Old Girls’ Association Newsletter 2017
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Contents
page 4
A few words from Jane Sigaloff, OGA Chair
page 6
An introduction to the new Head, Mr Matthew Shoults
page 8
Upcoming OGA events in 2017
Alumnae Interviews:
page 9
Pippa Evans... improv your life
page 12
Rebecca Lowe... life on screen
page 16
Olivia Marks-Woldman... life goes on
page 19
OGA 2016 events
page 20
Miss McCaig - ‘A Head’ of her times
page 22
News from the archives
page 23
News from some old girls
Editorial, layout and articles, where not otherwise acknowledged, by Natalie Burns Spence, Alumnae Relations Officer, NHEHS. ed. 2016/2017 3
A few words from Jane Sigaloff OGA Chair January 2017
A very happy new year to you all. Here’s to a more positive and hopeful year globally. If only we could get an NHEHS Old Girl to take charge… 2016 was a year of change at school too. Lucinda Hunt left at the end of August after eight incredible years as Head, during which she oversaw the Big Build plus outstanding A-level and GCSE results year on year. Matthew Shoults replaces her as our first headmaster. These are exciting times. More on page 6. Lucia Hull, our first ever Alumnae Relations Officer, left in the summer for pastures new having helped the OGA enormously by instituting regional reunions, stand up comedy and by starting the oral history project for us. We have now welcomed Natalie Burns Spence as her successor. Another NHEHS girl, Natalie left school in 2000 and worked in marketing before taking on this role. Indeed, somewhat portentously, she received the award for “Services to School” at her final school prize-giving and we at the OGA are now lucky to benefit from her energy and creativity. She looks forward to meeting lots of you at future OGA events. In 2016, we enjoyed our largest September tea party to date. Nearly 300 former pupils and staff gathered for a terrific afternoon. Many thanks to the reunion coordinators for their efforts in bringing their year groups together. I don’t know what they put in the water here, or maybe it’s the flapjacks, but no one really seems to have aged much at all. The tours of school were enjoyed enormously. So much to see, so little time. This year the Junior School was also open and the current 6th formers, who had volunteered to be tour guides, certainly had their herding skills tested to the limits by the unsurprisingly independent Old Girls. We are delighted to report that everyone found their way safely out of the labyrinth before nightfall. 4
The date for this year’s tea party is Saturday 16th September 2017 and everyone is most welcome. More detailed information and year group reunions will be found in the accompanying letter but all former staff and pupils are warmly welcome. OGA membership is now free to all so please do spread the word amongst those you are in touch with and contact Natalie at alumnae@nhehs.gdst.net for more info or to add yourself to our database. Our second annual OGA v. 1st VII netball match took place in September and this time we came a very definite second. It was a competitive 40 minutes on the hottest September day since 1911 and despite the fact that over half our team were more than twice the age of the girls we were playing, we were quite disappointed to have lost. At the end of the first quarter we were 8-1 down but fought back and despite winning the third quarter, at the final whistle the score was 24-11. If we’d had another ten minutes we’d either have clawed back our deficit or been stretchered off. We’ll try harder next year. We might even manage a warm-up. Please get in touch if you’d like to join the OG team. Thanks to Natalie and Lucia for their work on this year’s newsletter. I hope you enjoy the selection of interviews with a handful of fascinating former pupils. I was not surprised to read that they all credit their time at school with the establishment of a work ethic, sense of responsibility and self-belief that sounds very familiar. They are of course only a small sample of our all-conquering alumnae who excel in so many different fields. We will bring you news of others in future issues. In this edition we also have an article about Miss McCaig, the headmistress who oversaw the move of Notting Hill High School to its current home in Ealing. She then led NHEHS through World War II with practical courage, and inspired a generation of girls to reach beyond the norms and expectations of their time. What a relief that nothing here has changed. With all best wishes,
Jane Sigaloff (NHEHS 1978 - 1991)
Please do send us your news! If not via the alumnae section of the school website, then please email Natalie at alumnae@nhehs.gdst.net or if you’d rather write to her: c/o NHEHS, 2 Cleveland Road, Ealing, London W13 8AX 5
An introduction to the new Head...
Mr Matthew Shoults Head and President of the OGA
We are delighted to welcome Mr Matthew Shoults as the new Head of Notting Hill and Ealing High School. He is the first male Head in the school’s 144-year history. Matthew read Classics at Oxford, and then joined the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions on a graduate fast track scheme. After two years, he decided he wanted to teach, and completed his Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) at Cambridge. He started his teaching career as a Classics teacher at King’s College School, Wimbledon (where he had been a pupil), and was soon appointed Assistant Head of Sixth Form. He moved to North London Collegiate School to be Head of Classics in 2004, becoming Deputy Head (Curriculum) in 2010 and Senior Deputy (combining the academic and running the school on a day to day basis) two years later. Matthew has been enormously impressed by NHEHS. He is committed to the ethos of the School and its focus on an academically rich education, breadth of extra-curricular provision, and warm environment which nurtures self-assurance and mutual respect. On his appointment, Matthew said: “Right from my first visit to Notting Hill and Ealing,
I have been struck by the school’s warm and friendly atmosphere, and how grounded and assured the girls are. The last 12 years’ teaching has given me a keen sense of the confidence and community which a girls’ only education can provide; I am delighted to be joining a school with such a positive and enabling ethos, which is both academic and rich in activities beyond the classroom, and with such good relations between staff and students.” 6
We asked the Old Girls to put forward some questions for Matthew... The Annual OGA tea is the biggest event in our annual calendar – so most importantly we need to ask when building a scone – do you spread cream or jam first? After necessarily extensive testing, I have now leaned towards cream first; I think that this may be the result of spending more holidays in Devon than Cornwall. Are you still in contact with your friends from school and are you a member of your alumni association? I keep up with some friends from school, although they are rather dispersed round the UK. As I taught for some time at my old school (KCS Wimbledon) I also stay in touch with the school through former colleagues. The Old Girls give great advice at the Sixth Form careers networking breakfast – what is your top networking tip? For current NHEHS students, I think not being afraid to approach people in the first place makes all the difference; I’ve found that employers and academics are always impressed when school students take the initiative and make a request. Name three famous people, dead or alive, you would invite for dinner. Cleopatra, Mary Wollstonecraft, J. S. Bach. Describe a book you will never forget. Homer’s “Iliad”; I have studied and taught it for over twenty years, and it never ceases to surprise or move me; it is so much more than a poem of war. Which country would you love to visit and why? New Zealand (for the mountains) and Bhutan (a formidable former student said in a practice interview that she thought it was the country most akin to Plato’s Republic). What was your least favourite subject at school? I’m afraid it was Geography; I just wasn’t grabbed by the way it was taught. I think things have improved substantially since then. How will you ensure the girls at Notting Hill feel empowered to achieve anything they want to, when they won’t have a female role model at the top of the school? Confidence and empowerment are very important to me as a teacher, and I think some of my best experiences have been seeing girls at my last school achieving great things, and challenging their doubts. I think it is most important that girls have lots of positive role models, rather than just one. Older students (for younger girls), former students, and high profile women in different fields can all be hugely enabling influences. I am very excited to explore with alumnae how we might build on the Careers Convention with other mentoring opportunities. What’s your best NHEHS moment so far? There are quite a few rivals. Last term’s production of “The Crucible” was stunning and completely compelling; but signing distinctions for girls in Years 7 to 9 today was also terrific, for their sheer enthusiasm and humour. 7
Upcoming OGA Events 2017 Bristol Reunion Tea Party
Careers Breakfast with Year 13
We are delighted to invite Old Girls living in or close to Bristol to meet for afternoon tea at the famous Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel. This is a fantastic occasion to catch up and network with other alumnae living locally. For more information and to book please email: alumnae@nhehs.gdst.net
An opportunity for Old Girls to return to school and inspire the current Year 13 girls with details of their career journeys. This will be followed by the chance to network with each other and take a tour of the school. If you would like to be involved please email: alumnae@nhehs.gdst.net
The OGA Playlist
Friday 12 May, 7pm – 9pm
Old Girls’ Association Reunion Tea Saturday 16 September, 2pm - 5pm
Performances from talented alumnae including Sarah Tandy (NHEHS 2000) and Yshani Perinpanayagam (NHEHS 2002), plus special guests, in an evening of musical surprises and treats with everything from jazz to opera and indie to rock. Venue: School Recital Hall Tickets are priced at £10 and available to buy online at Eventbrite: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-oga-playlisttickets-31222784188
We welcome Old Girls back to school for our traditional tea reunion; with tours of the school and plenty of nostalgia, a wonderful afternoon is guaranteed. This year there are reunions for leavers from 1947, 1957, 1967, 1977, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2007 and 2012, although alumnae from any year group are always welcome. Tickets are £10 and available to buy online now at Eventbrite: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/nhehs-ogareunion-tea-tickets-31222502345
Saturday 25 March, 2pm - 4pm
Friday 21 April, 8.30am – 10.20am
If you are unable to purchase tickets online please contact the alumnae office. 8
Pippa Evans
... improv your life “Showstopper! The Improvised Musical” is the only improvised comedy show to have been awarded an Olivier, ever. On 3 April 2016, Pippa Evans, NHEHS 2000, was among the show’s cast celebrating their enormous success, some 9 years after Showstoppers’ inception. The show was first launched at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival back in 2008. It soon gained a great reputation, and rave reviews meant it built momentum until in 2015 it came to the West End for a three month run. It is hard to believe that the cast put on an entirely new show every night sculpted from spontaneous audience suggestions. But being able to perform a professional musical off the cuff is exactly what makes the show so extraordinary.
We met up with Old Girl Pippa Evans to find out more about her journey from the corridors of NHEHS to the red carpet at the Royal Opera House for the Olivier Awards.
was the first Senior School play I did. I played a sleazy German soldier. I remember thinking ‘this is very exciting to be a part of!’ Looking back, I realise how lucky I am to have had Mr Green’s support. It made me believe that I could be a performer.’
Pippa grew up in a large family, where acting was second nature: ‘My family love showing off. My parents met doing amateur dramatics and whenever we got Christmas cards they were addressed to the ‘Von Evans Family Singers’. My brothers and I were always singing and putting on shows at home. It never seemed weird.’
‘Mr Green used to say ‘If it’s going to be a school play we are not doing it!’ which is interesting because the quote that we use for “Showstopper the improvised musical” is ‘If we are going to make it up, it better be better than if we wrote it down’. That idea of not settling continues. Mr Green really pushed the idea that ‘everything can be better, brighter and more professional’ and I still hold that as a mantra. ‘That work ethic is a real NHEHS trait; whatever job you have, you just apply your best to it. So it doesn’t matter whether
Pippa joined NHEHS in the Senior School when she was 11. She very quickly found her home in the drama department. ‘I was lucky enough to have Mr Green (Head of Drama 1993 – 2000) as a drama teacher. He saw something in me and was very encouraging. He put me in school plays and if there was any drama event going on I was there, doing it. “Cabaret” 9
you are working in a bar or putting on an improvised musical, Notting Hill girls always approach the job with ‘what is the best job I can do’ rather than, ‘what is the least I can get away with doing’. I work with quite a few NHEHS and GDST girls. Yshani Perinpanayagam (NHEHS 2002) plays the piano for me regularly. We work really well together, and I think it is because we have the same work ethic, which is very simple;
“do your best and then a bit more.’” ‘I took assembly a lot at NHEHS. Teachers were supposed to lead them on Tuesdays, but none of them wanted to, so they’d get me to do it. They knew I liked standing on stage. You forget how many people hate public speaking, and I think if you’ve been brought up to think its just normal to be good at talking, to be happy to hold an audience, to have a conversation and tell stories, then its quite unique! It was doing all those assemblies that made me want to be a comedian. It was just me talking and 500 girls laughing. I really liked it.’
‘I almost didn’t get into University because I wanted to have a gap year and the drama courses were really oversubscribed. But Mrs Sergeant, (who taught at NHEHS 1970 - 2002) was the Head of Sixth Form at the time, and called up Birmingham University and said ‘If you don’t take Pippa Evans you will be rejecting the next Victoria Wood!’ Mrs Sergeant got me into university. What 10
a legend!’ After three years of studying drama Pippa gave herself a deadline of five years to be able to support herself with a career in performance. She worked in temporary jobs which enabled her to train and gig wherever and whenever possible. ‘My parents instilled in me that you can do whatever you want as long as you can pay your bills. So I went and got a temp job. I temped for a company called ‘Charity People’ and they sent me to work in various charities. I worked for two days for the Teachers’ Awards where I had to cut and paste the names of teachers who were winning ‘Best Teacher in the Midlands’. I did a day on a helpline for nuns and monks, (as in I was on reception, I wasn’t answering the calls). I worked in cafes and bars, and all this feeds into comedy.’ ‘My first acting job was a theatre and education trip around Italy called “Smile Theatre” where you were paid pretty badly to travel around Italy and teach English through the medium of theatre. It was really fun, and a great learning experience of turning up in a town where you can’t speak the language and putting on a show. There were four of us and we performed everywhere; from the corner of a school classroom to a massive theatre in a town centre, so it really was this crazy 4 months of doing a bit of everything. From there I went to the Edinburgh Festival with a really terrible musical called the “Sawdust Circle”, it was hilarious in its rubbishness, but that led me to meet Lloyd Stevens, who introduced me to improvisation, which became the rest of my life.’
“It was doing all those assemblies that made me want to be a comedian. It was just me talking and 500 girls laughing. I really liked it.” ‘I started doing improvisation with Lloyd’s
“I decided to go and do workshops, anything I could to improve my skills, watch these people, work with them, learn from them, and get up to their level rather than be intimidated by them”
group ‘Improvedy’ but was snapped up by ‘Scratch Improv’, a new group (which included Ruth Bratt, who I now work with all the time) When I joined ‘Scratch’ I had only done a few shows with ‘Improvedy’. I was suddenly working with people who had been doing improvisation much longer than me and were really good at it. It was terrifying. I started to doubt my own skills, thinking that I shouldn’t be in the group. I decided to go and do workshops, anything I could to improve my skills, watch these people, work with them, learn from them, and get up to their level rather than be intimidated by them.’
‘I am starting to think that you know everything when you are 15. And then the world undoes all that, you struggle to find yourself - go to India or Morocco or Sheffield and join a cult for a bitand then you realise, oh no. I was right! When I was 15 I wanted to be a stand up comedian, but people would say ‘I can’t believe you want to be a stand-upcomedian’, so I started thinking maybe being a stand-up-comedian would be a really bad idea.’
‘I was privileged to be given the opportunity to work with ‘Scratch’. It is the main reason I am where I am now; doing “Showstopper” in the West End. One of the key moments in my career was my reaction to being in that group. I could have walked away and found a place where I was the big fish. But I didn’t. I stayed and I accepted that sometimes to get better, you have to fail hard and fail fast. Productive failure - I am now excellent at throwing myself into something, failing, learning and starting again.‘
There’s definitely something in those teenage ambitions. Think about what you wanted to be when you were a teenager. People do often say; “What would your 15-year-old self think about what you’re doing now?”, and my fifteen-year-old self would think “amazing”!’
Article by Lucia Hull (NHEHS 2000) 11
Rebecca Lowe ... life on screen
extension to her current deal with NBC, so Rebecca will be the face of the Barclays Premier League in the USA until 2022. Additionally she was a NBC presenter for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio and will be part of their team for the next 3 Summer and Winter Games. Now living in California with her husband and young son; during the football season she flies to the east coast every weekend to film her live football shows. I spoke to Rebecca by telephone in New York...
In December 2013, Rebecca Lowe (NHEHS 1998) was named Newcomer of the Year by Sports Illustrated in their annual media awards. Rebecca was the first woman to present the Football Association Cup Final on television for ESPN, giving a 7-hour broadcast, pitch side, from the 2012 FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Liverpool. Since 2013 she has worked in the USA and is the Lead Studio Presenter for NBC’s exclusive coverage of the UK Football Premier League in the USA. In this capacity, she hosts all studio coverage for NBC including 6 live games across the weekend and a ‘Match of the Day’ programme. Last year she signed a 6-year 12
‘I always thought I would be an actress. I would have loved to have been a Blue Peter presenter – but I never thought I would be a sports presenter. In fact I never thought I would be a journalist, certainly not in football, although I had always enjoyed it as a sport. It just shows that you think you have a whole life planned out, and then it all goes in a completely different direction.’ ‘One of the many millions of highlights of my time at school was performing in the senior production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. It was amazing and so much fun – I played Bottom! Mr Green (Head of Drama 1993 – 2000) was brilliant. He got all these actor friends in to train us and it felt like such a professional production. Mr Green was such a huge influence on me. He inspired us all massively to express ourselves and have a good time, and we all got such great results as a consequence.’ Rebecca went on to study Drama at the University of East Anglia, which prepared her for a career in television presenting.
Rebecca was thrilled to hear that the current NHEHS girls now have a football team and emphasised the fact that “it is absolutely a girls’ game and the England team have proved that.” She has been a football fan since a young age, and has interviewed many of her childhood idols.
‘It increased my confidence levels and focused on elements like elocution, diction, projection and all those fundamental things for acting and drama which are the same for presenting. The only difference is that for acting you learn your lines, but for presenting on live television you don’t have any lines because you are ad-libbing all the time. Especially for live football, because you don’t know what is going to happen. Now I would much rather talk to a million people through a camera lens, than perform for thirty people on a stage.’
‘When I first started at the BBC I was 21. I interviewed Ian Wright, who used to play for my football team Crystal Palace. It was one of the most exciting moments of my life. I also interviewed Alan Pardew, who was my favourite player. I used to write him letters. I went to interview him a couple of years into my career and I told him this. He was completely unimpressed and looked at me like I was mad, but I didn’t care. It is pretty funny to think that three or four years before that I probably had posters of them both on my bedroom wall!’
“I credit NHEHS for putting me where I am – mainly for the work ethic, which I still have to this day. I was always a focused person and already very driven. I didn’t like university particularly, because I missed school, and those school years and the friendships I built were so important.’” ‘I was pretty sporty, but never as good as I wanted to be. I was in the hockey team but also always wanted to be in the first netball team. I remember every Tuesday, Mrs Wilson used to put up the netball team for that coming weekend’s game and I would run up to the board, but I would always be the reserve. I’d only ever go on and play for a few minutes but I loved it. Netball and hockey were my entire life when I was at school. Especially hockey; I was in the team which won the Middlesex cup in about 1995 and I scored in that final match at Godolphin.’
Rebecca is one of very few women presenting football on NBC, and indeed sports generally within the USA.
‘I didn’t continue with sport at university because the Drama course I did was just so all-consuming that you were there all day and then rehearsing all evening. All sports stopped at university – I just went to the gym.’
‘I was always either the only woman or one of very few women and in the beginning I found it really hard. However now I feel a bit more settled in my career, it doesn’t 13
really feature in my thoughts. Plus NBC are such a fantastic company, they don’t make me feel like a woman in a man’s world.’ ‘Fifteen years ago there were a number people who said I wasn’t good enough (because I was a woman) and I wouldn’t get far if I carried on down this road, instead of agreeing, and saying “you are right I’m not”. I thought no, I am going to show you that I am. I am not going to allow you to be right. It would make me more determined to prove them wrong.’
“I was shouted at on the side of the pitch every week for seven years across different divisions. At one club I even had a body guard because I got so much abuse from the crowd just for being a woman. “ ‘In the UK attitudes towards women in premiership football are improving but it’s slow. I was shouted at on the side of the pitch every week for seven years across different divisions. At one club I even had a body guard because I got so much abuse from the crowd just for being a woman. There are still huge problems in football with sexism, racism and homophobia, but also there is a big problem with the way men treat women at football grounds – especially the women who are working there for the clubs or reporting for the television shows. Certainly three years ago, before I left for the States, I didn’t feel like we were making any progress. I think it will take a generation - thirty years - for the kids who are around now, who don’t think that women in football is weird, to get up to the positions where they will make decisions and run things.’ ‘However, I love doing this for a living. It’s challenging and demanding; it has ups and downs, but that keeps it interesting. 14
The downside is that it is 24/7 when you are working on sports news – as you have to keep up with everything all the time. The hours are very irregular and as a new mum it’s hard to balance your life when you have a baby, and a husband, a house to run, and a life to lead, with a job that involves weekends and twelve hour shifts. It’s great but you pay a price for it.’ ‘The best part of my job is definitely my team. They make my job easy and we spend so much time together; eight hours live on air, and twelve hours in the studio. We get on well and pace each other. They are so professional and so much fun.’ Following her successful ten year career in the UK presenting football live on the BBC and ESPN it took a while for Rebecca to get accustomed to presenting the biggest game in the world as a ‘minority’ sport in the USA. ‘Soccer is catching up with baseball in popularity, but American football is way ahead of everything – it is the heartbeat of America and the way everyone has been brought up. After NBC got the contract to show the UK Premier League the viewing figures went up by 10%; which is phenomenal. It’s strange to come from a country which is all about football to one where it is not so high profile, but you can see the increase in viewing particularly by the kids, and it’s the kids who will change the culture of sport here as they grow up.’
“you think you have a whole life planned out, and then it all goes in a completely different direction.” Rebecca reported for NBC from the Olympics in Rio last year and enjoyed the challenge of learning about each of the many sports in depth.
‘Rio was brilliant, I was coming back from maternity leave and mastering all this new information was quite a job, but NBC are so good at research that I had a 150 page document with details of every sport.’
my blood. It would be especially difficult as I also don’t know the rules! I would be more interested in other television shows. Actually my absolute dream would be to work on a different presenting platform like “This Morning” in the UK!’
‘However I’m not very keen to present outside football and the Olympics, and I’m certainly not sure I would move to other sports in the USA. I don’t have the knowledge of the history; it’s not in
We look forward to welcoming Rebecca back to NHEHS this summer for a tour of the school, and hopefully to speak to the girls.
‘”The best part of my job is definitely my team. They make my job easy”
Inspiring Careers at NHEHS...
We are always very pleased to invite alumnae back to the school to speak to the current girls about their career paths; inspiring them by describing their journeys, experiences and progression. We have put together a group of alumnae who are passionate and knowledgeable about their field of work and would be happy to return to school for career events, and be involved with Sixth Form mentoring. If you would like to take part please contact Natalie at:
alumnae@nhehs.gdst.net
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Olivia Marks-Woldman ... life goes on
was familiar to teachers and each other, and that gave me a lot of confidence. I felt I had something to contribute and that’s been a massive influence.’ ‘I have so many happy memories of school. In the Junior School I remember flicking a pea at a friend and hitting the teacher, Mrs Clucas (circa 1978). I was mortified and she was furious. I recall sitting with friends and chatting in the summer under the magnolia tree in the garden. I distinctly remember a day when it snowed and we were let out early to play.’
Olivia Marks-Woldman (NHEHS 1988) joined the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust as its Chief Executive in February 2012. Previously, Olivia was Head of Policy and Campaigns at Breast Cancer Care and also worked in policy for the charities Epilepsy Scotland and Scope.
‘One of the most useful things I ever did at NHEHS was public speaking with Mrs Powell (who taught at NHEHS until 1993). Her training stands me in good stead almost every day for formal presentations, public speeches, media interviews as well as meetings with senior politicians and civil servants’.
I met with Olivia at her office in London, just across the river from Westminster. It was amazing to walk from the grey streets outside, through some dark corridors into a space full of vibrant purple branding, boxes of violet marketing materials and a buzz of industry as staff prepared for the charity’s main event in January.
‘Once, Mrs Chapman (PE 1951 - 1984) made us move the benches in the gym and clean the tables. She said “you will need these skills for the future.” I remember thinking this is a different message to the one we usually get at school; because we were going to go on to great careers which would not involve wiping tables. But of course you go on to a good career and it also involves mundane stuff, and you run a home, so you still have to wipe tables - either actually or metaphorically!’
‘NHEHS gave me a very solid foundation – it made me feel I could achieve what I wanted to achieve if I worked hard and put my mind to it. I felt valued. Comparatively, it was quite a small school so everybody 16
‘I have an amazing role at the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and I take pride in working for this charity. I am the Chief
political ideologies that facilitate hatred and genocide are not accepted again.’
“One of the most useful things I ever did at NHEHS was public speaking with Mrs Powell. Her training stands me in good stead almost every day”
‘The events are inspirational. For example, the inmates at Magilligan Prison in Northern Ireland worked with us on an art exhibition, where they created art based on what they had learnt about HMD. The exhibition was so successful that they invited local school children to see it in the prison. The security arrangements were hugely tricky, but it was so wonderful, and the prisoners developed and led workshops for the children. As well as everyone learning more about the Holocaust and subsequent genocides it broke down stereotypes of what the children thought about the prisoners and gave the prisoners confidence from developing skills that most of them didn’t know they had.’
Executive so I have overall responsibility for running the charity; its strategic direction, for the staff, the trustees and the budget. It is very exciting and a real privilege. We are very small with only 11 staff and a budget of just £1,000,000.00 per year but I like to think we punch above our weight. We certainly have a very high profile because we organise the national UK event for Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) – in the past we have welcomed HRH Prince of Wales (now our Patron) and the former Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. David Cameron.’ ‘HMD is an international day which not only commemorates the Holocaust, but also all victims of Nazi persecution and the genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. It was established by the government so we have a national civic remit. It is for everybody in the country and it is not specifically a Jewish day. It is marked locally across the country and this year we supported around 5500 local events as well as the annual national commemoration which is attended by ambassadors, senior political figures and celebrities .’
‘There is no typical day for me at work. Our whole working year is focused around HMD in January, so a day in July is very different to a day in December. Typically I spend part of my day supporting the staff, signing off on their ideas and talking through any issues where they need my input. Some of the bigger projects require me to oversee them directly, for example I arrange and decide the content for the UK programme for the commemoration day itself. I contact the senior politicians who will be involved. I go to a lot of meetings representing the charity– and in the run
‘The purpose of the HMD is to learn from the past in order to create a better future. So everything we do has an educational element aiming to bring people together through events, so they can think about how they can take steps to make something better in their own communities. On an international level the idea is to stop genocide, and ensure the 17
up to January I do a lot of media work and interviews. The theme for 2017 is “How can life go on.”’
“everyone at any stage of life, should try volunteering for a charity; it is not only rewarding and fulfilling but it gives back so much, including perspective.” ‘It was a steep learning curve moving from Breast Cancer Care to HMDT. My role there was around policy and political campaigning – I supported the fundraising team in their role. I am now up a level with more responsibility. I definitely know that the buck stops with me if anything goes wrong; politically or otherwise. The subject matter is also very different. The field of Holocaust studies is massive and we spend a great amount of time on research because it is growing, especially as more archives are opened up. Genocide studies is a fairly recent academic field, but it is developing too and we work closely with scholars – two of my staff have doctorates in Holocaust studies, and I don’t! I did have to learn an awful lot, but I felt I had the skills and the ideas, and the ability, to do it. I am grateful to NHEHS for instilling that confidence in me.’ ‘There is a misapprehension that working for a charity is an easy environment. However it is hard work and resources tend to be limited. It seems to me that you need to be more creative and tenacious. Although I have never worked in the commercial sector so it is hard for me to compare. I always felt I should have done, but every time I have looked for a new job the more interesting and challenging ones were always within the voluntary sector, so I never made that move. I feel like I am on a mission to make people aware that 18
there are as many fantastic jobs within the third sector as there are in the private sector. Whatever your profession be it accountant, journalist, teacher or graphic designer there are great roles in the charity sector. I also believe everyone at any stage of life, should try volunteering for a charity; it is not only rewarding and fulfilling but it gives back so much, including perspective.’ ‘On a personal level, I am one of only two staff within HMDT who are Jewish. The Holocaust has always been present in my family life, although luckily my immediate family came over here at the turn of the 20th century - long before the war. But we still had family who were affected. Most made their own way out eventually, but the ones who weren’t able to did die in the Holocaust. Working directly with survivors and forming a meaningful relationship with them is fascinating and a great privilege. For me, and I’m sure all my colleagues, it is so rewarding to work for a charity which strives to make a tangible difference in enabling people to remember such events and create a safer, better future.’
If you or your organisation would like to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, please see www.hmd.org.uk
For more information on past events please see the ‘news’ section on the Alumnae page of the NHEHS website: www.nhehs.gdst.net/alumnae/news or visit the OGA Facebook page. 19
Miss McCaig
‘A Head’ of her times 1930 - 1950 When Old Girls from the 1940s came in to speak to us about their memories of school, one name above all featured in their recollections; that of a firm but fair disciplinarian who believed passionately in education, who loved NHEHS and was committed to all aspects of school life. Jessie Margaret Hunter McCaig, was a Scot with a degree in Modern Languages from Edinburgh University, who was appointed in 1930 to take the place of Miss Oakden as Head. She trained at the GPDST’s Clapham High School Training College and had been head at Birkenhead High School since 1923. The big move… Within 3 months of taking up her new position, Miss McCaig faced her first big challenge - moving the school from Notting Hill to its new home in Ealing. This took place over the Christmas break and it is testament to Miss McCaig’s excellent organisational and planning skills that this went as well as it did. Girton House, at 2 Cleveland Road, had once been a school and the buildings were in better condition than those at Norland Square, but nonetheless there was lots of work to do. Some staff recalled that ‘it was
a building where certain rooms were still without ceilings and others without floors.’
However by the end of February 1931, the school was ready for its grand opening. After the move, many new girls joined the school – 120 in the spring term of 1931, with more later in the year. By 1933 there were 412 girls, more than the buildings could accommodate. To deal with this, Miss McCaig acquired Redlands which became the new home for the Junior School.
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“Miss McCaig was an impressive lady in a very quiet way. She always seemed to be completely, and unobtrusively, in command of any situation” Kate Downs, nee Parnell (NHEHS 1932 - 1944)
Dark days… Miss McCaig had been at NHEHS for less than a decade when war broke out and it was during those war years that her leadership skills really came to the fore. In addition to coping with the day to day issues involved in running a school, she had to deal with the effects of air raids and rationing and provide support for the staff and girls during a period of uncertainty, fear and distress. Air raids meant that it became necessary to provide safe daytime accommodation. To achieve this, Miss McCaig had a shelter built behind Redlands and the basement of the main school reinforced, thus enabling
“I always felt she was utterly dependable and very caring, but she hid it within a rather severe exterior. So it was a surprise when she came back to the tea reunions in the 1950s as a completely different person, a human being, and yet she remembered your name.” Patricia Barrett (NHEHS 1943 -1949)
only just finished, there was a feeling of giving the pupils the best the school could manage’.
teaching and learning to continue even during raids.
Realising that for many families, the option of a break away from London in the summer of 1940 was not an option, Miss McCaig offered a holiday programme to give the girls some fun. Activities ranged from singing, book-binding and sport, to parcel tying and shirt ironing! History teacher, Miss Crichton-Miller, helped the girls put on a drama production of “Twelfth Night” and money raised from the performances was given to the Red Cross.
Miss McCaig wanted to ensure the education the school offered remained up to date. It was she who, in 1934, introduced Biology to the curriculum in place of Botany; it was taught to all years by a ‘fully qualified Biology mistress’. She was also a great believer in the importance of the Sixth Form and the role it played in rounding off a girl’s education. She stressed the fact that ‘the years spent in the Sixth Form are in many ways the most valuable part of School life, the time when a girl learns to take responsibility, thereby giving back to the School in service some part of what she owes to it.’
As the 1940-41 academic year started, so did the ‘flying bombs’. Lessons had to be taught in the shelters but the space available was inadequate for the number of girls at school. Miss McCaig decided therefore to introduce a split day with lessons for younger girls in the morning and for seniors in the afternoon.
The legacy… Miss McCaig will be remembered as a strong and inspiring leader who ably steered the school through some incredibly difficult times - the move to Ealing, the War and post-war austerity. She arrived when the school had just over 300 pupils, stayed for 20 years and when she retired, left a flourishing school with a pupil roll of 600.
The success with which Miss McCaig steered the school during these challenging years was recognised in the address given at her thanksgiving service in 1965 when it was said that – ‘For those who lived through those years with her in Ealing there must always be a very deep gratitude and a special bond for her steadfast faith and untiring personal example on many occasions of difficulty, depression and danger.’
In her farewell message to the school, Miss McCaig wrote: ‘There is in my affection for Notting Hill a very warm feeling even for the School buildings and the gardens. How much greater is my affection for the living School itself, for the Girls and the Staff who have lived and worked with me throughout the years. They and I inherited a great tradition; our hope must be that by our work and service in and for the School we have been worthy of that tradition and that we pass it on undimmed to the generations yet to come.’
Academic life… The academic side of the school never faltered, despite the difficulties which Miss McCaig faced during and after the war. The school continued to produce good public exam results during the war years. Even post war, when faced with austerity, exhaustion and a changing world, the education of the girls remained her priority. Ann Waddams (1945-52) remembers that ‘although the war had
Liz Broekmann BA, HDipLib, HED, MCILIP Librarian and School Archivist 21
news from the archives The Sixth Form with Mrs Tribe in 1893 - Maria Baurhle is standing in centre of the back row.
2016 was a busy year for the archives; the digitisation of the magazines from 1885 was completed and, thanks to support from the OGA, the whole-school photos as well. In 2017, we plan to start digitising the Admission Registers, beginning with the one which lists the first girls who came to NHHS in 1873! Amongst this year’s enquiries were several from researchers. They included requests for information on: •Kathleen Easmon (NHEHS 1903 – 1907), daughter of the Principal Medical Officer of the Gold Coast who, during her short life, helped build a girl’s school in Sierra Leone and had some of her poems set to music by family friend, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. •Ethel Stokes (NHEHS 1885 – 1889) who was a pioneer archivist. Her story features in a recently published article in the journal Archival Science. (http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10502-016-9272-x) •Olive Mudie-Cooke (NHEHS 1900 – 1903) who was one the few women to be appointed an official war artist in the First World War. One of her sketches was included in a recent article on art works in UK schools which appeared in “Angels and Urchins” - London’s top magazine for parents. A key objective is to raise the profile of the archives in the school community. It has been rewarding therefore to work with two girls who will be giving a talk at a school assembly about the daughters of Pre-Raphaelite artists who attended Notting Hill, including May and Jane Morris, Margaret Burne-Jones and Maria Baurhle. Meanwhile, girls have been helping with the past-pupil database which now has well over ten thousand entries and continues to unearth some fascinating information. Liz Broekmann Librarian and School Archivist
The digital archives are now available for anyone to view on the school website:
www.nhehs.gdst.net/alumnae/archives 22
News from some old girls...
grandchildren. Also see our elder daughter Kate Mary Joyce Darke 1938 I am now 96 years old. I have had a great many as much as possible. Both daughters were at NHEHS. Life is busy in many ways, with church, years since leaving!! all sorts of voluntary work, and lots to do in the new house. Pat Billyeald (Webster) 1940 Just been on a Christmas Cruise with my daughter. Sent a photo taken of myself to the Diana Helen Mathias (Attewell) 1954 OGA Facebook page to share. Soon I will be 94, Still partly involved in the family farm – mixed farm and horse breeding etc. Always busy with if I get there. family and great grandchildren. Living 1 mile from the beach. Dinah Manahan (Vincent) 1942 My education was interrupted by the war in 1942 and I could not attend Bedford College Elizabeth Ann Crowe (Parry) 1955 London as intended to study Chemistry. Retired from teaching in 1999 and now involved Instead I was directed to laboratories engaged with activities at my local church. I have two in work for the Air Ministry as a Junior Research children and five grandchildren. Assistant finally leaving after 1945. Margaret Fox (James) 1955 Kept busy with the local University of the Third Audrey Grey (Downs) 1949 Not really news but I quite enjoy seeming to be Age (U3A) classes. the last person in Britain who does not have a computer and manages perfectly well without. Virginia Patterson (Thorp) 1955 I have recently had two carpal tunnel operations Of course, I have an expert family. which have impeded my writing, just when I intended to write to you! Still hoping to move Mary Bazalgette (Gillespie) 1950 Still ticking along, debilitated by neuropathy – within a year from now, but sorting the clutter affecting hands and feet – loss of feeling and is very slow while we are still involved with our church and with our scattered family and ten movement. grandchildren. Audrey Dever (Willcocks) 1950 When I toured the school after the OGA tea Esther Rogers 1955 party, I was amazed by the wonderful facilities I am enjoying life in this large village on the edge on offer to the present generation, a bit different of the Chilterns and being near my sister Mary from wartime school experience. I still walk with Spooner. The local churches arrange a number various rambling groups and enjoy interesting of activities for the elderly including lunches. We sing with a group; hymns for various chapel holidays – this year Burma, next Iceland. anniversaries, Harvest, Easter etc, and I enjoy the excellent talks at the gardening club, and Janet Reeves (Glanville) 1951 Sorry I can’t come to the tea party but wish have recently joined an art class. everyone a good time – those were the days! Mrs Rita Bretzke (De’Ath) 1956 A busy year – lots of blessings. My daughter, her Marion Griffin (Morley) 1952 It’s lovely to still be in touch with a few school partner and my three year old granddaughter friends but mostly by phone now and greeting moved in with me in November. I was in cards, as physically meeting up gets harder to Australia and New Zealand for seven weeks do! I have such happy memories of my school visiting family and friends and have recently taken over as lead member of the local branch days at NHEHS. of the Mothers’ Union, a Christian Mission Charity committed to the support of families of Ruth Sowton (Secrett) 1953 Now living in Chichester, very near our younger all kinds. daughter and her family including four 23
Jane Eastgate (Lawes) 1956. Since leaving NHEHS, I thoroughly enjoyed my General Nursing training at The Middlesex Hospital, London, before marriage in 1960 and joining my vicar husband and sharing in his Church ministry in Leicester, Reading and High Wycombe. Much pastoral work came into our Vicarages, and we were fully involved in parish visiting and social work together. We were blessed with four children, eight grandchildren and now one great grandchild. I was able to return to nursing in 1984, as a Hospice at Home nurse for seven years, and then as a Marie Curie Palliative Care nurse in people’s own homes, for eighteen years. I also enjoyed voluntary work with the M.S. society, the MND Association, Brain Tumour UK and the British Epilepsy Association. My dear husband died of a major stroke in 2013 aged 83 and my son the following year, of sudden unexpected death in Epilepsy (SUDEP). I now put my energies into this latter charity, and into running a “Drop In Bereavement Friendship Morning” at our local Church, for anyone in the community. I still enjoy sea swimming March to November here in Swanage, Dorset, where we retired, and Church and Community life. I feel so thankful for my eleven years at NHEHS, especially the netball, gym and hockey, the assemblies, and for all the staff taught us. Jennifer Whetter (Boto) 1956 I still try and play golf twice a week and go on organized walks. My husband is in a Care Home with dementia so I regularly visit him although, sadly, he no longer recognizes anyone. My children and grandchildren live in and around Oxford, so being down in Cornwall I don’t see them as much as I would like to. However, we are always in contact. I play whist and bridge during the winter months - trying to keep my brain active! Diana Balogh (James) 1959 As I am now officially an Italian citizen, having lived in Italy for so many years, I am horrified by the outcome of the ‘Brexit’ Referendum. Janet Davy (Taylor) 1958 I retired from veterinary practice in June 2000, but continue to spend time helping children with reading at the local primary school attended by my own daughters. 24
Patricia Durling (1959) As a retired person I continue to make efforts to keep healthy; I am now attending a gym and keep in touch with friends. Hilary Moore Yates (Davis) 1959 Every edition of the newsletter that I read makes me aware of how powerful so many St Rottings Old Girls are! Alas I am not one of them. I am married with one daughter, no grandchildren. I am a former Head Teacher. My husband is in a care home suffering from Dementia. I pootle on. I meet other St Rottings’ Old Girls annually etc etc! Gail Walter (Pitchford) 1959 Retired after thirty years with Medicare Australia in their Finance section administering all Queensland branch offices. Married 52 years, four children, fifteen grandchildren and three great grandchildren. Jill Sands (Collins) 1960 Enjoying retirement; attending a health spa and exercising with like-minded people. Keeping up with friends, new and old. Pursuing my writing hobby and generally life is good at age 73 years. Carol Carlton (Andrews) 1961 I was a pupil at NHEHS such a long time ago (1950 to 1961) and I now live on my own in the lovely old market town of Hitchin in north Hertfordshire. I have two wonderful daughters and four young grandchildren. Apart from spending time with them and their families, I have many hobbies including gardening, reading, writing, T’ai Chi and activities related to personal growth and spirituality. During the summer, when I was sampling the delights of a short cruise on a small ship, to my surprise, I found myself sitting at the table with another slightly younger Old Girl from NHEHS, Jill Beavin, ne Mann. We had fun reminding ourselves of our time there. I have just written and published a book called “Innocents Abroad: An Overland Trip Through a World That No Longer Exists” about my travels with my husband through Europe and the Middle East in the 1960’s and 1970’s. We made our trip without preparation, planning, travel agent or guide. If you would like to read this book, it is available via Amazon.
Sandra Preston (Jones) 1961 At the age of 52, I finally found my vocation thanks to one of my twin sons who has dyslexia. I qualified as a teacher at South Devon College through the University of Exeter, and by the time I’d retired at 70, I had trained up to Masters level in Specific Learning Difficulties and was working with the degree students who have dyslexia at SDC.
and Diana Wharton from the year above. There were 410 people on the ship so it is surprising that we met at all.
Mrs. Janet Kiff-Macaluso (Kiff) 1967 Happily retired to weaving, spinning, gardening, reading and travelling. One son who is in the Canadian military, soon to be serving in Europe. Please get in touch if you are visiting Ottawa, Canada. Hope to meet up with classmates in Ealing, Sept. 2017, our 50th anniversary of Valerie Aitken (Smith) 1964 I am delighted that the rebuilt church of St leaving. Nicholas Perivale, in Ealing, was dedicated in January 2016. It is a fantastic space for worship, Paula Strugnell (Montie) 1968 socialising and working. I am privileged to be Enjoying having time in retirement for travel, the Vicar and to work with the congregation on hobbies, walking with my dog, spending our vision of ‘mosaic of mercy’ to enable people time with family and friends. Still working as at all stages of their faith journey to meet with a learning coach with private clients and in schools using an innovative ground-breaking God. process to help people with dyslexia. Helen Campbell 1964 After 37 years as a conference interpreter, Susan Meek (Hemming) 1968 interpreter trainer and senior administrator Following a triple heart bypass operation last with the European Commission from 1973 to year, I decided to retire from school inspection 2011, including three years on secondment to and governance and am now a lady of leisure Geneva and two years to London, I retired and (and trustee of a local Arts Centre). I have continue to live in Brussels. I am Director of the recently become a grandmother for the first National Network for Interpreting of Routes time which is a great joy! into Languages, a government sponsored programme to encourage language learning Bridget Perkin (Shaw) 1969 and careers with languages. Since retiring I Five grandchildren, a large garden and have been teaching conference interpreting in interesting travel plans make sure our Glendon College, York University, Toronto and retirement is not too restful. Malta University. I also give regular CPD courses to professional interpreters in Bath and York Catriona Wickson (McNabb) 1969 in the UK, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Toronto, Happily living in North Dorset near my Ottawa and Vilnius. I am a Director of the daughter and grandchildren, and also sister Council of the Chartered Institute of Linguists Fiona (NHEHS 1967). and of its Educational Trust. Joanna Hartl (Rayer) 1970 I am retired, but working as a volunteer for an Jill Beavin (Gillian Mann) 1965 An unlikely coincidence for the OGA news. We educational charity. I would like to get in touch took a short Saga Cruise at the beginning of with anyone from my year group, or any other July and at breakfast on the third day I found year, who may remember me. I was in the same myself sitting next to a lady who grew up in year group as Jane Sherlock, Heather Buttery, Ealing. We didn’t know each other but we and Pandora Quinnon. both went to Notting Hill and Ealing! Carol Carlton née Andrews was four years above me Jackie Smeeth (Horne) 1976 at school. We were there at the same time and Still teaching secondary school pupils with both remembered the two Headmistresses, challenging behaviour at North Cornwall Miss Merrifield and Miss Hendry, also two staff, Alternative Provision Academy (Acorn Academy Miss Chapman and Miss Compton. Maybe Cornwall). Divorced with two grown up because I was in the School Guides, we both daughters. Now living with my partner James. remembered three tennis players, Debbie Golf is now my sport of choice as my poorly Weech from Carol’s year, also Elizabeth Weech knee prevents anything else more energetic! 25
Linda New (Post) 1977 I think I was the only runner in the school - a member of London Olympiades. Most of the subjects I was good at were not available then at O-Level! I was Sports mad, enjoyed Drama and Music. (I was chosen to play the part of Twiggy in a show we did). I sang and made a one-off appearance on the kettle drums in ‘Zadok The Priest’ for a concert when I was in the Sixth Form!! When we did the 5* awards (Athletics) in P.E. with Miss Chapman, I threw the rounders ball right over the fence into a garden - even though I had warned her! So she turned me the other way round across the netball courts but the catch was, I had to clear two mesh wired fences! I went on to become a good Heptathlete and javelin thrower for Bournemouth and Salisbury Athletic Clubs. FINALLY I got an England vest for Cross Country Running when I was 38 and competed in several Home International XC Events. My PB for the 5K Parkrun this year is 23:17. I am Grandma to Isaac who is 19 months old. Brilliant!! Izabella Koziell 1982 Moving to Sri Lanka to head up the Water, Land and Ecosystems Research Programme, helping to improve food sustainably. Following four interesting years based out of New Delhi, India. Sara Bamber 1985 I continue to live and work in Manhattan in the advertising business, enjoying the creativity, energy and vibe here. A passionate marathon runner, I luckily finished Boston well before the bomb went off so have done a lot of fundraising for those spectators and runners impacted by that horrible day. Regular trips home to Ealing (where one of my sisters and my brother live) helps keep the accent thoroughly British even after twenty years in North America. I love seeing both my nieces in their NHEHS uniforms.
giving a careers talk! Danine Irwin (Benardout) 1989 Still playing league hockey for Welwyn Garden City Hockey Club. Three teenage children. Left the City after fifteen years in banking and after a brief Masterchef appearance (some years ago) I now teach cooking to children and young people in schools and the community www. cookcamp.co.uk. Irene Blandy (Anastassiou) 1992 After a spectacularly small(ish) fat Grenglish wedding in Sept 2014 and a hike around the Tour du Mont Blanc on honeymoon, Jason George Nicholas Blandy was born on 27 July 2015. A wonderful six months maternity leave and now I’m being kept busy by Norwegian ship insurance employers in Athens and a rather active eleven month old... Meantime Blandy Sr is part-time student part-time sailing the seven seas on container vessels to get his BSC and master mariners ticket. Life clearly doesn’t stop at 42!!! Fran Hathaway (Hammond) 1994 Looking forward to getting back to singing with Cardiff Polyphonic Choir in September after a couple of terms off. Lizzie Stueck (Tyrrell) 1994 Busy juggling work and family life after birth of our third (and final!) baby, nearly two! Mrs. Najma Virani (Sachedina) 1996 Just moved jobs to Director of Accounting at a mining company, hoping to travel to Australia and South Africa with work!
Nicola Pawley 1998 I had a little baby boy – Rohan - in August 2015 and he’s kept me on my toes! I’m due to start a consultant job in November at Chesterfield Hospital, in anaesthetics and critical care having Pavita Cooper (Grewal) 1986 I am living in Chiswick with my two sons and finally completed all my training, twelve years husband. I spent 26 years as an HR director in after graduating! a number of global FTSE organisations. I now run a boutique talent advisory consultancy. I Rachel O’Connor (Thomas) 1998 campaign for greater representation of women After a brief spell as a theatre stage manager post university, I completed my PGCE. Eight and ethnic minorities in the board room. years teaching in Bucks before moving to West Wales in 2012. Further experience gained Karen Paterson (Mitchell) 1986 Living in Norfolk with my husband and three across Foundation Phase and in a language unit sons. Recently met Mrs Weiland, our 4L form before taking some time out to enjoy being a teacher, at Norwich GDST school where I was Mum to our young son. 26
Zuzanna Daniel 1999 Celebrated the birth of first child, Dillen, in April 2016. Unfortunately won’t be able to follow in mum’s footsteps and attend NHEHS (as he’s the wrong sex!) Natalie Burns Spence 2000 I am delighted to be working back at school, and am continually amazed at where I bump into old girls and old teachers in everyday life. Whether it be Mrs Worley and Mrs Lohneis at the vets with their cats, Mrs Bray volunteering at the Cancer Research charity shop in West Ealing, Mrs Sergeant in Waitrose or randomly Monika and Nadine, also NHEHS 2000, at the Science Museum whilst I was on a school trip with my eldest son.
Sarah Millette (Cook) 2002 Married Dr Ben Millette in 2013 and have one daughter, Poppy, born in 2015. Working as a doctor in Oxford. Sukhdeep Randhawa (2004) I have worked in the finance industry at Willis Towers Watson, since leaving university. I have taken three distinct roles whilst working in this firm and I am an avid supporter and participate in inclusion and diversity initiatives for the investment industry, with a particular focus to encourage more women to join the industry.
Ruth Neal (Candy) (Staff from 1970) I left the staff in 1970 after teaching seven years at NHEHS. I then had three children and moved to Manchester with the family. My husband and I taught biology at Manchester Yasmin Al-Hadithi (Samir-Shakir) 2001 Having done a fair bit of film teaching over the Grammar School and Whittington Girls School years I have just been made part of a team of respectively. We retired in 2000. Am now an film practitioners with a very exciting mission: active grandmother. We are to lead a project aimed at improving film literacy among school teachers across Scotland. I am also directing an ongoing multiarts project called “Highlight Arctic” which brings the work of artists from the circumpolar North to UK audiences to give us a richer Please update us with what you have cultural understanding of the region. been up to and with any changes to
We love to hear from you!
Yasmine Say (Rafoull) 2001 After a successful ten years working in Design, Branding and Marketing, including working for the London 2012 Games and a Visiting Professor role at a private university in Orange County, California, I decided to pursue my ambitions in the fitness industry. In early 2015 I re-trained as a Personal Trainer and now operate in and around West London.
your contact details at the alumnae section of the school website: www.nhehs.gdst.net/alumnae or email alumnae@nhehs.gdst.net Alternatively you may call the alumnae office direct on: 020 8233 8533
In Memoriam
we fondly remember: Christine Smith, NHEHS 1971, died in October 2014 Lady Christine Bondi (Stockman), NHEHS 1939, died in March 2015 Elizabeth Rowe, NHEHS 1942, died in November 2015 Eileen Weatherhead (Fisher), NHEHS 1948, died 4 April 2016 27
Old Girls’ Association c/o Notting Hill & Ealing High School
2 Cleveland Road, Ealing, London W13 8AX alumnae@nhehs.gdst.net
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