“Unashamedly academic education” The Good Schools Guide 2019
ANNUAL REVIEW
2018-19 1
WELCOME FROM SARAH CLARK
I
t has been another vibrant and busy year at NLCS. We celebrated our best ever GCSE results. 66% entries were awarded grade 9, and 89.29% received grades 9/8, placing us fourth in the country with an amazing 29 North Londoners achieving a clean sweep of 10 or more top grade 9s. NLCS girls achieved top GCSE results across arts, humanities, modern foreign languages and English. In a number of subjects, 100% students were awarded 9/8 grades. International Baccalaureate results have also been superb, with an average score of 41 points and three students achieving the coveted 45 point perfect score, only achieved by around 150 students out of 160,000 candidates across the globe. This places us once more as one of the best IB Schools in the world. At A level and Pre-U, over 30% results were awarded A* and over 70% A*-A. This year, 80% of Year 13 students have taken up places at university including 27 at Oxford University, Cambridge University and prestigious US colleges including Princeton, Stanford and Yale. Top 5 subject areas were Medicine (18), English (10), Economics (10), History (7) and Languages (7). Our innovative STEAM project has continued to gather speed, with a variety of new opportunities and partnership activities including the successful application for Arkwright Scholarships, the completion of successful CREST Award projects, and the increase in the number of our students applying to study Engineering and other related subjects at university. Pastoral care remains a major focus of our School development, with significant emphasis on wellbeing and confidence building in both the Senior and Junior School. We have transformed our PSHE programme, and both students and parents have been invited to an extensive series of talks from experts in promoting positive mental health, wellbeing and self-esteem. We have significantly grown our partnerships programme, welcoming students from QE Boys’ School, The Michaela School, London Academy of Excellence in Tottenham and The Sacred Heart School, in addition to our partner schools in the independent sector. Our corporate sponsor, Bank of America, has provided much support to our growing economics and financial education curriculum, and the Wray Foundation have continued to support our Elite Athlete Training Programme. Globally, our partnership schools have gone from strength to strength. NLCS Dubai opened a new wing which houses classrooms, Sixth Form areas and science laboratories and NLCS Singapore is less than a year from opening. North London Collegiate School continues to cement its place among the leading schools in the UK, and I am looking forward to further success next year.
SARAH CLARK Headmistress 2
4-5
EXAMINATION RESULTS
6
UNIVERSITY DESTINATIONS
7-8
ACADEMIC HIGHLIGHTS
9-10
A YEAR IN SPORT
11-12
EXTRA-CURRICULAR HIGHLIGHTS
13-14
PASTORAL HIGHLIGHTS
15-16
JUNIOR SCHOOL
17
PARTNERSHIPS
18
DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNAE
19
LETTER FROM THE CHAIR OF GOVERNORS
GCSE
EXAMINATION RESULTS 2019
A LEVEL AND PRE-U
■
Best ever GCSE results
■ A n
■
66% NLCS entries awarded grade 9 and 89% grades 9/8
■ 7 6
students celebrating 10 or more GCSE grades 9/8 and IGCSE A* grades
excellent year of results with 30% awarded A* grades
■
70% of results awarded A*- A
■ T op
grades across arts, humanities, modern foreign languages and STEM
GCSE SUBJECT
ADVANCED LEVEL/PRE-U RESULTS 2019 ENTRIES
9
8
7
6
5
4
SUBJECT
TOTAL ENTRY A*
A
B
C
D
E
ART & DESIGN
29
12
15
2
0
0
0
ART
6
4
2
0
0
0
0
BIOLOGY
112
75
25
7
2
2
1
BIOLOGY
42
13
13
10
3
3
0
CHEMISTRY
112
67
30
10
2
1
0
CHEMISTRY
43
15
11
11
2
4
0
COMPUTER SCIENCE
12
5
2
2
3
0
0
CLASS. CIVILISATION
4
0
3
1
0
0
0
DRAMA
37
33
4
0
0
0
0
DRAMA
3
3
0
0
0
0
0
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
112
103
9
0
0
0
0
ECONOMICS
26
4
15
7
0
0
0
ENGLISH LITERATURE
112
109
2
0
0
0
0
ENGLISH LITERATURE
21
13
8
0
0
0
0
FRENCH
39
22
17
0
0
0
0
FRENCH
12
8
4
0
0
0
0
GERMAN
23
18
3
2
0
0
0
GEOGRAPHY
11
7
4
0
0
0
0
GEOGRAPHY
58
46
7
4
1
0
0
GERMAN
2
1
1
0
0
0
0
GREEK
17
12
2
1
2
0
0
GREEK
4
0
3
1
0
0
0
HISTORY
71
32
15
16
8
0
0
HISTORY
20
2
14
1
1
0
0
ITALIAN
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
LATIN
5
1
3
1
0
0
0
LATIN
60
33
19
3
4
1
0
FURTHER MATHS
15
4
3
4
4
0
0
MATHEMATICS
112
77
28
4
0
0
0
MATHEMATICS
67
15
27
17
6
1
1
MUSIC
14
10
3
1
0
0
0
MUSIC
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
PHYSICS
112
57
36
13
1
2
1
PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY
16
1
10
4
1
0
0
RELIGIOUS STUDIES
58
38
13
6
0
0
1
PHYSICS
14
2
6
4
1
0
1
SPANISH
60
28
18
11
0
2
0
POLITICS
13
3
7
3
0
0
0
RUSSIAN
8
5
3
0
0
0
0
Correct at January 2020
RUSSIAN
3
2
1
0
0
0
0
SPANISH
16
9
7
0
0
0
0
TOTAL
345
108
144
61
22
8
2
Grade A* = 31.3% Grade A*-A = 73.04% A*-B = 90.72% 4
I NTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE ■
Another superb set of IB results
■
Average point score of 41
■ T hree
students gained maximum score 45 (only achieved by 1% students worldwide)
■
IB DIPLOMA RESULTS 2019
Standard Level Subjects
Once more placed among best IB Schools in the world SUBJECT
NO. 7
6
5
4
3
2
1
%7
%7/6 *
%7/6/5 **
Group 1 – English & World Literature
IB DIPLOMA RESULTS 2019 SUBJECT
NO. 7
6
5
Higher Level Subjects
4
3
2
1
%7 *
%7/6 **
4
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
75
100
8
7
1
0
0
0
0
0
88
100
100
LITERATURE & PERFORMANCE SL
6
4
2
0
0
0
0
0
67
100
100
Group 2 – Modern & Classical Languages
%7/6/5 ***
Group 1 – English & World Literature ENGLISH HL
ENGLISH SL
100
Group 2 – Modern & Classical Languages
FRENCH SL
7
6
1
0
0
0
0
0
86
100
100
GERMAN SL
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
100
LATIN SL
2
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
50
100
SPANISH SL
3
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
67
100
100
Group 3 – Humanities & Social Sciences
FRENCH HL
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
100
GERMAN HL
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
100
ECONOMICS SL
2
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
50
100
100
SPANISH HL
4
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
75
100
100
ENV & SOC SL
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
100
GEOGRAPHY SL
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
GLOBAL POLITICS SL
3
0
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
67
100
HISTORY SL
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
50
100
100
Group 3 – Humanities & Social Sciences ECONOMICS HL
2
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
50
100
100
GEOGRAPHY HL
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
100
GLOBAL POLITICS HL
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
HISTORY EUROPE HL
4
1
2
1
0
0
0
0
25
75
100
PHILOSOPHY HL
6
4
2
0
0
0
0
0
67
100
100
Group 4 – Experimental Sciences BIOLOGY SL
Group 4 – Experimental Sciences
2
CHEMISTRY SL
3
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
COMPUTER SCIENCE SL
4
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
50
100
100
Group 5 – Mathematics
BIOLOGY HL
10
6
2
1
1
0
0
0
60
80
90
CHEMISTRY HL
10
5
4
0
1
0
0
0
50
90
90
MATHEMATICS SL
8
2
4
2
0
0
0
0
25
75
100
PHYSICS HL
4
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
50
100
100
MATHEMATICS STUDIES
3
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
Group 6 – The Arts
Group 5 – Mathematics MATHEMATICS HL
7
2
4
1
0
0
0
0
29
86
100
VISUAL ARTS SL
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
TOTAL HIGHER LEVEL
55
30
20
3
2
0
0
0
55
91
96
TOTAL STANDARD LEVEL
53
26
23
4
0
0
0
0
49
92
100
6.42
Average IB points per candidate per Standard Level subject
Average IB points per candidate per Higher Level subject * Equivalent to A-level Grade A* ** Equivalent to A-level Grade A or A* *** Equivalent to A-level Grade B or A or A*
* Equivalent to AS-level Grade A ** Equivalent to AS-level Grade A or Grade B 5
6.42
9 86 7
DESTINATION OF OUR 2019 LEAVERS
TOPSIX 18 MEDICINE
6
TOP
7 HISTORY
UNIVERSITY
SUBJECT AREAS
10 ENGLISH
10 ECONOMICS
7 LANGUAGES
5 PSYCHOLOGY
13
CAMBRIDGE
STUDENTS STUDYING AT UK UNIVERSITIES
8
2
Birmingham (3), Bristol (6), Cambridge (13), Durham (1), East Anglia (1), Edinburgh (8), Exeter (2), Imperial College London (7), King’s College London (3), Leeds (1), Manchester (1), Newcastle (1), Nottingham (2), Oxford (8), Queen Mary’s London (1), SOAS (1), St Andrews (1), Central Saint Martins (1), University College London (11), Warwick (13),York (1)
11
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON IMPERIAL
13
WARWICK
8
7 COLLEGE LONDON
EDINBURGH
DESTINATIONS
The impressively wide range of disciplines taken up at Higher Education by the Class of 2019 include; Art & Design, Astrophysics, Biochemistry, Biomedical Science, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry; Classical Archaeology & Civilisation; Computer Science; Cyber Security, Dentistry; Dental Surgery/Oral Science, Economics; Economics & Management; Engineering; English (Language & Literature); English & History; Geography; Hispanic Studies; History; History & Political Science; Human, Social & Political Sciences; Law; Liberal Arts (UK and US); Mathematics; Mechanical Engineering; Medicine; Modern & Medieval Languages; Natural Sciences; Philosophy & Theology, Political Science & International Relations; Psychology; Psychology and Linguistics; Religion, Philosophy and Ethics; Russian & Spanish; Veterinary Science.
6
24
STUDENTS STUDYING AT INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITIES
the University of Columbia in the City of New York (1), Princeton (1), Stanford (1), University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (1), UCLA (1), University of Pennsylvania (1),Yale (1)
2
IE Business School, Madrid (1), University of Nicosia (1)
students are taking a gap year and will apply for entry to university in 2020.
“Girls attribute their academic success to teachers that model passion for their individual subjects.”
ACADEMIC HIGHLIGHTS
The Good Schools Guide 2019
Mandarin Tour of China
S
ubject passion and academic challenge are at the heart of every lesson, and teachers instil a love of learning for its own sake. We are proud of the achievements within academic departments and have welcomed some amazing speakers this year to inspire our students’ love of subject.
MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES The MFL department is a shining beacon of success with outstanding results across all six languages. Teachers consistently go beyond the curriculum to give students the most authentic experiences possible and to allow them to explore the culture, history and literature of the languages that they are studying. Particular highlights include reaching the finals of the MFL Translation Bee (entered by 6,333 students); the Mandarin tour of China; the Hispanic theatre festival for Sixth Formers; the launch of the Short Film Competition for the Upper School and our prize-winning writers for the Oxford German competition.
GEOGRAPHY
CREST AWARDS
The Geography Department was awarded the prestigious Geographical Association Secondary Quality Mark which acknowledges exceptional teaching and learning in Geography.
MATHEMATICS Our team of two Year 8 and two Year 9 students reached the National final of the ‘Team Maths Challenge’, which is entered by over 1700 schools. Twelve Sixth Formers were awarded Distinctions in the UK Mathematical Olympiad for Girls.
ECONOMICS A team of Year 12 NLCS economics students took part in the final of the Institute of Economic Affairs Budget Challenge, a prestigious national competition, and were praised for their presentation skills and the coherence of their budget.
7
‘Team Lock and Key’ and ‘Team Spiderwoman’ completed their CREST Engineering Project reports at Harrow School, with one team making a spider robot which can climb stairs, and another creating electronic locks for the Sixth Form lockers. Following our success in Google’s Bebras Computation thinking challenge (117 distinctions), it is great to see high-level programming skills go from strength to strength at NLCS.
ARKWRIGHT SCHOLARSHIPS Three students were offered Arkwright Scholarships - the most prestigious engineering scholarship for school students in the UK - after a rigorous examination and interview. We have built a strong working relationship with the chief moderator for Arkwright, who has offered to continue to help our girls to prepare in the future.
NICHOLSON LECTURES Our weekly programme of Nicholson Lectures, named after former Physics teacher Dr Kay Nicholson, started in 2012. As a typical NLCS teacher, Kay had a real sense of academic curiosity. When Kay died suddenly in December 2008, a lecture series inviting staff (and students) to share their own interests – however quirky – seemed the perfect way to celebrate Kay’s life. Over one hundred and fifty lectures later, the programme is still going strong. Talks this year have included: ■
The Rainbow: how the Greek and Romans described colours.
■ T rollope,
Holocaust Survivor, Lily Ebert
ACADEMIC HIGHLIGHTS
gossip and the art of story-telling
■
Cities of Art
■
Mean Girls: an average film?
■
Wagner / Mozart gender / sexuality / politics
■
Hamilton – separating fact from fiction
■
Philosophy of Protest: Atheism, Rebellion and Human Suffering.
SENIOR SOCIETIES SPEAKER PROGRAMME The long-established Senior Societies lecture programme aims to enrich girls’ academic learning and develop their subject curiosity and passion. It also provides a unique opportunity for the girls organising the speakers to develop soft skills, represent the school and approach high profile speakers. Speakers last year included: ■
Sir Simon Stevens, Chief Executive of the NHS.
■ L ily
Ebert, a Holocaust survivor, who talked to the girls as part of our Holocaust Memorial Day remembrance; her challenge to hatred and intolerance was a poignant message to our girls of her hopes for the future of mankind. barrister in media and communication, David Sherborne, Lead Counsel for the victims in the multi-million-pound hacking group litigation against both News Group Newspapers and Mirror Group Newspapers.
■ L eading
Economics Competition
■
James Harding, former Director of BBC News, on the theme of media culpa.
■
Tina Fordham, Managing Director and Chief Global Political Analyst at Citi.
■ C onrad
Wolfram, of Wolfram|Alpha and Mathematica fame, who has had a radical, global influence in the world of AI and computational thinking.
■ B eth
Gardiner, environmental journalist and author of Choked (about which the Guardian said, “you couldn’t ask for a better guide for non-specialists and concerned citizens”).
■
Dr Paul Mullholand, consultant oncologist at UCLH 8
Dr Paul Mulholland, consultant oncologist at UCLH.
A YEAR IN SPORT
HIGHLIGHTS
O
ur ethos is “sport for all�. We support the highest-level elite athletes through our Elite Athlete Mentoring Programme (EAMP) in conjunction with the Saracens and Wray Foundation, which benefits over seventy of our elite sportswomen across all sporting disciplines, whilst also encouraging participation in sporting activities for all students.
In Netball our U14s won the Middlesex County Championships, for the first time in over twenty-five years.
We support the development of future potential athletes with fixtures from A to E squads as well as internal House competitions. PE plays a significant role in the whole school Mental Health and Wellbeing strategy, with every member of the NLCS community participating in some form of regular physical activity.
In the ESAA Track & Field competition our Junior and Inter teams both qualified for the South East Regional B Final. We had fifteen girls selected for Harrow in the Middlesex championships. Our Senior Lacrosse squad were crowned Division II, National Schools Champions. This squad also qualified for the South East Regional championships.
9
“With a renewed emphasis on sport, girls of all levels of interest and ability are catered for”
NLCS won medals in the London Youth Games athletics for the first time. The Year 8 Indoor Athletics team won the first round of the Indoor Athletics competition and represented Harrow in the second round, which they won. As a result, they progressed to the London Youth Games final and came away with bronze medals.
The Good Schools Guide 2019
Involving all students in Year 7, the annual Dance Display was a wonderful opportunity for girls to make new friends and develop important life skills such as confidence and teamwork.
Our X-trail, generously funded by the Parents’ Guild, was officially opened. This multifitness station cross country course has greatly increased the opportunities for risktaking and resilience as well as mental and physical toughness.
In Skiing, we competed in the British Schoolgirls’ Races 2019 and once again retained our National title.
Senior Gymnastics competition squad competed in the National 2-piece ISGA competition in Stamford. The Over 13 team won a Bronze medal with one student placing first individually.
10
EXTRA-CURRICULAR HIGHLIGHTS A
rich and diverse range of extra-curricular opportunities is a central part of life at NLCS, and all girls find their passion.
We run over 50 clubs and activities every week, and over 40 societies including Anthropology, Art and Design, Climbing, Community Service, Robotics, Mad Hatters, Creative Writing, Environmental Awareness, Film and Media, Gardening, Mental Health and Wellbeing and International Affairs. Sister Act
DRAMA & MUSIC Drama productions are a major part of school life, with 29 performances last year including Sister Act, Pinocchio, The House of Bernarda Alba, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Summer Festival. Changes to the Music programme have greatly enhanced the opportunities for music making, including new orchestral groups involving students from all year groups. New events have been developed for elite musicians including a beautiful evensong sung in the King’s College Chapel in London and a chance for our brass groups to play alongside the RAF Northolt Band. RAF Northolt Band
Senior Concert
11
Pinnochio
SUMMER FESTIVAL The theme for the Summer Festival was Leonardo Da Vinci, coinciding with the 500th anniversary of his death. The whole school was involved in the festival, with a focus on collaboration across academic disciplines. Activities included parachute building, the history of anatomy and medicine, investigating the golden ratio and an MFL mystery to solve ‘who stole the Mona Lisa’. A particularly successful activity involved the whole of Year 7 designing and building a robot obstacle course.
DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD Six NLCS students were invited to Buckingham Palace to receive their Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, where they listened to Rebecca Adlington talk about her swimming training and success at two Olympic games, while she passed around her gold medal before handing out the certificates. Sicily
MODEL UNITED NATIONS Three delegations of students attended the annual international Model United Nations conference. After months of training, the weekend was a great success for NLCS with all students demonstrating eloquence and confidence in debating some of the world’s most complex issues; NLCS students were awarded the top prizes of ‘Best Delegate’ and ‘Best Delegation’, with 21 girls awarded prizes or commendations out of the 27 who attended.
TRIPS & EXCHANGES Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Expedition
Last year, we took 40 residential trips across the Senior School, including to the Western Front, Gredos & Madrid, Belize, China, Costa Rica, Suffolk, Bath and Phasels Wood Activity Centre.
Costa Rica
YOUNG ENTERPRISE NLCS entered three Year 12 companies in the Company Programme of the Young Enterprise annual competition, which challenges students to set up and manage their own business to develop and launch an innovative product or service. Each team did incredibly well, successfully marketing, selling and generating profit with greater emphasis on digital marketing; all 3 teams won awards including ‘Best Marketing’ and ‘Best Presentation’ at the West London finals.
CHESS This year, we are English Chess Federation Girls’ National Champions in both Junior U11 and Senior School U19. Also, we are in the top 8 schools (including boy’s schools) in the English Primary Schools Chess Association’s National Competition for both U9 and U11. We were the only girls’ school to reach the final in any age bracket. Young Enterprise Competition 12
P
astoral care promotes a sense of community where kindness and consideration for others is at the heart of all that we do. We have worked hard to encourage positive relationships between students and tutors and between the students themselves, making sure that every student is well known and cared for.
PASTORAL
HIGHLIGHTS
We develop students’ sense of well-being and encourage them to recognise and celebrate their strengths themselves and with those around them. We launched a Mental Health and Well-Being Policy, which supports staff in helping students who are experiencing the ups and downs of adolescence. We have transformed our PSHE programme in response to changes in society, creating new material for students promoting well-being, building confidence and self-esteem and encouraging students to make healthy lifestyle choices.
“Pastoral care is at the heart of the school’s culture – ‘amazing’, say parents” The Good Schools Guide 2020
Middle School Pyjama Day
Numerous Senior Societies talks and Sixth Form assemblies have promoted positive mental health and well-being and have encouraged strong self-esteem. Age appropriate talks have included: ■
hildnet talk on the safer use of technology and staying safe C on the internet
■
Self Esteem Team talk on dealing with stress and anxiety
■
aniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation talk on making safer choices with drugs D and alcohol
■
Self Esteem Team talk on preparation for exams and coping with anxiety
■
Samaritans talk on mental wellbeing and the role of the Samaritans
■
The RAP Project talk on consent
■ S elf
Esteem Team talk on preparation for mock exams and coping stress and anxiety
13
PASTORAL HIGHLIGHTS Relaxation Club was relaunched in the Summer Term for students across the Senior School. Activities include pilates, mindfulness, botanical walks around the grounds, a classical music session and listening to birdsong. The Peer Mentoring scheme has been very popular with a record number of girls wanting to be involved and receiving training. They run ‘tea and chat’ sessions at lunchtimes for any students who want to talk which has promoted a more open approach to dealing with difficulties in a positive way and relationships between girls in different year groups have been strengthened. The Sixth Form Mental Health and Well-Being Society has continued to grow and develop. They organised the second Mental Health and Well-Being Conference and welcomed speakers from a range of Mental Health charities. This was a great success. We have continued to work with parents this year and have developed a programme of talks and seminars to help keep them well-informed and equipped to support their daughters. Talks this year included: ■
Encouraging good study skills
■
Helping students to achieve a healthy lifestyle
■
The importance of mindfulness in your child’s life
■
Childnet internet safety talk
■
Raising a Resilient Child
■
Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation Play – “I Love You, Mum”
Dance sessions
All these different initiatives have had a very positive impact on staff, students and parents. Staff feel better equipped to deal with challenging situations as well as supporting their tutees more effectively and with greater confidence.
Yoga
DSM Foundation
Tina Lord, Nutritionist
14
Summer Concert
Wind in the Willows
JUNIOR SCHOOL
Christmas Tea
Exhibition Saturday
“A place won here is indeed a golden ticket to a world class education”
W
e develop girls’ intellectual character through innovative teaching strategies that focus on resilience, reflection and risk taking. Age appropriate versions of the Learning Friends used in the First School have now been successfully launched to the Lower School. We conducted pastoral and academic online pupil questionnaires in Year 5 and 6, which had extremely pleasing results showing how happy, engaged and supported our students feel. They reported “The weeks pass so quickly because I am enjoying myself so much”, and “The lessons are so fun, and the teachers are so nice and friendly”.
The Good Schools Guide 2020 We were very proud to achieve the highly prestigious Gold award from the Geographical Association for the Primary Geography Quality Mark, and this year we received the highest number of Gold awards ever.
Over 97% pupils agreed that the teachers helped them to learn and make progress and 95% agreed that teachers are enthusiastic about their subjects. 93% agreed that most lessons have interesting activities and used the time well. The popularity of no homework at weekends in Year 3 and 4 was very high and teachers feel it has not been detrimental to the girls’ learning with the free time at the weekend having a positive impact on well-being. The “Mind Your 5” programme introduced two years ago helped girls to learn to look after their own well-being. Using the mnemonic HAPPY girls were taught to focus on Healthy Practice, Activity, Positive Thinking, Positive emotions and Your interactions. We were very pleased that in the pupil questionnaires, 96% of girls agreed that they know how to keep themselves mentally and physically healthy and told us “Our teachers definitely keep us safe and can easily handle problems we have in Year 6”. 15
New opportunities for girls to develop their public speaking skills have included nature talks in Year 4 based on a list of ‘The 50 things you should do before you are 11and three quarters’. Debating club has encouraged girls to think on their feet about topical issues and pit their wits against pupils from other schools. Year 6 Subject Ambassadors have taken a greater lead in assemblies presenting information about topics such as the events of the First World War, developing presentation skills beyond their form assemblies and classroom oral experiences.
History Workshop
In Music, Year 6 composed music working with the Royal Academy of Music composing project. All the girls participated in a choral workshop with an external expert to help them to develop their singing. A new ensemble concert in the Spring Term involved 83 performers from 11 different instrumental groups which provided additional challenge for these groups and extended the number of performance opportunities the girls had.
‘Let’s Sing’ at the Royal Albert Hall
Chances to enter external competitions has built resilience and encouraged risk taking, and these have included: ■
In the Primary Maths Challenge, 32 girls medalled with 16 going through to the bonus round.
■
I n the Junior Maths Challenge 66 girls medalled with 14 going to the next round, 9 to the kangaroo and 5 to the Junior Maths Olympiad.
■
BBC 500-word creative writing competition.
■
F irst Lego League Robotics club, at which judges said “seldom do we see a team who so fully demonstrates inclusiveness and respect, not just in word, but in the way the team interact with each other. Without exception, they carry the spirit of co-operation in all they do”.
■
‘ Young Geographer of the Year’ competition organised by the Royal Geographical Association on the topic of the Arctic.
■
S everal girls designed potential models for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square for an Art competition run by City Hall.
Remembrance Assembly
In PE the introduction of a games afternoon has given the Lower School girls more quality PE time and enabled additional fixtures to be included in the calendar for U9, U10 and U11 girls in the A, B, C and D teams. Competition in sports such as Cross Country and Swimming have been added with some notable success stories. The range of outdoor learning opportunities has been expanded this year:
Alice in Wonderland
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There is now a fortnightly Woodland Hour in Year 2 as well as Year 1. In Reception, girls participated in carousels about Seasonal Changes and the Forest, when they made places for hedgehogs to hibernate, collected materials for collage, observed and drew wildlife in the First School pond and looked at the features of birds, trees and plants.
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Science, girls have been on sounds walks and forces walks,Year 3 observed the different types In of rocks in the grounds and completed several measuring and orienteering challenges.
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Year 6 began a project on landscapes by taking photos in the school grounds.
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Clubs such as the STEAM club, gardening and Let’s Get Outdoors focused on outdoor learning.
World Book Day
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HISPANIC THEATRE FESTIVAL The Spanish department celebrated the sixth Hispanic Theatre Festival in the Performing Arts Centre, welcoming judges Mr Rubén Barberas and Mr Jesús Hernández of the Consejería de Educación in London, Mr Andrés Rivas of Cervantes Theatre and Mr Charles Netto, lecturer at the Instituto Cervantes and former principal examiner of OCR and RSA. We hosted Spanish students from 13 schools, some as far as Ely, Cambridgeshire, who all enjoyed the incredible opportunity to watch and act in 5-10 minute vignettes in Spanish.
Symposium with Queen Elizabeth’s School
PARTNERSHIPS N
LCS is involved in a range of partnerships with schools in the maintained sector, and we are seeking to increase our support for teaching and learning in local schools as we build even closer links with our community.
P ARTNERSHIP DAY WITH WHITGIFT SCHOOL & LAE TOTTENHAM
Schools we have been working with include The Ark Academy, Christ the King, Christ College, Fortismere School, Dr Challoner’s, John Lyon, Bentley Wood, Heathland, the London Academy (Harrow), London Academy of Excellence (Tottenham), London Academy of Excellence (Stratford), Palmers Green, Park Academy, Sacred Heart Language College and Queen Elizabeth’s School.
Fifty Year 13 NLCS girls joined students from Whitgift School and LAE Tottenham for an annual cross-curricular academic symposium. Working in pairs from two schools, the students presented on a range of subjects such as PPE, Psychology, Medicine/ Natural Sciences and Economics. The students had prepared presentations on topics in which they have become particularly interested in as they prepare for their university entrance.
Our partnership work has included: guidance and support in preparing for university tests and interviews; debating and public speaking events; academic symposia in a wide range of subjects; Life Drawing classes; ‘Theory of Knowledge Days’; coding clubs; conferences in English, History and Philosophy; Mathematics and Music workshops and student mentoring in Drama.
Examples of the talks were: An Introduction to the History and Importance of Cyber Security (Computing), Are More Antibiotics Really the Key to Battling Antibiotic Resistance? (Medicine/ Natural Sciences); and Fame and Poetry: Why are Poets Posthumously Popular? Donne’s Rebirth in the Modernist School (English). This was the eighteenth Sixth Form symposium between NLCS and Whitgift School, and the first to include LAE Tottenham. All students enjoyed working together and had a great day!
As well as providing obvious benefits to pupils in maintained schools, these partnerships also provide our own students with knowledge, skills and experience well beyond the ambitious programme already offered at North London. Working with students from other schools broadens their outlook on the world, provokes thought and discussion, and deepens academic and personal confidence.
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ur warmest thanks to all members of the NLCS community who have helped the School in so many ways.Whether it be helping with events, participating in committees, or by donating in support of bursaries and other strategic priorities including STEAM, the School is immensely grateful to you. The School was founded in 1850, by the great educationalist pioneer, Frances Mary Buss to ensure that the opportunity of an excellent education could be given to young women. Unlike some independent schools, NLCS does not currently have an endowment fund and is dependent on philanthropic support to raise money for important capital building projects and bursaries.
Frances Mary Buss Fellowship Tea
DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNAE RELATIONS Bursaries hold a very special place at NLCS as they have the power to totally transform young lives. During 2018/19, the School awarded 77 bursaries, with a total value of £1,400,535, which represents 8.8% of the Senior School tuition fees. Bursaries were funded by donations, franchising and investment income. Our aim is to increase our level of donations, so that 10% of our Senior School students receive a full bursary. The School is immensely proud of our global alumnae community of over 7,000 ONLs (Old North Londoners). Many of our ONLs are involved with the School. Some give advice and share their experience by taking part in student mentoring programmes and careers events. We are really appreciative of the invaluable role they play in helping our students. We had a busy programme of ONL events and class reunions, along with the ONLA Summer Picnic, a Women in the Workplace Networking event which was held in the city, plus ONL receptions in New York and Hong Kong. A ‘Question Time’ event was held in the PAC, with an illustrious panel of speakers to raise money for The Bernice McCabe Bursary Fund.
20 Year Reunion
The legacy programme, The Frances Mary Buss Fellowship, was launched in October 2018. We also held ‘Thank you’ drinks in June, to thank all benefactors and supporters of the School, and over 100 guests attended. Neighbourhood Drinks are extremely popular in bringing together local parent communities; thank you to the parents who so kindly hosted. We were delighted to receive a 35% response rate to our first ever comprehensive ONL Questionnaire. This helped shape our future ONL programme of events and activities. Our ONL social network continues to grow: Frances Mary Buss now has over 2,500 friends on Facebook, and ONL Connect, an online careers and networking platform, was launched in 2018. Deepest thanks to all the parents, ONLs and friends of the School who have supported, donated or given their time to help the School, we are extremely grateful to you. KAREN DOYLE Director of Development & Communications Marketing & Development Department
NLCS Question Time 18
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Partnerships continue to flourish between NLCS and a number of local schools. The Governors have been delighted to see a variety of activities – academic symposia, debates and interview preparation days to name but a few – in which our students have worked alongside their colleagues from other schools in order to deepen each other’s understanding of the world.
ur Annual Review highlights the breadth and depth of the activities at the school over the 2018/19 academic year and brings to life how the objectives and aims of the School are reflected in the day-to-day activities of the pupils and staff. The School is guided by the desire to inspire pupils with a love of academic subjects in a strong culture of scholarship and high expectations of the potential of every individual. A scholarly and vibrant atmosphere has been created, so that pupils and staff can give of their best and flourish through subject teaching that inspires and stretches, and through a rich programme of activities outside the classroom. The School is also committed to building each girl’s confidence, so she feels happy, self-confident and valued.
The development of our overseas schools continues apace, and together with your generous donations to our bursary fund and income from our investments, we have increased the level of funding for our bursaries and are close to achieving our 10% target. We are excited by the School’s intention to develop a new applied science and information technology curriculum and invest in STEAM, the integration of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics, and we hope to announce ambitious plans for the development of new buildings later this year, including upgraded facilities for art and music.
This has been another successful year for NLCS. Students achieved some outstanding academic results and have secured places at leading academic institutions both in the UK and the US to study an impressively wide range of subjects. The School repeatedly outperforms other prestigious schools in terms of Oxbridge and Ivy League success rates, and we remain the best IB School in the world.
In looking to the future, the Governing Body will ensure that the School remains true to our tradition of developing and nurturing independent minded young women with the drive to make the most of all opportunities and a difference in the world.
Central to this success is our determination to provide an ambitious, academically rich and scholarly education for our students, and the best educational facilities and teaching provision in the sector. Some changes have been made to the curriculum and a renewed focus has been placed on the recruitment and retention of excellent teaching staff to join our team of passionate subject experts who will continue to instil a love of learning that is so central to the NLCS ethos.
Thank you for your continued support of our School.
The development of our pastoral provision at School has also continued this year. We have increased the resources available to support the girls, and I am pleased to report that the many different initiatives have had a noticeable impact on the wellbeing of students.
PETER NEEDLEMAN Chairman of Governors
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Canons, Canons Drive, Edgware Middlesex HA8 7RJ T +44 (0)20 8952 0912 www.nlcs.org.uk 20