Founder's Day

What does Founder’s Day mean to you?

Founder’s day is a very special day, partly because I’ve worked in two North London Collegiate Schools, and I’ve also had Mrs Monaghan working with me but also my two daughters who were in Jeju with us. Founder’s day to me always brings back lots of memories, fond memories, but it’s also a really important day for the school community in terms of getting together.

Why do you like Founder’s Day?

I like the ceremony and the tradition. I think that the format of remembering the different headmistresses and talking to the school community is good. I like doing my speech as well, although it takes quite a lot of time to prepare, and I like the singing as well, singing the school songs. But again, it’s a nice community event, where you can bring everyone together.

What was your favorite Founder’s Day in NLCS?

Well, that’s a tricky question. I suppose we had Covid, so there were some different formats, online Founder's Day one year. I think this year probably, the school’s got bigger.

The first Founder's Day was very special, but I think, we had 250 students and now we’ve got 1350 students and I think that kind of atmosphere of having everybody in the PAC, it all ran really well so yeah probably this year.

How do Founder’s Days differ between schools?

I think the format is very similar because we try to make sure that it’s very similar. When I was in Jeju, I know we set it up in a very similar way that was very much based on what happens in London. I’m sure there are some subtle, little differences here and there, but I think essentially the format of the celebration itself, the songs we sing, the remembering of the headmistresses, the procession with the daffodils, every school does those things.

How did you go about writing your speech?

Well, I must confess, Mrs. Monaghan helps me because she’s very good at writing speeches, but I think it’s definitely a team effort, the writing. We often go through what we think we’re going to put in, and then we add little examples and sometimes I go off-piste a little bit when I’m delivering the speech. It’s fun though, I like writing speeches, it’s nice connecting a kind of idea or theme to the family of schools and what it means.

How does it feel to have had your last Founder’s Day in NLCS Dubai?

I’d be sad to leave NLCS Dubai, of course, but I think the exciting thing is I’ll be setting up another NLCS and we’ll be having more Founder’s Days in another part of the world! It was definitely a poignant moment during the last one here, but I’m very excited about the next Founder’s Day somewhere else.