OGA 2025
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Headmaster’s review 02 / The OGA 04 / From Office to Ocean: a Journey around the World 06 / Championing Change in the Charity Sector 10 / Celebrating 150 years of NHEHS 14 / Finding my voice 16 / Deep Roots 22 / Alumnae News 26 / 150th Anniversary Bursary Appeal 28 / From the archives... 30 / In memoriam we fondly remember 34 / Leaving a lasting gift... 36 / Words of support for our appeal... 37
FRIDAY 14 MARCH
Date: Friday, 14th March Time: 1pm – 4pm
All alumnae are invited to attend a performance of this wonderful opera by current NHEHS students, with the opportunity of a delicious lunch and afternoon tea.
WEDNESDAY 18 MARCH
Date: Wednesday, 18th June Time: 5pm – 7pm
All alumnae are invited to our summer Art Exhibition at NHEHS. The exhibition will showcase the best of our students’ GCSE and A level artwork.
TUESDAY 24 JUNE SAT 20 SEPTEMBER
Date: Tuesday, 24th June Time: 6pm – 8.30pm
Alumnae who left NHEHS between 2018 and 2024 are invited back to school on Thursday, 3rd July for a summer evening of drinks, canapes, catching up with old school friends and reminiscing. There will be guest appearances from some familiar teachers and it will also be a great opportunity to meet our new Headmistress, Mrs Alison Saunders, who will be joining us.
MONDAY 30 JUNE
Date: Monday, 30th June Time: 6pm – 8.30pm
TUES 1 AND WED 2 JULY
GIVING DAY
Date: Tuesday, 1st July and Wednesday, 2nd July Venue: TBC
Date: Saturday, 20th September Time: 2pm – 5pm
All alumnae are welcome to attend. Please get in touch if you would like to arrange a table for your specific year group for what promises to be, as always, a really special afternoon. ST BARNABAS CHRISTMAS CAROL SERVICE
MONDAY 7 DECEMBER
Date: Monday, 8th December Time: 7pm – 8.30pm
All alumnae are invited to join us at the annual Christmas Carol Service.
If you would like to be involved in any of these events, or would like more information, please email: alumnae@nhehs.gdst.net.
We’ve had another fabulous year at NHEHS.
Firstly I would like to thank all the alumnae who feature in this year’s edition of the magazine and made time to be interviewed, either in person at school or remotely. Thank you also to the alumnae who have been involved in the Careers Evenings at school and the Medics Conference. We have had some inspirational alumnae speakers at the Careers Spotlight sessions for the Sixth Form this year. These include: Charlotte Griffiths (NHEHS 2003), Leah King-Cline (NHEHS 2017), Helena Rea (NHEHS 2005), Connie GoringMorris (NHEHS 2012), Susannah Jarvis (NHEHS 2000), Olivia Marks-Woldman (NHEHS 1988) and Georgie Thornton (née Messer) (NHEHS 2001). The students thoroughly enjoy hearing about the careers of NHEHS alumnae and all your fascinating fields of work. They are also always very grateful to you for sharing your experiences, knowledge and expertise with them.
NHEHS’ 150th birthday celebrations continued throughout this year with a spectacular concert at Cadogan Hall in London, hosted by Angellica Bell (NHEHS 1993) which included alumnae and pupils performing together in the choir and orchestra. The new Junior School building was officially opened by Konnie Huq (NHEHS 1993), a whole school volunteering day, in which every pupil participated, took place and supported 30 local community activities and, finally, our commemorative book, ‘150 years in memories,’ full of alumnae stories and images, was published.
We are delighted that Helen Critcher, who retired last year having been a maths teacher at NHEHS for over 30 years, has returned to school as part-time archivist, working alongside Dr Sam Letters, our librarian and an alumna! (NHEHS 1988). I would like to thank Helen for the interesting article she has put together on residential trips over the years. I hope it brings back lovely/funny/best forgotten/never-to-be-spoken-aboutagain (delete as appropriate!) memories.
Please continue to send me your news, old photos or artefacts and memories as well as new projects and adventures.
I hope you enjoy reading the magazine.
Kira
Gilbert
(NHEHS 1999) Alumnae Relations Manager
Scan the QR code to connect with us.
MATTHEW SHOULTS, HEADMASTER
This is my final newsletter as Headmaster, after eight years at NHEHS; in fact by the time you read this, I will have handed over the reins to my successor. Throughout my time here I have been struck by the incredible strength and support of our alumnae community. Despite the odd message of surprise that a man had been appointed as Head at the School, right from my first OGA Tea Party I have received nothing but warmth and friendliness.
The most frequent question I am asked by alumnae is “What can I do to help current students?” and that support has been writ large again in the last year, with inspiring visits from the community to encourage the girls in their career aspirations, and provide a wealth of guidance. Support in other areas has also been strong, with so many donations to our 150th anniversary Bursary Campaign, as a result of which we are well on our way towards being able to fund an additional place at the School for a student who would otherwise not have the means to attend NHEHS.
Last year I wrote in the midst of that anniversary year, and the next six months continued to have celebratory highlights. In March we held an extravaganza concert at Cadogan Hall, including a choir of alumnae, and we premiered a commission from Kerry Andrews, Shooting Stars, based on a text by an alumna, the writer and literary hostess Violet Hunt, who counted HG Wells, Oscar Wilde and William Morris among her circle. We also held a volunteering day, in which all 900 students, all the way down to Reception, made a difference in the community in some way, connecting us with more charities, local schools and other organisations for future collaborations.
Towards the end of the year we were delighted to publish the new history of NHEHS, 150 years in memories, which includes many anecdotes from alumnae, collected by some of our students as part of the writing process. It is full of surprises, including bombs, boys, Caribbean cruises and more; copies can be obtained via Kira Gilbert, Alumnae Relations Manager (alumnae@nhehs.gdst.net) or scan the QR code which you will find further in the magazine.
Perhaps one of the most unusual moments of our anniversary was when alumna and local MP Rupa Huq presented a petition in the House of Commons to mark our 150th year, declaiming on our behalf in the chamber. Our landmark year is thus preserved in Hansard.
I look forward to staying in touch with the NHEHS community: it has been a privilege and a joy to work in such an energising, ambitious and friendly school, and the Old Girls Association plays no small part in sustaining that culture. I know that you will welcome my successor, Allison Saunders, as the 15th Head, when she arrives in April with the same generosity and support which I have always found at NHEHS.
With every new beginning comes a melting pot of excitement, apprehension and hope.
To our Year 13 Leavers, our most recent alumnae, welcome to this new and exciting time in your lives. Whether you are moving onto further education, work or travelling, I wish you all the best!
New beginnings are on my mind as I write this, not only for myself as the new Chair of the OGA but also as the school excitedly awaits Mrs Allison Saunders to step into her new role as Head of NHEHS from April 2025. We look forward to welcoming Allison and to working closely with her alongside our OGA community. I would also like to wish Matthew Shoults the best of luck for his own new beginning, as Principal of Surbiton High School, and express our gratitude for everything he’s done for the OGA.
This year’s wonderful magazine is, again, filled with inspirational articles from incredible alumnae.
Massive thanks to those who have contributed, and especially huge thanks to our amazing Alumnae Relations Manager, Kira Gilbert, for putting this magazine together.
It was glorious to see so many of you at our annual OGA Tea Party in September. The weather was kind to us and I was in awe of the strong bonds and lifelong friendships that I was surrounded by that afternoon. Our next Tea Party will be held on the 20th September 2025 (a date for your diary!) and we hope to see as many of you there as possible for another fabulous afternoon.
And finally, as I embark upon my new role as OGA Chair, I would like to take this opportunity to ask you to join us on the OGA! We would really love to have an even greater representation of alumnae from different school years on the committee. Being part of the OGA is a great way to be involved with the school that shaped so many of us into the people we are today. Perhaps it will be a new beginning of your own.
I look forward to meeting you at one of our upcoming alumnae events in the coming year and, in the meantime, I wish you all the best for a wonderful 2025.
A huge thank you to all NHEHS alumnae who were such an inspirational part of School and Alumnae events in 2024.
The following have provided careers advice, taken part in alumnae events, participated in the 150th Anniversary Concert at Cadogan Hall in the orchestra or choir and helped in many other ways:
Charlotte Griffiths (2003)
Leah King-Cline (2017)
Helena Rea (2005)
Susannah Jarvis (2000)
Chrissie Kounoupa (1999)
Danielle Allen (née Poulain) (1994)
Carrie Hartnell-Grundy (1997)
Josie Day (1986)
Georgie Thornton (née Messer) (2001)
Imogen Day (2023)
Lara Richardson (née Saour) (1996)
Zosia Thackray (née Kulesza) (1994)
Kate Hughes (1996)
Stefanie Poulain (1964)
Clare Eastwood (née Malcolm) (1999)
Angellica Bell (1994)
We would also like to give special thanks to our regular donors and those who have gifted us more than £100 for our OGA Alumnae 150th Anniversary Appeal since January 2024:
Alumnae
Mary Seager (née Griffin) (1947)
Madeleine Heggs (née Calderan) (1948)
Ann Smith (née Pearson) (1949)
Enid Bateman (née Duguid) (1951)
Pauline Evans (née Hayward) (1952)
Jamila Gavin (née Singh) (1957)
Margaret Leyland (1957)
Clair Laye (née Grainger) (1957)
Hilary Strong (née Wheeler (1958)
Linden Mair (née Platts) (1959)
Jennifer King (née Drain) (1960)
Patricia Durling (1960)
Angela Fawcett (née Craike) (1962)
Norma Martin (née Couchman) (1963)
Nicola Watson (1965)
Cherry Beadsworth (née Porter) (1965)
Anne Irvine (1965)
Janet Scott (née Bright) (1965)
Caroline Shaw (1968)
Megan Davies (1972)
Clare Johnson (née Walkden) (1973)
Karen Taube (1973)
Alison Henshaw (née Harper Smith) (1976)
Claire Rossignol (née Saxton) (1976)
Catherine Schofield (née Saxton) (1978)
Karen Emery (née Collom) (1980)
Justine Clark (née Rodway) (1986)
Julie Stafford (1987)
Samantha Letters (1987)
Bryony Cove (1989)
Gabriella Ladogana (1990)
Jane Day (née Sigaloff) (1991)
Suet-Ping Liu (1994)
Laura McGaughey (1994)
Marie-Lise Christensen (née Quaradeghini) (1994)
Natasha Mulvihill (1995)
Marisa Charosky (1997)
Kira Gilbert (née Baum) (1999
Camilla Axon (2000)
Rosalind Morris (2002)
Zoe Allatt (née Rutherford) (2006)
Hiral Jhala (2013)
Antonia Mathias (2015)
Miranda Simmons (2020)
Jennifer Briggs
Former parents
Nick and Jane Bain
Vicky Cunningham Pilcher
Janet Dowie
Charles Seifert and Jennifer Duvalier
Peter and Diana McKie
Fred and Christina Monson
Graham and Ruth Newton Jones
Tony and Kathleen Regan
Greg and Karen Reid
Krishna Sarda
Victoria Snodin
Paul Thompson and Jane Walker
Former Staff
Mrs Angela Boyle
Mrs Margaret Conroy
Mrs Jane Fitz
Ms Lucinda Hunt
Mrs Gillian Phillips
Mrs Susan Whitfield
Mrs Jennifer Briggs
A final thanks goes to all the alumnae who participated in the 150th Anniversary Concert, with our pupils, at Cadogan Hall in the orchestra or in the choir.
Isobel King (NHEHS 2008) decided to take a career break from the world of property and circumnavigate the world as part of the 2023/24 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. The Clipper Race is a record-breaking 40,000 nautical mile race around the world on a 70-foot ocean racing yacht and is one of the most challenging endurance events in the world.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE MEMORIES FROM SCHOOL?
I've got very fond memories of music lessons and being part of the choir and orchestra. I was a music scholar so I was very involved in all aspects of music at school. I remember playing the violin in school assemblies as girls came in which, at the time, I thought was social suicide and my friends would all tease me afterwards! I also remember being in the school drama production of Fiddler on the Roof, with my friend Hannah Pickering, which I loved. I had a really tight bunch of school friends and, although we’re now all in different countries, we’re still friends today.
Another funny school memory is that I hid my final ever school report from my parents as it was so bad. I had failed my Economics mock A Level and got a ‘U’ and I didn’t want them to know. I ended up doing well in the actual exam and, once I had secured my place at Leeds University, I told them about my hidden report. They were furious but it was worse because I’d hidden it so well and I couldn’t remember where it was. We never found it!
WHO WERE YOUR FAVOURITE TEACHERS?
My Maths teachers, Mr Quarmby and Mr Porter, were my favourites. I really enjoyed Maths and both of them made classes really fun. I also loved music, both at school as well as at the Royal College of Music Junior Department, where I went every Saturday. I was only one of two A Level music students. I vividly remember one of my music teachers, Mr Bushy, who was so full of energy and enthusiasm, introducing electronic music in the Sixth Form and bringing in turntables. It was a big change from classical music!
I studied Music at Leeds University and then went to Australia for two years and worked for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the Australian Ballet, which was the most wonderful experience. I got free tickets to see everything at the Sydney Opera House, which was amazing, and I also travelled and sailed around Sydney Harbour. When I came home I decided that, rather than pursuing a career in music, I wanted to get into property and, after a short spell as an estate agent, I ended up qualifying as a valuation surveyor, which is what I’ve been doing since.
My grandparents, on my mother’s side, were good friends with Arthur Ransomme, the author of Swallows and Amazons. We think the book is loosely based on my mother’s family but we know for sure that We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea, the seventh book in the Swallows and Amazons series, is based on her family because the dedication in the book is to ‘Mrs Henry Clay’ who was my great-grandmother. The story is about four children who get swept out to sea and end up sailing to Holland, and one of the characters is called Jim. My grandfather’s name was Jim and he was one of four children, and his parents would quite often sail to Holland.
I grew up sailing but only on the river in Suffolk on nice wooden boats and not a 70-foot Clipper boat! I’d also never sailed with spinnakers, which are enormous 300 square metre sails. Sailing with spinnakers was a whole different ball game! I had heard about the Clipper Race because my neighbour had done it and, looking through all the amazing photos of him sailing around the world, I decided that this was going to be my next adventure.
The Clipper Race was established in 1996 by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo non-stop around the world, and is considered one of the most challenging endurance events in the world. The route is divided into eight legs and includes six ocean crossings. It takes place every two years and involves a crew of around 20 people at any one time: you can join for only a leg or two of the race or for the whole thing, like I did. The race lasts 11 months, covers over 40,000 nautical miles and each team is led by a professional skipper and an additional qualified person (AQP). Since 1996, when the race first took place, almost 6,000 crew from more than 60 nations have trained and taken part.
There were about eight or nine who signed up for all the legs of the race, or ‘Around the Worlders’ as we called them. Only six completed it because a couple of the crew had to go home for personal reasons. Apparently only 50% of ‘Around the Worlders’ actually finish the race.
The wonderful thing about the Clipper Race is that it’s open to everyone. There were even people on my boat who had no sailing experience but who wanted to learn. The only stipulation is to pass all four levels of training that happens in Portsmouth, sailing around the Solent, over a few weeks. During the third week of training, we sailed to France and back and that’s the point where a lot of people drop out because they get a real sense of what they’re about to do! It is also a very expensive race to take part in and costs over £50,000. Then, on top of that, you have to pay for visas for each country, as well as insurance and all the kit. I paid half myself and fundraised the rest over two years.
The first leg of the race was from Portsmouth to Cadiz, via the Bay of Biscay, which is notoriously rough with really tall, steep waves. It was only the fifth day so we weren’t yet feeling completely competent as we were still getting used to the boat. That evening, in the pitch black, we went into a huge wave, the bow of the boat came slamming down and two of the crew fell overboard. We pulled one of them in quite quickly but
the other crew member hadn’t secured his life jacket tightly enough so he was dragged through the water and kept slipping through his life jacket. He wasn’t able to secure his spray hood, which is attached to the life jacket, to prevent the inhalation of water. I was at the helm at the time and was able to right the boat so it flattened out which meant he wasn’t being dragged through the water as much. It then took three crew to pull him up over the guardrail and back on board. He was really lucky because if he had fallen overboard in the dark and no one had seen him, he would have certainly drowned. We were all in a great state of shock for a while but, after that experience, we had a huge safety culture on the boat and secured our life jackets much tighter.
Yes I really have. You bond with people when you strip everything else away, no matter their age or background. You see people at their very best and at their lowest points and you end up being able to talk about anything.
You have a lot of time to think when you're on the boat and it was great to have a complete digital detox. The only way you could communicate with the outside world was by a satellite phone and you had to pay for that service. I had some really fascinating conversations with people from all walks of life. We had two Harvard professors on the boat with us as well as an ex-England rugby player!
Celebrating Christmas and New Year on the boat was a real highlight. On New Year's Eve, there was a full moon and we were just off the east coast of Tasmania. We saw dolphins swimming through bioluminescence, which looked like fireworks in the water, and we celebrated with non-alcoholic sparkling wine, as there’s no alcohol on board! The sky was so clear that you could see hundreds of constellations and lots of shooting stars. Another special moment was coming into Portsmouth at the end of the race and seeing the Isle of Wight after 11 months of being at sea. When we docked, we received a hero's welcome. I hadn’t seen my family in almost a year, they were all there and I had a new niece to meet!
Finishing the race was bittersweet because I didn’t want it to end. Don’t get me wrong, there were real hardships: you have no privacy on the boat and there’s nowhere to escape when you need a break as you’re with everyone 24/7. That can be very tough mentally but I also had some of the best times I’ve ever had.
Fewer people have sailed around the world than have climbed Everest so that really put it into perspective for me!
Since 2012, Olivia Marks-Woldman OBE (NHEHS 1988) has been the Chief Executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust. She is responsible for driving the charity’s purpose to promote Holocaust Memorial Day as the UK’s national day to commemorate the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust. She also shares the experiences of survivors of more recent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. She was awarded an OBE in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours List for her services to Holocaust and Genocide Education and Commemoration.
I have so many wonderful school memories, from sitting under the magnolia tree (sadly long gone) to group sing-songs in Redlands after lunch, including ‘Stewball was a good horse,’ ‘Ta-ra-boom-di-yay’ and ‘The Quartermaster’s Stores’! I used to love watching the older girls in school plays and couldn’t wait to be in them myself. I remember productions of The Little Princess and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Sadly the school stopped doing plays just as I was old enough to be in them and started doing operas instead.
As well as various trips, after O Levels, we all worked together to put on a day of activities for local children with special needs: we planned, budgeted and organised a picnic lunch and various activities. After A Levels, we rehearsed and put on a play in about two weeks. It was amazing. I was the Mock Turtle in Alice in Wonderland. Other stand out memories are debating with Mrs Powell and drama with Mrs Haynes – I loved the debating competitions and it has stood me in such good stead. I also loved BLOT, the literary society with Mr Dace.
I have a least favourite memory to share too! In Redlands, I was forced to finish my bowl of disgusting rice pudding, even though I was gagging – I’ve never tasted rice pudding since (offending my mother-in-law who tries to persuade me that her rice pudding is delicious!).
During my time at university, I was a member of various committees for different student societies. It was so much fun that it often didn’t feel like work! I also undertook a number of voluntary roles for organisations such as Nightline, a student helpline, the Bristol Citizens’ Advice Bureau and Crisis at Christmas.
On leaving university I became a national field worker for a youth organisation, then joined the political campaigns department of the disability charity Scope. In conjunction with other disability charities, we managed to change the law and helped bring in what was then known as the Disability Discrimination Act. Many years later, it changed into the Equalities Act and it brought forward landmark legislation to make life fairer for disabled people.
Following my role at Scope, I became a policy manager at Epilepsy Scotland. One of the main policies we worked on was to encourage all Health Boards to have a policy of collecting data on the number of people with epilepsy so that they could then start improving the services, for example to know how many specialist nurses to put in place for how many people. Following a role at a smaller charity, I then joined Breast Cancer Care as their policy and public affairs manager, influencing politicians and Peers in the House of Lords and other opinion formers like journalists. In 2012, I joined the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT) as their Chief Executive where I have worked ever since.
The HMDT is a charity established and funded by the UK Government that promotes and supports Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD). This international commemorative day is an opportunity, every year, to learn about the Holocaust, to learn about nonJewish people who were persecuted by the Nazis, and also to learn about genocides that have followed since. The common denominator between all those appalling episodes in history is that people have been persecuted because of their faith and ethnicity to the point of absolute destruction, and that point is only reached when deep-rooted hatred becomes normalised and regimes actively encourage it.
We’re living in a world that is very divided and there are a lot of communities feeling under a great deal of threat. On Holocaust Memorial Day, the 27th January, hundreds of thousands of people come together, whether it’s in schools, prisons, young offenders institutions or in workplaces, to take time to learn about that and think,
“What can I do to challenge it if I hear it or see it on social media, and what can I do to take responsibility for what I’m learning?”
It
feels hugely worthwhile to
be part of something that is having that impact on people’s learning about the past and is a pretty amazing way to spend my career.
We feel the fact that six million Jewish people were murdered simply for being Jewish is very important to understand, and that knowledge and empathy usually leads to action. We know that after HMD events, more students go to their school and university libraries and take out books or watch relevant films. People in workplaces raise money that will help survivors or that will go to causes such as peace-building in Rwanda. Our motto of ‘know, feel, do,’ underlies everything we want to achieve.
HAS ANYTHING UNUSUAL HAPPENED DURING YOUR TIME AT HMDT?
My job takes me to some very surreal places: I have accompanied the King and Queen to meet a Holocaust survivor and light a candle; I have appeared on television, most recently Sunday Morning Live on the BBC, to talk about HMD. I have visited 10 Downing Street to ‘light the darkness'. This is also where we ask everyone to put a candle in their window at 8pm on HMD. It’s a light of solidarity with people who’ve been murdered in the Holocaust, and in subsequent genocides, and it’s a light of solidarity with people today who still face prejudice.
We also run a national ceremony for Holocaust Memorial Day that brings together survivors of the Holocaust and other genocides, as well as faith leaders and political leaders. Last year Angela Rayner, while serving in the Shadow Cabinet, shared the stage with Michael Gove. She commented that, ordinarily, she would never share a stage with him but that HMD had brought them together and they both felt it hugely important to show their commitment to it.
Over the last year, we’ve been commemorating the 150th anniversary of the founding of NHEHS with a number of wonderful celebrations.
On 16th September 2024, the anniversary of the actual day of the founding of the School, we welcomed back over 300 alumnae and former staff for a delicious afternoon tea. The highlight was a breathtaking performance by the Madrigal Choir, conducted by Gordon Pullin, former Head of Music at NHEHS. Alumnae of all ages who had been part of this long-running choir at school sung beautiful pieces that made everyone feel very nostalgic. An auction raised money for the Alumnae 150th Anniversary Bursary Fund and prizes included tickets to Disneyland, pilates lessons and a landscape gardening consultation.
February saw the official opening of the new Junior School building by TV presenter and alumna, Konnie Huq (NHEHS 1993). Cheryl Giovannoni, CEO of the GDST, commented, “As Notting Hill & Ealing High School celebrate its 150th anniversary, the GDST is proud to have invested in this light-filled, inspiring sustainable Junior School building. With these flexible and state-of-theart learning spaces, NHEHS has prepared for the future and can continue delivering the outstanding education for which it is renowned.”
We continued our 150 year anniversary celebrations in March with a spectacular concert at the historic Cadogan Hall, with performances from almost 200 pupils and alumnae. The World Première of ‘Shooting Stars,’ a specially commissioned modern classical piece by leading composer Kerry Andrew, was performed by 140 students from the Senior and Junior School choirs and orchestra to huge applause. Alumna and TV presenter Angellica Bell (NHEHS 1993), hosted the concert and spoke movingly of her own school days and how the belief of her teachers and support of her friends gave her the confidence she has today.
The celebrations were ongoing when NHEHS committed to a whole-school volunteering day with every student participating. Students supported 30 local community activities throughout the day, including visiting care homes, primary schools and parks. We welcomed over 200 visitors into school to enjoy science lessons, sports activities and concert performances. To name just a few activities, students travelled to three local care homes to sing, entertain and chat with elderly residents and our Year 7s created 100 pieces of artwork to display on the walls.
We shared our love of languages with three local primary schools, leading Spanish and French activities, performing plays, and supporting reading with younger pupils. Meanwhile hundreds of our environmentally conscious Senior and Junior School students headed off to 12 parks to pick up litter, weed and plant to support the efforts of local organisations.
Finally, we released a commemorative book, 150 years in memories, a collection of moments in our history with images and alumnae memoriesa wonderful memento of NHEHS.
To order a copy of the book, please scan the QR code or email alumnae@nhehs.gdst.net
Award-winning author Jamila Gavin (NHEHS 1957) was born in Mussoorie, India, to an Indian father and English mother.
Jamila started writing children’s books to reflect the multicultural world in which her children were living. She won the Children’s Whitbread Award and was awarded an MBE in 2024 for services to Children’s Literature.
Undoubtedly the music, drama and sport. I think I was the most frustrating pupil at Notting Hill. The teachers must have been utterly exasperated with me because I messed around so much when I had to do anything that didn’t interest me. Hopefully, I compensated with my passion for music. I was always playing in school concerts with my friend Atarah Bentovim. She played marvellously on the flute and I often played my own compositions on the piano.
I was 11 or 12 years old when I came to England from India with my family. My mother was from Stoke-on-Trent and I think she had started to feel homesick. My father worked for the Indian government and got a job with the tourist board in London, and we settled in Ealing. It was the year of the Queen’s Coronation and the ship we were on was packed with Australians coming to England for the historic occasion. I joined late into the term and felt very embarrassed because I hadn't got a school uniform. I remember standing in the classroom in grey, I think, and looking around at all the unfamiliar faces. Many of those girls became my friends for lifeGlenda Parkinson (née Taylour), Susanna Kendall, Anne Gibb, or ‘Gibby’ as we knew her, and Lucy Bartlett. Lucy was the daughter of Mary Malcolm and we were in awe of this. Mary Malcolm, along with Sylvia Peters, was one of the first regular television announcers on the BBC after the Second World War and was a household name.
I left school very early, barely 16. I had just taken my O Levels and I wanted to be in a musical setting. I was lucky enough to get a scholarship at Trinity College of Music doing piano, violin, choir, orchestra and composition. Prior to taking up my place at Trinity, I briefly went to Switzerland, to the Lausanne Conservatoire, because I was too young to join Trinity College of Music as a senior student. After Trinity College, I went to France and then Berlin to continue my music studies. I decided that I was never going to make a profession out of it as I never wanted to be a performer. Although I loved composing, the older I got, the more and more nervous I became playing in public.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO WRITING?
Although I didn’t want to perform, I knew that I really wanted to work with music. I joined the BBC, first as a studio manager and then as a production assistant in music and arts programmes, and that’s where I met my husband, Barrie Gavin. We had two children and it was then, while raising my family, that I really started to write. By that time, Britain had become a very multiracial society and there were all sorts of problems with racism and representation.
My trigger to start writing came when I heard about a teacher working with her primary school children and asking them to paint their self-portraits. All the white children painted themselves white but all the black and brown children also painted themselves white. I instantly knew why they would do that – you didn't see black and brown images of people except on charity posters. You didn't come across them in books and they weren't the heroes and heroines in stories. I really felt the need to reflect the multicultural world in which my children and I lived by writing some stories about protagonists of colour.
My first book, The Magic Orange Tree, was published in 1979. It’s a collection of short stories, all set in Britain, which was very important to me. That was the start of my writing on the theme of representation, followed fairly soon afterwards by Kamla and Kate. I was very keen to show that they were two British girls, living in an English context and making friends with English children but still with their differences.
Each child goes to the other child's house and is introduced to a different culture, food and traditions.
I had to think long and hard about becoming a professional writer because, up until that point, I’d only ever written for myself as an amateur because I loved it. I was worried that, by turning professional, I would lose my passion for writing and it would just become a job. I'd never tried to be published until I sent in my very first story, The Magic Orange Tree. The publishers said to me, "Have you got another eight?" and then they kept on saying, "Have you got anything else?"
Gradually it was my publishers that really turned me into a writer. To date, I have written 11 novels but I can't tell you how many short stories and contributions I’ve made to anthologies and children’s educational schemes over the years.
WHICH OF YOUR BOOKS REALLY STANDS OUT IN YOUR MIND?
One of the most important novels for me to write was the Surya Trilogy. These three books reflect the historical background of my life. It starts before Indian independence and deals with partition and the children fleeing and getting separated from their parents. Their father is already somewhere in England. They know that because he went to England as a student. War broke out, he joined the army and then he never came home to India. When partition broke out, the children were separated from their mother. They eventually get to England and find their father and then it ends with having to make the decision to go back.
The book was a real success and it was runner up in the Guardian Children’s Fiction Awards. I have a bad habit of not tying up all the threads at the end of my books because I always say, life's not like that but people did want to know whether the children find their mother so we have book two and then book three reaches the final conclusion.
Coram Boy was published in 2000 for young adults. It won the Whitbread Children’s Book Award the same year and The National Theatre commissioned it as a play and asked Helen Edmonson to write it. I was thrilled about going into the theatre because almost the very first piece of writing I did as a child was theatre. It had two runs at the National Theatre and then it went to Broadway. It also forms part of the national curriculum now.
I loved acting and dressing up at school - they used to devote the whole of the Easter term to drama, which was wonderful. It was a form of a competition. Every class had to choose a play and which girls would direct, who would do the scenery, costumes, everything. Coram Boy was performed at NHEHS but I don't think they knew that I'd written the book or had any connection with the school because they never contacted me about it. I only realised when I came back for an alumnae event at school and saw a poster for the performance!
HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT RECEIVING YOUR MBE?
It came out of the blue! The postlady came to the door with this great fat envelope and looked at me rather quizzically. I thought it was a letter telling me that I’d broken one of the many traffic regulations that often happens to me! I just chucked it down, groaned and then looked at it again after she'd gone. The letter said it was from the Cabinet Office and should be opened immediately. There it was saying that I had been granted an MBE for services to children's literature.
I was allowed to invite three guests to the palace, so I brought my daughter and my sister and invited my neighbour Mary and her son Ian, who is an amazingly intelligent non-verbal quadraplegic.They were thrilled to bits and it was really moving. That was actually the best thing about that day: their joy and seeing Ian wearing a suit with a wonderful pink silk tie!
Inevitably it is Coram Boy, but also every time the publishers said: "What have you got next?" was such a thrill. I was so lucky to be publishing in that period because they were actively looking for writers and it hadn’t become the big business it is now. With the huge success of Harry Potter, publishers stopped being broad, experimental and willing to take chances – they all wanted to find the next Harry Potter. I think Coram Boy was closest to briefly being a bestseller but I was never really a big seller. What made me stand out was that I was valued by schools and libraries because I was a resource for so many teachers and parents when they were looking for exactly what I was writing about.
TO CELEBRATE OUR 150TH ANNIVERSARY WE HAVE CREATED A COMMEMORATIVE BOOK. A COLLECTION OF MOMENTS IN OUR HISTORY, IMAGES AND ALUMNAE MEMORIES. £25 plusP&P
It was an honour to welcome the family of alumna, Mary Seager (née Griffin) (Class of 1947), back to NHEHS a few weeks ago to plant a tree in her memory to mark her generous legacy gift to the OGA Bursary Fund.
Mary didn’t have children, so on the day, we were delighted to meet her godson, David Argent, the son of alumna Joy Hicks (Class of 1945), with his wife Petra, as well as her nephew, Chris Seager, whose mother was alumna Delia Coulton (Class of 1948). We spent the afternoon sharing photos, memories and anecdotes about their time together at school.
The three girls Mary, Delia and Joy formed a lifelong friendship and bond at school that survived over 70 years. They were all sporty, enjoying netball and hockey lessons.
They were also members of the Sea Rangers where they learned how to be safe on the water and protect wildlife, as well as non-nautical activities such as swimming, camping, climbing and orienteering. Their lives became increasingly intertwined when Mary and Delia later married brothers!
David shared a story that Mary had told him about her time at NHEHS during the war when, in the middle of a mock exam, a bomb went off. She was in a room where the windows were bricked up and described how, as a result of the force of the explosion, the wall imploded and then got sucked out again and all the inkwells shattered on the desks. Unlike Mary, who stayed in London during the war, Joy left London and went back to her parents’ house in Streetly, north of Birmingham. Mary used to stay with her and her family during the holidays.
Mary was an eccentric character; she had a great sense of fun and loved to laugh. She enjoyed art and painting and had a big passion for travelling and sailing, stemming from her childhood days as a Sea Ranger. She frequently took holidays with her husband John on their yacht, sailing all over the world.
From the 1990 NHEHS school magazine, Chris was delighted to read Mary’s description of staying with his sister Nicola and Delia’s daughter: “Mary Griffin (Mrs Seager) has been for a four-month round-the-world trip with her husband, stopping at Hong Kong, Guila (China), Maleny 70 km north of Brisbane, Queensland, New Zealand, Rarotonga (Cook Islands), Los Angeles and the Grand Canyon. In New Zealand she was based at our niece, Nicola’s home (she is the daughter of my school friend, Delia Coulton) and, using her car, we toured around the South Island for three weeks and the North Island for another three weeks. We also sailed with friends in the Marlborough Sounds and Hanraks Gulf (Bay of Islands). She also did a great deal of sketching and painting.”
We learned that Mary was very philanthropic throughout her life. She wasn’t a spender herself, preferring to recycle and repurpose clothes rather than throwing them away. She was also hugely generous, supporting hundreds of charities. She left gifts to all sorts of charities, from Hull University to Ham Library, which had never recieved a gift before and didn’t know how to take the money without it being lost in Richmond council!
We are incredibly grateful to Mary for including a legacy gift in her will to our OGA Bursary Campaign. Legacies do more than support the cause. They build connection. The importance of friendships is one of the few things in life that never changes and Mary remained connected to her school friends, and to her school, throughout her life. As our pupils and staff go about their busy lives on our school grounds, today and into the future, we will remember this lady’s love for our school and its long-term commitment to providing an aspirational yet grounded education for all girls.
NHEHS 1999
I was appointed as a King’s Counsel (silk) on 18th March 2024.
NHEHS 1994
My eldest is enjoying his second year of Forensic Investigation and the twins are tolerating Year 9 at school! I'm singing lots, and particularly enjoyed singing in a small choir with Brecon Baroque last weekend. Looking forward to the Mozart Requiem with the Cardiff Polyphonic next month, and a very sociable tour to France next May.
NHEHS 1973
I had a good time at NHEHS however I found it very academic. I am a late developer so acquired my social work qualification at 30 and then my fine arts degree at 50. I am very happy living in the New Forest with my fabulous husband of 44 years and two children. My daughter, Pollyanna is a Paramedic Practitioner. My son, Matthew is in London working in media as a Digital Marketing Director. All in all, my grounding from school has served me well. I loved singing the hymns and remember the words to all of them. I loved at Christmas when the seniors walked down the hall with capes and lanterns singing ‘the Boars Head.’ Hearing the Trout Quintet by Schubert is always a fond memory.
I am competing (running) for England, on November 16th in Belfast. It's a Masters Cross Country Home International. I am in the W65-69 age group, at 66.
Last year, it was Scotland's turn to host the event in Glasgow. So I ran the selection race in Derby since it was near me! I had just turned 65 and decided to just have a go. Got picked as 1st reserve (all reserves run) but ended up in the A team on the day and was 3rd scorer out of the 4 England W65-69 ladies and we got bronze medals.
I left NHEHS in July 1977. We didn't do athletics there in those days but I joined LOAC (London Olympiades Athletic Club) training at West London Stadium, now Linford Christie Track.
I first ran Cross Country for England when I was 38 and 39 so there was a lapse of over 25 years! Just shows you can surprise yourself if you stick at something. I love Parkruns which are 5K. Masters women run 6K in their Cross Country competitions.
England are hosting it next year, in Leeds I am told, so I do hope I am still in good shape for that one!
NHEHS 1999
Following graduation from Nottingham University, I worked in Investment Banking for 15 years, then in a SEN school and I am now working in the GDST Trust office in Victoria. I have joined the Estates team, who are responsible for sustaining the 26 schools that make up the GDST Estate, including 64 sites and more than 250 buildings. I am sure anyone who has been back to NHEHS can appreciate the huge transformation in the buildings and facilities and it is exciting to be part of a team that is doing this in the GDST schools all over the country.
I currently have one daughter in Year 9 at NHEHS and another joined Year 7 in September. They both speak so positively about the school, its teaching, and the broader opportunities available to them, and my son is very disappointed that he cannot follow in their footsteps!
NHEHS 1950
I am now 92 years old. I had a dreadful summer health-wise but I have now recovered. It was also excessively hot. I do not recommend visits to Italy in July and August if you want to see the sights. It's much better in Spring or Autumn. September is the best time for the beach.
I wish I could have come to the lovely Christmas concert, but I find travelling rather difficult now, especially in winter.
You may remember that in last year’s alumnae magazine we put out an appeal to track down Valerie White (NHEHS 1974) following a Swimming Cup that we came across which had an inscription of her name on it. Up until that point, we had no contact details for her and had had no luck finding her. Well, guess what? We eventually did manage to track Valerie down thanks to the power of the magnificent NHEHS alumnae network! Valerie Hiscock (nee Hoare) (NHEHS 1968) emailed me, having seen the article in the alumnae magazine and, despite being a few years older than Valerie at NHEHS, was in touch with her brother. She contacted him and, finally, Valerie got in touch with me! It was wonderful to have found her.
The vision for our 150th birthday celebrations was to give our School a philanthropic legacy of which our whole community - past, present and future - can be proud. Our aim was to create three, new, transformational bursaries, the Leavers’ Sixth Form Bursary, the Parents’ Senior School Bursary and the OGA Alumnae Senior School Bursary. These new awards will enable more young women with the talent but not the means to benefit from, and contribute to, the award-winning education and first-class facilities at NHEHS .
We are delighted to report that, thanks to the generosity of many of you, we have been able to offer the first two of these from September 2025, and we have made substantial progress towards being able to offer the one specifically designed for the readers of this newsletter, the OGA Alumnae Bursary. You have donated or pledged over £148,049 since the launch of the Appeal in October 2022 and we are now only £31,951 short of being able to offer this new bursary! Thank you!
It would be so brilliant if we could make this target before the next OGA Tea Party on Saturday, 20th September 2025; ring in success on this philanthropic initiative; and get going on deciding which young woman, from the many who apply, would get the most from this new award.
So, if you have not yet donated, please do join in or, if you would like to give again, please see our ‘Ways to give.’
Following on from last year, on Tuesday 1st July and Wednesday 2nd July we are having our second Giving Day
We would like to have a particular focus on our alumnae, former parents and staff. If you could help create the match-funding or challenge-funding, attended the school with financial assistance and would be prepared to share your story, or have ideas to make the day an even greater success, please get in touch with me soon at m.tollit@nhehs.gdst.net.
‘We can do it; we can do it well; and we can do it together.’
Former Headmistress, Susan Whitfield.
gets this opportunity it really is transformative, not just for me but for generations going forward. I am passionate about giving all people a chance and to use my influence to change the world. It was NHEHS who made me who I am today.’
Professor Nicki Saulsbury, Class of 1986
‘My seven years at Notting Hill and Ealing High School helped mould me into the person I am today and helped me access opportunities I never would have thought possible. I am incredibly grateful to have received the bursary.’
Ayesha Sehgal, Class of
2018
On the day itself, your generosity last year was fantastic and so were your comments on the Donor Wall which were clearly heartfelt and inspiring - thank you. We are also planning a special fundraising lunch in a Cambridge college, on Friday, 14th March, with the opportunity to see our girls perform Dido and Aeneas at St John’s afterwards. Please pencil it into your diaries - more information to follow soon.
A single, one-off gift at https://gdst.net/donate/NHEHS or bank transfer
Account Name: GDST Annual Fund; Account No. 84552549; Sort Code: 60-04-04
Please use the reference of your surname and NHEHS e.g. SMITHNHEHS
A regular giving gift at https://gdst.net/donate/NHEHS, through Payroll giving https://www. gov.uk/payroll-giving Donors who make regular gifts are particularly vital to our programme.
A legacy pledge https://bit.ly/nhehslegacy
With Gift Aid, your gift is worth 25% more.
If you wish to discuss a donation, bursaries, or any aspect of the OGA Alumnae 150th Anniversary Appeal please email me at m.tollit@nhehs.gdst.net or ring me at the school on 020 8799 8400.
The word 'trip' leads to 527 results appearing in our digital archives which shows how big a part they have played in life at NHEHS.
In recent times, pupils seem to have visited ever-more exotic locations. This October half term, China and South Africa, were just two of the countries visited! However, it is not just in recent years that students have enjoyed such exciting travels. It came as something of a surprise to me to discover that there were several cruises in the 1960s and 1970s, several of which occurred during the Christmas holidays to 'winter sun' destinations. These gave many students their first experience of celebrating the start of a New Year away from home.
In the 1966 school magazine, Jo Dawson and Christina Brydone's article (NHEHS 1986) described a Hellenic-Byzantine Cruise, which took place at the end of 1965, and included visiting Syria and Lebanon.
They “were most impressed by the sights of Venice… but not by the staggering ratio of girls to boys. On board the ship, life was well organised, with lessons, lectures and opportunities to sunbathe. The trip from Athens to Gibraltar was the longest time we spent at sea…a force nine gale struck us, rendering many of the passengers sea-sick.”
This experience didn't dampen spirits as future sailings on board the S. S. Nevasa, a decommissioned British troopship converted into a ‘school ship,’ included West Africa and The Caribbean. On board ship, students were given daily lectures and activities to complete, based on what they were seeing and doing on their travels. For many girls, this was the first time that they had been outside the United Kingdom and the experience was eye-opening.
Frances Hounsell (NHEHS 1967) remembers,
“When the ship arrived in the harbour in Turkey, a group of children came down and sang to the disembarking Notting Hill girls. There was a band too; the visitors received a welcome from the whole town. We saw all these things that we would never have seen otherwise. I still remember a lot of the things we did and saw, and I think it was a very valuable opportunity the school gave us.”
In September 1972, there was a special cruise to celebrate the centenary of the GPDST, setting sail on 3rd September, with students back in time for the start of term on the 12th September.
1977 – Ski Switzerland
Throughout the 1950s and ‘60s, and into the ‘70s, NHEHS would take Skipton House girls on a weeklong trip to Netley House in Gomshall, Surrey, for a taste of country life. Some of the girls slept inside the house, while those deemed the most responsible were given the privilege of sleeping out in huts in the garden. Alumnae from those days report vivid memories of what, for many, was their first encounter with the countryside: barns ‘full of tickly straw, squawking chickens , sweet little pigs with soft bristles and a scary bull or two!’
A little closer to home, hundreds of students have 'enjoyed' Duke of Edinburgh expeditions since the late 1980s.
In the 2007 magazine, Sophie Shawdon (NHEHS 2010) tells the tale of an all too familiar start to such expeditions: “At exactly 1:15pm on a dismal grey June day, about half of the Year 10 were delighted to finish school early. The other half stood outside a coach in thick fleeces, gloomily eyeing the sky. This was the start of the Duke of Edinburgh weekend, and this was the real thing. Nearly five hours and a service station later, we pulled up on a narrow country lane, took our bags out of the hold, and lugged them up to the campsite.”
Students' (and teachers') resilience has often been severely tested on expeditions but, despite this, we all have truly happy memories of navigating torrential rain, heatwaves, blocked toilets, snow, blisters and endless pasta.
1951 – Geography Trip
Many teaching departments regularly run residential trips, particularly Languages, History and Geography. The annual French exchange trip has long been a staple of School life.
Sarah Henbrey (NHEHS 1980) remembers, “I did the French Exchange four times. We all trooped off to Paris in a bus and then I had three weeks on my own with a family. It was a long time! I was only about 14, and I coped but it was challenging - for the first time ever, going to live with a family, speaking a language you don’t fully understand, eating food you’re not used to… I do remember one thing: In France, they very often have green salad at the end of a meal, and the family I stayed with used to make a really mustardy dressing to go with it. I don’t really like mustard but I felt I had to eat it!”
In the archives, there are photos from an Upper Sixth field trip in 1951 to Timberscombe; the students are dressed very formally compared to modern day, and do not look well equipped for the task in hand. In 1998, the Geography department undertook its first expedition to Sinai.
Ella Rolfe's (NHEHS 2002) words in the magazine that year sum up what trips have meant to so many students. “There are some things that are so memorable you never forget them, no matter how long you live.”
To access our 'Digital Archive' please follow the link or scan the QR Code
https://www.nhehsarchives.net/
In memoriam we fondly remember.
MISS ANTONIA
JANETTE BUNCH, OBE - 21st March 2023 aged 86
Antonia retired at the age of 59 as director of the Scottish Science Library of the National Library of Scotland. Born in London, she lectured in Library and Information Science at Strathclyde University before joining the National Library of Scotland in 1987, where she founded the Scottish Science Library.
DIANA MOORE
- 23rd August 2023 aged 73 after a two year battle with ovarian cancer
MICHELLE SAXTON - June 2023 aged 61
From her sisters, NHEHS alummae Cathy Schofield and Claire Saxton ‘Michelle trained to teach deaf children, but shortly afterwards learned that she had Multiple Sclerosis. She managed to work for 10 years, but eventually had to give up. Everyone around Michelle was impressed by the immense courage, resilience and perseverance she displayed despite decades of living with this debilitating illness. Michelle had some strong friendships at NHEHS for quite a while. She went to an OGA tea party once so the school links were quite important to her and then going into education choices herself meant she realised its importance.
MARY ‘BIDDY’ BAZALGETTE (née Gillespie)
- 11th January 2023 aged 93
From her son, Richard Bazalgette, ‘Biddy was Head Girl in 1948/9. She is survived by her lifelong school friends, Audrey Dever (nee Wilcox) and Rosemary Burrows (nee Cockman). She went on to Maria Grey Teaching College. After a short time of teaching at Wimbledon GPDST, she went on to teach at Westminster Under School in Petty B, which was the first class, for 7/8 year olds, teaching many sons of prominent politicians, actors, musicians, etc. She was addressed as ‘Sir’ by the boys. On one occasion, she was seen dunking her biscuit in her coffee in class, not unnoticed by a boy, who said, ‘’you are a naughty girl, Sir’’. After marrying in 1963, she taught until the birth of her first son in 1964. After bringing up her two sons, she went back to teaching as a Supply Teacher at a number of local Primary Schools, until she was offered a full time post as a remedial reading teacher. She was very inventive in making own well illustrated reading games, as aids. She also taught at Adult Literacy, in Evening classes.’
NATALIE COOPER-HALL
- 5th March 2024 aged 46
CAROLINE SHAW
- 1st October 2024 aged 74
KATHLEEN EVELEIGH (née Hall)
- May 2024 aged 95
From her daughter, Christine Winhall, ‘I am writing to let you know that my mother, Kathleen Eveleigh, who attended Notting Hill and Ealing High School during and pre the Second World War has passed away at the age of 95. She always spoke so highly of her school days and the broad education she received there opened up so many interests for her that she kept up till the end.’
ANNE HELEN MARY MCCLYMONT
- 23rd November aged 86
From her son, Jeremy Gorbold, ‘Anne still spoke about the school and, even up to a couple of weeks ago, was talking about playing hockey to her granddaughter. She played hockey on a field possibly owned by the London Bus Company. Anne did not like it because of the journey there. After leaving, Anne did a degree in French and Latin at one of the London universities. She became a teacher and went on to be head of MFL at Newstead Wood School.
Anne also remembered swimming lessons in an open air pool; afterwards they enjoyed hot Bovril.
ELIZABETH TUCKER (former Head of Classics 1964 - 1972)
- 18th May 2024 aged 87
CZESLAWA PICHETA (former Chemistry and Physics teacher (1969 - 1989)
- 9th September 2004 aged 95
From the ‘staff leavers’ 1989 school magazine - Mrs Picheta has been a teacher at NHEHS for 19 years. Prior to that she had worked as an industrial chemist as well as starting to bring up her family. Mrs Picheta had a most eventful early life. She spent her early years in Poland and then, as a child, was transported to Russia where she attended a Russian school for two years and learned to speak Russian. She subsequently went to Tehran where she attended a Polish school before coming to England to attend university. Mrs Picheta was the most caring teacher, maintaining an interest in her past students long beyond their school days. The staff will miss Cesia as a colleague and as a dear friend. The students will miss a very caring teacher. If she could teach us one thing (aside from Chemistry and Physics of course) it would be to give time and devotion to any task undertaken.
Mrs Picheta was delighted that her granddaughter, Sophie Picheta (NHEHS 2009) also attended the school as a pupil.
Several NHEHS alumnae, former staff and former parents have chosen to leave a gift in their will to help to ensure more girls with the ability but not the means can benefit from NHEHS’ uniquely aspirational yet grounded education.
Leaving a single bequest or a percentage of your remaining estate to our Bursary and Assistance fund, could make such a difference to future students at NHEHS.
As an NHEHS alumna, you can write your will for free using leading will-writing service, Farewill. Get started by visiting https://farewill.com/nhehs
If you have already pledged a gift to us in your Will, thank you so much. Please consider letting us know. As a token of our appreciation, you are invited to two special events a year, in addition to the one organised by the GDST’s Minerva Circle.
We pledge that legacy gifts of over £10,000 will lead to a tree being planted in your name on the school site.
As we look to the challenges of the future for our young people and society, we hope you will consider helping us create a more equitable future by leaving a legacy gift to NHEHS.
If you have any further questions, please contact our Development Manager, Molly Tollit (development@nhehs.gdst. net) or see the GDST website for more information https://www. gdst.net/support/gdst-legacy/
“I had a wonderful 7 years at NHEHS, better than I ever thought possible. I learnt all my subjects from incredible teachers, who taught with passion and dedication and supported me every step of the way. I was told to aim high and work hard to achieve my dreams. I was given amazing opportunities to explore my interests - play new sports, learn a musical instrument, and challenge my academic ability. Without the bursary, I wouldn’t have been able to attend Notting Hill and Ealing High School and I wouldn’t be the person I am today.”
Erin Malinowski
NHEHS Class of 2020
Studying Physics at the University of Oxford
Jane Sigaloff (NHEHS 1991)
Delighted to support the first ever Giving Day and to be able to contribute to the bursary appeal. Here's to the next 150 years....
Emilia Newton Jones (NHEHS 2015)
NHEHS helped form the woman I’ve become today. The culture created by the students and teachers helped to build my confidence, put myself out there and try things I didn’t think would be for me.....I am a Civil Engineer and an Officer in the Army Reserves! Thank you NHEHS
Izzy Smallman (NHEHS 2022)
The women I love and respect most in my life are the ones I met in this school. The teachers give you exactly what you need at that time, without you even realising it. It was a joy.
Mary Baum (former parent)
Our two daughters thrived at NHEHS. It is a very special school and we are thrilled that our granddaughter is now able to benefit from the same wonderful education and opportunities as her mother. We are delighted to support this hugely worthwhile cause.
Zoë Allatt (née Rutherford) (NHEHS 2006)
Hopefully in the future I'll be in a position to give more but for now, this comes with all my gratitude for my incredible years at Notting Hill, all of which were thanks to a bursary (and Mrs Whitfield's personal intervention at one point to secure the funding).
Dawn Slaughter (née Mansell) (NHEHS 1973)
Hoping you reach your target. NHEHS was a great school 50 years ago but the opportunities for the students now is absolutely amazing! It deserves to be enjoyed!
Vanessa Hammond (née Haines) (NHEHS 1970)
I benefited hugely from my free place at Notting Hill - it stretched my horizons and made so much possible. I’d like others to experience that too.
While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy throughout this publication, we hope you will please forgive any minor errors and please inform us of any major ones! January 2025