ONLine 2012

ONLine

the old North Londoners’ association magazine Issue 17 | 2012

Features OLYMPIC MEDIA GURU LAST SANDALL ROAD SPORTS CAPTAIN PHYSICAL EDUCATION PRINCIPAL HOCKEY OLYMPIAN FITNESS, DANCE & SPORTS ADVOCATE

You can download ONLine at www.nlcs.org.uk

Welcome TO ONLine 2012

I Editorial Team Arts Columnist Chloé Nelkin (2006) Reporters Anna Codrea-Rado (2006) Chloé Nelkin (2006) Claudia Saunders nee Goodman (1993)

n keeping with the big event of 2012, this issue focuses on Sport at NLCS. From the history of physical education under Miss Buss to our own Olympians and sporting successes, we hope you enjoy reading the variety of sporting stories NLCS and the ONLs have to offer. You may notice that this edition is bigger than usual – our biggest yet in fact! This is to accommodate all the ONL news that you have sent in as well as featuring the wide range of activities that ONLs are involved in. We also hear about the opening of the new NLCS franchise school in Jeju and the success of the Travel and Academic Bursary awards.

Our theme for 2013 is Global ONLs so let us know if you have any stories!

As always, ONLine aims to cater to a wide readership so if you have any ideas for future articles and themes or wish to contribute in any way, please get in touch – we’d love to hear from you.

Archives Columnist Joelaine Fitch (2006) Sub-Editor Sheli Rodney nee Levenson (2004) Cover photo by Zoe Ilivitsky (2011) Magazine design by Johnny Marks, Printin 2000

Holly O’Connell (2003) ONLA Editor

Please contact us: ONLine, Canons, Canons Drive, Edgware HA8 7RJ. Tel: 020 8951 6475 or email onla@nlcs.org.uk.

ARTS CORNER I

n today’s high-flying art world, it is impossible to count the number of galleries in London - beyond the well-known public spaces, hundreds of independent galleries offer wide-ranging, exciting programmes where a plethora of specialised shows flourish. It’s not only the big names you should look out for.

ONL Ping Henningham (2000), and her husband, David, run the Henningham Family Press, in Hackney - a microbrewery for fine art prints and books. Their unique brand of live screenprinting has packed shows at The London Word Festival, been broadcast live from the BBC Radio Theatre and taken them across Europe. Their work is held by several prestigious collections, including the Tate and the Victoria & Albert Museum.

While at NLCS, Ping’s love of the Arts caused people to joke that she should move her bed into the Art Department, where the supportive and nurturing atmosphere really encouraged her.

Ping and David met at Central St Martin’s and married after their graduations. Both voracious readers who are passionate about writing, making their own books seemed to be a natural progression and their combined creativity and desire to learn led them to start the Henningham Family Press. The Press showcases their talents and allows them to collaborate with other like-minded artists. At an early stage, they developed a live element to their work that enabled them to engage with their audience in an immersive manner.

Live printing is a huge part of their ethos; for one show, they built a fullyfunctional workshop in the shape of a chip shop counter, and screenprinted

works onto chipboard, sold as ‘Chips £1'!

Ping and David continually produce great works while developing their own artistic priorities. If you haven’t been to one of their events, now is the time.

For details go to their website: www.henninghamfamilypress.co.uk.

ONLA is forming a visual arts network; if you have any involvement in the arts, in any capacity, please get in touch with me at info@chloenelkinconsulting.com.

Chloé Nelkin

Ed’s Note: You can keep up-to-date with Chloe’s art adventures throughout the year by following her blog, Artista at http://chloenelkin.wordpress.com.

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ONLA Academic & Travel Awards Academic Grant Report Rachel Dedman (2008)

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n 2011 I was lucky enough to receive an ONLA Academic Grant to help fund a course in elementary Arabic. I studied History of Art at Oxford University, but my Postgraduate specialism lies in the emerging field of Contemporary Middle-Eastern Art.

universalising force for communication in the Middle-East, and the Arabic language – with a formal iconography both enduring and flexible – is emerging as an area of significant visual interest for contemporary artists.

I have been keen to embark upon learning Arabic, aware that the language will be in many ways crucial – for an understanding of the region’s rich linguistic history, for primary research, and above all, for the ability to converse with artists, academics and anyone else within the Middle-East.

The concurrent study of language and art will no doubt continue to inform my thinking and facilitate my understanding of the material I study.

It has been a significant challenge to master a new alphabet, and twist my tongue around new sounds, but the process remains enormously rewarding.

Despite enormous regional variation in dialect, Modern Standard Arabic is a

Discovering the existence of only two tenses was a lovely, if short-lived,

I’m sure I have only begun what will become a lifelong endeavour, and I remain very grateful to NLCS for its ongoing support.

Rachel Dedman News Rachel has been awarded the Von Clemm Fellowship for 2012/13, a scholarship for Postgraduate study at Harvard University.

ONLA Travel Report Harriet Keown (2010)

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uring the summer I was lucky enough to be travelling to Nepal as part of a student-run group called Cambridge Volunteers in Nepal. The group has been sending volunteers to teach in two schools every summer for over ten years, so are truly part of the family there. From Day One we were made to feel more than welcome, with children running up to the school gates wanting to carry our rucksacks as soon as we arrived! We spent two weeks travelling around Nepal before we began volunteering at the schools, trying various adventurous activities such as paragliding, caving, jungle trekking and bathing with elephants - all of which were unforgettable experiences.

The main bulk of my trip was spent in the rural Dang Valley, teaching at the Hindu-Vidyapeeth school. There we lived in the Children’s Peace Home, which is a hostel where about 30 children live. Teaching was much more of a

surprise, compensated by numerous other complications. Above all, however, I have been struck that it is not a task as insurmountable as I had imagined, and I am often reminded that the pleasure of learning a new language makes the exercise self-sustaining.

challenge than anticipated, mostly because of the rigid Nepali style that they were used to. We had to find a balance between teaching them work from the textbook which was incorrect, because they needed that information for their exams, such as “there are three types of people in the world; black, white and yellow”, and teaching them what we know to be right. Through a lot of class debates and creative exercises we could let them think for themselves but also learn what was necessary. I taught Health and English classes, and seeing the improvement the children made over just six weeks was really rewarding! One home comfort which kept me smiling throughout was the colour of their school uniform – brown and blue!

She will be attending Harvard, and constructing an interdisciplinary, tailor-made course of graduate study. Her academic focus will continue to be in Contemporary Middle-Eastern Art and will focus particularly upon this subject’s implications for museology and methodology. The year will also include courses in politics, economics, literature and language.

As the Von Clemm Fellow I will act as an ambassador for Oxford and Harvard, and represent both institutions at home and abroad.

I am extremely excited about this next stage in my academic career, and as ever would like to thank North London for everything it did to get me here!

ONLine magazine |

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Dear Old North Londoners, Every year brings new and exciting developments to North London Collegiate School, and this past year has been true to form.

At the end of the summer, building was completed on our first franchise abroad, the North London Collegiate School (Jeju) campus on an island off the tip of South Korea. NLCS (Jeju) opened in September 2011 and physically echoes elements of NLCS (London), with features such as an avenue of trees, a modern version of Glassy Porch and a pergola. In addition to opening up many stimulating cultural links for the girls and professional development opportunities for our teachers, who help select and train the Jeju staff, this exciting initiative will generate additional funds for bursary places here at Canons, enabling us to maintain the tradition of offering an ambitious education to able girls, regardless of background.

NLCS staff continue to work closely with state school teachers to design and run the teacher training programmes for the Prince’s Teaching Institute. Over the last 10 years, 3,300 teachers of English, History, Geography, Maths and Science have benefited from PTI residential training. Over 1000 state schools are involved in the programme which now also includes Modern Foreign Languages; Art and Music will be introduced late in 2012. In addition, 100 head teachers have taken part in the PTI leadership programme.

A great school is continually looking to provide excellence for its pupils. At North London Collegiate School, we are particularly proud of our achievements. We are now faced with the need for more science laboratories, additional classrooms and improved dining facilities. To meet these needs, we are embarking on an ambitious building project of a major new teaching block which will provide additional classrooms and laboratories, social space, and a much needed extension of the Dining Room. The estimated total cost of this project is £6 million pounds.

This year the school set a record for the number of girls applying for places, with over 550 applications for approximately 60 external places in Year 7. In addition, over 20 new girls will join the Sixth Form. About 7% of girls in the Senior School are on some level of bursary assistance.

However, the economic climate continues to challenge us and we were unable to offer bursaries to several bright students because the school had insufficient funds. From the time of Frances Mary Buss bursary places have been available to girls and they are an integral part of the school’s history. As well as franchising income we are seeking support at any level for our bursary programme which could make a significant difference to a young girl’s future.

For the Coronation in 1953, different sectors of the NLCS community planted trees in the school.

We are revisiting that tradition in this Jubilee year of her accession. On Founder’s Day this year, six trees will be planted on the Canons grounds by representatives of six different NLCS constituencies – the ONLs, the Senior School girls, the Junior School girls, the Governors, the Staff and the Parents. In the summer term, we look forward to an exciting programme of events throughout the school to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee.

The girls at NLCS participate in a broad range of extracurricular programmes. Drama is always exciting at NLCS, and this year is no exception. Amongst the many wonderful productions this year, Yrs 8 & 9 performed the world premiere of ‘Juniper Dreams’, a new musical written by our Director of Drama, with music by our Assistant Director of Music. The Senior girls brought a new experience to Macbeth by staging it with an all female cast in a 21st-century media-driven world. An ONL, who finished her A levels at NLCS in July 2011, had two pieces selected for inclusion in the Saatchi Gallery – Sunday Telegraph Art Prize for Schools 2011.

In this London Olympic year, I would like to highlight a few of the girls’ numerous and varied sporting achievements. Two girls, both currently on the Lacrosse first team at NLCS, have been chosen to play International Lacrosse – one for Wales U19 and the other for England Junior Lacrosse. A Year 8 girl won the gold medal at the Middlesex County Cross Country meet. The NLCS U14 and U16 badminton teams were both crowned county winners. A Year 9 girl, who trains for swimming seven days a week and trains for water polo an additional 4 days a week, has been selected for the GB Water Polo junior squad.

The Junior School will hold a Sports Week at the beginning of the Summer Term during which the girls will explore the Olympic values through a wide variety of sports and co-operative activities.

Following a special opening ceremony the girls will participate in fencing, golf and cheer leading.

The Parents’ Guild has kindly sponsored a cycling day and there will also be a focus on skipping to increase personal fitness and fun in the playground. This special week should give the girls an opportunity to be part of the London Olympic excitement.

Just last year we had the pleasure of hosting a 100th birthday party for Connie Hurran (ONL 1929).

Sadly, Connie died this past autumn after a short illness. We celebrated her life and contribution to NLCS with a memorial service on the 15th of March in school.

ONLs are always welcome to visit us and we greatly enjoy hearing all your news.

I hope to see you at school again soon.

With warmest wishes,

Bernice McCabe Headmistress

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Academic Report Francesca Wade (2008)

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spent three weeks on the British School at Athens’ summer course, “The Archaeology and Topography of Ancient Greece”. We stayed in Athens for ten days before travelling around the Peloponnese, visiting sites well known from history books including Mycenae, Olympia, Sparta and Pylos.

Days consisted of visits to museums, monuments and sites dating from the early Bronze Age to the Roman occupation of Greece in the first centuries AD. We also had plenty of time to make the most of the beautiful weather on beaches throughout the Peloponnese and on an excursion to the island of Aegina. I particularly enjoyed our visit to the famous oracle at Delphi, and Eleusis, where mystery cults were celebrated, as well as seeing familiar objects in museums, such as the mask of Agamemnon, and visiting places further off the beaten track, like Brauron, home to a fertility cult dedicated to Artemis. The trip really brought to life my studies of Classics; it opened my eyes to a wealth of archaeological evidence which complements the literary evidence I’m more used to studying. I know that the experience will prove invaluable for my course, as well as having been a hugely enjoyable trip.

ONLA Academic & Travel Awards Academic Bursary Report Leonie Fleischmann (2003)

F

ollowing two years running a Jewish Youth Organisation, I decided to temporarily move to Israel. Whilst soaking in as much as I could of the tense but beautiful atmosphere in Jerusalem, I worked for a joint Israeli-Palestinian research centre.

The work I undertook here encouraged me to pursue a PhD, which I began at the beginning of this academic year. I organised Track II Diplomacy conferences, planned peace education workshops, constructed policy recommendations and wrote research papers. Whilst in Jerusalem I met some incredibly inspiring individuals who are relentlessly trying to build

peaceful co-existence in the region.

They directed me to weekly protests that are being held in East Jerusalem, where Israelis, Palestinians and Internationals meet to campaign against the eviction of Palestinians from their homes in place of Jewish settlers. Having been on many trips to Israel, this was the first time I witnessed Israeli solidarity for the

Palestinian cause. I soon discovered that this was not the only instance but simply one example of what is being labeled, ‘the re-emergence of the Israeli peace movement’. On returning to London, I decided to pursue a PhD in International Politics, focusing on this interesting phenomenon, which I encountered whilst in Israel. I am extremely grateful to NLCS for the generous academic bursary they have awarded me, which will assist in funding my studies, in particular my return to Israel in order to conduct field work.

Summer Research Project 2011 Laksha Bala (2009)

Location: Laboratory 805, Lippard Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, Yale New Haven Hospital, Yale University, Connecticut, USA. Duration: 5th July to 2nd September 2011 Purpose of visit: Completion of nine week laboratory research project under the care of Dr Serkalem Tadesse, overseen by Dr Seth Guller.

Project title: ‘The Expression of Neutrophil-Gelatinase Associated Lipocalin (NGAL) in Decidual Cells: Implications for Pregnancies Complicated by Pre-Eclampsia (PE)

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y project focussed on the aetiology of Pre-Eclampsia (PE) and its pathogenesis. Specifically, I looked into the expression of the gene NGAL, which stands for neutrophil gelatinaseassociated lipocalin, in decidual cells of women suffering from PE.

Research Objectives: To confirm upregulation of NGAL protein in decidua cells of PE patients vs. Idiopathic Pre-term Delivery (IPTD) by immunohistochemistry (IHC).

To quantify the effect of hypoxic treatment on NGAL protein levels in decidua by Western Blotting.

To quantify the effect of hypoxic treatment on NGAL mRNA levels in decidua using Real Time Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR).

Immunohistochemical localisation of NGAL in placental tissue.

Results: Immunohistochemical localisation of NGAL in placental tissue.

IHC demonstrated basal levels of NGAL staining in cases of idiopathic preterm delivery (IPTD), but much stronger staining intensity seen in cases of pre-eclampsia.

Conclusion: This study suggests that NGAL in PE, is upregulated through an irondependent, hypoxia-driven mechanism.

This would facilitate uptake of iron into cells and delivery to lysosomes for destruction. This may serve as a cytoprotective response to increased free iron; characteristic of PE.

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ONLA Academic & Travel Awards Medicine - Tanzania Style Madhvi Patel (2006) hospital experience was an eye-opener and provided a unique insight into a different way of medicine.

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ilimanjaro Christian Medical centre is one of the largest hospitals in Moshi with probably the most picturesque backdrop one could ask for - the snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro.

The hospital is situated in the spacious grounds of the university campus and accommodates over 1000 staff as well as numerous volunteers, Tanzanian medical students and elective students.

It appears to be an attractive destination for the altruistic doctor. The hospital has five floors with four to five wards on each level. Rooms are very busy with beds lining the walls and floor mattresses occupying the spaces in between. Ward rounds with around 15 colleagues can be quite a squeeze if you can imagine.

Patients are sleeping in corridors and corpses hidden in corners with grieving relatives crying beside them. The

I was placed in the Internal Medicine department where I encountered a wide spectrum of diseases very different to what is seen here in the UK. Infectious diseases were more prevalent with a large number of patients with tuberculosis and in the late stages of HIV/AIDs. Cancers were frequent and it was often a matter of spot diagnosis for patients who waited a long time before going to hospital. I specifically recall a young 17 year old boy with a tumour of the inside lining of his nose which obscured almost a quarter of his face. Almost every patient had good neurological signs so if neurology is your calling, you would enjoy the challenges here at KCMC. My knowledge base expanded on conditions less commonly seen in London and my clinical skills were exercised under doctor’s

supervision due to communication difficulties with patients.

The health system is unlike the NHS; patients pay for every test they undergo which means that for the majority of patients who have little or no money, investigations cannot be performed and treatment is based solely on clinical grounds. Due to limited resources the doctors must be sharp on history taking and clinical examinations, experience of which strengthened enormously my basic knowledge and diagnostic capacity.

I feel lucky that I was able to go to a country I had never visited. I spent a month studying, becoming accustomed to a new culture and growing as a person both in character and academically. I would recommend the Ngoro Ngoro safari to all visitors of Tanzania as well as a trip to the island of Zanzibar - a true paradise.

NLCS Report Laura Parker (2006)

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he start of the Easter holidays saw me enrolled in an intensive Catalan language course at the C2 Language School in Barcelona, having taken on this subject as a final year module at university. The syllabus at Cambridge was quite optimistic – from ‘Hello my name is...’ to analysing novels and films (generally sense subtítols or with no published translation – languages faculties’ favourites) within weeks – so a bit of imersió cultural was pretty crucial before the onslaught of exams.

As a minority language, there are few opportunities to practise Catalan outside of Catalonia, Valencia or the Balearics, so this trip was my first real attempt at communicating with nativespeakers – a rewarding hurdle to cross!

As well as seriously sorting out my language skills (it turns out there’s more to Catalan than just removing the last letter from a word in Spanish!), the course itself was both enjoyable

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and eye-opening: I’d come prepared to learn about issues such as bilingual education and integration, and the independence from Spain debate, but it was still surprising to see just how integral the language is to Catalan national identity, and how passionately it is promoted – indeed it was thoroughly repressed under Franco’s regime up until 1975. Despite being a relatively arbitrary choice of subject at university, I left the course in Barcelona

genuinely enthused about the language and Catalan culture, and am now looking into Masters degrees there, all of which are half taught in Catalan, regardless of the subject. I am extremely grateful for the NLCS Bursary Award’s generous contribution to this endeavour, and I look forward to keeping up my Catalan in future moltes gràcies!

OLYMPIC MEDIA GURU

Elaine Stern

(1986)

Getting two busy PR professionals to meet to discuss something unrelated to any of their clients proved to be too hard a challenge even for ONLs so thank heavens for e-mail…

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laine Stern (nee Davis, 1986) left NLCS to read history at university; she feels strongly that the PR world favours those with traditional degrees over media studies or PR-related graduates. Her love of news, her ability to communicate confidently with anyone (you can tell she’s an ONL) and her foresight into the future of the industry and the role of free content led her into a career in broadcasting.

When working in PR, Elaine intuitively saw the opportunity to combine TV and PR and became one of the pioneers of the Video News Release.

In 1993, she formed one of the first broadcast agencies in the UK and in 1998 co-founded TVC which she sold in 2008. She cites this as one of her career highlights alongside becoming Mikhail Gorbachev's press officer in 1993.

In 2010, Elaine established The 10 Group and is now heavily involved with the media distribution of the Olympics meaning that 2012 will be a very sports-related year for her. Although not particularly sporty (her highpoint was making the 100m ladder in her first year at school), she is sportsmad and has been a Spurs season ticket holder for 34 years as well as enjoying most spectator sports, particularly cricket and rugby.

At The 10 Group many of Elaine’s key clients are the 2012 Olympic sponsors, such as Procter & Gamble, Visa and Adidas. Her company’s involvement in 2012 is a natural extension of their existing work and

their role for the Olympics is to produce content and handle such clients’ broadcast PR across brands.

It has been necessary to define strategies for each sponsor that cut through the competition and will reach and excite the 100,000 journalists who will be in London during the Olympics and Paralympics. No easy task! The 10 Group have also built a platform to distribute content throughout the Games direct to journalists' mobiles, iPads and newsrooms.

SPECIALIST INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES are available with Elaine’s company for ONLs eager to gain experience in the broadcast media content platform sector.

ONLs can contact Poorvi Smith, Career Networking at psmith@nlcs.org.uk for information.

Personally, Elaine is particularly looking forward to the Athletics and men's diving finals and she was lucky enough to get tickets in the ballot for various final events!

By Chloé Nelkin

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LAST SANDALL ROAD SPORTS CAPTAIN

Barbara Law

There was no Sports Day that year.

It was always the captain’s responsibility to organise the event. It was held after school finished for the year and it was a great honour, one that the girl at the top of the teams was thrilled to uphold. But for Barbara Law, it was sadly a duty that would not fall to her.

T

hey knew it was coming; they had been expecting it. In 1938, North Londoners came to school with gas masks packed in their school bags. When WWII did break out, the girls were on their holidays.

But, of course this meant evacuation and no Sports Day in the summer of 1939.

Barbara Law was the school’s sports captain and the last one to walk out of the Sandall Road building in Camden Town.

During Barbara’s time at NLCS, although the main school was in Sandall Road, the sports teams practised at the grounds at Canons every Friday afternoon. “We were quite tough,” says Barbara. There was a bus from school to Camden Town station costing only one penny, but the girls preferred to walk. After matches Miss Turpin always served a wonderful tea, the envy of all the visiting school teams.

Barbara tells of a pride associated with the sports teams. “The girls were terribly keen on sports.”

To be picked for the First or Second teams meant a great deal. The girls donned

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“colours” on their tunics, yellow for the Firsts and blue for the Seconds. A tradition still upheld at the school today.

In Monday assembly, after prayers, if the team had won their match they crossed the platform to receive the congratulations of the school and the headmistress of the time, Miss Drummond.

Barbara wanted to continue her passion for sport after she left NLCS and pursue physical education, but her father, a chemist, encouraged her to go into the medical profession. At that time, there were only three options for girls wishing to study medicine: University College, King’s College and the Royal Free.

Barbara studied at University College, upon the advice of Miss Drummond who told Barbara that as an only child “you will need to experience working with men”. This attitude epitomised the forward thinking that Barbara recalls as distinct at NLCS. That forward thinking even extended to the girls’ sports uniform. “We were the first school to wear shorts instead of tunics”. As with their tea, NLCS girls caused much envy among other schools with their “very nicely cut” shorts.

Barbara grew up in Edgware. Her father was the local chemist and an amateur filmmaker. One year, at Sports Day, he filmed the events and sent a large reel to the school to be shown in assembly.

Much to Barbara’s embarrassment, the reel was played from the very beginning and contained clips of her playing on a family holiday.

The screening saga aside, Barbara’s time at NLCS was filled with “wonderful memories.” Something of particular pride was the interschool hockey tournament Barbara played in at Twickenham in 1938. Barbara’s team won, an achievement she’s still very proud of today.

In the 1950s, she moved to Norwich with her husband and two young children but Barbara’s outstanding accomplishments continued throughout her medical career. She started to work at a family planning clinic that Professor Hard founded behind a shop in Norfolk. Family planning was never taught in medicine.

Barbara says “If you met a fellow colleague at a party and told them that was your line of work, they would straighten their tie and talk about the weather.”

She and her husband retired together on the same day in 1982, to their holiday home in Gatehouse of Fleet, Scotland. Sport was always a central part of Barbara’s life though – for long after she left NLCS, at university and throughout her life. She stopped playing squash when she was 73, but continued to play tennis well into her eighties.

By Anna Codrea-Rado

(1929)

CENTENARIAN AND FORMER PRINCIPAL OF BEDFORD COLLEGE talks to NLCS about how her love of hockey influenced her life

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ileen gained her love for team sports when as a child she used to watch rugby every Saturday during the season with her Father and summers were spent accompanying him to watch the cricket at Lord's where she was taught how to keep score.

Eileen’s recollections of playing hockey at Sandall Road are of a poor pitch in Camden. Sport at NLCS at that time was limited to a choice of either hockey or netball in the winter and tennis and athletics in the summer. Asked what her favourite memory of school is, Eileen says that her proudest moment was winning the coveted Pentathlon Cup at Canons in her final year. The event required individuals to compete in a 100-yard dash, high jump, long jump, throwing and gymnastics. The gym element was undertaken at Sandall Road and the rest required a day trip to Canons. The win was also a source of great pride for her father who commemorated Eileen’s achievement by having a miniature replica of the cup made for her to keep as a permanent trophy.

Leaving school in 1928, she went on to train as a PE teacher in order to be able to continue playing hockey. Her first teaching post was in Felixstowe where she cut her teeth for 3 years before moving to a school in Tamworth.

It was here in 1935 that she met a French teacher who played the piano and due to a love of dancing Eileen was inspired to embrace the new craze for keep-fit introduced from America.

With her new piano playing partner, Eileen taught keep-fit classes to lines of 70-80 women in the village hall.

As part of her teacher training in PE Eileen also trained in physiotherapy and this resulted in her being called up to volunteer for the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service) in 1942 in order to teach young sergeants in fitness training as part of the war effort.

At just 30 years old, the then Major Alexander was a unit Senior Commander based at HQ Anti Aircraft Command, Glenthorn located in the grounds of Bentley Priory, Stanmore also home to Fighter Command.

the opening of the Canons Sports Centre with its new indoor pool. Eileen has fond memories of NLCS and has always supported its sporting endeavours.

The current Alexander Room at Canons Sports Centre bears her name as its sponsor and she is keen to follow the progress of former staff member, Dan Fox, with his 2012 Olympic bid.

PE PRINCIPAL

Eileen Alexander

Eileen was appointed a lecturer at Honiton College and following a brief spell as Her Majesty’s Inspector of Schools after the war (a post she didn’t like very much), she went on to join Bedford College as its Principal in 1952. At that time a private college, she oversaw the transition to a council run institution a year after joining, thereby securing its future.

Eileen recalls watching the England Hockey team at the Olympics at Wembley in 1948, remarking that obtaining tickets was an easy matter, with far less fuss than now.

School was and is very important to Eileen. She attributes much of this to being the result of her mother dying when she was only 6 years old leaving her as the only daughter of a self-made man who knew nothing about bringing up girls. When NLCS opened a new open air swimming pool, Eileen was happy to support the venture and despatched a student diving team from Bedford College to perform at the opening ceremony.

Something she repeated in 1997 for

Ed’s Note: Happy Birthday to Eileen who is 101 in April 2012

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HOCKEY OLYMPIAN

Dan Fox NLCS Geography teacher; GB international hockey player; and Olympic hopeful!

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ockey is in Dan’s blood. Growing up on hockey pitch sidelines, watching both parents play, he was destined to follow in their footsteps.

From junior hockey, to captaining the Oxford University hockey team, to playing for Hampstead and Westminster in the national league to gaining his first international call-up in 2009, Dan’s hockey career continues to rise and rise.

“I’m inspired by former Olympic Triple Jumper, Jonathan Edwards, as he not only smashed the triple jump record, but he didn’t ‘look like’ an athlete and proved that with effort and dedication, so much can be achieved.”

As Dan waits to hear whether he’s one of the 16 to be picked for Team GB in the Olympics, training for the hopeful squad of 27 remains intense. Two half day strength and conditioning sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays, two hockey sessions every Tuesday, hockey in the morning and running in the afternoon on a Friday and one if not two match days on the weekend – it’s a punishing schedule and one only for the most devoted of players.

That being said, one major highlight of this training for Dan has been going to practise at the Olympic Park in Stratford. Still a construction site, the sense of occasion can be felt.

The hockey stadium is the last one to be built and, as the team drive past all the other venues to reach it, Dan and his squad members feel a slight expectation on their shoulders. GB are currently ranked higher - 4th in the world - than the 1988 team that won gold. They won’t be happy if they don’t come back with a medal.

His favourite memory from NLCS is returning from the World Cup after being absent for 3 weeks and a student who he’d taught for 5 years hadn’t even noticed he’d not been there. Not only did she not know he played hockey, but upon finding out, her response was “isn’t that just a girls' game!”

With only a few months to go before the team’s selection is made, the pressure is mounting.

We wish Dan every success and hope to see him out there representing team GB in the 2012 Olympics.

Dan’s career to date has had numerous

Vivienne Ross

highlights – playing in the World Cup Semi finals in Delhi in 2010 in front of 20,000 people being his favourite memory to date - and he is very quick to thank NLCS (and especially the Geography staff) for supporting his hockey career.

By Claudia Goodman

(nee Abulafia, 1957)

Maccabiah Games Bronze Medallist

V

ivienne Ross opened her medal album to share her memories as an international golf competitor. Viv competed in the 13th Maccabiah Games in Israel in 1989 where she represented Great Britain as part of the British Golf team winning Bronze.

Vivienne remains a passionate exponent for the sport of golf, despite currently being off-games as she battles her third bout of cancer. She continues to visit school when she can as a current Committee Member of the Old North Londoners’ Association.

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(1961)

M

argaret’s passion for dance began at a young age at NLCS. Highly influenced by the London College of Dance and Drama who did their teaching practice at NLCS, greatly inspired by NLCS PE/dance teacher Doreen Seward and subsequently encouraged by Rhona Lewis, head of PE, Margaret knew dance was what she wanted to do.

Dance was most certainly not encouraged as a career at NLCS, but upon leaving school, Margaret went to Bedford College of Physical Education on a special dance course, where she met the principal, Eileen Alexander, a fellow ONL, who was to be key in her career, encouraging her up the ranks.

Margaret taught PE and Dance at various schools until she took a break to have a family.

After having children, Margaret went to work for the Fitness League (what was the Women’s League of Health and Beauty) – a pioneering body championing recreational exercise for women (well before Jane Fonda!)

As a teacher and a trainer of dance, Margaret’s interests soon diversified and she became a representative on the Movement and Dance Groups of the Central Council of Physical Recreation, a governing body of sport and recreation in the UK. Together with Eileen Alexander, who sat on the board, a very strong ONL team was formed.

Margaret’s work in promoting and supporting dance in the area of sport and recreation led to her being awarded in 2008 an OBE for services to Fitness, Dance and Sport. As Vice President of the Fitness League, Honorary Vice President of the Sport and Recreation Association, creator and first Chair of the Exercise,

Movement and Dance Partnership and Chair of Sports Leaders UK, a body that provides leadership training for thousands of young people to help communities participate in sport, Margaret has been a leading figure of dance and recreation in the UK over the last 50 years.

Margaret is passionate about promoting sport and dance across the country. She has achieved so much, from encouraging thousands of people to exercise through dance and sport to meeting and being recognised by the Queen. She remains a purist, not wanting to see Dance as an Olympic sport but hopes very much that communities will continue to take up exercise and dance as recreation to stay healthy. A true example to us all.

grade B+, that she wasn’t allowed to continue with English, the subject she loved.

Her proudest moment at NLCS was being asked to dance a performance from Orpheus and Eurydice.

At an entirely academic school, to be given such a ‘high profile’ role meant so very much to her.

By Claudia Goodman

FITNESS, DANCE & SPORTS ADVOCATE

Margaret Peggie OBE

In her 50s, Margaret took English A level and obtained a grade 'A'. It is one of her proudest achievements as she was told at school, having got a

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REUNITED

Throughout 2011 ONLs attended events to swap news, visit familiar haunts and view the latest changes at Canons.

50th REUNION Class of 1961

40th REUNION Class of 1971

Getting together..

Dr Goward with NLCS students in Leeds

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Hampshire group meeting in Brockenhurst

Ruth Padel (1964) at NLCS Senior Society

Tournament Winners

REUNITED

SUMMER REUNIONS 2011 Annual Picnic

Runners-up

ONL, Laura Shavin - Senior Society

MAY REUNIONS Classes of 1981, 1991 & 2001

1991 Leavers

Mrs McCabe welcomes ONLs back to school

Mr Acreman catches up ONLine magazine |

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REUNITED

Cornwall/Devon ONLs

Aussie Group ONLs Michelle Cfas (1992), Enna Azami, Vivien Simkins

UNIVERSITY DRINKS LONDON

UNIVERSITY DRINKS BRISTOL Twenty ONLs took the opportunity to catch up with each other over cocktails at a Bristol University ONL drinks party held at Browns Brasserie and Bar in the Spring Term 2012.

Michael Burke with Yi Jean Chow and Jess Stein at Harvard

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ONL Lunch at Enmore

y ONLs

r thda 80th Bi

REUNITED

UNIVERSITY DRINKS CAMBRIDGE

UNIVERSITY DRINKS OXFORD

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Archive Sports Feature - Who is Pamela Flower?

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Pamela Flower The majority of ONLs will have heard of, and perhaps even watched or participated in, the Pamela Flower Tennis Tournament.

However, I’m sure I’m not the only girl who gave little thought to who or what Pamela Flower was, and how the tennis competition came to be.

P

amela Mary Flower was a North London girl during World War II. A pretty and vivacious red head, she was successful and popular; her brother Norman remembers her as a “lovely girl, talented, happy and pretty”.

Anna Braga, a contemporary of Pamela’s, says of her: “from Pamela, there radiated a gay friendliness that sprang from true unselfishness that became more apparent as one got to know her”; Braga gratefully recalls how the confident and helpful Pamela aided her, when she was Senior Prefect, to overcome her own more retiring nature.

As her brother John recalls, Pamela “was a fine athlete; thus it was no surprise when Pamela was elected School Captain in 1943, in the middle of the Second World War. The war years were not easy for a school based in London. In 1939, the school, including Pamela, was evacuated to Luton.

The girls were divided among local residents, and the school shared the premises of Luton High School. They were fortunate

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enough to return to the newly bought and refurbished premises of Canons in spring 1940. Yet even there, life was lived in fear of the sirens and the sounds of planes. Mad dashes down to the air raid shelter were the norm, sometimes “with knives and forks and dinner”. However, unsurprisingly for North London girls, “[their] thoughts were more of examinations than of bombs”, for “not even Germany’s newest weapon could stop [them] taking [their] Higher and General Certificates”. Although some of these exams took place in the cramped and dim air-raid shelter, Braga remembers “how miraculously little [their] surroundings were allowed to impinge on [their] consciousness”. Not even a world war can distract a North London girl from her pursuit of As!

Sunday 20th February 1944, the war became personal to the school when Pamela Flower was killed in an air raid.

Irene Leppington, neighbour of Pamela and fellow NLCS student, shared a vivid account of how it happened: On the afternoon of the 20th of February, Pamela attended a youth Fellowship group accompanied by Beatrice Harrison (also a North London girl), John Hepburn and Neville Thompson. Following this, the four attended Neville’s birthday tea at his parents’ house. Shortly after the meal, the air raid warning sirens began wailing, and Pamela, Beatrice and John began to hurry to their own homes. In the panic and confusion outside, they decided to return to the Thompsons' house, a decision that was to have devastating consequences.

The house received a direct hit in the raid and five of those present were killed immediately; Beatrice became the only survivor. Braga recalls that “To everyone, the shock and sorrow [felt at NLCS] were personal, for everyone knew Pamela [...] that was a very sad February”.

As a memorial to her, Pamela’s father made a presentation of a silver cup to the school. And so the Pamela Flower Tennis Tournament was born, in memory of the Games Captain who would forever be a North London girl.

Tragically, disrupted exams were not the only consequences of the war. On

By Joelaine Fitch

Supplied by M Bunford

Supplied by Philippa Russell

Supplied by M Bunford

Supplied by M Bunford

FROM THE ARCHIVES

ONL SPORTS

Supplied by Rosemary Mead Griffith

ONLs CELEBRATE THE CORONATION

Above and top right: The Senior Student 1953, Joan Lundie (nee Woods, 1953) and ONL Margaret Bunford (nee Taylor, 1948) planting trees to celebrate the Coronation, Founder’s Day 1953 Photo o f Anna D herself provide owning d (nee Po by llett, 19 59)

NLCS pupils, selected by ballot, enjoy Coronation Day on the Embankment, June 1953

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STAFF NEWS Erica Lane married Edward Breffit on Saturday 11th June, 2011 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel & St George Catholic Church, Enfield. Many from the NLCS family were in attendance including Kate Stanley, Roxy Alexander, Tanika Morjaria, Meera Somji, Gabi Pereira and Sarah Lasher from Erica’s Tutor group as well as ONLs Lowrie Robertson (2010) and Nayani Anpalagan (2010). From the staff were Geraldine Castle (PE), Elisabet Gunzi (and family), Margaret Wheatley and Fleur Delany from the Geography Dept, Rebecca Gregory (History) and former staff Mary Wenham (MFL), Toby Waterson (Geog) and Stella Taylor (PE).

Mr & Mrs E Breffit

Ed’s note: Toby and Stella have gone out to NLCS, JeJu.

Congratulations to Steven Berryman (Music) on completing his PhD in

composition. Dr Berryman was able to work alongside Anthony Powers, Arlene Sierra and ONL composer, Judith Weir (1972) to complete a portfolio of compositions. One of Dr Berryman’s orchestral pieces in the portfolio was selected for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales Welsh Composers’ Showcase and ‘Cypher’ was performed at BBC Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff Bay, in February 2011.

STAFF VALETE 2011 Penny Tabraham Penny Tabraham joined the PE Department in 1982; her talent was soon recognised and after two years she was promoted to Head of Department.

In 1996, recognising Mrs Tabraham’s energy and natural empathy for the younger girls in the Senior School, Mrs Clanchy appointed her to the major pastoral role of Head of Middle School; a role she made her own and developed enthusiastically for the next 15 years. Mrs Tabraham knew each and every girl in the school and generations of ONLs besides. She possessed a unique combination of organisational skills (she would be the first to spot something amiss in

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Mr & Mrs P Stutely

Susie Bentley married Peter Stuteley on 14th April 2011 at Rowton Castle in Shropshire. Susie's family flew over from Ireland to join the wedding party who included colleagues from the Science Dept: Paul McKeating, Jon Linklater and Kate Fleming.

the calendar) and pastoral sensitivity.

She managed to keep a fine balance between disciplinarian (you really could hear a pin drop before Middle School assemblies) and sympathetic listener.

Mrs Tabraham developed a wonderful relationship with parents too; hearing her speak at the Year 7 induction evening every year, no parent could ever doubt the tender loving care their daughter would receive when she joined the Senior School. As Pastoral Deputy Head, I am enormously grateful to Mrs Tabraham for her boundless enthusiasm, enormous capacity for hard work, her warmth, dedication and integrity as Head of Middle School.

We all wish her well and hope she enjoys a long and happy retirement.

Mrs Tabraham’s three daughters, Zoe,

Jemma and Amy, are all ONLs and I am sure the Tabraham family will all stay in touch with school, perhaps coming to support some home matches!

By Mrs Barbara Pomeroy Deputy Head (Pastoral)

STAFF VALETE 2011 Mrs Heather Tomlin (Duke of Edinburgh Co-ordinator and former part time Teacher of PE) retires after 23 years.

Mrs Carolyn Sallis (Head of Examinations and Teacher of Classics) retires after 17 years.

Mrs Carol Chandler-Thompson (Head of History) is leaving to take up the post of Deputy Head at NLCS Jeju.

Ms Heather Murphy (Head of French) is leaving to take up the post of Head of Modern Languages at the King’s School, Tynemouth.

Mrs Anna Paul (Second in the English Department) is moving to The John Lyon School to take up the position of Head of English.

Mrs Stella Taylor (PE) and Mr Toby Waterson (Geography) are also moving to South Korea to teach at NLCS Jeju.

Mrs Joanne Griffiths (Chemistry) is leaving us as the end of this term for family reasons.

Mr Dan Fox (Geography) is leaving to further pursue his career with the England Hockey Team. (see feature p.10)

Edwina Sherrington Dr Edwina Sherrington joined the Religious Studies & Philosophy department in September 2006 after a successful career at Kingswood School in Bath where she had served as Deputy Head for twenty years teaching subjects as diverse as History, RS and PE. Although her

Quintin Brewer Quintin Brewer joined the Economics Department at NLCS in 2004 and very quickly established himself as a star teacher and exemplary colleague. Mr Brewer is an inspiring teacher and one who took on a personal mission to make his students think and challenge received wisdom.

His students will describe his sense of fun and enjoyment of class-room banter set in the context of a total command of his subject. Always enjoying good relations with his students, Mr Brewer was sociable and outgoing and enjoyed students’ company whether going bowling or enjoying a meal. He was a most valued Sixth Form tutor and successfully guided many tutees through their university applications and has continued to advise and support a number of former students at university and beyond.

After a number of years competing in the Bank of England’s 2.0 competition it was under Mr Brewer’s direction that the team led by Nadia Odunayo reached the national final of the competition and came third in 2010. The students were galvanised by his determination to do well and his confidence in the girls to give a truly ambitious presentation. That experience of the final and the preparation that led to it bonded the group so that early in the autumn Term 2011 the team and researchers and Mr Brewer and Mrs Hurl enjoyed a meal together and catch up on news.

The Staffroom was certainly enriched by his friendship and sense of fun and he could be relied upon for sound counsel about fixed or variable rate mortgage or dealing with difficult individuals.

On leaving NLCS Mr Brewer will continue in his role of Chief Examiner for Economics Edexcel and remain at the forefront of curricular reform and also amongst other things spend more time walking with his wife Angela on his beloved Malvern Hills.

By Mrs Geraldine Hurl, Head of Economics

first degree was in History, for which she is a senior examiner at A Level, Edwina had a remarkable and wideranging knowledge and love of all things Theological and Philosophical.

Her classes benefitted from this breadth of insight and she brought a real enthusiasm, warmth and professionalism to her teaching. She was a most supportive colleague and

I could always rely upon her for wise counsel. Edwina is looking forward to her move from London to the Cambridgeshire countryside where she will enjoy time to read, walk and play with her grand-daughter Mia. We wish her a long and happy retirement.

By Mrs A Wilson, Head of Religious Studies

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JEJU

NLCS Goes Global O

n 26th September 2011 NLCS Jeju opened its doors to over 430 students.

This momentous occasion was celebrated on Friday 30th September 2011 with an opening ceremony held at the Jeju campus and attended by the Headmistress and other representatives of NLCS (UK). The ceremony was also attended by various dignitaries from the South Korean Government, including the Minister for Land, Transport and Maritime affairs and the First Vice-Minister for Education.

It has been three years since NLCS (UK) began the journey towards the opening of its Korean campus. In 2008, franchising overseas was identified by the School’s governing body as an effective way to provide income to fund bursaries, thus allowing NLCS to maintain the social diversity and high ability of its student intake.

In approaching this project, the likelihood that many NLCS pupils may one day have careers which take them to the Far East was a strong motivating factor. What also appealed to the Governors and Headmistress was the vision of our partners in the project, the Jeju Development Centre (JDC).

They hope to transform Jeju into an international hub for Business, Science and Technology, Health and Tourism, fit to rival Singapore or Hong Kong.

As part of this initiative, they not only wish to create a high-quality Englishspeaking educational environment on Jeju, with NLCS among other prestigious schools from around the world, but also to address social and political issues within South Korea. In order to discourage Korean families from sending their children overseas to be educated, JDC wish to offer an alternative to the Korean style of education that is accessible within Korea. The scale, ambition and motives behind the project seemed to fit well with the outwardlooking and pioneering spirit of NLCS and so, on Founder’s Day, 26th March 2010, an agreement was signed with JDC to establish NLCS Jeju; eighteen months later the school, built for 1400 boys and girls, both boarding and daypupils, was built, equipped, staffed and ready for lessons to begin!

An added benefit to the project has been the superb opportunities it has offered for the professional development of teaching staff here at Canons.

Through participation in the recruitment and training of NLCS Jeju staff here in the UK and through involvement in monitoring visits to Jeju, staff at NLCS 20

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have gained valuable insights into these processes as well as reflecting on their own practice.

Five months after the September opening, the school is flourishing in every respect and on 15th February 2012, we were delighted to host the first visit by NLCS Jeju students and staff.

48 boys and girls were welcomed by girls from Years 7 to 9 who conducted guided tours and chatted with the visitors over afternoon tea.

The Korean party, who spent the week of the half-term holiday touring England and attending a number of theatre performances in Stratford-upon-Avon and London, were accompanied by Rachel Breckner ONL (2005) who has just completed her period of appointment as a Housemistress at NLCS Jeju.

Another important benefit of the venture has been the opportunity for current pupils and ONLs to become Gap-year assistants and undertake internships at NLCS Jeju. Recruitment for Gap-year placements is open to current Year 13 girls at NLCS and recently graduated ONLs. Male Gap-year assistants are recruited from schools including Harrow School, Highgate School and Magdalen College School, with some male graduates also applying.

The Gap-year assistants who joined the school for its first six months have now returned to the UK, among them four ONLs. Two of the ONLs enjoyed the experience so much that they have stayed on as Assistant housemistresses. The Gap-year students who will serve for the second half of the 2011/12 academic year arrived in Jeju in mid-February and are already well-settled.

The Gap-year placements have been highly recommended by the first wave of participants, who have reported : I have had a great experience and have

thoroughly enjoyed my time here. I have learnt many things and have become a better person. People are friendly, the island is beautiful, work is rewarding, food is amazing. I (would) recommend my time here to anybody. I feel part of a community all working towards the same goal of making the school a success.

Placements are offered for the periods September-February, and FebruaryJuly: return flights are provided, plus accommodation, all meals and a monthly allowance. This is a great opportunity for anyone considering a career in teaching or simply wanting to boost their CV with a fantastic experience in a very different and exciting cultural environment.

L-R: Hannah Goldstone (2011), Mr Toby Waterson, Rachel Breckner (2005), Mrs Stella Taylor, Rebecca Levy (2005), Katie Phillips (2008), Mrs Amanda Edelhart, Mr Chris Vernon, Ms Carol Chandler-Thompson.

If you are a recent graduate and would like to join NLCS Jeju as it continues to grow and develop, there are still a few places left for 2012/13 (SeptemberFebruary only) and recruitment for 2013/14 will open in the autumn.

Please contact sprentice@nlcs.org.uk for further information.

Daniel Lewis Deputy Head (Franchising)

BIRTHS

MARRIAGES

Natalie Bloom (nee Raperport, 1992) and her husband, Richard, are pleased to announce the birth of their second child, Natasha, born 23 June 2011, a little sister to son Alexander aged 3.

Amy Froomberg (2004) married Edward Taylor on 10 September 2011 in a village called Shepreth just outside Cambridge, where they met at University.

Charlotte Malgas (nee Gait, 1994), announces Lanark Gabriel Justice Malgas was born on 27 August 2010, a son for my husband Lesley and a little brother for 3 year old Skyla.

Mr & Mrs Anand Shah Mr & Mrs Leopold Wedl III

Jaime Rose (2003) married Edward Scudamore on Sept 17th 2011 in the South of France. Several ONLs flew over to join the celebrations including Online Editor, Holly O’Connell and Jaime’s business partner, Michelle Okin (nee Ingram, 1994). Jaime and Edward are starting their married life in Hong Kong.

ONLs Bernice Lancer and daughter Natalie Phillips with new arrival Lily.

Bernice Lancer (nee Harris, 1960) and husband, Ken, are delighted to announce that their daughter, Natalie Phillips (nee Lancer, 1999), had a baby girl at 3.32pm on 26/9/2011. Weighing in at 6lbs 11oz with red hair, Lily Alicia is the first child for Natalie and her husband, Dan. Bernice reports that mother and baby well, father slowly recovering and grandparents chuffed to bits.

Miriam Fine-Goulden (nee Fine, 1996) is pleased to announce the birth of her twin boys, Jacob Mayer and Reuben Leo, born 5th November 2010.

Emily Kennedy (1996) announces the arrival of her son, David Luck Newhall Kennedy, born 11th March 2011.

Lucy Beharrell (nee Yates, 1999) and husband Will, announce the birth of their daughter, Anna Rose, born 2nd June 2011.

Stephanie Holding (2002) married Anand Shah in a 2 week wedding extravaganza starting on 19 June and finishing on 3 July 2011. Events took place in London and Marrakech, including traditional Indian ceremonies and a white wedding.

Mr & Mrs Fernando Florencio (details p.24)

Sarah Wilson (1987) married Leopold Wedl III on 5.8.2011 to become Sarah Wedl-Wilson. Sarah and Leopold were married on beautiful Lake Garda in Italy and Sarah’s sister, Fiona Duncan (nee Wilson, 1990) sang at the ceremony on the island in the middle of the lake where St Francis of Assisi once founded a monastery in the 13th century.

ENGAGEMENTS Mr & Mrs Edward Scudamore Sarah Wedl-Wilson and wedding helpers

Sam Goldman (2003) announced her engagement to Nigel Hikmet in October 2011.

Lucy Tobin (2004) got engaged to childhood sweetheart, Howard Lesser in Portugal in September 2011. Lucy and Howard will be getting married this August, 2012. Lucy started dating Howard back when she was in year 13.

Kate Last (2003) became engaged to be married to Paul Tannenbaum in January 2012.

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remembrance Joyce Baker (nee Taylor, 1937) died aged 92 in September 2011. The school found Joyce’s conduct a trifle adventurous but she settled to a very happy family life. From school she went on to UCL, graduating in 1939 with a BA (Hons) in Psychology. She always found time and energy to follow her calling which was to care for children with special needs. She leaves a husband, Vernon, and three children.

Margaret Birch (former staff) passed away peacefully in her sleep on 21st September 2011. Margaret taught Classics at NLCS from 1972-1992.

Susan Dell (nee Joyce, 1953) passed way in August 2011.

Ruth Gillespie (former staff) aged 62, died peacefully on Christmas Day 2011 at The Royal Marsden Hospital. She is survived by husband, Alan, and children Patrick and Christianne. Ruth taught Spanish and French at NLCS. Connie Hurran (nee Kemp, 1929) died aged 100 in November 2011.

school to attend concerts, shows and to talk to current pupils about her school days at Sandall Road and surviving two world wars. Connie was a scholarship student and on leaving NLCS attended secretarial college before joining Glaxo Laboratories.

She credits the school with helping her to gain her post at Glaxo as the then Chairman, Sir Harry Jephcott, was married to an ONL, Doris Gregory (1912), and he had decreed that any girl from NLCS was sure to be most employable. The company was to become another milestone in Connie’s life as it was here she met her future husband, John, who worked in the firm’s laboratories as a bio-chemist.

Their wedding took place in London in 1940 and Connie became the first married female employee of the firm.

Connie and John had three children, Christopher, Robert and Anne and in 1946, Glaxo posted the Hurran family to New Zealand where they lived for eight years. 1954 saw the family back in London and Connie was delighted when Anne was accepted at school and she was able to re-establish her links with NLCS. The school held a memorial service in her honour in the Performing Arts Centre at Canons in March that was attended by representatives of the entire school community past and present: students, parents, governors, ONLs and staff as well as members of the congregation of St John’s URC in Northwood and her family. The Junior School Choir gave a beautiful performance of Refuge by Howard Goodall and the ceremony ended with everyone singing Where'er You Walk.

Connie was a much loved friend of the school having been a former pupil, Governor, ONLA Committee Member and finally ONLA Vice President. She regularly visited the

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Connie is survived by her three children, two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Philippa Jessiman (nee Silvester, 1935) died on 25th September 2011.

On leaving school, Philippa trained as a primary school teacher at Maria Grey Training College in London. During the war she married her childhood sweetheart Harold Blackhall, who was killed less than 10 weeks after their wedding. She was invited out to Singapore to teach at the Presbyterian Boys’ School, staying in the country for 15 years, during which time she married Alex Jessiman a naval architect and had two children Philip and Sandra. On returning to the UK she taught R.E. at Moss Hall Junior School in Finchley. She held fond memories of NLCS and there was always a copy of Canons Life and Online by her side at St Monica’s Trust in Bristol where she died aged 94 after a short illness. She leaves four grandchildren.

Denise Martini (former staff) died 23rd July 2011. Denise taught French and German at school from 1980-1990.

Ivy Nottingham (1930) passed away in her sleep on 27th December 2011.

After school Ivy went on to train as a teacher and taught in several primary schools in North London. In 1968 she moved to Croydon to be closer to her family and took up a post at Spring Park Primary School, retiring in the

mid ‘70s. Following a diagnosis for dementia, Ivy moved to a nursing home in 2003.

Nora Packer (nee Leverton, 1936) passed away on 14th February 2012.

Born on New Year's Day 1918, Nora attended the Sandall Road campus as a student. She loved her time at school, was keen on drama and kept a Founder's Day Diary, now kindly donated to the school archives. In order to reflect her love of NLCS, daffodils were chosen as her funeral flowers. Twice married, she is survived by her three children, Tony, Rosalind and Caroline.

Margaret “Margot” Pollard (nee Pollard, 1953) died 19th January 2012 following a long illness. Margot is survived by her husband, Canon F Clifford Pollard whom who she met in the style of a Mills & Boons romance.

Margot and Clifford had booked the same coach tour and when the tour operator arranged for the luggage to be delivered to their guests' rooms,

they inadvertently mixed up their suitcases, with Margot’s case going to Clifford’s and vice versa. They decided to meet to arrange a switch, sparking a friendship that led to a very happy marriage.

the medical tradition going. Following a fractured hip in 2001, Janet moved into the Laurel Bank Nursing Home.

She is survived by her children, grandchildren and sister, Maisie (1939).

Jessie Schoon (nee Wheatley, 1931) passed away peacefully on 19th March 2011.

Margaret ‘Meg’ Wilkins (nee Clark, 1961) died unexpectedly on 20th April 2011. Margaret studied medicine after school. Following retirement as a GP in Bournemouth, she and husband, Brian, moved to a cottage outside Wareham in Dorset. Schoolfriend Lesley Evans (nee Wills,1961) recalls that Meg was a staunch friend who was warm, friendly and outgoing with strong interests in wildlife, woodlands and wild places. Lesley and Meg embarked on a camping holiday in Scotland in the summer of 1961 and Lesley remembers that they had to queue outside the one and only public telephone box near the campsite on the outskirts of Ullapool in order to ring home for their A level results.

Meg leaves husband, Brian and their three daughters.

Janet Van Essen (nee Trotter, 1936) died 6th September 2011.

Janet was a great sportswoman at school and was Games Captain and a Prefect. She played in the rounders, netball and hockey teams as well as participating in athletics.

After school Janet followed her mother into medicine and went on to Edinburgh University where she won a gold medal in her first year. She met her surgeon husband, William, in London during the war. They were married in 1943 and had three children, Christopher, Morna and Fiona. Janet’s daughter, Morna also became a doctor, thereby keeping

Sheila Wickham (nee Craig, 1956) Both Sheila and her elder sister, Annette, gained places at NLCS after they returned from evacuation to North Wales during the Second World War. They were very happy and successful there, Sheila being inspired by Dame Kitty Anderson who guided her to apply to read English at Bedford College London.

While at Bedford Sheila became one of six friends who met each other annually for more than 50 years and the five survivors attended her funeral.

After graduating Sheila began a career in the City but soon realised she wanted to teach. Dame Kitty arranged for her to gain some teaching practice at NLCS and as part of the package Sheila provided help with secretarial work.

was as Deputy Head in a large mixed comprehensive school in the London Borough of Hillingdon.

Sheila’s teaching career began in a grammar school in the Borough of Hillingdon and it was there that she met her husband, George Wickham, also a teacher, to whom she was married in 1969.

On retirement Sheila and George moved to a house eleven miles from Bath. Here they enjoyed making a garden from scratch, helping with the formation of an arts centre at Corsham and its annual festival, travelling and visiting the theatre and concert halls in Bath.

In her teaching career Sheila gained promotion to three different schools and was awarded a sabbatical year in which she was able to complete her studies for a London University MA in children’s literature. Her final post

Sheila also learnt to play the violin and played the piano weekly with a group of string players. In recent years she struggled with diabetes and other ailments and died suddenly of a heart attack.

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ONLNEWS Eve Morris (1997) has been won the 2010 Hoffman Challenge with her beautiful quilt entitled Winged Isis which can be seen at www.crafsy.com.

Mireille Captieux (2002) has got her first job choice as a newly qualified doctor at Borders General Hospital. With exams completed she is back in training and hoping to compete in next year’s triathlon World Championship event as well as undertaking another Ironman Challenge in aid of Breast Cancer Research.

Eve says she is ‘ludicrously proud of it’ as she feels that, due to her ME, it is the most she has accomplished in a decade. Having given up art at the age of fourteen, something she now regrets, she stumbled across quilting four years ago and has fallen madly in love with textile craft.

Jenny Harkness (nee Doolittle, 1967) tells that as a result of her photo being published in ONLine as a member of the Sydney group, she has been contacted after 44 years by schoolfriend, Christine Prendergast (nee Sweet, 1967). During a trip to London, Jenny was able to meet up with Christine and Jenni Hansen (nee Brain, 1967) who joined them from Denmark. After a really good lunch at The National Portrait Gallery, catching up over old photos, they have promised to keep in touch and not to leave it for another 40 years as they would all be over a 100 by then.

Dr Valerie Dowding (nee Thompson, 1961) - email: vdowding@crc.ie.

I was so disappointed to miss the gathering of the 1961 leavers last year and would like to send warmest greetings to all. There is a reunion day on 1st July at school and I would love to hear from anyone in our year that is planning to come so that we can arrange to get together. A quick resume of life since we were all together at North London: Well, as you may know I went up to Cambridge. I followed the first degree with a PhD (in parasitology). I captained the university badminton team and swam for the university. I married Paul in 1966

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and moved to Ireland in 1968 for his job – I discovered that married women “need not apply” for public service jobs(!) and taught in TCD for 2 years until I was ‘head hunted’ to be the first married woman to get a permanent full-time post in the system in 1970. I taught physiology (qualified Cantab) and cell biology on degree courses for clinical dieticians, opticians and medical laboratory scientists in the Dublin Institute of Technology. I enjoyed the teaching and added research and teaching

in epidemiology over the years. To expand my interest in neurophysiology I did an Open University degree in psychology from 1997-99 and resigned my lectureship later in 1997. The epidemiology research still continues with a national institute for childhood physical disability. After the degree I studied/trained as a family therapist/ psychotherapist and am now registered and in practice back in the training institute. This has been, and still is, a great learning experience and I have really enjoyed the challenge even if clients' difficulties sometimes keep me awake as well as them.

Best wishes to all, Valerie.

ONLNEWS Karin Florencio (nee Melling, 1987). I left NLCS after O Levels in 1985, when my mother moved to the Midlands. From an all girls school, I experienced a complete culture shock by going to a boys school (Solihull School - which at that time only took girls in the sixth form). I obtained my BA in German at the University of Bristol, where I stayed to complete an MA in Legal Studies to convert to Law. I trained as a solicitor at Allen & Overy in London, where I qualified into the Litigation Department in 1996.

I left A&O in 2002 to become JP Morgan Chase's first in-house litigator to be based in London (and outside of the US), where I had responsibility for the Bank's litigation in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In 2007, I was invited to be Standard Bank Plc's first Head of Litigation, where I currently enjoy sparring on their behalf in jurisdictions as diverse as North America, South America, the Far East and (slightly nearer to home) Jersey and the High Court in London! In April 2011, I married Fernando Jorge Lopes Florencio ("Jorge") at The Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great in Smithfield, London. We had a beautiful day, marred only by the fact that Jorge's immediate family from Portugal (and a number of our guests) were stranded overseas due to volcanic ash. Two of our overseas guests who made it, however, were Sabina Roth and her brother Peter, the children of Loni Loeffler who led the Ludwigsburg end of the NLCS German Exchange and with whom I have been friends since I went on the exchange in the early '80s!

Suzy Taylor (nee Field, 1987) has held her first solo exhibition at the Oak Studios in Hampstead. Suzy specialises in papercutting art pieces and has been running workshops from her studio at her home in Oxhey. She has recently won two prestigious commissions: one is to produce papercut designs for the Pottery Barn in the US which will be used as part of their teen bedding range (The Pottery Barn is part of the famous American retail group Williams-Sonoma); and the other is for The Movement for Reform Judaisim in the UK where she is producing papercut artwork for a new Passover Hagaddah to be used in communities across the country.

Annabel Sowemimo (2008) was ranked No. 2 Rare Rising Star 2011 in the Rare Rising Stars Awards in September.

The awards showcase the incredible achievements of the best black students in the UK, as judged by Rt. Hon. David Lammy MP, Trevor Phillips, Chair of the

Commission for Equality and Human Rights, and Jean Tomlin, HR Director for London 2012. The ceremony at the Palace of Westminster was the culmination of a year-long search that considered thousands of black students and whittled them down carefully to produce the final list of ten Stars. The candidates were judged across five different categories: determination, depth of achievement, contribution to community or society, breadth of talent, and initiative and leadership.

Roberta Klimt (2006) has been awarded a Graduate Research Scholarship from UCL for her PhD in Milton’s Latin and Italian poetry as well as being granted full funding for her course.

Razmi Farook (1992) writes to say that she is currently based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia working for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. Her role covers 36 countries

Alison Moore (nee Sale,1968) has entered into the heady world of retirement in 2011.

Alison previously worked at the Information Department at the national HQ of Citizens Advice.

She is now enjoying a different life in the Scottish Borders with her husband who also retired as a GP from his Watford practice.

Sophie Ratcliffe (1993) has edited the book PG Wodehouse: A Life in Letters published by Hutchinson in November 2011.

Susannah Price (1995) has produced a docu-drama The Boarding School Bomber. The programme was shown on BBC 3 in November 2011.

in the Asia Pacific region where she is involved in the areas of advocacy, policy and diplomacy. Previously she was Head of Core Programmes for the IFRC in Sri Lanka during the war and throughout the initial post-conflict phase.

Rachel Busse-Reid (nee Busse, 1984) is living and working in Hertfordshire. Rachel is involved in the pharmaceutical industry in Early Development. She was married in 2008 to Brian after 10 years and two children together. She tells us that ‘sisterhood prevails’ and she is constantly bumping into ONLs, most recently at a rehearsal with the Hertford Choral Society.

Vanessa Engle (1980) has produced a three part documentary series entitled ‘Mon£y’ for the BBC. The series aired on BBC 2 in November/December covered three episodes of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, Couples and finally Forty Grand.

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ONLNEWS Hannah Eidinow (1993), 5 times Fringe First winner at Edinburgh has directed Nichola McAuliffe’s play A British Subject at the Arts Theatre, London. Hannah is currently Head of Creative Development at the Pleasance Theatre and is an associate director of The Miniaturists.

Freelance journalist Lucy Tobin (2004) has had a bumper year in 2011. She was named Business Journalist of the Year at the prestigious Santander Media Awards held in November 2011. Earlier in the year she won Young Journalist of the Year at the DLA Piper Journalism Awards, was Highly Commended in the Journalist to Watch category at the WorkWorld Media Awards and was voted Regional Journalist of the Year at the HeadlineMoney awards for financial journalism. Lucy is a freelance writer with the Evening Standard and, fittingly for this issue of Online, she will be part of the Evening Standard’s Olympic team. Somehow she also found time to get engaged (see Engagements in this issue).

Pallavi Gulati (2006) has been offered a Fulbright Scholarship and will be completing her Master’s in International Security at the Josef

Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver this year. She has also been awarded a Fellowship by the Sie Cheou-Kang Centre for International Security and Diplomacy.

I’m also a school governor for a local junior school in Letchworth Garden City, where we’ve lived since 2000.

I’m in touch with a fair number of the class of 1991, always happy to hear from more.

Catherine Dock (nee Halpern, 1991) Married Rory Stewart Dock in July 2008 having already borne two girls – Rebecca Kate Suzannah (14/02/06) and Lucy Jane Eleanor (30/10/07).

Did IT consultancy for a long time, took some time off to have the kids and then somehow fell into a VP role in the Global Technology division at Deutsche Bank in 2008, where so far I’ve travelled about three times round the world in the name of IT. When I’m not making a huge carbon footprint,

Soukeina Tharoo (nee Mamodhoussen, 1998) is currently working in Tanzania as a French Teacher at the International School of Taganyika. She would be happy to provide information or contacts to any NLCS student or ONL who wanted to come out to Tanzania for volunteering or work experience. Particularly those in the teaching or legal sector (her husband runs a law practice there).

If there are other ONLs in the region, she would love to make contact and perhaps form an ONLs in Africa group!

SIXTH FORMERS INITIATE ONL NEIGHBOURHOOD VISITS 2012 sees the start of a new Sixth Form community initiative where small groups of Year 12 and Year 13 NLCS students will make regular visits to ONLs in the neighbourhood who find it difficult to visit their old school. The scheme aims to ensure ONLs unable to visit Canons remain involved with the NLCS family and keep in touch with school news and events through regular visits from current students.

For further information about neighbourhood student visits, please contact Joe Voelker on 020 8951 6376 or email jvoelker@nlcs.org.uk.

Cornwall/Devon ONLA group Eighteen ONLs attended the first Cornwall/Devon ONLA regional meeting in the beautiful setting of The Devon and Exeter Institution Library.

Surrounded by leather bound volumes and seated in comfy old fashioned library chairs, ONLs from across the region exchanged news, views and ideas.

The group aims to meet at least twice

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a year to provide a forum for ONLs living and working in the Cornwall and Devon area to meet each other, socialise and arrange trips and visits to interesting venues and events across the region. Ideas include a tour of the Met Office HQ in Exeter, a visit to the Exeter Recycling plant to discover how recyling really works at and theatre excursions to Plymouth.

The ONLA regional group is managed

by Jill Hall (nee Hankins, 1975) and Alison Nelson (nee Strachan, 1960) and they will be pleased to hear from any other ONLs in the area who would like visit or join the group. Please see contact details below: Jill Hall - jhall22@btinternet.com Alison Nelson - an276@uwclub.net The next meeting is scheduled for Saturday 29th September, 2012 in Exeter.

ONL BOOK CLUB Ruth Padel’s (1964) latest book of prose and poetry ‘The Mara Crossing’, was released by Chatto & Windus, January 2012.

Jane Corry (nee Thomas, 1974) has recently launched her latest book, The Playgroup, under a new pseudonym, Janey Fraser. Amanda Lovejoy, NLCS alumnae officer, joined family, friends and ONLs at The Playgroup book launch at the Players’ Rehearsal & Club Rooms in Craven Street in February in support of Jane’s new venture. Jane also writes under the name Sophie King.

The Playgroup is published by Arrow and draws on much of Jane’s own

life experience. The book has already received a number of rave reviews including one from the author Fay Weldon who said she “read it all the way home”. In fact, her new publishers are so pleased they have advanced the publication date of her next book, The Au Pair, now due out in July 2012.

Arrow is part of the Random House publishing group and to celebrate the publication of Jane’s new book they are offering one lucky reader the chance to win a spa break for two at Champneys! To enter the prize-draw, go to http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/ competitions/janey-fraser-competition.

The closing date is midnight Thursday 3rd May 2012. Do let us know if you win!

BUSINESS SERVICE

Jane Corry

Career Consultant, Susanne Christian (nee Logan, 1976) has authored the second edition of the book Getting into the UK’s Best Universities & Courses.

Susanne is a qualified and experienced careers advisor who has written several careers books. Susan is currently working as a careers coach and employability tutor with all ages, helping people to explore their options including moving into higher education.

Ed’s note: Look out for the kind acknowledgement of the school on page V!

ONLs are a unique and dynamic group of people with careers and life experiences spanning an incredible array of sectors.

We want you feel to the benefit of your association with the school and our aim for the Career Networking Scheme is to be the first port of call for any ONL who is looking for career assistance. By working with other ONLs, parents, and any other contacts we may have, we can offer internship opportunities, work placement and specific career advice to any ONL, regardless of what stage of life they are at.

Please do contact us for any advice or guidance, or if you would like to offer your services as a career mentor.

We are looking to grow and develop our database of experts across all sectors, so if you are able to spare any time to an ONL and offer any

If you are wondering what career your personality and interests make you best suited for, you can contact Old North Londoner Dr Elizabeth Reddish (1973). insight into your area of work, then please let us know. The scheme is constantly evolving, and we would welcome any suggestions you may have to make this service as relevant, useful and informative as possible.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Poorvi Smith (1991) psmith@nlcs.org.uk

Elizabeth is a career consultant who specialises in helping younger people (post-graduate up to early 30s) map out their professional future.

Contact details are: ereddish@executive-action.com or website: www.executive-action.com.

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Annual General Meeting SATURDAY 12th MAY 2012 Notice is hereby given that the Annual

Coffee & pastries will be available

General Meeting 2012 of the Old North

at 9:30am

Londoners’ Association will be held at North London Collegiate School, Canons,

All Members are entitled to attend the

Canons Drive, Edgware HA8 7RJ on

AGM and notice of attendance should

Saturday 12th May, 2012 at 10:15am

be given to onla@nlcs.org.uk, 020 8951 6475 or in writing to Alumnae Office,

ONL groups Regional groups are run by ONLs as a way for ONLs living in the area to meet up on an ad hoc basis, often at each other’s homes, or a local pub or restaurant. If you would like to meet other ONLs in your area, please contact your local area representative.

Cornwall Devon Group Jill Hall (1975) jhall22@btinternet.com Alison Nelson (1960) an276@uwclub.net Gloucestershire Dorothy Farley (1955) 01452 713883 Hampshire Helen Jex (1983) hjex@tiscali.co.uk Lincolnshire Caroline Kenyon (1981) caroline@oakeskenyon.co.uk

AGENDA

North London Collegiate School, Canons,

1. Apologies for absence

Canons Drive, Edware HA8 7RJ no later

2. Minutes of the last AGM 2011

than 27 April 2012.

Midlands Kate Jones (1990) kate.levinson@talk21.com

4. Secretary’s Report

Any Member wishing to nominate another

SW England Audrey Derrick (1952) priorscombe@tiscali.com

5. Presentation of ONLA accounts

Member for election or re-election to the

6. Election/re-election of Committee

Committee at the AGM must do so using

3. Matters arising

Members & Vice Presidents

the appropriate form and in accordance

- Secretary

with the current ONLA constitution.

- Treasurer

Completed nomination forms must be

- Editorial Secretary

received by the Secretary not less than

-

7 days prior to the AGM. Nomination

Young Members’ Representative

- Members

forms and details are available from

-

the Alumnae Office and the Old North

Vice Presidents

7. Any Other Business

FORTHCOMING EVENTS 2012 May 12th ONLA AGM 10th, 20th & 30th Anniversary reunions - Classes of 1982, 1992 & 2002

June 26th Annual Fellowship Lunch

July 1st Annual ONL picnic and games day 10th Class of 2009 summer Pimm's party

September

Londoners’ section of the school website.

West Sussex Mrs Hilary Sherwin-Smith (1960) Hilary@sherwin-smith.com

OVERSEAS Australia Kay Moyes (1965) moyes_kay@hotmail.com Israel Debbie Benstein (1980) dbenstein@gmail.com New Zealand Pauline Miller (1960) prmiller@extra.co.nz

USA Sarah Feldman (1977) feldman05@juno.com

For your diary School Open Days and Events

any arrangements. ONLs are cordially

ONLs are welcome to visit school. Open

of which can be obtained from the school

Days and other events are listed on the

website. Shows and performances are

main school website. If you would like to

scheduled in the Performing Arts brochure

visit on other days please call on 020

which is available as a download from the

8951 6475 or email onla@nlcs.org.uk.

school website and Sports Fixtures are

invited to attend any of the school shows, performances and sports matches details

scheduled under the school Forthcoming Details of ONLA reunions and events are

Events section – www.nlcs.org.uk.

available from the school website www. nlcs.org.uk/ONLAForthcomingEvents.

If you do not have internet access and would like information regarding

ONLs are warmly welcomed back at

forthcoming events, please contact the

school at any time. Please do contact

Alumnae Office on 020 8951 6475

11th Class of 1962 50th Anniversary reunion 13th Class of 1972 40th Anniversary reunion

the Alumnae Office to advise us of your

or by post: ONLA, Canons, Canons Drive,

visit, we would be happy to help with

Edgware HA8 7RJ to request a copy.

December

Sports Captain and long-serving PE staff at the annual ONL picnic and games day on

TBC Fantasy Fashion for KSDP TBC Carol Service and Channukah Celebration

faculty, please contact the alumnae office to ensure they have your details –

To celebrate 2012 as an Olympic year, the ONLA will be hosting a tea for all former July 1st, 2012. If you are either a former Sports Captain or a former member of the PE onla@nlcs.org.uk or 020 8951 6475.