Canons Life - Autumn 2018

CANONSLife The Autumn Term 2018 at North London Collegiate School

FEATURING Commemorating WW1 Partnerships Canonaid Extravaganza ONL News

Canons Life / Autumn 2018

Contents 4-5 NEWS AND EVENTS

Careers in the Arts

Mental Health and Well-being Week 50th Celebration of the International Baccalaureate 6-7

FEATURE Commemorating WW1

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JUNIOR SCHOOL Book Week Modern Languages Day Into Wonderland Winter Concert

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PARTNERSHIPS

11

CELEBRATING LANGUAGES

12-13

PERFORMING ARTS Emil and the Detectives Glimmers on Promenade GO GO Global

14

ONL NEWS

15

TRIPS & EXCHANGES

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page 6

page 8

page 11

page 16

16-17 CHARITY NEWS

Canonaid Extravaganza

The Sunlight on the Garden 18

SPORTS NEWS Dance Display PE Week

19

MUSIC

page 14

18 page 13 FRONT COVER: Ceramic poppies

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Welcome

from the Headmistress W

elcome to the festive issue of Canons Life, a reflective one featuring stories about our own commemoration marking the end of the First World War. This included planting a new cedar tree in the grounds and a commemorative bench, which I know has inspired feelings of nostalgia in many ONLs and former staff members.

We have fundraised for the National Brain Appeal this term in support of our former Headmistress, Bernice McCabe, holding a major fundraising event and raising £25,000 towards this fantastic cause. It was wonderful to see so many members of the NLCS community involved, and I am so impressed the hard work, creativity and commitment shown by the students, parents (especially the Parents’ Guild) and staff involved in the three day Extravaganza.

You will also read about outreach work we do at NLCS, which enhances your daughters’ educational experience and supports our ethos of educational equality

for those who lack opportunity. We have broadened our partnerships and now work with several state schools including London Academy of Excellence Tottenham, The Sacred Heart Language College, Whitgift School and Queen Elizabeth’s Boys School.

We have continued our commitment to mental health and wellbeing this term, with a series of PSHE talks including visits from Childnet and the Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation, further work on the concept of mindfulness and yoga, and a week focused on the theme of resilience.

As I reflect on the plethora of events and activities this term, and experience my first Christmas at Canons, I feel incredibly proud of the enterprise, generosity, creativity and passion which runs through our students and staff alike.

Thank you for all your continued support this term, and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Sarah Clark, Headmistress

I feel incredibly proud of the enterprise, generosity, creativity and passion which runs through our students and staff alike.

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Canons Life / Autumn 2018

News & Events 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE 2018 is a very special year because it marks the 50th year since the birth of the IB. 2017 was a landmark year for NLCS, with a record score (the best in the world) and the largest ever cohort taking the IB, starting this September.

The IB now has high profile endorsements from the President of the Institute of Engineering and Technology, and a transformed landscape of University Admissions, and the future looks bright for the programme. With all this mind, we held a fabulous party to celebrate, with IB ONLs coming back to catch up with old friends and share recollections with current IB students, who gave a series of short talks to provoke thought and discussion.

MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING WEEK This week focused on the theme of resilience and began when the Mental Health Society welcomed Dr Rajendra Persaud, consultant psychiatrist who works to raise public awareness for mental health.

Pupils eagerly listened to Dr Persaud’s talk on ‘how to be happy’, on the components that make up happiness and were encouraged to consider how they could improve their own wellbeing.

During the week, girls have participated in a variety of activities, including discussion groups, quizzes, and yoga and meditation. It was wonderful to see different age groups getting involved in the activities, and we were especially proud of the students in the society for their dedication and commitment to promoting good mental health and wellbeing among the school community, staff and students alike.

On Friday, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Society gave an inspiring

assembly on the theme of resilience.

They shared practical tips and strategies for dealing with two challenging issues: external stresses and the internal critic.

They created a handout for students from the assembly, which include tips for managing stress, plus details of the services available to students at school, including our peer mentors and mental health committee.

DR RAJ PERSAUD

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Canons Life / Autumn 2018

CAREERS IN THE ARTS

This term, we held the first ever NLCS Creative Careers symposium, organised by Year 13 student Coral Harding, which focused entirely on careers and further education in the Visual Creative Arts.

We were delighted to bring together students, parents, universities and professionals with a shared interest in Visual Creativity, looking at fields as diverse as Architecture, Graphic, Product and Theatre Design, Architecture, Art History and Curation.

The evening was opened by keynote speaker Michál Cohen, an award-winning architect. Guests also heard from Kate Scully, from the University of the Arts London; Dan Maier, designer and founder of lighting company Extraordinary Design; Charlotte Allen, who works in theatre and television production; Rachel Aloof, graphic designer for Cancer Research UK; Bansri Budddhdev, member of the digital design team for the Liberal Democrats, Kira Gurmail-Kaufman, a practising artist currently working at Sotheby’s; Aimee Nathan, a senior coordinator at TV production company Fulwell 73 and Grace Venning, a performance designer and contributing writer for Blue Pages, the journal for the Society of British Theatre.

SENIOR SOCIETIES This term in Senior Societies, Upper School students have enjoyed talks from a wide range of visiting lecturers on many different subjects and professions.

On the first Thursday in September, we welcomed James Harding, the Director of News and Current Affairs at the BBC and the previous Editor of The Times of London. He delivered a passionate and inspiring speech about journalism today, and our role, as students, in shaping

news-making in the future. Since then, we have had talks ranging from Dr. Adam Caulton’s philosophical exploration of ‘The implications of relativity on the metaphysics of time’ to Roxana Jebreel’s challenge of discrimination in a talk entitled ‘Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia’, to name but a few.

Debating society has also held numerous lively student debates on topics such as the post-Brexit economy and the

inevitability of war in human nature. We look forward to many more interesting and exciting talks next term!

US UNIVERSITIES EVENING

students from other London schools such as Latymer Upper, Godolphin and Latymer, and City of London.

2018 has seen another record year for NLCS girls applying to the US to study. NLCS students were successful in achieving 17 offers from prestigious universities in the USA, with final destinations including Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, Wesleyan, Northwestern, and Princeton.

Reflecting the growing numbers of US applicants, this year we are running NLCS’s first ever USA test preparation course. Year 12 students have signed up for 20 hours of preparation with the company for the ACT and SAT entrance exams which are required for most US universities and colleges.

For further information about application to US Universities at North London, please contact Dr Will Van Reyk.

This term, we were honoured to welcome admissions representatives from Harvard, Yale and Chicago to speak to a packed audience of over 200, including many

ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE Michael Chance has been visiting the School over the Summer and Autumn Terms as Artist in Residence, teaching workshops and inspiring students by making his own work responding to the school environment. Working closely with Year 13 art students, Michael led a series of classes to develop observational drawing skills, encouraging students to tackle complex interior spaces by sketching quickly on the spot, building on a basic understanding of perspective. At the end of the residence, Michael spent three-days making oil paintings, scanning

the art department to find motifs which were nostalgically reminiscent of his school days. On Thursday 29th November, Michael held a private view in the Performing Arts Centre gallery space featuring the work he has been creating during his time at Canons.

His work explores material interactions, creating images that emerge from the imagination, twinned with a commitment to drawing and painting from observation, combining a poetic engagement with the landscape, with an intellectual interest in perspective, architecture and ecology. He recently established the Mercer Chance Gallery in Hoxton with fellow artists

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JAMES HARDING

MICHAEL CHANCE

Rachel Mercer, who also visited Canons as our Artist-in-Residence in 2016.

Canons Life / Autumn 2018

Commemorating WW1 COMMEMORATING THE CENTENARY OF THE ARMISTICE

E

ach November, we have, as a School, traditionally marked the season of remembrance with a special assembly, but, in this particular year, we wanted to include more events and projects right across the NLCS community to mark the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice in 1918.

From the start of term ‘There But Not There’ figures appeared in the school buildings and in the grounds – perspex outlines of First World War soldiers, like ‘ghosts’ - with one figure added each week so that, as we approached 11th November, there were eight figures in total, three of whom joined us for our Remembrance Assembly in the Hall on 9th November. Special displays of material from our own archives

and from the Imperial War Museum provided a stunning backdrop to events in the Library and a banner with ‘100’ marked out in red poppies drew us all into the season of remembrance. The Music and Drama departments joined forces to present a special programme of words and music from the Great War, showing how men and women of that grim and uncertain time found solace and inspiration in poetry, song and instrumental music, with poignant pieces, all performed with immense skill, insight and respect.

We decided to focus on some of the lesser-known voices of the First World War, those of women, and of soldiers from far beyond our shores who fought alongside British soldiers in a war so distant from their homes.

The distinguished author and historian, Mark Bostridge, came to give a talk on Vera Brittain, whose celebrated memoir Testament of Youth is a searing account

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of what it was like for a young, academic and spirited woman to live through the Great War and to lose her brother, fiancé and almost every young man she had ever MARK BOSTRIDGE known. The role played by women was also taken up by our Debating Society who revisited a powerful and controversial debate first held by NLCS pupils in 1918, that ‘This House would support the conscription of women.’ A century on, our students looked back to what girls might have said on both sides of the argument exactly one hundred years ago and their arguments and observations, set in the context of 1918, made us reflect on a very different society and world.

Canons Life / Autumn 2018

The main theme of History and Politics Week which took place as we approached the actual commemoration of the ending of the First World War, was of the huge contribution made by soldiers from across the British Empire, especially India. The writer Shrabani Basu spoke to a large audience at History Society about the role of Indian soldiers in so many spheres of conflict; she made wonderful use of contemporary photographs to suggest how alien this European war was to men born thousands of miles away from the mud of Flanders. Mr Dwyer took up this theme in his Nicholson lecture, rigorously examining the oftenunderestimated impact of the War on India, with villages sometimes losing a whole generation of young men, but India, as a nation, gaining a new-found sense of identity and confidence.

Friday 9th November saw the main acts of remembrance within the School.

The Hall was decorated with paper poppies made by every student in the Senior School; these were inscribed with personal messages of reflection and gratitude and were interspersed with Latin tomb inscriptions created by students in Years 7 and 8. In our assembly, Mr Goward spoke movingly about the great silence which fell once the fighting had come to an end and soldiers returned home – men forever changed by their experiences of war, and an immeasurable sense of loss and grief often overshadowing the nation’s celebrations. Three Year 9 students who had visited the battlefields near Ypres just before half-term recalled with extraordinary insight and maturity on what seeing the vast cemeteries and hearing tales of individual soldiers had meant to them

During morning break on that day, the School community gathered in the grounds to mark the dedication of a new cedar tree, a memorial bench engraved with words by the poet Edward Thomas, and a thousand poppy plants. Ceramic poppies, made by students, teaching and support staff, were placed among the real plants by individuals representing every part of our School community. The new garden will, we hope, prove to be a tranquil, beautiful and lasting memorial to the generations who have gone before us and sacrificed so much to defend the peace that we now enjoy.

‘The men, the music piercing that solitude And silence, told me truths I had not dreamed, And have forgotten since their beauty passed.’

(From Tears by Edward Thomas (1878 – 1917) inscribed on the memorial bench)

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Canons Life / Autumn 2018

Junior School News T

BOOK WEEK

his has been an exciting term in the Junior School. A variety of performances, fairs, sporting events, tournaments and trips have been enjoyed and the girls have had endless fun entering competitions and raising money for a variety of charities.

To celebrate Modern Languages Day, the girls had the opportunity to take part in a Language trail around School.

The Reception girls listened to stories read in Urdu and German, Year 2 experienced a session in Japanese, and Year 5 were treated to a lesson in Thai from a smartly dressed Mr Wilkes. Pain au Chocolat and fortune cookies were amongst the delicious treats available to taste.

WINTER CONCERT

DAY OF LANGUAGES

All in all, a marvellous week for book lovers!

INTO WONDERLAND

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Canons Life / Autumn 2018

LETS SING AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL

CHLOE INKPEN

JIM JAM DAY

In November the Junior School commemorated the World War I Armistice Centenary. Each girl in the Junior School decorated a poppy which was used to create a beautiful display in the Reception area and First School Hall. Year 6 held a stimulating debate around the motion: ‘Women should be allowed to fight on the Front Line in 2018’. The proposing team won with an overwhelming majority! There were special messages in assembly, where the girls learnt about the war, including key dates, those involved besides the soldiers such as the role of women and the use of animals, and also about the significance and lasting impact of the conflict. The girls enjoyed learning wartime songs, exploring wartime poetry and writing letters to soldiers. The oldest girl and the youngest

All of the girls indulged in their love of reading for our Book Week. Following the theme of ‘A Stranger World’, the week focused on Science Fiction, Fantasy and Magic.

It was wonderful to see the Lower School girls hold their breath and gasp in unison as author Ross Welford performed magical pyrotechnics on pages of his book ‘What To Do If You Turn Invisible’. Throughout the week, the Lower School girls were invited to solve a series of book-related clues in a Time Trail, with the winner announced at a special closing Book Oscars assembly. In First School, girls enjoyed a visit from Chloe Inkpen, author and talented artist. Her delightful book ‘The Hole on the Zoo’ has no doubt subsequently featured as a bedtime story in many homes. They were also treated to a show of ‘Wind and the Willows’ from the Flying Pizza Theatre Company, which they watched whilst dressed in their glorious magical mufti outfits. All in all, a marvellous week for book lovers!

CHRISTMAS TEA

LOWER SCHOOL REMEMBERANCE ASSEMBLY

girl in the Junior School took part in a planting ceremony of ceramic poppies near the South Steps by the Old House.

In the annual First School play, the girls took us on a magical adventure ‘Into Wonderland’. A tightly packed hall was lit by brightly coloured costumes and a spectacular backdrop. The girls sang and danced their way to the Queen’s party.

Luckily they all managed to keep their heads and Alice returned home safely.

On her journey through Wonderland, Alice taught the unusual characters some important lessons, reminding them of the importance of empathy and resilience.

The Sound of Winter descended upon the Lower School girls at their end of term concert. The sparkly bowed performers presented a very varied programme of pieces in many different

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musical styles. The concert began with the beautiful performance from Canons Choir. The concert then proceeded with the Orchestra and a variety of different instrumental chamber ensembles, including strings, Piano Trio, Cello Quartet, flute, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone, recorder and Percussion Groups which clearly demonstrated the musical talent of the girls.

A festive celebration for our end of term week was a visit to the Christmas Pantomime and Party. Glorious examples of festive headwear were on show, modelled by the staff and girls. Christmas would not be the same without a nativity and the Reception girls didn’t disappoint.

They spoke and sang clearly and smiled ‘angelically’ throughout. And of course, the baby appeared from under a chair!

Canons Life / Autumn 2018

Partnership Days T

his term we have broadened our outreach ventures to improve the educational experience for both our own students and those from our partner schools. In developing authentic partnerships with other local, national and international schools, NLCS is continuing to honour the intentions of our founder, Miss Buss, who saw the foundation of her School as another important step towards educational equality.

Working with state schools such as the London Academy of Excellence Tottenham, the Sacred Heart Language College and Q.E. Boys, enables our students to develop important personal and academic skills. For example, at a Modern Foreign Languages Symposium earlier in the year attended by a good number of schools, the joint participation of students from a variety of backgrounds created a heightened intellectual atmosphere that may not have been quite so charged had it only been our girls in attendance.

Year 13 NLCS girls also joined students from LAET together with Whitgift School for an annual cross-curricular academic symposium. Working in pairs from two schools, the Sixth Formers presented on a range of subjects such as PPE, Psychology, Medicine/Natural Sciences and Economics. The students had prepared presentations on topics in which they have become particularly interested as they prepare for their university entrance.

Year 13 scientists, economists, historians and law applicants, also took part in a cross-curricular symposium with Queen Elizabeth’s Boys. Next day, another group of girls joined with students from Eton College and LAET for a symposium focussing on the humanities. Some of the individual topics under scrutiny were satire and humour (English), geo-politics and the environment (Geography) and Empire (MFL and Classics).

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NLCS Maths Society welcomed their counterparts from Harrow School in October. The event was entirely conceived and masterminded by the students, whose fantastic organisation and hosting was particularly complimented by our guests. Girls and boys took part in teambuilding, talks, a quiz and the sharing of pizza!

We have close links with the London Academy of Excellence Tottenham (LAET), and their students joined our Year 12 Economics students to discuss the economics of everyday life, including why women are waiting longer to have children and why mobile ‘phone batteries are so expensive. The day included the opportunity for girls to get to know the students from LAET as they ate lunch and showed their visitors around the school and grounds. As one North Londoner said, “the day was very enjoyable for us all and enabled everyone to broaden their economic knowledge and also to make new friends!”

Canons Life / Autumn 2018

Celebrating Languages NEWS FROM THE MFL DEPARTMENT

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inguists at NLCS have been tremendously busy this term, as usual. Languages Week started by posing the question ‘Should there be a universal language?’ in a wholeschool referendum, and NLCS welcomed speakers for the Modern Foreign Languages symposium, where we heard about Chinese, Russian, German and Italian film. During lunches, girls were able to watch the Spanish film It’s Now or Never, demonstrate their baking skills in a film-inspired cake competition and take part in a dance event called ‘Evolution of dances from African countries’. Senior societies included talks from two Old North Londoners who spoke about the importance of foreign films while sharing clips, and Lit and Dram Society looked at literature in translation.

The 6th Hispanic Theatre Festival took place in October, collaborating with 13 other schools, including Eton College, Haberdashers’ Girls School, St Paul’s and King Alfred School, who each performed short extracts from Spanish theatre. NLCS won two awards: Kezia Levy won the award for best-supporting actress the group the group won the award for best spoken Spanish!

During half-term, seventeen Year 10 students travelled to Madrid to stay with their exchange partners and explore the city, and the girls are very excited to welcome their Spanish partners to Canons in the Spring Term. The French exchange students from the Year 12 Fontainebleau partnership came to London in October,

and our NLCS girls will visit France during the Christmas Holidays.

Later in the term, students were able to watch foreign theatre; Year 12 IB and Pre-U Spanish students enjoyed watching the classic Spanish tragedy, Yerma at the Cervantes Theatre, and Russian students went to watch The Government Inspector, a satirical comedy of errors play by Russian dramatist, Nikolia Gogol. The annual French debating competition was hosted at Canons in November, in which many schools came together and debated in rounds until almost 8pm in the evening!

Our students have thoroughly enjoyed this busy term of languages and are all looking forward to more trips and events in the New Year.

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Canons Life / Autumn Summer 2018

Performing Arts ‘Emil and the Detectives’ For this term’s Middle School production, a talented cast of 50 Year 8 & 9s came together to perform ‘Emil & The Detectives’. Directed by Mr Tosh and based on the beloved children’s novel by Erich Kästner, the play followed Emil as he left behind the humdrum of his small village to visit relatives in the bustling world of 1920’s Berlin.

Packed with jazz music, a vibrant dance sequence, a thrilling car chase (and a pet mouse!) the production featured

moments of comedy as well as some touching naturalistic work. The ability to switch so seamlessly between these two contrasting requirements of the play is a true testament to the talent of the girls at NLCS. They certainly rose to the challenge of this exciting text and managed to create a truly unique production. Each and every one of them should be proud of their dedication and many contributions throughout the rehearsal process - it certainly paid off.

They certainly rose to the challenge of this exciting text and managed to create a truly unique production ‘Glimmers in Promenade’ Performing in three different venues, the cast of 60 girls from Years 7-13, delivered songs, monologues, duologues and group pieces from a whole range of plays including Shakespeare, Molière, Ayckbourn, Samuels, Fo, Murray-Smith and Campton. The audience was split into three groups and rotated between the different spaces. This was an original, and highly exciting experience for all and the girls showed remarkable skill, endurance and commitment performing three times.

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Canons Canons Life Life // Summer Autumn 2018

‘Go Go Global’ On the last Thursday of the term, the drama department staged their final performance of this busy term. ‘Go Go Global’ an annual event of entertainment, drew on a variety of poetry from across the world to provide inspiration for original dance work. Using a range of styles and physical theatre techniques students performed solos, duets, trios and large group pieces capturing something of different places from across the world. Featuring students from Years 10-13 this was a fantastic finale to the Autumn term.

This was an original, and highly exciting experience for all and the girls showed remarkable skill, endurance and commitment performing three times

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Canons Life / Autumn 2018

ONL News

50 YEAR REUNION

We launched the new academic year by welcoming back many of our Alumnae. The Class of 2017 came back for a Pimms Evening, swapping stories about how their first year of life after NLCS has been, and a few weeks later, the Class of 2015 enjoyed a Tapas evening whilst sharing their news of life after university.

The Class of 1968 came back to celebrate 50 Years since leaving NLCS and our 55+ Year Reunion, saw the return of nearly 100 Old North Londoners (ONLs) who left School in 1963 or earlier.

ONLs travelled from as far afield as Australia and the USA, and for several of them, it was their first visit back since their time here. They spent an emotional and fun-filled afternoon, reminiscing over old photographs and exploring the grounds.

55+ REUNION

It was also a privilege to welcome back Old North Londoner, Kathleen Hassell who was at the School from 1936 to 1946.

Kathleen gave a fantastic interview to Sixth Formers, talking about her experiences of being at NLCS during the War.

1 YEAR REUNION

FRANCES MARY BUSS FELLOWSHIP TEA This term, we also welcomed ONLs to the re-launch of The Frances Mary Buss Fellowship at a special tea party. The afternoon began with some wonderful music performed by talented pianists Jiatan in Year 6, Vicky and Ellie both from Year 12.

We were delighted that ONL Carolyn Eadie, Honorary Chairwoman of the FMB Fellowship, joined us and spoke about her time at Canons, explain that for her, this was not just about scholarship and

academic achievement, but also about music, sport, social skills, courtesy, respect for other people’s opinions and of course the lifelong friendships she developed.

Carolyn has left a gift in her will to the School, and her gift will endow a bursary in her sister Alison’s name, who tragically died in 2004 from motor neurone disease. We are so grateful to ONLs who generously pledge a gift in their will to the School. They are honoured

On Saturday 1 December, ONL Judge Angela Bradstreet kindly hosted a drinks party at her home in Sausalito, California for ONLs living on the West Coast of the USA. Headmistress, Sarah Clark, who had been visiting Stanford University, enjoyed meeting ONLs who had been at Canons between 1945 and 2018.

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with membership to the Frances Mary Buss Fellowship.

Thank you to all those who attended, including the Big Six who joined the event, and particular thanks to Tamilore and Sophia for speaking and providing an insight into what NLCS means to them.

Contact Us For more information on any ONL Events, please contact onla@nlcs.org.uk or call 020 8951 6377 ONL Connect is our online new platform enabling ONLs to connect with each other for social and networking purposes. Please visit https://onlconnect.org.uk

Frances Mary Buss

@NLCSAlumnae

Canons Life / Autumn 2018

Trips & Exchanges SICILY

SILVER DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD

GEOGRAPHY FIELD TRIP

WESTERN FRONT

MADRID

FONTAINBLEAU - CANONS

BRITISH MUSEUM

COSTA RICA

ART TRIP

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Canons Life / Autumn 2018

Charity News CANONAID EXTRAVAGANZA

O

n Sunday 14th October, Canonaid, the School Charity Committee held a major fundraising event in aid of the National Brain Appeal, a charity which raises funds to advance treatment and research at The National Hospital for Neurology & Neurosurgery and the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology.

Former Headmistress Bernice McCabe, has recently been diagnosed with a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and our fundraising is to support the project she is championing to raise funds for clinical trials that may persuade the NHS to adopt new treatments and thereby make immunotherapy available to more people.

Our three day Extravaganza began with a Pyjama Day on the Friday, followed by a sponsored 24-hour drama improvisation called ‘Sensation’ in which 200 girls took part. This was a tremendous way to recognise Mrs McCabe’s passion and

‘SENSATION’

contribution to the Arts at NLCS On Sunday, we had a family fun-run and the girls set up fete-style games and food stalls.

Despite very wet weather, the total raised so far is £25,000 and we’re still counting.

The generosity and support of the School

community is both amazing and inspiring. It was wonderful that Mrs McCabe was able to come to the event with her oncologist, Paul Mulholland. She spoke very movingly as she cut the ribbon and visited the last part of the drama session.

To support or for more information visit www.braintumourresearch.org/stories/in-hope/in-hope-stories/bernice-mccabe.

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W

The Sunlight On

THE SUNLIGHT ON THE GARDEN

The Garden

Canons Life / Autumn 2018

The Sunlight O n The Garden North London Co

llegiate School 19

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ritten by Dafydd James-Williams, our Head of English, The Sunlight on the Garden, celebrates Bernice McCabe’s twenty years of Headship at North London Collegiate School.

Using Mrs McCabe’s Valedictory and Founder’s Day speeches as source material, the book is an examination of what makes North London Collegiate such a unique educational institution in the Written by Dafyd 21st century. The title, The Sunlight on the Garden, is taken from d James-William s a poem by Louis MacNeice, referred to in one of Mrs McCabe’s Valedictory addresses. The poem also alludes quite directly to summer in the gardens at Canons, to the spatial and educational freedom offered to students here and, more indirectly, to the passing of generations through the School. The book includes a wonderful selection of photographs of Canons including some of our past and present students. We held a book launch at the end of the term, with readings by senior girls, a tribute from former Governor, Michael Sternberg and a musical interlude played by music scholars.

We were also delighted that Bernice was able to join us for the event, as well as her predecessor, former Headmistresss, Joan Clanchy.

In our continued support of the National Brain Appeal’s Immunotherapy Fund, SARAH CLARK, BERNICE MCCABE all profits from the sale of The Sunlight on the Garden will be donated to this worthy cause.

AND JOAN CLANCHY Books are £15 each and can be ordered online by visiting www.nlcs.org.uk/about-nlcs/the-sunlight-on-the-garden

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Canons Life / Autumn 2018

For up to the minute sports results and news, follow the Sports Department on Twitter @NLCS_Sports

Sports News PE WEEK

Students immersed themselves in new and fun activities during this term’s PE Week, which catered to all levels of sporting ability from the elite to the recreational and everything in between!

Girls were encouraged to try out new sports by participating in taster sessions, including Aikido, Boxercise, Parkour, Golf and even ‘glow in the dark’ Badminton.

The Sports Committee led by our Sports Captain, Sofia, led sessions on holistic self-care, retro playground games, ultimate frisbee and even saboteur Lacrosse. The week opened with an assembly delivered by our Strength & Conditioning coach Laura Warren, who also delivered masterclasses in Lacrosse across the age groups. Laura has represented Wales at five World Championships and Great Britain at the World Games. She is also is a talent identification officer for First Point US, part of the US Collegiate Sports Scholarship programme an area that was of interest to our older students.

YEAR 7 DANCE DISPLAY After many weeks of rehearsals, Year 7 took part in the annual Dance Display, which proved again to be a spectacular highlight of the Autumn term.

The display was made up of five class dances involving every girl in the year and seven additional smaller dances. Every week, each form worked hard to learn and perfect a dance routine with Miss Horncastle. The extra dances were choreographed and led by experienced older girls and rehearsed in practice time after school. This year we broke away from tradition ever so slightly, and the girls danced alongside their choreographers, in order to celebrate their talents too.

The theme this year was ‘Planet Earth’, and each class dance was based on a different biome; the rainforest, the desert, tundra, oceans and volcanoes; while the extra dances were based upon the girls’ interpretations of the theme and ranged from war and politics to daily living. They used a combination of inspiring music, costume and dance genres to create their masterpieces!

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Canons Life / Autumn 2018

Music News

Chandos singers perform Evensong with King’s College London In November, the Chandos Singers were invited to sing Evensong with choral scholars from King’s College London at the College Chapel. The experience gave the girls a real flavour of university choral life, and I know that they found it deeply rewarding to perform alongside such accomplished singers. Sixth Form student Tilly Mattich was also able to play the organ during the service; a tremendous opportunity for an aspiring organ scholar!

Old House Lunchtime Concerts The recently launched lunchtime concerts, performed in the Old House, are a chance for any pupil to share their music-making with the school community in an informal context. Musicians across the whole school entertain a packed Drummond Room with a variety of solo performances. This term, we heard some very ambitious and varied music, from the experimental timbres of the Fantasia by George Crumb for solo cello (Elektra Makris) to Romantic piano music by Weber and Mendelssohn (Axelle Groothaert & Lilyella Stevens) and jazz idioms by Christopher Norton and George Gershwin (Aria Patel & Antonia Chao). The concert ended with a marvellous rendition of Bruch’s violin concerto (Chloe Prins). Congratulations to all performers for a very enjoyable concert.

Winter Concert At the end of November, girls across the Senior School wowed us with a musical extravaganza. Music was heard across a wide range of styles, from Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite to music by the great Henry Mancini. We tapped our feet along to music by ABBA, and were moved by the NLCS Chorus’ performance of a wistful Irish folk song. A particular highlight was our Year 7 and 8 Choir coming together

MENTAL HEALTH WEEK

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with our Sinfonia for a roof-raising rendition of One Day Like This. Not to be outdone, the Symphony Orchestra concluded the concert with a rousing performance of Sibelius’ Finlandia, in front of a packed audience in the PAC. A big thank you to all the girls who took part, and the Music Department staff who prepared the girls for this spectacular event.

Canons Life / Summer 2018

CANONS LIFE TEAM: News Team: Mia Lane – Editor in Chief, Inma Emberton - Canons Life Editor, Jessica Pretorious, Olivia Payne, Shalini Shah, Faye Song (Y12), Aarya Janjale, Chaitali Virani, Soraya Odubeko, Yana Szerkowski, Loewe Lim, Charvi Jain, Vita Rottenberg, Aimee Shah, Lara-Grace Banjo, Chloe Bloom, Coco Cresswell, Ella Davey (Y11), Gaya Giritharan (Y10), Gabriella Zheng, Madeleine Matthews (Y9), Daksha Demba (Y8) Staff Editor: Larraine Bristow With thanks to Mrs Fotheringham for her contribution to the magazine this term.

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