Development & Alumnae

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 at North London; allowing bright girls to benefit from the world-class education on offer, irrespective of their social or financial circumstances. During 2021-2022, funded by donations, franchising, and investment income, NLCS awarded 78 bursaries to students, 64 of which were on 100% remission of fees. We are incredibly grateful to our donors, a group that includes staff, ONLs, Governors and parents for their generous support. We also want to say a special thank you to the outgoing Year 13 parents who donated their school deposits to the Bernice McCabe Bursary Fund.

We were incredibly fortunate to have welcomed Emily Abrahams and Claudia Marks, two young ONLs to the Development Office during 2021-2022 to reignite our Alumnae Relations programme. We congratulate them both on reinvigorating the alumnae programme after lock-down. Emily and Claudia stayed for 12 months before leaving to continue their studies in law and education, respectively. We also welcomed Tara Stephens as Development Office Administrator, who has years of experience in development, including working on London Business School’s £125 million campaign and the successful launch of St Helen’s School’s online networking platform. In April, we produced the first ONLine magazine after a hiatus of nearly threeyears. The magazine’s theme ‘Doing Good’ contained some remarkable ONL stories many of which demonstrate the positive difference ONLs are making not just in the UK but around the globe. We encourage our ONL community to let us know their news as we are always on the hunt for new editorial features and snippets.

In preparation for strengthening our network of friends and preparation for future fundraising, we enlisted the expertise of consultancy firm Graham-Pelton. They were able to assist us to survey our entire contactable network. Demonstrating how supportive our alumnae and friends are, around 2,000 members of our community responded. We also carried out smaller discussion groups. The results of these conversations and survey feedback are directly influencing our development programme for the years ahead, as well as fuelling our plans and future objectives.

We were thrilled to welcome back ONLs and friends for several in-person events again. Guests arrived in their droves; between July 2021 and August 2022, we welcomed back 837 guests for on-site reunion and stewardship events. Highlights included our first Staff Reunion, which was such a treat for us all. We also held a special reunion for the Classes of 2019 and 2020, who had missed out on some of the fond farewells and end of school pomp and ceremony due to the pandemic. Other events included the 10-, 20-, 30- & 40-Year Reunion (for both the previous year and 2021), which included the Classes of 1980, 1981, 1990, 1991, 2000, 2001, 2010, and 2011, the Big Six Dinner, and the ONLA Summer Picnic. Meanwhile ONL Connect, our alumnae networking site, continued to attract new signups growing to around 1,500 active users. The dedicated site allows friends to reconnect. In addition, 73% of users have generously offered their expertise and assistance to current students and fellow ONLs, bolstering our career and mentoring services.

We finished the year with the launch of the The 1850 Club, providing a way for us to recognise and thank our supporters who make a recurring gift to NLCS. Designed to be accessible to all and make donating a positive experience, The 1850 Club enables the School to make longterm commitments to its most pressing funding priorities, whilst providing a sociable platform to thank regular supporters. To find out more please visit nlcs.org.uk/support-us/the-1850-club

We would like to express our gratitude to all mentors who took the time to support and mentor students and young ONLs for the next phase of their educational or career journeys. Our heartfelt thanks also go to our volunteer parents and ONLs including regional committee members and networking group organisers.

We continue to reach out to more and more ONLs to strengthen our network. However, if you are aware of any ONLs who are not receiving communications directly from the Alumnae Relations Department, please do ask them to contact us at onla@nlcs.org.uk.