ANNUAL REVIEW
2020-21 1
2020-2021
has once again proved to be an extraordinary year for us all, and this Annual Review celebrates the way in which our school community responded to the continued challenge of Covid-19 as well as maintaining everything that is so special and unique about a North London education. This year saw further periods of online teaching and learning, and also the return to face-to-face teaching but with strict mitigating arrangements in place to keep our students, staff and parents as safe and healthy as possible. The adaptations required included the use of hybrid lessons as some students were self-isolating at home while others were in the classroom, developing our presentation of online performances so that our musicians, dancers and actors could still perform for all to see and a Founder’s Day unlike any ever celebrated – complete with an outdoor daffodil procession. We were also delighted to hold a carefully planned and executed in-person Valedictory Service for our leaving Year 13 students, though heartbreakingly, I was not able to attend, it enabled our most senior students and their families to celebrate the end of an extraordinary educational experience. Our pastoral team has worked tirelessly, and with great imagination, to support and enable our students through the emotional toll that we know Covid-19 has taken on our community. Positive mental health strategies and thoughtful provision from external agencies and individuals as well as our in-house team across both elements of our School gave staff, parents and students methodologies and strategies for dealing with risk, loss and uncertainty. It is important to remember that there were also many opportunities for celebration, happiness and joy in learning this year, as illustrated in this Annual Review. Despite the pandemic our academic lessons and extracurricular activities continued with minimal disruption. Many examples of symposia and partnership activities, active and well supported societies and clubs, visiting speakers, sports, music and dramatic performances still took place regardless of the constraints
WELCOME FROM SARAH CLARK 2
that we operated under. Children in both the Junior and Senior Schools have continued to be challenged and inspired in their lessons and in our extracurricular provision, with continued strong outcomes. The external examination results this year are a fitting tribute to the tireless dedication and inspiration of our teachers and the wit, imagination, dedication and sheer hard work of our Year 11 and Year 13 students. These results represent the strongest ever achieved by North London Collegiate students and we are proud of each and every one of our GCSE, A level and IB students. To achieve an average of over 43 points across all students for the IB Diploma further establishes North London as one of the best Schools in the world for this qualification and our UK based examinations marked us once again as one of the most successful schools in the country. At GCSE / IGCSE our students achieved 95% Grade 9 and our A levels returned 91% grade A* and 100% grades A* and A. This Annual Review illustrates the range and depth of the educational experience for our students during the past year. I am deeply proud of our School community: its resilience, its kindness and its ability to respond with flair, innovation and confidence to any challenge that it faces. We look forward to future developments here at NLCS with hope and eager anticipation.
SARAH CLARK Headmistress
4-5
EXAMINATION RESULTS
6
UNIVERSITY DESTINATIONS
7-8
ACADEMIC
9-10
PASTORAL
11-12
EXTRACURRICULAR
13
STEAM
14
SPORT
15-18
JUNIOR SCHOOL
19
SUSTAINABILITY
20
EQUALITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSIVITY
21
CHARITY
22
DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNAE
23
LETTER FROM THE CHAIR OF GOVERNORS
EXAMINATION RESULTS 2021
The results from the 2021 series of examinations are truly exceptional, and we celebrate them alongside the qualities of perseverance, flexibility, good humour and intellectual curiosity that characterise our students.
95% of all grades were awarded Grade 9.
This year’s results were derived from a combination of coursework and rigorous teacher assessments.
91% of grades were awarded A* representing the strongest performance of a cohort of students at this level in the School’s history.
GCSE RESULTS 2021 SUBJECT
GCSE A LEVEL AND PRE-U
ADVANCED LEVEL/PRE-U RESULTS SUMMER 2021 TOTAL ENTRY 9
8
7
6
SUBJECT
TOTAL ENTRY A*
A
B
C
D
E
ART
36
31
5
0
0
ART
6
6
0
0
0
0
0
BIOLOGY
107
104
3
0
0
BIOLOGY
41
41
0
0
0
0
0
CHEMISTRY
109
105
3
1
0
CHEMISTRY
50
50
0
0
0
0
0
CLASSICAL GREEK
8
8
0
0
0
CLASSICAL CIVILISATION
7
3
4
0
0
0
0
COMPUTER SCIENCE
27
26
1
0
0
DRAMA
5
5
0
0
0
0
0
DRAMA
47
47
0
0
0
ECONOMICS
29
27
2
0
0
0
0
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
109
108
1
0
0
ENGLISH
28
25
3
0
0
0
0
ENGLISH LITERATURE
109
109
0
0
0
FRENCH
6
5
1
0
0
0
0
FRENCH
48
39
9
0
0
GEOGRAPHY
14
11
3
0
0
0
0
GEOGRAPHY
71
70
1
0
0
GERMAN
7
7
0
0
0
0
0
GERMAN
14
14
0
0
0
GREEK
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
HISTORY
68
66
2
0
0
HISTORY
14
10
4
0
0
0
0
ITALIAN
9
8
0
1
0
ITALIAN
4
4
0
0
0
0
0
LATIN
34
33
1
0
0
LATIN
6
6
0
0
0
0
0
MATHEMATICS
109
96
11
2
0
MANDARIN
3
3
0
0
0
0
0
MUSIC
14
14
0
0
0
MATHEMATICS
71
65
6
0
0
0
0
PHYSICS
109
104
4
1
0
FURTHER MATHEMATICS
17
17
0
0
0
0
0
RELIGIOUS STUDIES
28
27
1
0
0
MUSIC
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
RUSSIAN
9
7
2
0
0
PHYSICS
16
16
0
0
0
0
0
SPANISH
58
52
4
2
0
POLITICS
6
5
1
0
0
0
0
Mandarin Chinese = 22 A* Grade 9 = 95% Grade 8 or 9 = 99.4% Grade 7 or above 100% Correct as of October 2021
RELIGIOUS STUDIES
3
3
0
0
0
0
0
RUSSIAN
25
16
9
0
0
0
0
SPANISH
17
17
0
0
0
0
0
TOTAL
378
345
13
0
0
0
0
Grade A* = 91% 4
Grade A*-A = 100%
I NTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE Students achieved an average score of 43.2 points, placing us again among the best IB schools in the world. 31% of our IB Diploma graduates achieved a “perfect score” of 45 points – a truly exceptional feat, typically achieved by less than 1% of students worldwide each year. All students passed their Higher Level subjects at the IB equivalent of A-level grade A or A*.
IB DIPLOMA RESULTS 2021 SUBJECT
NO. 7
IB DIPLOMA RESULTS 2021
Higher Level Subjects
6
5
4
3
2
1
%7
%7/6
%7/6/5
1
0
0
0
0
0
67
100
100
SUBJECT
Group 1 – English & World Literature ENGLISH HL
3
2
NO. 7
Standard Level Subjects
6
5
4
3
2
1
%7
%7/6
%7/6/5
Group 1 – English & World Literature
Group 2 – Modern & Classical Languages FRENCH HL
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
100
GERMAN HL
3
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
67
100
100
LATIN HL
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
100
SPANISH HL
3
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
67
100
100
7
6
1
0
0
0
0
0
86
100
100
GEOGRAPHY HL
3
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
100
GLOBAL POLITICS HL
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
100
PHILOSOPHY HL
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
100
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
100
CHEMISTRY HL
4
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
100
PHYSICS HL
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
100
5
3
2
0
0
0
0
0
60
100
100
MATHEMATICS AI HL
4
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
50
100
100
TOTAL HIGHER LEVEL
39
31
8
0
0
0
0
0
79
100
100
0
0
0
0
0
67
100
100
4
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
75
100
100
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
100
2
2
FRENCH SL
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
ITALIAN SL
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
LATIN SL
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
100
SPANISH SL
3
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
100
ENV & SOC SL
6
5
1
0
0
0
0
0
83
100
100
GEOGRAPHY SL
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
100
GLOBAL POLITICS SL
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
100
PHILOSOPHY SL
4
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
100
Group 4 – Experimental Sciences COMPUTER SCIENCE SL
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
100
PHYSICS SL
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
100
MATHEMATICS AI SL
4
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
75
100
100
TOTAL STANDARD LEVEL
39
32
7
0
0
0
0
0
82
100
100
Group 5 – Mathematics
6.79
Average IB points per candidate per Higher Level subject
2
Group 3 – Humanities & Social Sciences
Group 5 – Mathematics MATHEMATICS AA HL
4
CHINESE – MANDARIN SL
Group 4 – Experimental Sciences BIOLOGY HL
6
Group 2 – Modern & Classical Languages
Group 3 – Humanities & Social Sciences ECONOMICS HL
ENGLISH SL LITERATURE & PERFORMANCE SL
6.82
Average IB points per candidate per Standard Level subject
I B DIPLOMA RESULTS 2021
DIPLOMA POINTS TOTAL 45 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31
Points Total
Average Diploma Points Total per candidate
NUMBER OF STUDENTS
4
3
3
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
43.15 5
POINTS
3
2
1
0
NUMBER OF CANDIDATES ACHIEVING THE TOTAL
5
7
1
0
DESTINATION OF LEAVERS 2021
9
Nottingham
5
Cardiff
1
Oxford
Durham
8
Queen Mary
Edinburgh
7
Southampton 1
Imperial
6
UCL
18
King’s
9
Warwick
12
Leeds
4
13
11 3
DESTINATIONS
McGill University
The impressively wide range of disciplines taken up at Higher Education by the Class of 2021 include; Architecture, Biochemistry, Biomedical Sciences, Bioprocessing of New Medicines, Chemical Engineering, Classics, Computer Science, Dentistry, Design Engineering, Drama, Economic St. & Global Sus. Dev., Economics & Management, Economics & Politics, Engineering, English & German, English Literature, Financial Mathematics & Stats., French & German, Geography, German & Italian, History, Info. Management for Business, Int. Social & Political Studies, International Relations, Law, Liberal Arts, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Medicine, Modern & Medieval Languages, Modern Languages & Cultures, Natural Sciences, Pharmacy, Philosophy & Russian, PPE, Psychology, Russian Studies and History, Sociology, Spanish & Latin, Sport & Exercise Sciences, Theoretical Physics, Veterinary Medicine
students are taking a gap year and will apply for entry to university in 2022
EIGHT SUBJECT A R E A S 6
30 27 12 9
8
6
5
5
ENGINEERING
Cambridge
UNIVERSITY
Stanford, UCLA and Yale
LIBERAL ARTS
1
KING’S
LANGUAGES
Manchester
STUDENTS STUDYING AT INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITIES
3 1
9
PPE
5
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
9
CAMBRIDGE
SCIENCE
Bristol
18
ECONOMICS
2
OXFORD
MEDICINE
LSE
4
11
HUMANITIES
1
12
WARWICK
TOP
Birmingham
5
TOP
103 STUDENTS STUDYING AT UK UNIVERSITIES
ACADEMIC HIGHLIGHTS
A
t the heart of NLCS is the highly academic curriculum, and despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the quality of our offering to students has not diminished. This year has shown that NLCS is an adaptable and resilient institution, and we are so proud of staff and students who have continued to excel in all areas of academic challenge.
CHEMISTRY
CLASSICS
Students from Years 10, 11 and 12 participated in the C3L6 Chemistry Challenge, a competition run by Cambridge University, to stretch and challenge students with a passion for chemistry. Thaleesha (Yr 12) achieved the highest award only given to the top 0.7% of participants; this is an outstanding achievement. This award comes with an exciting invitation to attend a special Cambridge Summer School, an offer extended only to the top achieving pupils in the country. In addition, Jenny (Yr 11) achieved an Au award, and Shreya (Yr 10) was awarded a Cu award and was only one mark off an Ag award, which is incredible for a student in Year 10.
SUMMER FESTIVAL Students took part in an incredible variety of activities on the theme of ‘Communication’. They designed and built model tension structures, created Sustainable Art and discussed their ideas in STEAM and humanities symposia. Presentations by students included those on holograms, wearable tech, nanomedicine, animation in Japan, freedom of the press, the power of language and more. We had talks on topics from British Sign Language and the print revolution to blasphemy and the Opium Wars. On the final day, Year 12 students organised a Festival Fair allowing younger students to understand the vibrancy of the NLCS Enrichment programme and take part in activities, ranging from communication in medicine and designing escape rooms, through to a feminist Zine Workshop.
BIOLOGY Biology Workshops
Chemistry Cambridge
Our Biology Department was awarded the 2020 Prince’s Teaching Institute (PTI) Subject Leadership Mark. Launched in 2007, the Schools Programme recognises and rewards school departments that develop inspirational ideas and activities and commit to increasing the challenge of their subject provision. Year 13 Symposium
Summer Festival 7
Three students were awarded prizes in the ARLT Latin Reading Competition. The students spent several weeks practising reading aloud prescribed passages of Latin, which were recorded and sent directly to the judges. Irene (Yr 9) was awarded 1st prize, and Lina (Yr 9) was ‘Highly Commended’ in the Junior section for their for readings of a story from the Cambridge Latin Course about a fatal riot in Alexandria (‘tumultus II’). Tara (Yr10) read the scene in Virgil’s Aeneid II which describes the tragic and brutal death of Priam, king of Troy, for which she was ‘Highly Commended’ in the Intermediate section. Congratulations also to Shivani, the only student in Year 8 to submit an entry to the competition.
ENGINEERING & DESIGN TECHNOLOGY Year 7 and 8 students responded to the Design Ventura Mini Challenge run in collaboration with the Design Museum. The brief of ‘improving everyday life’ saw students establish usercentred design problems and respond to them. Niyara (Yr 7) was selected by Design Ventura as a winner for her ecofriendly Ocean Jewellery design.
STEAM With the support of our Chemistry, Physics and Engineering, Design & Technology departments, Amelie & Masha in Year 11 made the top 7 finalists for The UK Junior Water Prize this year. The competition, organised by the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, aims to solve environmental challenges linked to water. Participants had to identify an issue and undertake research and experiments to find a practical and innovative solution. Their ‘AquaFibre’ was designed as a filtration system to catch microfibres, with an aluminium plate charged at a high voltage to attract the fibres for cleaning.
SENIOR SOCIETIES SPEAKER PROGRAMME
ACADEMIC HIGHLIGHTS M ODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES
One of the pillars of an NLCS education is the rich vein of academic enrichment available to our students inside and outside the classroom. Our Senior Societies enrich this provision throughout the year with our lecture series, organised by the student leaders of each society.
ENGLISH
Stella, in Year 11, won first place in the intermediate category of this year’s British Council Mandarin Speaking Competition. This nationwide competition provides an excellent opportunity for students to practise and improve their Mandarin Chinese language skills, develop vocabulary and pronunciation, and raise their confidence to converse in a second language. Stella was selected from 800 students from 67 competing schools around the UK.
Our Keynote address was delivered by journalist Helen Pluckrose who spoke about social justice, arguing that control of language was a detriment to free discourse. Her lecture provided students with the opportunity to reflect on the sweeping political changes across the past few years, but also challenge previously held paradigms.
The English department led a joint online project with Sacred Heart Language College for aspiring writers from Year 8. The students worked independently to produce a book of writing in response to the pandemic. As inspiration, they were given a document of stimulus material on five topics intrinsic to all we have been experiencing globally: community, hope, solitude, travel and innovation. The result is a magazine full of personally felt and effectively executed pieces, with each piece demonstrating a considerable level of thought and sensitivity.
Other speakers this year included: Society – Funke Alafiatayo; a dentist, filmmaker and poet who has won an International Emmy for her work.
■ A fro-Caribbean ■ R ichard
Taylor from the Damilola Taylor Trust. Over 20 years since his son, Damilola, was murdered by a gang of youths in Peckham, the charity seeks to provide young people with opportunities to play, learn and live their lives free from fear and violence. Society - Mala Tribich MBE. Mala is a holocaust survivor who was living in Poland at the time the war broke out. A deeply moving and passionate lecture, that narrated horrors beyond our imagination.
■ J ewish
■ A lexandra
Shulman CBE, the former Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue. Alexandra spoke about her 25-year reign at Vogue, discussing some of the publication’s most iconic issues, including the 1997 cover in memoriam of Diana, Princess of Wales.
N O.1 SCHOOL IN THE UK FOR THE IB NLCS was ranked No.1 in the UK for the International Baccalaureate (IB) by The Sunday Times. This comprehensive survey of schools’ academic performance is the benchmark for academic excellence throughout the UK. NLCS has offered the IB programme as an alternative to A levels since 2004, and since then, we have had a consistent record of success, ranking NLCS as one of the highest-achieving IB schools not only in the UK but in the world.
Society - Dr Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A and former Labour Party Shadow Secretary of State for Education. Dr Hunt discussed Britain’s imperial past and the artwork that has made up the British museums that we know today.
■ H istory
Café - Dr Chong, a Clinician Scientist and Consultant Clinical Oncologist who works at the Institute of Cancer Research.
■ S cience
STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
NICHOLSON LECTURES
Despite the challenges faced by the pandemic, we have continued to witness the full range of publications being produced, all of which are led by the students. Across the year, just under 50 individual publications have been created, available for all year groups.
Our series of specialist lectures continued with talks on topics as diverse as the BLM Movement and its relationship with the National Theatre through to an analysis of Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony. All talks were recorded and can now be viewed online. Talks this year have included:
You can read all our publications HERE
■
iss Gibbs, The Black Lives Matter M Movement and its Relationship with the National Theatre
■
Mrs Wells, Is Globalisation in Retreat?
■
Dr Browning, ‘Caught in a Cholinergic Chemical Crossfire: Chemical Warfare in Nature’
FIGHT FOR THE VOICELESS, ISSUE 2
2020
Footprint
Edition 2
8
■
r McMillan, ‘Slugs, Snails, and Puppy Dogs’ M Tails. What are men really made of?’
■
s Byrom, ‘Girls on Film. Representations M of Women in Sci-Fi and Horror’
■
iss May, ‘Queens of Crime and the ‘Yellow M Peril’. Feminism and fear of the ‘other’ in the Golden Age Murder Mystery’.
A
t North London, we firmly believe that happy students are successful students. Our pastoral care supports every student to develop resilience and a sense of perspective so that they can rise to challenges and have the confidence to try again if things don’t work out initially. The pandemic has of course presented more challenges than usual, but by working closely together, staff and students have found ways to support each other.
Feel Good Week
Form times focused on helping each other to feel comfortable in a new world of wearing masks, distancing and year group bubbles. The Student Advisory Council (SAC) met to garner views and thoughts from all year groups providing an opportunity to make staff aware of the range of feelings amongst the student body. The Pastoral Team created a range of assemblies and activities that addressed concerns and worries relating to the pandemic and the School Counsellors visited tutor groups to share details of the support that is available to everyone.
Library pop up
Keeping each other safe
PASTORAL HIGHLIGHTS Throughout the year, our pastoral team has been keeping abreast of issues that concern our parents and students. Building on the success of our online learning platforms, we optimised the use of online resources and the ability to gather potentially large groups of students and parents together to hear interesting and informative talks. The launch of the ‘Everyone’s Invited’ website brought into focus the experience of many students (both current and historic) at secondary schools in the UK. The discussions provided the opportunity to reflect on how we address these difficult conversations and to introduce new talks from visiting speakers to discuss issues of relationships and consent.
Dr Kathy Weston
■
r Kathy Weston spoke about how best to help teens navigate the D complicated world of relationships,
■
olice Officers from the Safer Schools initiative of the Metropolitan P Police spoke to Sixth Formers about staying safe. They also explained how criminal courts work, with a particular focus on crimes such as rape and sexual assault.
■
eana Puccio, former US District Attorney from the RAP Project, D talked about the importance of consent in sexual encounters and how to be an active bystander to help keep others safe.
“School has been doing a good job of being aware of what’s happening with students, as well as making students aware of issues.” Year 10 student
9
After facing the challenges of a very intensive assessment period, preparing our Year 13 students to embrace their future pathways with confidence resulted in the establishment of a special programme of talks and activities at the end of the Summer Term.
PASTORAL HIGHLIGHTS
We held four fabulous focus weeks for students throughout the year, including an Anti-bullying Week, Mental Health and Wellbeing Week, Kindness Week and Feel Good Week. Our Feel Good Week at the end of the academic year was the perfect opportunity to pause, reflect and enjoy a selection of relaxing and fun activities, bringing our school community together again.
PE
In response to the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East last year, events were held to both provide information and guide students to discuss opposing opinions in safe and respectful ways. Dr Leonie Fleischmann, Lecturer in International Relations at City University spoke to Year 12 students about the ongoing conflict; colleagues from Eton School joined us to hold an online event for Years 10 and above to model how complex, emotive issues can be explored and discussed. Many student-led initiatives supported the pupils and helped foster a sense of community. Our Senior Committee developed ideas to create an atmosphere of tranquillity during the school day and started weekly relaxation sessions. We are also incredibly proud of the work our Mental Health and Wellbeing Society have done alongside our student peer mentors in providing support for students across the school.
Activities included: ■
S ports and relaxation sessions promoting health and wellbeing
■
rop-in ‘Just Dance’ sessions, led by the student D Sports committee
■
talk from Nutritionist Tracy Bennet, who A explained to Year 7 the important role food and drink has on our wellbeing and health, providing practical tips to encourage healthy eating habits and a positive mindset.
■
‘Great British Sewing Bee’ style transformation A competition, led by Arts Society challenging each form to create an outfit fit for the catwalk from recycled material.
Following the lockdown in the Spring, and the return to face-to-face lessons, PSHE teaching focussed on change and anxiety. Parents and students attended a series of talks and workshops from experts in the field of child psychology and mental health, including ‘Communication and Mental Health’ presented by Natasha Devon, mental health campaigner and ‘Empowering your children’ from family psychotherapist, Jason Maldonado-Page who looked at how parents can help their children to understand and explore diversity.
“It was a great opportunity to have an open and frank discussion on some challenging topics, and there is no doubt that the information and advice given will support and guide the students as they move into the next stages in their lives.” Senior School Parent
10
TOOLED-UP EDUCATION At North London, we aim to provide holistic support to everyone in our school community, in all areas of family life. To support us to do this, we have teamed up with Tooled Up Education. Tooled Up Education is curated by Dr Kathy Weston, one of the UK’s leading experts on parental engagement in children’s lives and learning. Dr Weston is passionate about bridging the gap between research and real-life parenting and has delivered many fascinating and helpful talks to our parents. NLCS families now have access to a fantastic and regularly updated digital library, full of evidence-based tips, simple activities, videos and podcasts, on all matters relating to parenting and family life.
Greek Project
EXTRACURRICULAR HIGHLIGHTS W
hilst schools re-opened in September 2020, the impact of social distancing measures meant that our extracurricular program was impacted acutely, however despite the problems faced, we continued to offer a wealth of activities, clubs, music, drama, sports, and society meetings each week. Students and staff embraced the use of technology, and the school’s move to C-Touch Screens and Microsoft Teams allowed our enrichment programme to flourish.
DRAMA Our Drama department ensured that the performance opportunities continued to be as vibrant as ever, allowing that students continue to develop their dramatic skills and give them creative outlets to help support their mental wellbeing, confidence and peer relationships, all of which have been impacted during the lockdown periods. Grimmers
Virtual Theatre Festival
Radio Play
Agatha Christie
11
We were unable to welcome audiences to school or mix year groups, so performances were filmed and hosted via our YouTube channel, opening with an online premiere to build the excitement and atmosphere of a live shared experience. In a gruesome adaptation of Grimm’s Tales, a cast of over 150 students across Years 7-9 came together online for Grimmers, and our Virtual Theatre Festival offered students an avenue for exploring their experience of lockdown artistically. Upon the re-opening of schools, Year 9 performed a lyrical movement-based production of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. For our Summer Festival, we held a celebration of Agatha Christie involving Sixth Form students for an original murder mystery radio drama, and Year 7 gave a live performance, featuring Christie’s famous sleuths and a scavenger hunt for murder mystery clues concealed around the grounds.
‘SHE
PLAYS TO WIN’ CHESS CHAMPIONS Team NLCS won the inaugural ‘She Plays to Win’ Secondary Girls online chess league, led by Mr D’Costa, England International Women’s Coach and NLCS Chess Teacher. Competing against 37 teams across the UK, with over six events throughout the school year, our students emerged victorious to take the crown as champions.
Yr 12 Concert
MUSIC Pupils have been involved in a wonderful selection of ensembles and choirs, in a mixture of online concerts and live performances, providing opportunities for pupils of all abilities to share their music with their year-group peers and bring live music back to NLCS. Students took part in a whole-school recording project of Imagine by John Lennon and collaborated with our NLCS International Schools on a remote recording project. Our International Concert celebrated global musical styles and featured recordings from our ensembles and choirs.
R ENAISSANCE – AN EVENING OF FASHION Designers and artists from the fashion world, including Stella McCartney and ONLs Louise Bennetts, a fashion designer, and Lizzie Paton, Fashion journalist for The New York Times, came together for a star-studded virtual evening offering students a fascinating insight into studying and working in the creative industries and was a fantastic way to launch our annual Fantasy Fashion runway competition. NLCS Spanish Glee Choir
HISPANIC THEATRE FESTIVAL We celebrated the VIII Hispanic Theatre Festival, hosting online, Charterhouse, Eton, St Paul’s Girls’, St Helen and St Katharine, King’s College, Wimbledon, and Wellington College. Our Year 13 students won three awards for Best Group Spoken Spanish, Best Unique Theatrical Experience and Best Actress. The distinguished judges were impressed by the high standard of the performances and the Spanish language. Our Year 12 Spanish Glee Club entertained guests Grimmers as a wonderful end to the evening. 12
STEAM
C YBER SECURITY NLCS team Bitm4p was selected as Senior division winners, in the national final of the CyberCenturion V11 Security Challenge, with their all-female team. The objective of the competition, run by Cyber Security Challenge UK, is to successfully find and fix cyber security vulnerabilities on computer networks to defend them against attack. In the Cyber Discovery Program, organised by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport as part of the UK’s National Cyber Security Strategy, three students progressed through all stages and were invited to participate in the Elite Summer Camp. The program attracts more than 2000 participants nationwide and aims to raise awareness of careers in cyber security, giving students the opportunity to learn about real-life cyber security techniques, such as interrogating javaScript, social engineering and using cyphers.
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o support the School’s STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Maths) initiative, over the summer of 2020, we completely refurbished our Design and Graphics space into a state-of-the-art Engineering and Technology department featuring 3D printers, a laser cutter and a computer suite. This year, students have had the opportunity to access a curriculum that develops their confidence in making quality products through practical tasks and supports trial and error in solving problems. We encourage students to solve real-world design problems and provide a hub for inspiring creative, practical solutions for projects such as mars landers, wind turbines, pneumatic grabs, and robotic programming.
F 1 IN SCHOOL’S WORLD FINALS Five NLCS teams competed in the ‘F1 in Schools’ Competition, with one team competing at the World Finals. Team IQ made it through the North London Regional Finals, the UK National Finals and competed in the World Finals in June. As a development class team among all professional class teams, Team IQ achieved fifth place in the World Finals. Most of the team will be going on to compete again as a professional class team in 2022 year.
Our future STEAM curriculum will see students applying their subject knowledge holistically across subjects, supported by a collaboration between departments. With our new IDEAS Hub planned for completion in 2024, we are excited to continue expanding and adapting our curriculum to reflect the constant changes in the workplace, ensuring we position our students at the top of the national cohort and give them every chance to excel in life.
E NGINEERING SOCIETY COMPETITIONS Our Engineering Society launched a series of competitions this year featuring a rocket project, a penny launcher and a marble run. It was fantastic to see so many students and their families rising to the challenges and creating some truly remarkable outcomes. WATCH HERE
Cyber Centurion
V EX ROBOTICS CLUB Like Engineering, Design & Technology, this was a new addition to the School that has seen teams of students design, build, and compete in robotics challenges over an academic year. While the external competitions were all held online, we did manage to have our own safe scrimmages in School, and the students are looking forward to the new challenges for 2021-22.
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PE Week focused on all-round physical fitness and our community’s mental health and wellbeing. We had remote sessions with a Saracens Mavericks Player and Coach, Kat Ainsworth. Our Strength and Conditioning Coach and Welsh and Great Britain Lacrosse player, Laura Warren, worked with students on the latest tactics and principles of competitive play, including trialling some of the proposed Lacrosse Olympic rules and format. The generous sponsorship from Saracens and Wray Foundation has enabled us to continue to provide access to this elite level of coaching.
SPORT Our Sports department provided an outstanding variety of in-person and online activities for all students and staff to become engaged in physical activities. Although there were inevitable restrictions in light of the pandemic, promoting physical exercise for good mental health was a key priority. Once lockdown was lifted, in addition to daily sports activities, the department offered weekend training sessions across the school from Year 3 to Year 13. These sessions were a which were a resounding success with activities ranging from netball and lacrosse to athletics, tennis and rounders. Fun fitness activities were also included, such as orienteering and fitness using the X-Trail, kindly donated by the Parents’ Guild. Physical activity played a prominent role in our Mental Health and Wellbeing Week, with a large carousel of activities on offer encouraging us all to be active. The whole Senior School enjoyed a wealth of activities on top of their usual sports, led by academic staff members, including hula hooping, tag rugby, couch to 5k, walking club, volleyball, and dancing. We created competitive challenges with our international sister schools in Dubai, Jeju and Singapore to create fundraising opportunities to assist with digital poverty affecting our neighbouring communities with access to remote education possibilities. In conjunction with Saracens, we held a sponsored ‘Laps for Laptops’ fundraising event, featuring a virtual House challenge and our virtual run, swim and athletics fixtures within the NLCS community of schools to raise funds for students in our extended community.
The Elite Athlete Mentoring Programme continued with online talks and lectures offering a quality programme of support, advice and mentoring for our Elite level athletes. The programme uses the expertise of external professionals in nutrition, sports psychology, rehabilitation, and injury prevention and offers access to individual support from staff. We have also continued our symbiotic links to incorporate Saracens Rugby, Saracens Mavericks Netball, Saracens High School, The Scottish National Lacrosse Squad and the England Lacrosse Junior Talent pathways and the Senior SuperLeague structure as well as potential partnerships with Middlesex Cricket and Tottenham Hotspurs Football Club.
The Year 7 Dance display was a fantastic event featuring our newest students. The whole of the year group took part in class dances performed in the PAC and recorded for parents. The programme featured some outstanding pieces created by a Year 13 student as part of their Extended Project Qualification providing a unique event highlight. Students from Years 7 to 13 eagerly rehearsed in preparation for the Annual Gym and Dance display in the summer term. The dance-based theme included a superb selection of stunt group cheerleading displays and focused gymnastic performances.
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JUNIOR SCHOOL
Preston Montford trip
Herts Maths Challenge
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created a wide variety of challenging initiatives this year, both online and in person. We were delighted at the enthusiasm and commitment the students have shown. Some highlights included:
eyond the challenges of adapting to the pandemic, the Junior School has continued to teach with passion and ambition, ensuring that the academic curriculum is diverse, inclusive, and challenges pupils’ thinking. Junior School staff have reflected and built on the outcomes of remote teaching to enhance pupils progress and School experience. Investment has been made in IT and Surface laptops for both IT suites and one to one classroom devices have been provided for all pupils. This has had a significant impact on the quality and effectiveness of not only our Computer Science teaching, but the increased use of technology in lessons enhanced the learning experience and provided opportunities to create content, share and present knowledge and ideas in a variety of exciting ways.
E NGINEERING, DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY Our Learning Hub is now fully operational, with dedicated IT suites for First School and Lower School pupils. New hardware has been introduced into the computing curriculum enabling pupils to use crumble boards and programme microbit robots using python code. New software including Pear Deck, Sumdog Maths and Grammar have also been introduced. We have also been very excited to use our new Green screen. It has been an exciting addition and has been used in innovative ways in lessons and assemblies. A range of creative STEAM projects were introduced during remote teaching. Reception built Aladdin’s lamp, Year 2 made flying machines and in the Lower School pupils made natural art sculpture projects inspired by artist Andy Goldsworthy. A group of Year 10 students led a mini F1 club for our Year 5 & 6 students, supporting them to produce their own model car during this exciting activity.
Singing outside
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Intellectual interests have been fostered through ‘off screen days’ and mixer days. Examples include a Subject Passions Day in which pupils chose challenges in subjects they were most interested in. The day was set up with a tour around the nonfiction shelves in the new library. In Science, the challenge was to create a balloon rocket, make a model of a famous landmark using recycled materials and identify a series of different twigs. In Music, they made a musical instrument based on a series of percussion instruments they had been learning about. During Black History month each class researched and created posters and powerpoints with information about a Black icon. At the end of the week the students presented their research. These initiatives encourage the pupils to reflect on the different subjects they learn and consider their intellectual interests. Providing an element of choice encourages girls to take risks, become more independent and curious. This develops their academic confidence and creativity. We are always looking for ways to stretch and challenge all pupils in different ways and have
rimary Maths Challenge - All Year P 5 & 6 took part and received 4 golds, 10 silvers, 16 bronze and 9 highly commended.
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4 7 girls sat the Junior Maths Challenge (aimed at Year 8 students) receiving 6 golds with 1 qualifying for the Olympiad and 5 qualifying for Kangaroo. 9 silver and 10 bronze medals were awarded. These are the best scores to date.
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ll 96 Year 3 & 4 pupils sat the A First Maths Challenge 47 were awarded gold, 32 silver and 16 bronze medals.
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erts Maths Challenge H our teams scored 156 (average overall score 121)
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e-mapping our lives - a Royal R Geographical Society competition
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ear 6 Challenge Day with Y archery, fencing, problem solving and climbing.
Archery
Rock Climbing 15
P ASTORAL CARE We continued to follow the ‘MindYour5’ programme, which encourages Healthy Practice, Activity, Positive Thinking, Positive Emotions and Your Interactions. ‘Inside Out Day’ inspired lessons on the themes of Kindness, Gratitude and Resilience and included acting out different emotions in Drama, writing a gratitude letter and performing emotion poems. Well-being groups were established on our return to School in February 2021. These took place weekly to support the students as they returned to School and transition. We created a well-being corner including sensory resources providing a quiet calm area for pupils. Linked to #FastFashionFreeFebruary, creative well-being club was created, students upcycled materials to design and made their own bags. It was a wonderful opportunity to chat, work together, help each other, and relax. To support the PSHE curriculum, Year 5 welcomed Jo Morris from Confident Kids to deliver a workshop exploring friendship and kindness concepts and Year 4 participated in a talk from Heads Up Kids about ‘Big Emotions’.
Daily Exercise
Zoo Trip
V ISITS
As part of our PSHE Programme, Dr Kathy Weston presented an evidence-based virtual talk for parents on ‘Parenting in a Pandemic’. Topics included: dealing with uncertainty, denial of social activity, screen dependency, motivation to learn, staying mentally healthy, reducing anxiety, and managing family conflict and stress. Dr Weston returned later in the year to speak with 250 parents from across the School about issues arising from the ‘Everyone’s Invited’ agenda, and the importance of having conversations at home to promote self-esteem and appropriate behaviour at an early age.
Students have enjoyed a wide selection of virtual visits, including a tour around The London Transport Museum, searching for modern and historical forms of transport and a virtual celebration on India Day. This unique celebration featured Bollywood dancing and visits to some of India’s finest landmarks by the power of virtual reality. Year 5 met virtually with the education team from the Houses of Parliament, who guided them through an introduction to how the UK Parliament works and what MPs do. They gained new knowledge, including what a constituency is, what the role of the Speaker is and how new laws are made. Year 4 had a fantastic virtual Young Shakespeare workshop. They retold the story of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by stepping into the characters’ shoes and acting out parts of the play. Following the easing of restrictions, we could resume many of our planned residential trips, which are a highlight of the summer term. Year 5 and Year 6 enjoyed trips to Preston Montford Field Studies Centre in Shropshire, and Year 4 took part in a two-day Bushcraft Trip to Cornbury Park in Oxfordshire. The trip included a night of camping in ancient woodlands on the estate.
JUNIOR SCHOOL
Bread making
Black History Month Bushcraft 16
D RAMA AND MUSIC We have continued to offer all students a broad range of performance and musical opportunities despite tight Covid-19 restrictions. Every year group has embraced different ways of working together to create a most wonderful collection of productions. Year 3 performed Finding Magic and Magic Everywhere, which were filmed and shared digitally. On filming days, the girls also took part in art, English, Maths and PSHE activities on the themes of the films. The First School production, Frances Mary Poppins was a joyful collaboration between all the First School year groups and Year 1 gave a special assembly of acting and singing in The Enormous Crocodile. Year 4’s production Another Look brought to life the story of a girl who learns that there is another way to look at fairy tales and mend a friendship. As a fabulous end to their Junior School careers, the Year 6 valedictory production took the form of short films based on the book The Secret Garden and explored the transformative power of friendship and nature.
C HARITY
Music-making adapted to the changing challenges faced over the year to offer an incredibly vibrant programme in a safe environment. A new form of class choir was created, and the Chamber Choir continued to rehearse in bubbles, and when the sun was shining, everyone enjoyed the beautiful singing outdoors. Students took part in a fantastic variety of remote music-making projects. Canons Choir recorded the brand-new opera songs of The Beauty of Light with professional mezzo-soprano Ellie Edmonds as part of an English Touring Opera project. Years 5 and 6 took part in a virtual opera workshop with English Touring Company, led by two professional opera singers. The students learnt about the background of opera, watched the singers perform, and learnt a famous aria V’adoro pupille, from the opera Guilio Cesare by Handel.
The Enormous Crocodile
Junior School has continued their fantastic efforts fundraising for different charities as part of Canonaid. Activities have included Harvest Festival with donations for the Harrow Food Bank and Sufra NW London from the Lower School. Sufra NW London sent a thank you message to School saying that over 300kg of food donated by NLCS contributed to almost 20,000 parcels of food.
Canons Choir performed at the Barnardo’s National Children’s Choir Competition at the Royal Festival Hall in March. Two of their songs have been selected for the Music for Youth virtual 50th celebration ‘The Future is Now’, which will take place in December 2021.
JUNIOR SCHOOL
Red Card Mufti Day
Students raised £1,156.82 for The Wave Project, a children’s mental health charity. For a small donation, students entered a competition to design a surfboard to reflect why the Wave Project started and illustrate the benefits of surfing lessons. During remote learning, Lower School students were asked to explain what charity meant to them, and they used a new programme called Flipgrid to record their responses. There was a thoughtful and varied range that showed empathy, kindness, creativity and generosity. During the Summer term, The Junior School supported a charity called SolarAid. which provides access to clean, safe and affordable solar light to communities in rural Africa. Fundraising events included a ‘sunshine colours’ Mufti Day, a quiz and a blindfolded competition. £948 was raised enabling the charity to purchase 237 solar lights. Frances Mary Poppins 17
JUNIOR SCHOOL S PORTS Lower School were inspired by Sir Captain Tom Moore’s 100 Laps Challenge to create their own physical challenges ranging from learning a new skill to completing 100 minutes of dance each week to increasing their plank time to 12,000 steps a day. At the end of the month, girls reflected on their efforts and how it felt working towards a goal. Many decided that they wanted to carry on beyond the month. Students participated in the London Mini-Marathon Challenge as part of their daily morning exercise, with several completing many more miles than the required 2.6 miles. A few girls enjoyed it so much that they went home and ran it again with family members.
Rainbow Sports Day
Learning Hub
During PE Focus Week, students enjoyed wearing their PE kit, a themed sports mufti and their colour-team t-shirts. PE and sport featured in every subject by either a theme or topic and by incorporating exercise into the lessons. There were activity breaks where lessons stopped, and girls got active as well as morning exercise challenges. There were also additional larger-scale events and activities such as crazy golf, an inflatable obstacle course and skipping tutorials and fitness boot camps. Year 3, 4, 5 & 6 also took part in the Lower School Swimming Gala to round off the week.
During the lockdown, First School worked on movement and skills, including creative dance based on stories. Lower School lessons were introduced to yoga and mindfulness whilst developing their core fitness and flexibility. Girls participated in HITT sessions and dance fitness routines. During off-screen day, pupils enjoyed choreographing dance routines or the ‘Spring into Spring’ fitness challenge.
N EW LIBRARY To celebrate the opening of the new library, Lower School pupils had their photograph taken holding a school library book that they have enjoyed. Each student created a special named bookplate which they stuck into the book, so for years to come, there will be a book somewhere in the library with their name inside!
We created Sports Weekend Play Days for the Lower School that included netball, tennis and rounders. More than 50 students attended these extra sessions, and it was wonderful to see them enjoying the outside together once again. As a final event for Year 6, pupils enjoyed an activity day run by qualified instructors from The Outdoor Education Company. They spent the day scaling the climbing wall, practising skills on the archery range and fencing and team construction challenges indoors. Lower School Sports Day 18
New library
ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
SUSTAINABILITY AT NLCS A
t North London, we are committed to becoming Carbon Net-Zero by 2030 and continually strive to minimise our impact on the environment and our local neighbourhood.
YEAR 12 ENVIRONMENT AWARENESS SOCIETY
Led by the School’s Environment Committee, which consists of student representatives and staff, the School’s Environment Strategy outlines our commitment to become a leading eco-school. It has been impressive to see students taking the lead on the School’s ‘Green’ priorities, organising an extensive programme of activities throughout the year. Our form Eco-Reps have worked hard this year to embed our sustainability work into the day to day of school life. They led a #FastFashionFreeFebruary campaign, including a collaboration with NLCS Jeju and NLCS Dubai, and a #NoMowMay campaign. NLCS continues to play an active role in the London Schools Eco-Network and the UK Schools Sustainability Network. Our Year 12 students regularly chair London Schools Eco-Network meetings attended by schools across London, including Highgate, St Paul’s Girls’ School, City of London Boys and Girls and London Academy of Excellence Tottenham. Two Year 12 students represented the London Schools Eco-Network at the UK Schools Sustainability Network meetings, and students have attended a variety of high-profile events, including a mock International Climate Conference with InterClimate Network and a bespoke climate solutions workshop by Project Drawdown.
The Year 12 Environment Awareness Society has worked with Junior School students to discuss campaigns and share ideas. To support our efforts to reduce food waste at NLCS, the society created a video to highlight the issue. During the Summer Festival, they ran a collaborative game called Carbon City Zero encouraging students to work together to design a city whilst balancing carbon budgets.
Our NLCS Environment Committee has been working on the targets outlined in our School’s Environment Strategy. Staff from the Junior and Senior Schools have completed the AimHi Climate Course for Teachers to ensure we bring the climate crisis into the classroom. The Committee has been encouraging parents to sign up to the Homerun app to minimise traffic on and around the school site and ensure air travel for school trips occurs only when essential.
ECO STEAM AWARDS Five groups of Upper School and Sixth Form students took part in an awards programme to work with the School to help achieve our sustainability goals. The groups looked at sustainability tech such as kinetic tiles, at the benefits and drawbacks of outdoor learning, at our food waste and ways to minimise it, as well as researching strategies that will encourage long-term changes in behaviour. Each group produced an industry-standard report, presenting their data collection, analysis, and proposed solutions’ costs and benefits. They presented their findings to a panel of staff and demonstrated how thoroughly they had analysed the data and immersed themselves into their research and how knowledgeable they had become about the feasibility of the proposed solutions and their potential impact on our school community.
IDEAS HUB Sustainability will play a significant part in our IDEAS Hub, opening at Canons in 2024. We have been working with the team at Stanford University so that we build one of the country’s leading science, engineering, technology & innovation hubs at NLCS, which gives students opportunities to work with some of the leading innovators, organisations and businesses across fintech, healthtech, smart tech and biotech. 19
YOUTH CLIMATE SUMMIT News of the School’s sustainability agenda reached the Daily Telegraph in November in an article about the Youth Climate Summit, an event created as a response to the cancelling of the 2020 UN COP. Not wishing for the climate crisis to slip off the agenda, students set about planning a virtual climate conference to bring together universities, politicians, activists, charities and - most importantly - schools and children. Members of our senior school were involved in the planning and delivery of this important event asking questions about careers to a panel at the forefront of sustainability, talking about the establishment of the London Schools Eco-Network and presenting a talk all about marine pollution.
■ T hroughout
the year, assembly themes have included inspirational people and their qualities, the role we all play in creating a kind and respectful community, Remembrance, and the role of people from non-white and European backgrounds in World War One.
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10-13 students and parents attended a “conversation” between friends evening, led by Dr Yuravlivker, Head of History, and Mr Shirwani, Head of Arabic from Eton College, who modelled how to engage sensitively and respectfully when talking about emotionally charged and complex issues.
EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVITY
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School PSHE lessons focused on unconscious bias and privilege, tackling the issues of racism, ableism, sexism and homophobia.
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t NLCS, we are proud of our heritage of supporting, embracing and celebrating all the members of our community. We believe our School community is an agent for change in the world, and we continue to seek to ensure that more generations of young people leave North London Collegiate School empowered and enabled to take the next steps forward in their education and lives, both for their own benefit and for the good of society as a whole.
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12 students examined diversity and inclusion considering the shift in global understanding of the issues and focusing on ways of building inclusive environments.
Afro-Caribbean Society’s leadership of Black History Month and collaboration with other Societies was a superb example of the potential the Senior Societies programme has to impact the cultural life of the School. During the month, Culture and Anthropology Society discussed cultural appropriation and appreciation and the impact Black people have had on popular culture. The Medical Sciences Society looked at figures who have significantly contributed to medicine as we practice it today, and the Economics Society examined how race impacts employment and the BAME pay gap.
LGBTQIA+ HISTORY MONTH We welcomed Dr Sarah Jones, a social and cultural historian of gender and sexuality in modern Britain and America at the University of Bristol. Dr Jones gave an incredibly insightful talk on American Sexology and LGBTQIA+ History, exploring key developments in the perception of human sexuality during the mid-20th century.
Our teaching reflects the diverse nature of our modern world and through our extracurricular activities, partnerships, and School societies we seek to challenge inequality and promote fairness and equality for all and to celebrate the differences that make us all valuable members of society. This year has been marked by the focus on diversity. Our enrichment programme has been crucial to ensure that our students are constantly engaging with issues that have arisen, most notably, following the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter campaign. Students from a range of Society
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
During Pride Month we welcomed the ‘Self-Esteem Team’, who gave an insightful talk on issues facing the LGBTQIA+ Community. It explained the use of pronouns and examined current attitudes to the community and how students can respond. Our library celebrated with a ‘Read with Pride at NLCS’ project and their colourful ‘pop up’ library display travelled around the School with a selection of contemporary books and authors relating to LGBTQIA+.
led assemblies and theme weeks ensuring that the Senior Societies programme is used to edify the school community about a range of topics. In addition, each Society has appointed a Diversity Officer to ensure that diversity is constantly being thought about in their weekly meetings, invitation of speakers and engagement with school life.
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The Year 10 Canonaid committee hosted the NLCS Houses of Games 2.0. virtual quiz. From the comfort of their sofas, students, teachers, and their families answered ridiculous quiz rounds. The event was a great success and raised £350 for The Childhood Trust. Danceathon
In the Summer term, Canonaid raised money for The Community Heartbeat Trust to support the funding of a defibrillator in our neighbouring Canons Park. Other initiatives included selling homemade bracelets, a red-themed ‘wear your own clothes’ day, lunch-time games and the annual Fantasy Fashion event. In addition, we launched a special appeal together with The Karenni Student Development Programme (KSDP) to support the Karenni people. In February, the Army generals in Burma/Myanmar staged a military coup, running the country with extreme brutality and destroying homes, medical centres and churches, killing many innocent villagers. Thanks to the generous donations from our School community, we were able to support the charity to purchase emergency items such as tarpaulin sheets for families to shelter from the monsoon rains; medicines to help stave off the many diseases that jungle living brings, and food, mostly basic rice and dried vegetables.
Canonaid collections
CHARITY I
t was a busy year for Canonaid, the School’s Charity Committee, with representatives from each year group offering opportunities across the School to get involved in fundraising. In the Autumn term, Canonaid voted to fundraise for Refuge, which supports women and children experiencing domestic violence. Tuesday morning collections continued, and student societies had the opportunity to use these to fundraise for a charity of their choice. During Black History Month, the collection was donated to Black Cultural Archives. Other initiatives included a Harvest collection, two ‘wear your own clothes’ days and the collection of sanitary items to support members of our local community experiencing period poverty. Food bank
Harvest Collection
COMMUNITY SERVICE
We were all shocked by the horrific events in India due to the Covid-19 crisis, and in response, a group of Year 10 students organised a charity event called ‘Teacher Two Truths One Lie’, raising £1,000. One of our wonderful ONLs, Shalni Arora (1989), Treasurer of British Asian Trust, kindly matched the donation, increasing our total donation to £2,000.
Covid-19 and the national lockdown inevitably meant that we could no longer get out into the Community physically. However, that didn’t mean that our charitable work slowed down. While unable to visit in person, the students maintained regular contact with the care homes, Knights Court, Henry Nihill, Sydmar Lodge and Livability Edgware and Harrow. We could not host the annual Community Christmas Party, but all classes had the opportunity to contribute one gift to a resident at a care home. Additionally, during afternoon activities, students could meet to create a handmade gift for a resident.
Students raised over £500 during the Canonaid Mixathon, inviting them to participate in running, step, or reading challenges over three weeks. The Year 7 Charity Committee worked to promote a food collection for World Hunger Day. We also welcomed ONL Tiara Ataii (2015), founder of SolidariTee, a student-led charity raising awareness of the refugee crisis and offering grants to organisations and individuals, which she set up during her first year studying at Cambridge.
FANTASY FASHION
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The students created ‘Community Service Log Books’ to record their volunteering achievements during the academic year. Activities ranged from assisting in online shopping, helping a neighbour each week with sweeping leaves, gardening, or collecting groceries for a homebound person.
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e were delighted to start the academic year of 2020-21 by welcoming all the students and staff back to the School for in-person teaching. While the year continued to be unpredictable, we are extremely grateful for all the support and resilience from the NLCS community. NLCS is dependent on philanthropic support to raise money for important capital projects and bursaries. The provision of bursary places is central to the ethos of the School, and the Bernice McCabe Bursary Fund continues to thrive, providing opportunities to transform lives. Funded by donations, franchising, and investment income, during 2020/21 the School awarded 68 bursaries, with a total value of £1,435,208; 64 students were on 100% bursaries. The School’s strategic intent is to increase bursary provision to 10% of Senior School tuition fees. We would like to thank all the outgoing Year 13 parents who donated their school deposits to the bursary fund.
DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNAE RELATIONS Although the pandemic meant we could not host all our events in person, this did not stop us from getting the NLCS community together for a series of online events. In October 2020, we were delighted to host a 50+ ‘Zoom’ reunion for the Class of 1970, other ONLs (Old North Londoners) from previous years and some of our Frances Mary Buss Fellowship legators. We were joined by over 100 ONLs from countries across the globe, including Australia, New Zealand, the east and west coasts of the USA, and France. This was a lively event with ONLs sharing their memories of their time at school and updates on their lives since leaving. This was accompanied by a slideshow of old photos from the archives, including a section about Theatrics at NLCS. As Christmas approached, we hosted a festive online Carol Service. ONLs joined us to watch pre-recorded videos of current students singing a variety of carols, including ‘Silent Night’ sung in German by some of the Junior School students, and Mr Lawrence’s rendition of ‘O Come, All Ye Faithful’ on the organ. This year’s Founder’s Day was hosted online, which meant that the event was open to all ONLs, many of whom joined us to celebrate. Mrs Clark’s Founder’s Day address focused on the theme of ‘Sustainability’ at NLCS. The environmental surroundings have clearly always been important to the students at the school – Mrs Clark shared a poem written by an ONL in 1932, entitled ‘Night Traffic’, which talked about the pollution from traffic that surrounded the School in Sandall Road. It was exciting to hear her outline the School’s Environment Strategy 2020-2030 at the end her address. The online event was so well received, that future Founder’s Day services will be streamed online so that any ONL can join. During the pandemic, the mentoring and career services programme continued to play an important role in the lives of the Sixth Form students. We would like to thank all the mentors who took the time to support and mentor these students for the next phase of their educational journey. We continue to reach out to more and more ONLs to strengthen our network. If you are aware of any ONLs who are not receiving communications directly from the Alumnae Relations Department, please ask them to contact us at onla@nlcs.org.uk.
Founder’s Day - past and present 22
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In addition to mitigating the physical impacts presented by the pandemic, the emotional health and wellbeing of our community has been paramount. The pastoral team at NLCS has created an outstanding programme of activities and events, both online and in-person, ensuring that the pastoral care of our students is as important as their academic outcomes.
nce again, North London Collegiate School has overcome many new challenges this year. Managing student bubbles, social distancing, and regular Covid-19 testing have significantly impacted the day-to-day experience of being at school for both students and staff. The response to the ever-changing situation by Sarah Clark and her team has never faltered. The School has worked tirelessly to develop an outstanding hybrid teaching model, ensuring every child continues to receive an ambitious academic education. It has been most impressive to see how staff and students have fully embraced these new teaching and learning methods. What has been achieved through hard work and resilience has been exceptional.
Following the recent COP26 Summit and the issues we face from climate change, it has also been highly encouraging to observe the School’s continued drive and enthusiasm towards becoming Carbon Net-Zero by 2030. We are delighted that students have been taking the lead on the School’s ‘Green’ priorities, organising an extensive programme of activities and embedding sustainability work into day-to-day school life.
Despite the challenges and pressures, the enrichment and extracurricular opportunities offered to the students have continued to be extraordinary. The Governing Body is very proud of the way our students have continued to work hard, develop their subject knowledge, and follow their passions. The rich educational experience offered at NLCS that stretches and challenges students beyond the curriculum, combined with their exceptional grades, will be the foundation that will enable them to embrace and thrive in the rapidly changing world in which we live.
Thank you for all your support in this difficult period. We will continue to do all we can to ensure that the School goes on providing the best possible all-round education for your children.
For the second consecutive year, exams have been cancelled and instead grades have been awarded based on very detailed and rigorous teacher assessments. We are incredibly proud of the students’ achievements despite the disruption caused over the past two years. The outstanding results are a testament to the teachers’ and students’ hard work, commitment, and resilience.
ROBERT HINGLEY Chairman of Governors
Founder’s Day 2021
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Canons, Canons Drive, Edgware Middlesex HA8 7RJ T +44 (0)20 8952 0912 www.nlcs.org.uk 24
