderson
Felicity Ginsberg
Service to the School
Miss Drummond
Caroline Davis
Service to the School
Miss Drummond
Sophia Sheera
Service to the School Libraries
Olive Wright
Lucia Rimini
University Awards
Nicola Goldfarb Girton Book Prize
Sophia Sheera
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Alumnae & Development News 2016-17 saw the continued growth of North London’s alumnae and fundraising activities.
W
e continue to support ONLs as much as possible, through career societies, finding work experience placements, and acting as a ‘sounding board’ for those who want to return to work having taken time out. The ONL social network continues to grow, encouraging dialogue between ONLs across generations and also between ONLs and the School; we are connected on Facebook to over 2,000 alumnae and on LinkedIn to over 500. We launched an ONLA Twitter account, and look forward to growing this following over the coming months. We truly are a Community for Life! We managed to pack an incredible 20 events for ONLs into the school calendar, including a cocktail party attended by 150 ONLs and 30 former staff to bid farewell to Mrs McCabe; the third Big Six Dinner; and our annual ONLA Picnic. We were delighted to launch a group for alumnae working in the field of medicine, and we held events for women in the arts (a panel event which featured ONLs of the screen and stage, including TV presenter Rebecca Wilcox and her mother, Dame Esther Rantzen), media, law, STEM, and business. These events continue to prove incredibly useful for creating new connections, sharing ideas and bringing together ONLs of varying ages and experiences. We were delighted to arrange reunions across the year, from those
who left in 2016 to those whose school days ended over 50 years ago. These events were full of reminiscences and renewed friendships. We were particularly thrilled that our Reunion event in May, for those who left the School 10, 20, 30 and 40 years ago, was our most well-attended to date, with over 200 ONLs returning to Canons. One ONL wrote to us the following day to say, ‘I am writing to say how very much I enjoyed the day on Saturday - I am so glad that I came. The Alumnae team did a brilliant job in the organisation - thank you all very much.’ Our programme of Neighbourhood Drinks Parties continues to bring
together parents living in a local area; during 2016-17, we were generously hosted at homes in Stanmore, Radlett and Willesden. These events provided an informal way for school staff and governors to chat with parents, and for parents across all year groups to meet each other at a location other than the coach stop! Our thanks go to our hosts for these lovely events, and to all those who were able to attend. Drinks were held at The Headmistress’ flat in June, to thank all those who have philanthropically supported the School during Mrs
ONL Cocktail Party
Class of 1987
ONL Cocktail Party
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McCabe’s tenure. 45 guests attended, including former parents whose daughters left many years ago. We continue to raise much-needed funds for bursaries at the School; our goal is for the equivalent of 10% of Senior School students to receive a 100% bursary. Thank you to all those supporters who are enabling us to work towards this aim. Gifts of all sizes make a difference. ONLA, our alumnae association, generously donated the surpluses from funds accumulated to the Bursary Fund with a gift of £130,000; this will Class of 2007
Class of 1977
cover the costs of an 80% bursary over seven years. We continued to work with our corporate sponsor, Bank of America Merrill Lynch: as well as supporting our bursary fund, the Bank provided opportunities for internships and mentoring to our students. We were also delighted to receive support from Michael Tompsett (husband of ONL Margaret Tompsett, née Hatfield, Class of 1961) towards the encouragement of STEMM at NLCS; as a result of this gift we plan to recruit a part-time Engineer in Residence. Our first ever Annual Fund was
launched in October. Items that were kindly purchased by parents include a piano, iPads and LEGO MINDSTORM kits. Thank you to all those who supported this campaign. We were immensely grateful to be notified by a number of ONLs and former parents of their intention to leave the School a Gift in their Will; The Frances Mary Buss Fellowship was set up several years ago as a means of thanking those who have let us know about a future legacy.
By Deborah Sobel, Director of Development
Class of 2014
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Colours The wide variety of activities that take place in school outside of the classroom play a central role in helping students to grow, to develop their character and become well equipped to tackle life’s challenges. We award Colours as a way of acknowledging and celebrating the extra-curricular contributions made by the students, and recognising the value of these contributions
AUTUMN 2016 Senior Colours for contribution to Community Service Ashlin Gadhia Aashni Thanki
Senior Colours for contribution to Music Inis Oirr Asano Tiffany Cheung
Senior Colours for contribution to Sport Cassie Chan Elisabeth Joyce
as part of their broader education and development as people. Half Colours are awarded to students in Years 10 and above whose commitment in a certain area has been particularly impressive, over a significant period of time. Senior Colours are awarded to students in Years 12 and 13 whose contribution has been truly exceptional, going far above and beyond what would normally be expected.
Half Colours for contribution to Drama Tiger-Lily Beck Darcey Goldstein
Half Colours for contribution to Music Dorothy Chan Ellie Fidler Cerys Gorringe Lulu Hao Lindsey Ingate Athena Kam Tilly Mattich Arabella Zuckerman
Megan Wilson
Half Colours for contribution to Sport
Senior Colours for Service to the School
Jasmine Chen Vidya Nanthakumar Lucia Rimini
Larissa Dezyk Leila Hussein Lucia Rimini
Half Colours for contribution to Community Service Coral Harding Jemima Lane Dinithi Liyanage Sonali Patel Ishani Shah Megan Tang Yue Lun Zhu
Half Colours for Service to the School Isabelle Coates Rebecca Ebner-Landy Ashlin Gadhia Mika Hyman Donya Jeyabalasingham Arjuna Keshvani-Ham Berenika Kotelko Nirali Patel Harriet Pinder Shraddha Rathi Yasmin Verghese Iris Wang Arabella Zuckerman
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SPRING 2017 Senior Colours for contribution to Community Service Victoria Kyriacou
Senior Colours for contribution to Drama Amelia Bogert Lauren Botje Ellie Fidler Ashlin Gadhia Zusi Inegbeniki Varuna Mitra
Senior Colours for contribution to Music Lauren Botje Suyeon Kim Anoushka Sharp
Senior Colours for contribution to Sport Clare Brown Aysha Gurmail-Kaufmann Millie Pope Ellie Sidoli
Senior Colours for Service to the School Laila Shah Megan Wilson
Half Colours for contribution to Art Iyla Maharasingam-Shah Arianne Obi
Half Colours for contribution to Community Service
Half Colours for Service to the School
Amy Best Candice Chen Serena Dodhia Athena Kam Kia Popat Natalia Sealey Aneeka Shah Hannah Shewan
Victoria Adjei Gayatree Amalananda Maaria Armoghan Beatrice Avanzato Alex Bispham Anusha Bulman Sarina Chandaria Jasmine Chen Hana El-Chamaa Olivia Gibson Sylvie Hodes Jemima Lane Kezia Levy Julia Lukasik Jennie Packe Riya Patel Mihika Prakash Anya Rajani Shreya Rajani Gaby Schwarzmann Jungmin Seo
Half Colours for contribution to Drama Maddie Alberg Anna Belhassen Emily Duchen Lola Goldstein Krishney Jegatheeswaran Daniela Kobrin Jada-Nicole Korsah Mia Lane Jessica Pretorius Millie Tudor-Hart Lily Weston Lara Zakaria Faye Zhao
SUMMER 2017 Senior Colours for Drama
Half Colours for contribution to Music
Amber Hyams
Saibhan Bains Miranda Bell Sarina Chandaria Cara Chedid Wendi Fan Biranavi Kirupakaran Lucia Rimini Faye Zhao
Senior Colours for Service to the School
Half Colours for contribution to Sport Caroline Davis Cerys Gorringe
Cassie Chan Ashlin Gadhia Lindsey Ingate Nirali Patel Jungmin Seo
Half Colours for contribution to Art Manika Patel
Zainab Haider Vidya Nanthakumar Arianna Risoli Maya Satheeskaran
Half Colours for contribution to Drama Stacey Adjetey Asha Bakhai Ananya Basu Mia Borgese Inma Emberton Serena Hart Aliya Iqbal Zarah Kaye Clarke Sophie Linton Romy McCarthy Annika Mehta Olivia Payne Leah Pettit Bronte Sherborne Raine Spentzos Ella Staveley Helena Trenner Sophie Wimborne
Half Colours for contribution to Sport Annabel Christie Yasmin Fairnington Imogen Gordon Lauren Levine Annecy Stevens
Half Colours for Service to the School Meghna Amin Zusi Inegbeniki Lauren Levine Isobel Mason Natalia Sealey Alezandra Udueni
Half Colours for contribution to Community Service Jasmine Chen Bella Cooper-Brown
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International
Our sister school, on Jeju island in South Korea, is now in its sixth year of operation and continues to go from strength to strength, with just over 1,000 pupils in the school and over 160 staff in the Junior and Senior Schools and Boarding Houses.
North London Collegiate School Jeju
T
he iGCSE results were excellent, with over 65% of pupils achieved A* and A grades, a fantastic feat for the pupils and their teachers and a testament to all their hard-work and the support from the staff at NLCS Jeju. The International Baccalaureate (IB) results were also extremely good, with over 42% of pupils achieving 40 points or more. We are also delighted to say that three pupils received a perfect 45 point score; world-wide only 218 pupils out of 159,400 achieved this. These 2017 leavers have gone on to world-renowned universities, including NYU, Stanford, Princeton,
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Cambridge, Imperial, UCL, LSE, Sydney and Hong Kong to highlight just a few establishments. We wish them every success in their continued study. The commitment to a rich extracurricular life is also in full swing at NLCS Jeju, echoing the values of NLCS (UK). From house competitions to community service projects, there is a huge breadth of activity taking place within the school. In April, 2017, 36 of NLCS Jeju’s year 5 students travelled to Hawaii for a residential trip. The students visited Pearl Harbour and Moana Falls, as well as the Volcanoes National Park. Year 13 pupils undertook their
North London Collegiate School Dubai
W
ith NLCS Dubai opening in September 2017, this academic year saw the appointment of its Founding Principal. We are delighted to say that Mr Daniel Lewis, formerly Deputy Head (External Affairs) at NLCS (UK), has taken on this role for the new school. Over the course of the year he appointed over 40 teaching staff to join him in August to prepare for its first cohort of pupils. Alongside the recruitment of new teaching staff, the School itself, NLCS Dubai, was built. Mrs McCabe visited the site and saw the progress of construction. As with NLCS Jeju,
NLCS Dubai is being built with the feel of NLCS (UK) in mind. The School will formally open with the first round of students when their Autumn term begins. As with NLCS Jeju, there will be opportunities for staff and pupils to travel to NLCS Dubai for exchanges. We look forward to building these links with our second international school as it establishes itself in the UAE. The School also had its official launch event at the Dubai Opera House. Several talented musicians from NLCS (UK) travelled to the UAE to play Bach for the event.
NLCS Dubai Launch
annual community service trip to Somosomo in Fiji, a project which began in 2012. This supports the community service and spirit values of NLCS (UK) and gives pupils a chance to see how their fundraising has directly impacted the school in Fiji. As this is part of the CAS project for the IB, the pupils completed service work around the school as well. A new parent group has also been set-up to increase parental involvement in school-life, named Friends of NLCS Jeju (FONJ). In December, 2016, FONJ organised a Christmas market in the school’s PAC. It was a great success with over 7 million Korean Won raised (the equivalent of four and a half thousand pounds).
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NLCS International Teacher Training
T
o support our international schools, we arrange an annual training event at NLCS (UK) to explore what an NLCS education means and how it is translated into an international context. In June 2017, we welcomed, for the first time, new teachers for both NLCS Dubai and NLCS Jeju. As part of the event, we welcomed fifteen subject specialists from
NLCS Jeju - Senior School Production of Zorro
NLCS Jeju Valedictory Day 2017
NLCS Jeju trip to Somosomo
Arabic to History to English Literature to deliver academically enriching lectures to over 60 members of staff taking up postings at the schools. We also had a number of lectures from NLCS (UK) staff about the academic ethos of the London school to support the teachers creating a similar environment in an international setting.
Communities of practice
T NLCS Jeju - Junior School End of Year Concert 90 | NORTH LONDON COLLEGIATE SCHOOL | SCHOOL MAGAZINE 2017
he international team have been looking at how to strengthen the academic connection between the three schools. Communities of Practice are therefore being set-up to create forums to unite colleagues in shared practices between the schools, as well as looking at developing activities for students to participate in. The first meetings of these communities take place in September 2017 and we look forward to seeing the initiatives that are generated from these communities.
Canonaid House Fete
This year an overall points competition was introduced, taking into account feedback from Student Voice sessions and discussions held by the ExtraCurricular Committee. All House competitions are now worth a certain number of points, and a record is kept so that an overall winning House can be announced at the end of the School year.
HOUSE ACTIVITIES PROGRAMME
G
irls have been extremely busy taking part in many House sports competitions throughout the year. The wide range of activities has included cross country, netball, volleyball, Frisbee tournaments, Lacrosse, Volleyball, Bench-Ball, Rounders and Swimming Galas and a Water polo tournament. Girls got creative in a House
Photography Competition, participated in games of ‘blitz chess’ in the House Chess Competition and the House Debating Competition was keenly contested, with teams of girls from a range of year groups speaking on a number of interesting topics. House competitions have encouraged girls to try out new activities, in a bid to win points for their
Canonaid House Fete
Cake Sale - Collet House
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House. While doing so, they have had the opportunity to make friends with girls in different year groups, one of the principle aims of the House activities programme. As a further opportunity for socialising more within Houses, a ‘House Lunch’ was held for the first time. Tablecloths in House colours were used, and the Catering Department gave the food a creative twist to reflect the Houses theme! The House Quiz was the final House event of the Autumn Term. Each House was represented by four girls across the year groups. There was a great sense of excitement as the teams battled it out, demonstrating their general knowledge to great effect. The House Fete, organised with the help of Canonaid, was the highlight of the House activities programme in the Spring Term. All five Houses provided an impressive number of stalls, ranging from classic fete attractions such as hoopla and games such as ‘Play Your Cards Right’, to a wide array of edible delights including waffles and milkshakes. The bouncy castle and Bollywood dance workshops proved extremely popular. The event was a lovely way to bring the school community together for a common charitable cause, all the money raised (£1,400 in total) went to the local mental health charity Mind in Harrow. In the build-up to the Fete, each House formed a charity committee to co-ordinate stalls at the Fete and organise other fundraising events. A
Sports Day
particular highlight was the special ‘Would I Lie to You’ panel show organised by Collet House, which featured several teachers relating ‘facts’ about their lives and trying to fool the opposing team as to whether they were true or false. This proved highly amusing for the sizeable audience who came to watch the event during lunchtime. All five Houses contributed impressively to the Omni-House Bake Sale. The Dining Hall lobby was divided into sections so that each House could display its culinary creations. It was evident that many students possess superb baking skills, and Angus House was judged the winner for the delightful range and creativity of its cakes. The culmination of the House points competition, and the highlight of the House activities programme was
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Sports Day on 4th July, when once again all students were competing in their House T-shirts and cheering on their team-mates with great enthusiasm. While Aitken emerged victorious at Sports Day, the inaugural overall House points competition was won by Collet by the smallest of margins!
By Mr Hitchcock, Mrs Demetriou, Mr Kenwright, Ms Lobo and Miss Sams
Canonaid House Fete
1.
3.
2.
House Photo Competition
T
he competition saw girls invited to submit a photograph inspired by their House colour. The standard of entries was very high with many creative and colourful images. Well done to all those who took part and congratulations to those selected for prizes.
1. WINNER
Y10-11 – Mia Lane
2. WINNER
Y10-11 – Sofia Johanson
(Collet)
(Aitken)
3. WINNER
Y10-11 – Miranda Bell (Lindsay)
4. WINNER
Y7-9 – Neesha Murale (Gibbons)
5. WINNER
Sixth Form – Vidya Nanthakumar
6. WINNER
Y7-9 – Amélie Gadsby
(Aitken)
(Collett)
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4.
5.
6.
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STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES Badminton Dance Recreational Sports Gymnastics Lacrosse Netball Swimming Tennis
Senior Committee 2016-2017 Senior Student: Eve Mason Sophia Sheera Caroline Davis Felicity Ginsberg Aisha Goodman Games Captain: Izzy Grint
First and Junior School Form Assistants
Ella Benson, Isabelle Dean, Aashni Patel, Esme Wilson, Nanami Yamaguchi
Sixth Form Mentor Leader Anna-Maria Vassiliades
Website Officer Nishka Patel
Duke of Edinburgh – Mrs Betts & Dr Browning
Year 7 Form Assistants Sahana Amanan, Anam Shaida, Laila Shah, Fatima Qurban, Suyeon Kim, Monica Gottschalk, Hannah Faherty, Sophia Bor, Amanee Bilimoria, Lucy Bannatyne
Savannah Harper, Clara Heffernan, Zofia Tanaka
Priya Gopaldas, Ifeoluwa Ojomo Aashni Patel, Esme Wilson Amelia Bezuidenhout Cowen Ella Benson, Esme Wilson Isabelle Dean, Ella Steinert Nanami Yamaguchi
Sports Committee
RO: Alexandra Bispham, Aysha Gurmail-Kaufmann RL: (Team Leader) Hannah Whitfield, Iyla Maharasingam-Shah 1C: Riyana Khiroya, Claudia Marks 1H Cara Dartnell-Steinberg, Lucia Rimini 2A Rebecca Ebner-Landy, Isabel Isaacs 2B Fatima Kasenally 3L Sian Mathur, Suditi Prakash 3S Deena Seennapen, Lara Stauss EYFS Minal Shah
School Ambassadors
Danishia Vijayakumar Vanessa Greane, Claudia Mulholland
Louise Morrison
Afro Caribbean Society – Ms Young Chair: Kiera Obi Vice Chair: Jaline Joseph, Secretary: Laila Shah, Publicity; Arianne Obi Member: Kaiisha Kukendra-Rajah
Peer Mentors Amalananda Gayatree, Cecily Cohen, Hannah Faherty, Imogen Fitzpatrick, Katrina Gadsby, Nikita Gupta, Fatima Kasenally, Winnie Leung, Abira Manoharadas, Suditi Prakash, Areej Panju, Parnaz Sharifi
Social Affairs Committee Chair: Anushka Patel, Members: Emily Abrahams, Zeenat Ajala, Abigail French, Jessica Jones, Karissa Kotecha, Rebecca Goss-Williams.
Anthropology Society – Mr Massey Chair: Vice Chair: Member:
Leila Hussein, Alex Hughes-Morgan Sarina Chandaria, Edith Keays
Archepelago Society – Dr Roberts Editor: Publicity: Member: .
Mika Hyman, Secretary; Sailee Khurjekar Sara Hazemi-Jebelli Winnie Leung, Mallaika Viswanath
Sports Committee
Architecture Society – Mr Robinson
Captain: Athletics:
Chair:
Issy Grint Aurelija Ippolito
Yasmin Verghese
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Art & Design Society – Mr Robinson Co-Chairs: Members:
Iyla Maharasingam-Shah, Arianne Obi, Aliyah Hamid, Arjuna Keshvani-Ham
Canonaid Chair: Oluranti Kuti, Secretary: Aberami Shanmugarasa, Publicity: Mahaan Subra, Liaison: Lucy Bannatyne, Serena Brent, Anam Shaida, Iris Wang, Treasurer: Gishani Poopalasingam
Chess Society - Mr Winston Chess Officer: Ella Westman
Christian Society – Dr Jackson Chair: Yasmin Verghese
Co Vice Chairs: Roisin Leahy-Reynolds, Ella Westman Secretary: Ashali Herai Publicity: Katie Graham, Kaiisha Kukendra-Rajah Chief Editor Tiffany Cheung of Capital: Editors of Maaria Armoghan, Vera Lisitsina, Krishna Capital: Kadiwar Subject Gayatree Amalananda, Kira Pisklova Development: Members: Leila Hussein, Arianne Obi, Riya Patel, Minal Shah, Aditi Shringarpure, Elena Sidoli, Lara Stauss, Maria Wang
Engineering Society - Miss Rice Chair: Jordan Lief Vice Chair: Mia Whitefield, Secretary: Shelly Razzagh,i Publicity: Georgie Marlborough, Riya Patel, Middle School Liaison: Shira Dworkin, Members: Tayzuki Ahilan, Wendi Fan
Classics Society - Mr Maunder
Environmental Awareness Society – Mrs Gunzi
Chair: Emily Godwin Club Libby Nash Coordinator: Secretary: Lucy Bannatyne, Publicity: Isabel Isaacs, Sophia Bor Publications: Zofia Tanaka, Members: Felicity Ginsburg, Aysha Gurmail-Kaufmann
Chair: Sophie Zhang Vice Chair: Ragavi Thayananthan Secretary: Anushka Saxena Publicity: Ria Popat
Computing Society – Dr Cripps Chair: Secretary: Members:
Cynthuja Ramanan Wendi Fan Tayzuki Ahilan, Yasmin Verghese
Feminist Society – Dr Murray-Pepper Chair: Stephanie Lever Vice Chair Monica Gottschalk (external affairs): Secretary: Shraddha Rathi, Publicity: Cecily Cohen Members: Amanee Bilimoria, Olivia Gibson, Clara Heffernan, Gaby Schwarzmann
Creative Writing Society - Ms Anslow
Film and Media Society – Mrs Bedi
Co-Chairs: Riyana Khiroya, Lucia Rimini, Hannah Whitfield Secretary: Lizzie Quinn Iris Wang
Chair: Lizzie Quinn Vice Chair: Sara Hazemi-Jebelli Secretary: Edith Keays Publicity: Rhea Menon Publicity: Tiger-Lily Beck, Aliyah Hamid, Rhea Menon Members: Sian Mathur, Kiera Obi, Millicent Pope, Jennifer Wheldon
Debating Society – Dr Murray-Pepper Co-Chairs: Larissa Dezyk, Mary Fernando Secretary: Clara Heffernan Members: Maaria Armoghan, Rebecca Ebner-Landy, Donya Jeyabalasingham, Sailee Khurjekar, Stephanie Lever, Aberami Shanmugarasa, Maria Wang
Geography Society - Miss Roberts Co-Chairs: Sarina Chandaria, Olivia Gibson, Secretary: Nikita Gupta, Publicity: Minal Shah, Member: Clare Brown, Anna Sayers, Caroline Davis
Economics Society – Mr Foster Chair
Aparna Arya
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Hindu, Jain and Sikh Society – Miss Mott-Thornton Chairs: Publicity: Member:
Ria Popat, Secretary: Abira Manoharadas Krishna Kadiwar Mallaika Viswanath
History Society – Dr Van Reyk Co-Chairs: Maaria Armoghan, Gaby Schwarzmann Co-Vice Chairs: Berenika Kotelko, Anna Publicity: Zofia Tanaka, Imogen Fitzpatrick Secretary: Cara Dartnell-Steinberg Publications: Mika Hyman Members: Sarika Ali, Ashali Herai, Sylvie Hodes, Jaline Joseph, Kaiisha Kukendra-Rajah, Nerosha Mathiy, Kira Pisklova, Lizzie Quinn, Hannah Whitfield, Megan Wilson
Mathematics Society – Ms Copin Co-Chairs: Wendi Fan, Jennifer Wheldon Publicity: Vera Lisitsina Secretary: Riya Patel Members: Aparna Arya, Aisha Goodman, Roisin LeahyReynolds, Georgie Marlborough, Cynthuja Ramanan,Parnaz Sharifi, Mia Whitefield
Music Society – Mr Haigh
Human Rights Society – TBC Chair: Secretary: Publicity: Members:
Vice Chair: Iris Wang Secretary: Emily Godwin Publicity: Claudia Marks, Ayse Kaban-Bowers, Isabel Isaacs Partnerships: Donya Jeyabalasingham Members: Tiger-Lily Beck, Alexandra Bispham, Winnie Leung, Stephanie Lever
Chair:
Avesta Ala’Aldeen Katrina Gadsby Ragavi Thayananthan, Aashni Chohan Isabel Grint, Savannah Harper
Tiffany Cheung
Muslim Society - Mrs Hutchings Chair: Secretary:
Areej Panju Aliyah Hamid
International Affairs Society – Mrs Dean Chair: Secretary: Publicity: Members:
Maria Wang, Deputy Chair: Shraddha Rathi Sarina Chandaria Berenika Kotelko, Aashni Chohan Ayse Kaban-Bowers, Rhea Menon
Oriental Society - Ms Hickman Chair: Secretary: Member:
Tiffany Cheung Clare Brown Sophie Zhang
Jewish Society - Mrs Gamsu
Performing Arts Society – Mr Kenwright
Chair: Secretary: Members:
Chair: Sarika Ali Secretary: Claudia Marks Publicity: Tiger-Lily Beck Members: Aisha Goodman, Libby Nash, Cynthuja Ramanan
Sylvie Hodes Sophia Bor Felicity Ginsburg, Katie Graham
Law Society – Mr Glock Co-Chairs: Serena Brent, Imogen Fitzpatrick, Savannah Harper Secretary: Aashni Chohan Publicity: Mary Fernando
LBGT Society – Mr Beer Chair: Secretary: Publicity:
Monica Gottschalk, Libby Nash Louise Morrison Ragavi Thayananthan
Literary Society – Mr James-Williams Co-Chairs:
Philosophy Society – Mr Holt Chair: Sailee Khurjekar Vice Chairs: Edith Keays Secretary: Georgie Marlborough Publicity: Abira Manoharadas Editor of Anna Sayers Plato & Co: Entertainment Larissa Dezyk Secretary: Members: Molly Buckwald, Isabel Grint, Alex HughesMorgan, Riyana Khiroya, Oluranti Kuti, Jordan Lief, Sophie Sheera
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Photography Society – Mr Hardy
Psychology Society – Dr Jackson
Chair: Secretary: Members:
Co-Chair: Suditi Prakash, Molly Buckwald Secretary: Rachel Lewis Publicity: Vanessa Greane Members: Suyeon Kim, Sian Mathur, Kiera Obi, Areej Panju, Millicent Pope, Elena Sidoli, Mahaan Subra, Jennifer Wheldon. Shivani Gangadia
Millicent Pope Iyla Maharasingam-Shah Isabel Grint, Sara Hazemi-Jebelli
Politics and Current Affairs Society Chair: Donya Jeyabalasingham Vice Chair: Sarika Ali Secretary: Larissa Dezyk Publicity: Sophie Zhang, Cecily Cohen Members: Olivia Gibson, Jaline Joseph, Roisin Leahy-Reynolds, Gaby Schwarzmann, Megan Wilson
Polyglot Society Co-Chairs: Alexandra Bispham, Rebecca Ebner-Landy Vice Chair: Deena Seennapen Secretary: Leila Hussein Publicity: Kira Pisklova, Lara Stauss Leader of Alex Hughes-Morgan Tutoring System: Linguistics: Sylvie Hodes Miniglot: Shraddha Rathi, Katie Graham Members: Sahana Amanan, Serena Brent, Molly Buckwald, Cara Dartnell-Steinberg, Caroline Davis, Emily Godwin, Shivani Gangadia, Aysha Gurmail-Kaufmann, Eve Mason, Aditi Shringarpure
Public Speaking Society – Dr McLoughlin Chairs: Publicity: Secretary: Members:
Lucia Rimini Ella Westman, Aashni Chohan Ashali Herai Fatima Qurban
Science Society – Mr McMillan & Miss Welford Co-Chairs: Laila Shah, Megan Wilson Chair of Ayse Kaban-Bowers Upper School: Secretary: Gayatree Amalananda Publicity: Amanee Bilimoria, Shira Dworkin, Shelly Razzaghi, Anam Shaida Chief Magazine: Aberami Shanmugarasa Editor Vice Editor: Gishani Poopalasingam Medical Avesta Ala’Aldeen, Oluranti Kuti, Katrina Officers: Gadsby Chief Animal Ria Popat Welfare Officer: Science Book Deena Seennapen Club Coordinator: Mentoring: Sahana Amanan, Hannah Faherty, Middle School Liaison: Louise Morrison Webmaster: Anushka Saxena Writers: Aditi Shringarpure, Mallaika Viswanath Members: Tayzuki Ahilan, Shivani Gangadia, Aisha Goodman, Krishna Kadiwar, Nikita Gupta, Fatima Kasenally, Arjuna Keshvani-Ham, Suyeon Kim, Nerosha Mathiy, Fatima Qurban, Parnaz Sharifi, Elena Sidoli, Mia Whitefield
Staff Leavers Mr Quintin Beer (Music Graduate in Residence) left after his 2 year residency. Mrs Jo Benjamin (Teacher of Mathematics) left after 7 years to join UCS as Head of House. Mr Stuart Foster (Assistant Head, Teaching & Learning and Head of economics) left after 3 years to join South Hampstead High School as Academic Deputy Head. Ms Lisa Lobo (Teacher of PE and Assistant Head of Upper School) left NLCS UK after 5 years to join NLCS Dubai as Head of House. Mr Nick Massey (Head of Russian, Community Service Officer and Second in Modern Foreign Languages) left after 5 years to study for an MSc in Social and Cultural Anthropology in Amsterdam. Mr Eliot Maunder (Teacher of Classics and Timetabler) left after 6 years to join Monmouth School, Wales. Mrs Bernice McCabe OBE (Headmistress) now takes on the role of Director of International Schools and Education Strategy, and Chair of Academic Board for Headteachers of NLCS Schools Mr Nathaniel Tonner (Teacher of History & Politics) left after 1 year to undertake postgraduate study in International relations at LSE. 98 | NORTH LONDON COLLEGIATE SCHOOL | SCHOOL MAGAZINE 2017
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North London Collegiate School Canons Canons Drive Edgware Middlesex HA8 7RJ 020 8952 0912 office@nlcs.org.uk www.nlcs.org.uk Charity No. 1115843
Board
C022132