3 minute read
Head's Review Mr Shoults
HEAD'S REVIEW
Of the many efforts of the Notting Hill & Ealing community to maintain its traditions despite the impact of the pandemic, some special moments were not possible to replicate in any suitable “virtual” form in 2020, and one was notable: the OGA Tea Party. So it was a joy to welcome our alumnae back earlier this term for the afternoon, alongside former staff (including Susan Whitfield and Jane Fitz), and to reconnect after such challenging times. Not that our alumnae have been absent: you have continued to support current students even if remotely. I am particularly grateful to those who have supported our Careers Spotlight series, speaking to groups of Sixth Form students virtually to share your career paths since leaving NHEHS, and adding to our established careers networking events. We know from speaking to students, and also from research, that role models play a major part in encouraging young women to feel more confident in following their career aspirations. For this reason, we hope to reach out to you in the year ahead, to see what further mentoring opportunities might be possible to inspire and support our Sixth Form students. Despite, or perhaps because of the pandemic, the students have shown themselves to be brilliantly public spirited and entrepreneurial over the last year. Hannah, one of our Year 13s, organised a letter writing project so that every employee of Ealing General Hospital (numbering around 1,000) received a handwritten letter of thanks from an NHEHS student. Morven, in Year 9, organised a “scarecrow stroll”, with residents of Ealing accessing a scavenger hunt route around the borough, to visit scarecrows in families’ front gardens. Year 8 students set up enterprise companies, with one, “Paws for the Planet”, selling so many sustainable dog products that they were runners up in a national business competition run by Peter Jones of Dragons’ Den. Not long after the OGA Tea Party, the whole community was also out on the streets of Ealing, as we entered a more normal term, to cheer on the staff and parent team of 40 runners in the Ealing Half Marathon, as we raised over £6,000 for the Log Cabin, a local charity (alumnae will be welcome in our team next year!). Although this term has seen the most marked return to normality, in some ways we started to emerge towards the end of the summer term. By operating with strict controls (in the style of the West End theatres), we were able to host end of term concerts and plays in July, alongside our Leavers’ Ceremony for Year 13. These events made clear just how important a physical presence is to our students’ confidence and sense of joy. It was for this reason that in September we held a drinks reception for the Class of 2020, returning from very mixed provision at university; we will continue to host events for our more recent leavers. The year 2023 should of course have a great resonance for any alumna, as it marks our 150th birthday (just one year after the same anniversary of the GDST’s founding). We are already starting to make plans for this celebration, which will be marked from September 2023. We aim to mark the anniversary by the opening of our new Junior School building, but also by a host of other events to draw together current and former students. As our landmark approaches, we want to have a focus on our Bursaries Appeal. We will be building on a history stretching back to NHEHS’s earliest days and we hope, with your help, to support more girls who have the talent but not the means to access the inspiring and supportive education we provide. We are keen to connect with alumnae who wish to help in our anniversary and bursary appeal planning. Please contact either Charlotte Truman, our Alumnae Relations Officer alumnae@ nhehs.gdst.net, or Molly Tollit, our new Development Officer development@nhehs.gdst.net; they look forward to working with you to celebrate our past 150 years and look forward to the next. Finally, I would like to thank Zosia and the OGA Committee for their continued support, and wish you all a very Happy New Year.
