ONLINE MAGAZINE FOR THE OLD NORTH LONDONERS’ ASSOCIATION | ISSUE 23 | 2018
ONLs Following Their passions
PLEASE CONTACT US POSTAL ADDRESS
ONLine, Alumnae and Development Office, Canons, Canons Drive, Edgware HA8 7RJ EMAIL
onla@nlcs.org.uk TELEPHONE
020 8951 6475
EDITORIAL TEAM PRODUCER
Carolina Jayson (ONL 1991), NLCS Alumnae and Development Officer ARTS COLUMNIST
Chloé Nelkin (ONL 2006)
Dear ONLs, I am thrilled to have finally arrived at North London. This first term has been hugely exciting, and everyone has been incredibly helpful and welcoming. I’m getting to know the girls and the staff, and slowly finding my way around this incredible school and its grounds. I am so impressed by the achievements of our Old North Londoners and the confidence and courage they demonstrate as they make their stamp on the world. My Founder’s Day address this year was on this precise theme, exploring the vast array of choices ONLs have made, driven by one common objective – to make the world a better place. I look forward to getting to know many of you over the coming months; in the meantime our Alumnae team thought that you might want to know a bit more about me, and have given me a few questions to answer. I did of course get the big questions out the way first – so do rest assured that the uniform will remain brown and the daffodil procession at Founder’s Day will continue! 2
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Welcome to another edition of ONLine. Our theme focusses on ‘Passions’ and we hope this year’s magazine highlights some of the incredible and diverse issues about which ONLs care so much. For those of you who don’t know us, we are both ONLs, and we left North London in 1991, having started in the Junior School in the early 1980s. As is often the way with ONLs, our paths crossed again over 20 years later; and now, here we are back at NLCS. In terms of our own passions, NLCS ranks very highly. We’re both incredibly grateful for the education we received, and for the beautiful surroundings of Canons. Above all, though, we feel passionately about the North London community as a whole - the incredible bond that connects all ONLs no matter their age, and the unique willingness to help each other. The friendships we made at School and with ONLs along the way mean the world to us, and this is clearly a feeling shared by so many Old North Londoners. 27 years on and a few grey hairs in, old habits die hard. As the others in our office will testify, we’re still very competitive with each other, rarely let the other finish their sentence before we each chip in, and we’re never short of an opinion on pretty much any subject. In spite of all this, we’re great friends, and this (together with a refusal to wear anything brown ever again) sums up the true ONL spirit. Carolina Jayson (née Zubcov, 1991) and Poorvi Smith (née Patel, 1991)
ONLA AWARDS
ONLA Travel Award Navchetan School, Bhuj, India
WRITTEN BY ANANDI THAKRAR (2013)
ONLA Travel Award
Paediatric Ophthalmology in Boston, Massachusetts WRITTEN BY ALICE TANG (2013)
In June 2017, I was awarded an ONLA Travel Award and spent time with Dr David Walton MD, a private paediatric ophthalmology specialist in Boston, Massachusetts. During my 10 weeks there, I learned how to examine eye pressure using a Perkins tonometer, was introduced to using an ocular CT machine and practised the basics of refracting for prescribing lenses. We saw a myriad of eye pathologies among our diverse patient set with some diseases so rare that those patients were themselves beginning to define a new disease subtype, but I could also appreciate the benefits of continuity of care, universal health coverage in Massachusetts (rather special in the US, although something we take for granted at home) and the difficulties in access to care. Dr Walton is pictured here in his office; the walls are covered with photographs of his young patients and their artwork. He consults with patients from all corners of the globe, with some even flying in from Israel and Greece. In his spare time, he is a journal editor and sails around New England. I was particularly struck by a three-month-old patient who had been diagnosed with paediatric glaucoma when his right eye appeared cloudy in comparison to the piercing blue of his left; his mother handled the
diagnosis with strength and included the whole family in the process of care. They scheduled a surgery and the baby kept his vision thanks to the professionalism and empathy displayed by Dr Walton. His kindness and structured approach will certainly impact my clinical care in the future and I remain grateful for the experience.
In June 2017 I led a group of students from the Universities of Nottingham and Warwick out to Bhuj in India to teach in a school for children with disabilities. This was my second time volunteering at Navchetan School, where the volunteers teach lessons in Gujarati, English and sign language to classes with a mix of disabilities. Unsurprisingly, the students surpassed our expectations in a variety of ways. The deaf students were extremely skilled at dancing, despite not being able to hear the music, and were speedier than us at arithmetic. Moreover, the blind children had flawless singing voices and the physically disabled were able to play cricket and badminton better than I could. As most of the students board at the school, we also provided pastoral care, which I could tell had the most impact, as so many students remembered me from the 2015 trip. Thank you to ONLA for the generous donation, which helped towards my travel costs and to buy many resources for the children. This ranged from sports equipment and fancy dress to more basic items such as pens, paper and glue sticks.
Above: Dr Walton with photographs and art work from his young patients Right: Anandi at Navchetan School
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ONLA AWARDS
ONLA Academic Award
Department of Plastics and Reconstructive Surgery, Baltimore WRITTEN BY SAARAH EBRAHIM (2008)
My sub-internship was at the world-renowned Department of Plastics and Reconstructive Surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital. For most of my time I was under the supervision of the Assistant Professor for the regional burn centre of five states. The division oversees 500 cases per year and I was involved with all aspects of patient care. Within a two-month period I saw a large breadth of burns from 1% to 65% of the total body surface area and of different aetiologies (flame, scald, chemical and electrical). I was scrubbed into surgery three days a week, excising and debriding burnt tissue, applying allograft and harvesting split thickness skin graft. The other days were spent in clinic where I would see patients independently, manage their next steps and write up their cases. I also carried out a clerkship under the Director of Oncological Reconstruction and Associate Professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Here, I assisted in complex breast, craniofacial and microsurgical reconstruction. Once a week, I attended the
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department Grand Rounds where influential speakers gave talks on their area of expertise and emerging research. In addition to the clinical aspects, I had abstracts accepted as poster presentations at the Eastern Great Lakes Burn Conference in New York and the British Association of Plastic Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery’s, National Undergraduate Conference. Furthermore, I have been working alongside a Burns Fellow and a PhD statistician, to create an extensive database on inhalational injuries. We have used this data to submit an abstract to the American Burn Association Conference in Chicago, with a series of papers based on National Burn Data to follow. This experience has provided an extensive insight into burns and plastic surgery. I found my time to be thought-provoking, and this has fortified my resolve to commit myself both academically and professionally to a career within Plastics. I am grateful to ONLA for providing sponsorship for this enriching experience.
Above left Harvesting skin graft at donor site using a power driven dermatome Above right With the Burn Division Fellows at Johns Hopkins Hospital Opposite top Wakana Teranaka giving a poster presentation on her findings Opposite bottom Ushani
at the FOCIS 2017 annual scientific conference in Chicago
ONLA AWARDS
ONLA Academic Award Delirium diagnosis
WRITTEN BY WAKANA TERANAKA (2009)
‘Delirium’ refers to acute confusion caused by an underlying illness and affects a high percentage of patients admitted to hospital. It is a complex and multifactorial problem which can slip by unnoticed through medical assessments, cloud clinical judgement and delay effective treatment. It is particularly common in elderly people who have sustained a hip fracture, a cohort I treated as a junior doctor in Spring 2016. Despite the high incidence there is no single diagnostic test that is effective and used universally. I decided to carry out a project comparing existing and new ways to detect delirium to see if one was more accurate than the other. I found that a new questionnaire was able to diagnose delirium more sensitively, even in those with severe dementia whose baseline function may be so restricted that it is difficult to distinguish acute deterioration from the norm. The potential of this test, once stand-
ardised, is that all members of a multidisciplinary team caring for a patient can perform it and work together for a better outcome. This could mean improved post-op mobility; shorter hospital stays; less risk of developing hospital-related complications; and, ultimately, it could maximise the patient’s independence once discharged. This independence is no doubt the most important goal for the patient and their family. I had the opportunity to give a poster presentation of my findings at an international fracture conference in November 2016. Since this new test was devised in the UK many foreign teams have not yet incorporated it into their practice. Moving forwards, I hope my project will benefit patients and medical teams through a potentially long and difficult rehabilitation process, and I will continue to explore other aspects of geriatric medicine, which I wish to pursue in the future.
ONLA Academic Award
Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies 2017 Conference in Chicago WRITTEN BY USHANI SRENATHAN (2010)
I was awarded an ONLA Academic Award to attend the FOCIS (Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies) 2017 annual scientific conference in Chicago. This meeting focused on clinical immunology whilst emphasising the importance of bridging the gap between immunological research executed by scientists and the treatment of immunological diseases in hospitals. As an immunology PhD student researching the contribution of a novel cell subset to causing psoriatic arthritis, attending this meeting was an instrumental opportunity to help further my scientific knowledge for my research. I was honoured to attend talks by some of the scientists at the forefront of developing treatment for immune-mediated diseases. Each day was packed with sessions dedicated to studying cell types in the context of therapeutic development for immune-mediated diseases, including
cancer, arthritis and psoriasis, In the evenings, there were poster and networking sessions where I presented my poster showcasing recent data I generated in
the lab and received invaluable feedback which has helped me design further experiments. Attending FOCIS 2017 was an unforgettable experience.
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FOLLOWING OUR PASSIONS
IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO FOLLOW YOUR PASSIONS! WRITTEN BY ALEXIS ROSE (1996)
Above Alexis Rose Opposite Alexis Rose
in Lysistrata
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Five years ago, I was named as one of Management Today’s ‘35 Women under 35’. I had recently been appointed Director of Operations for Accenture’s Strategy practice across Europe, Africa and Latin America, but I firmly believe what caught the judges’ eyes was that I was at the time rehearsing for the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony as a volunteer performer. At the networking drinks I attended for the quite astounding group
of female entrepreneurs and career women selected that year, all anyone wanted to talk to me about was being a backing dancer for Dizzee Rascal… don’t ask how I ended up in the hip-hop section! Today my ‘double life’ feels a lot more normal – the Olympics turned out to be quite a turning point for me. Before, I rarely talked to my colleagues about what I did outside the office – but having to ask for the extra time off to rehearse sparked a conversation
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which changed my viewpoint. I have always been vocal on the importance of authenticity as a female leader, but I realised that for me to bring my ‘true self’ to work, I had to be open about what I am passionate about – theatre and performance. I did a little bit of theatre at School, including the infamous summer schools with Mr. and Mrs. Podd and Drama GCSE in my Sixth Form, but in all honesty, I lacked the confidence to really make a mark. I never had a leading role, and was only ever in the background in Canons Follies. I was shy, and studious – I never thought I would be able to even admit to my secret passion, let alone pursue it. It would be a decade before I allowed those dreams to come to the surface. In 2006 I was in the office late, filling out a template for a graduate recruitment event about my degree, favourite projects, and my hobbies. Staring at that last empty box, I realised that I was working so hard that I hadn’t been doing anything else. It was a pivotal moment – my desire to sing and act had never really gone away, and the day before I had seen an advert for a singing course on a flyer. On the spur of the moment I signed up, and the spark was lit. A year later, the teacher took me to one side and gently suggest that I enrolled in something more advanced. She was probably the first person to give me the validation to try to have theatre in my life alongside my incredibly demanding career. With new-found self-belief and determination I went on to study musical theatre for three years part-time, firstly at Pineapple Performing Arts in Covent Garden, and then at the American Musical Theatre Academy, before taking the plunge and starting to audition for amateur productions. It was over a year before I got my first ‘yes’ – but I have never looked back. Today I am the Chair of Centre Stage London, a theatre charity with over 50 years of history and one of the top three amateur theatre companies in Central London. I am currently rehearsing my tenth show with them, a new musical adaptation of Lysistrata. Previous shows have included 9 to 5 – the Musical, Evita, Rent and Jesus Christ Superstar. I have also performed with two other companies, and produced
twice, including Fame earlier this year. Igniting that spark has also led to new passions – I have got into theatre photography, and regularly shoot actor headshots and promotional images for shows. Currently I’m teaching myself Photoshop so I can edit my own work and create posters and social media assets. Like many ONLs, I have never stopped loving to learn! It’s not easy. Not only is my day job very demanding, but I also lead Accenture’s programme around Gender in the UK (we are aiming for gender parity across our global business by 2025). In just one day last week I was a guest speaker at a working breakfast, ran a webcast across six geographies in the afternoon and then did a vocal rehearsal followed by a photoshoot in the evening. If I’m doing a show, I rehearse two nights a week plus a weekend day, on top of learning lines and choreography in between. Running a charity staffed entirely by volunteers who also have full-time day jobs takes up an enormous amount of time and can be frustrating, as well as deeply rewarding. Auditions remain incredibly
nerve-wracking, and ‘no’ is never easy to hear. Believe me, once you have sung solo in front of a panel, PowerPoint presentations are easy! But theatre brings me so much inspiration. I have a wide circle of amazing, supportive friends from very diverse backgrounds, and I even met my partner in a show. It’s part of who I am and I can’t imagine my life now without it. Taking that one small step opened up a whole new creative world for me that has brought me so much joy, and provides a very tangible ‘work-life balance’. Following my passion has changed my life immeasurably. I am deeply proud of what I have achieved in my career, but what I do outside the office is just as crucial to me – I firmly believe life is short, and you have to give yourself the opportunity to try new things, to continuously learn, and to meet new people. Perhaps most importantly, when I talk to younger women about being an authentic leader, I can share my story that it is possible to have balance in your life, whatever that means for you, and that it’s never too late to follow your dreams.
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This page A school devasted by conflict and storms in Mayendit, Unity State Opposite left Girls receiving cash transfers through the Girl’s Education South Sudan programme in Old Fangak, Jonglei Opposite right A
workshop with children in Yambio, Western Equatoria
BREAKING INTO INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: ONE ONL’S EXPERIENCE IN SOUTH SUDAN WRITTEN BY ELEANOR CAINE (2007)
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FOLLOWING OUR PASSIONS
I
graduated from university in 2011, the same year that South Sudan became the world’s newest country. Statehood was a hard-won achievement: the result of decades of bloodshed, several failed negotiations and some enthusiastic backing from the United States. Despite being relatively well-informed (once a North Londoner…), I will confess that this seminal moment in post-colonial history did not cross my radar. But four-and-a-half years later, as I found myself packing my bags to begin a new job in the capital, Juba, it transpired that I was not alone in my ignorance - when I told one friend where I was going she asked whether I was sure I didn’t mean Cuba. South Sudan, the world’s newest nation, is apparently still so new that a surprising number of banks, online retailers, even airlines, don’t recognise it in their country dropdown lists, and certain mainstream national newspapers continue to confuse it with Sudan. I was going to this little-known East African nation because of a contact I had made through singing in a choir, who runs a consultancy - Charlie Goldsmith Associates - which implements programmes to build better education and health systems in what are collectively known as Fragile and Conflict-Affected States. Having spent four years working in a selection of PR jobs (some more interesting than others), and looking for a new direction in my career, I had been offered an opening into the notoriously impregnable international development sector, in which I had a long-held interest but no practical experience. Having also read up on the conflict that erupted in South Sudan in December 2013, it took me quite a while to be sure I wanted to go. But eventually I decided I did, so I worked my way through what seemed like mountains of admin, spent hundreds of pounds on endless vaccinations and said a choked farewell to my parents at Heathrow. The aspect of the organisation’s work
that appealed to me the most, and on which I spent the best part of two years working, was a programme funded by the UK Department for International Development called Girls’ Education South Sudan. The world’s newest country has known little apart from war and oppression for over a hundred years, from colonial forces - both British and Egyptian - and from the Northern regime in Khartoum. Unremitting conflict, coupled with chronic underdevelopment and underinvestment, has resulted in an education system that struggles to function. And girls in South Sudan get a particularly raw deal. In many parts of the country, the greatest value that a girl can bring to a family is in the form of a dowry, and decisions in communities are almost always made by men. Domestic and sexual violence is an accepted part of life for many women and girls (something that could be said of a fairly diverse range of contexts and cultures), but has been exacerbated by the pressures of poverty and war. While one remarkable feature of the current conflict is the number of girls enrolling in primary school, very few girls remain in school, and boys are often prioritised for education. My role in South Sudan primarily involved researching and reporting on the work of the Girls’ Education South Sudan programme, which took me to schools in remote communities where there might be 250 children in one class, or nothing for pupils to shelter under except the branches of a tree. The schools I visited could not be further removed from my experience of education at NLCS. Particularly in the parts of the country most affected by war at the time (predominantly the Greater Upper Nile Region), the schools had no textbooks, no pens, no chairs, no blackboards, no toilets, definitely no computers and often no building at all. The majority of the teachers were volunteers, as government salaries have not reached many
places since the current conflict broke out in December 2013. And since the majority of government spending is allocated to ‘security’, there is little left to go around for basic services like health centres and schools. During the time I spent in South Sudan, the situation deteriorated even further; there was a catastrophic outbreak of fighting in Juba in July last year, which marked the bullet-ridden disintegration of a precarious peace agreement. Since then more than 1 million people have become refugees in neighbouring countries. As it stands, in a country of approximately 12 million, 4 million people have been forced to leave their homes and almost 5 million people are on the point of starvation. In spite of all the international energy and money poured into its creation, South Sudan is at risk of becoming a perennially neglected conflict, written off as too difficult to solve. So the situation is bleak. But while I was there I met and worked with people who had fought for their education in a way a privileged white girl from North London can’t imagine. I was involved in running a choir made up of girls from a charity which looks after children who have been found on the streets or in brothels, provides them with shelter and helps to put them through school. I’m now working in London for an NGO on another girls’ education programme, but I wouldn’t hesitate to go back.
Girls’ Education South Sudan: girlseducationsouthsudan.org Charlie Goldsmith Associates (they are often recruiting!): charliegoldsmithassociates.co.uk Plan International UK, where I now work: plan-uk.org
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A NEW AND POSITIVE WORLD WRITTEN BY EMMA CASTLETON (1990)
Above and opposite top
Kisharon School in action Opposite Elias at his
Barmitzvah
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When you are pregnant with your first child, there are so many questions you ask yourself – ‘Is it a boy or a girl? Who will the baby look like? What talents will he or she have? How will life change for me?’ We thought and wondered all of these and so many more when I was pregnant
with my first child. It was an easy pregnancy and I continued working throughout at the Financial Times, where I had a wonderful and fulfilling career from the time I graduated from Manchester University (I still work there now, albeit in a very parttime capacity!).
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When our beautiful son, Elias, was born in October 2003, the one question my husband and I had never asked ourselves was, ‘What if he has a disability?’ Why would we? Disability was something neither of us had encountered in our lives. From the time he was born, we had niggling concerns that something wasn’t quite as it should be, and as time went on, it was clear that he certainly wasn’t developing as one would expect. This early period was very difficult – being told endlessly by doctors that he had a ‘developmental delay’ and that we had to ‘watch and wait’ was a form of torture. Eventually when he was about 18-months-old, blood tests diagnosed Elias with Mowat-Wilson Syndrome, a very rare disorder which means that he has profound learning difficulties, epilepsy and various other ‘issues’. Although this all sounds sad and frightening, being given a diagnosis for our son opened a whole new and very positive world for us. We now understood why his development was different and we could embrace the many wonders of his condition. People with Mowat-Wilson have congenitally happy personalities and are the loveliest people to be around! As with any other child, our thoughts turned to his education and we visited many schools to find the one we believed would give him the opportunity to thrive, meet his own special potential and above all be happy. We chose to send him to a Jewish special needs school called Kisharon. Kisharon means ‘talent’ in Hebrew and it is their ethos that every individual, however severely disabled, has their own talents. The school’s aim is to ensure that these talents are given the chance to flourish. Kisharon School is part of a charity which provides opportunities for people with learning disabilities throughout their lives. It has an integrated nursery where children with special needs learn alongside their mainstream peers. Our two mainstream children attended this nursery as well as Elias and it offered them a wonderful start to their education. Kisharon also has independent living facilities, adult education centres and an amazing social enterprise arm which offers pioneering work opportunities and training. All of these services are run by a
tiny team of dedicated and talented people and the whole organisation is infused with the ‘anything is possible’ attitude which attracted us all those years ago. As time has gone on, I feel more and more privileged to be involved with Kisharon and I am now Chair of Governors of the School and a Trustee of the Kisharon Charity. These roles have been a very steep learning curve for me. Kisharon School is in the pre-opening phase to become a Free School, with a plan to open a brand new state-of-the-art school building. It is the job of the Governors to ensure, with the Head and her senior management team, that we are prepared for this. We have regular meetings and we act as a ‘critical friend’ – driving the school’s development plan forward and helping the team to achieve the very best outcomes for each of the pupils in the school. This task is time-consuming and in some ways onerous but is made easier by the fact that the school is run by such a strong team. The Governors are experts in education and they give their time and knowledge so generously. As a Trustee of Kisharon my involvement is to aid in the fundraising for this wonderful charity. Knowing, as I do, how much they contribute to the lives of the special service users makes this a pleasure. Kisharon’s management team are always full of positivity and new ideas about how to give the learning-disabled community the best opportunities in life and it is this which I feel passionate about for my own son and for all those who benefit from their services. Elias is now nearly 14-years-old, and with the guidance and support of his teachers and therapists at Kisharon, he now walks independently and even has a few spoken words (Postman Pat being the first!). He is so happy at school and his special talent is that he brings joy to everyone who meets him with his huge smile and infectious laugh! He has also taught his parents and his siblings some of the most important lessons in life – tolerance, understanding and even some patience.
If like me all those years ago, you have never met a person with a learning disability, I can promise that if you reach out to this world, it can only enrich your life. www.kisharon.org.uk
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LOVING YOUR JOB IS NOT JUST FOR THE LUCKY FEW WRITTEN BY HANNAH BROWN (2003)
It was a cold December morning and I found myself at a medical spa just outside Milan. When I arrived at the retreat another one of the spa clients (who also happened to be a lawyer) remarked that I ‘looked like death’. And I did. I was completely frazzled. Life as a lawyer in the City was not treating me well. The long hours, difficult personalities and corporate environment were taking their toll.
I
had studied law at university, not out of interest or passion, but simply because I wasn’t sure what else to do. I followed the usual path and qualified as a lawyer in a big City firm at 24. Money and status, I ‘had it all’. Surely then, I should have been happy. Yet I was very unhappy in my career (and given that I spent most waking hours working, I was basically unhappy with life). I found the work uninspiring (I seemed to spend my days pushing money round in circles for people with too much money) and felt suffocated by an environment where I didn’t feel I belonged. I knew that something radical needed to change, but change was frightening – I didn’t know how to do anything other than be a litigation lawyer, and changing careers might risk losing the money and status. So I pretended to myself that I liked my job, that I was happy. Until desperate circumstances lead me to Milan, and I could pretend no more. In my room one evening at the retreat I read a book called How to Find Fulfilling Work by Roman Krznaric (I had stumbled upon the book in the airport WHSmith). I soon discovered that money and status were not that important to me, which came as a bit of a disappointing revelation given that I had spent so many years pursuing precisely these things. I learned that loving your job was not just for the lucky few but something that I
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deserved too, and most importantly, was within my reach. Being an NLCS girl, it was inevitable that whatever career I chose, I would throw myself into it 100% and would spend an unnecessarily long time seeking perfection in every detail of every project. I couldn’t give that level of input for a sustained period of time unless I felt there was some meaning to it. And to find meaningful work, Mr Krznaric taught me, I needed to marry my passion with my career. Thankfully, I already knew what my passion was. Months previously, I had stumbled across some videos on PETA’s website and transitioned from nose-to-tail meat eater to passionate vegan. If I could use my legal skills to improve animal protection, I just might have a shot at finding fulfilling work. Now I needed to find that ‘perfect job’. I researched a career as an animal protection lawyer or campaigner; however I had absolutely no experience of animal protection law. Undeterred, I sought the advice of a careers counsellor back in London with a clear view of what I wanted from the sessions. He gave me the courage to throw myself into networking and volunteering. Within months I had built professional relationships with all the influential people that inspired me in the animal protection community. And it was easy. Networking was enjoyable because I wanted to know
these people, not because they could give me something, but because I genuinely thought they were fascinating. Suddenly everything was falling into place, and a whole, new exciting world opened up before me. Fast forward a few years and I am the Legal and Project Manager for the UK Centre of Animal Law (‘ALAW’). I have advised on all sorts, from protecting pigeons and grey squirrels to bulls in the bullfighting industry. I have lectured across the country and internationally on animal rights law, appearing regularly on the BBC, and I have published work. I do not begrudge the Sunday afternoons spent responding to government consultations or preparing for another lecture; because I am really passionate about the work I do. My experience has taught me the importance of carefully assessing the reasons for choosing a particular job or career path. If you are passionate about money and/or status, then lucky you! If on the other hand your passion does not necessarily marry with a lucrative career, accepting that in a materialistic world can be quite difficult. My advice? Ask yourself whether you are excited about your career. Be honest. If change needs to happen then be brave! My experiences have taught me that with the right kind of attitude, the rewards can be endless.
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SURVIVING THE HOLOCAUST WRITTEN BY HEPHZIBAH RUDOFSKY (1982)
I count myself fortunate in that I seem to have found satisfaction and fulfilment during most of my working life. I graduated from the LSE in 1986 with a degree in Geography (and Economics) and whilst I had originally considered a career in urban and regional planning, I went on to a career in clinical research. This involved the management, design and execution of clinical trials. I was immersed in my work and loved the fact that I could see projects through from their inception to completion. After various milestone events – getting married, moving to Switzerland, returning to London and the birth of my two children – an experience in 2006 in London seems to have become a watershed moment and led to a new chapter in my ‘working’ life. I went along to see a Holocaust-themed play And Then They Came for Me. At the end of the evening, the director presented his vision of how he hoped this play could be taken to schools all over the UK as a tool to teach the lessons about the Holocaust and about racial tolerance. Something stirred in me and I felt that I had to become involved in this production in some guise (obviously not from an acting perspective!). Within days I had been given the role of Schools’ Tour Director and over the following years, I took the play to hundreds of schools and prisons all around the London area. It was incredibly well-received and hugely satisfying. What my NLCS friends had no idea about was that my mother, Zahava Kohn (Kanarek), and her parents survived the horrors of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. I had never discussed my mother’s background with any friends – mainly because my mother had never spoken to us about her experiences. It had always been
a subject that I wished to broach, but it seemed off-limits. I realise that my mother had consciously decided not to speak about this part of her life possibly because she didn’t want to dwell on the past but, in her own selfless way, I think she didn’t want to burden us as a family. And yet it became a focus for me just because it wasn’t spoken about. As the years progressed, I realised that if I were to find out more about this chapter of my mother’s life, it needed to be done soon before the memories would fade. But it never seemed the right time. At around this time, upon the death of my grandmother in 2001, whilst my mother was clearing out her mother’s possessions, she came across a tiny case full of documents, letters and photographs that her mother had managed to keep from the various concentration camps during their ordeal. It was a complete revelation and my mother had no idea about its existence. My mother could so easily have discarded this case without checking its contents. I encouraged my mother to start writing a history for our family based on this archive, and this turned into her memoir, Fragments of a Lost Childhood, which was published in 2009. With the schools tour behind me, I had a new plan which seemed bold at the time. I curated an educational programme entitled Surviving the Holocaust, and since 2009 my mother and I have been visiting schools and museums all over the UK and Germany on a regular basis, presenting her extraordinary story from the wartime years. We have addressed tens of thousands of pupils from all backgrounds and creeds. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, and schools often request that we return to address a different year group the following year. Feedback is always glowing and our audiences are
inspired and often humbled by my mother’s story and comment on how our talks bring this part of history to life. We bring a selection of the original documents to the schools which adds an added dimension to the talks. Pupils are invited to ask my mother questions about her experiences. The window for survivor testimony is becoming increasingly rare – so these sessions are all the more powerful. We have received considerable media coverage over the years, and were the recipients of the Freedom of the City of London for our work in Holocaust education in 2015. We are regular speakers for the charity ‘Speakers for Schools’ as well as regular speakers at the National Holocaust Centre and Museum and the Jewish Museum. I have always had a strong work ethic, been motivated and determined. This latest chapter in my working life (in a voluntary capacity) has undoubtedly been the most fulfilling and rewarding. No amount of money or perks can compare with the continual feeling of purpose, satisfaction and fulfilment that I have derived over these past years. It is also particularly special to be in a position to ‘work’ alongside my mother. I am always moved when my mother states in her modest manner, ‘I was one of the lucky ones’. Hers is a story about resilience, tenacity, recovery and renewal – and it’s this underlying message that resonates with our audiences. I intend to continue doing this as long as my mother is able to do so. In the fullness of time, I may need to rethink and reshape the structure of what I do – my next challenge – but until then I remain deeply committed to, and passionate about my work.
www.survivingtheholocaust.co.uk
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WRITTEN BY JULIA WAGNER (1999)
I CARRIED A WATERMELON
Top left Julia Wagner in conversation with Director Mick Jackson (centre) and writer Sir David Hare (right) at a screening of Denial at the Phoenix Cinema, East Finchley Top right Julia Wagner with Claire Ferguson (right), director of Destination Unknown at JW3
‘I CARRIED A WATERMELON’. YOU KNOW THAT LINE, YOU KNOW THAT FILM.
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FOLLOWING OUR PASSIONS
Dirty Dancing is the story of Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman during her family vacation at Kellerman’s Summer Camp in 1963. She unlocks a passion for dancing thanks to snake-hipped stunner Johnny Castle, and, as we all know, she has the time of her life. Now 30 years’ old, Dirty Dancing became a staple for me and my peers at sleepovers: we learnt the lines, we practised the steps. Relatable yet fantastical, Baby’s transformation from cosseted, naïve, middle-class, Jewish daddy’s girl to sensual, fabulous dancer has come to embody what it means to follow our passions. Dirty Dancing represents two aspects of following our passions. The first relates to Baby’s passion: the idea that you can do anything if you put your mind to it, as Baby has the passion and all she needs to do is learn the steps. The second aspect is how the film ignites our passion. It shows us that film itself is inspiring, transformative, with the power literally to move us. You can’t watch Dirty Dancing without having at least a spring in your step afterwards. My passion for film may have begun with me doing the cha-cha in my pyjamas, but now my passion for watching, analysing and teaching film motivates my work as an educator and writer. However, my career path was not clear when I initially set out in the professional world. When it came to decision-time as I left NLCS in 1999, I heeded the advice of teachers, parents and media industry professionals, who unanimously advised me to study Italian (my other passion), agreeing that a language degree would open more doors for me than a media degree. I threw myself into Italian Studies at the University of Edinburgh and, because I then wanted to be a television comedy producer, I spent my summers working and networking at
the Edinburgh Television Festival, ready to secure employment on graduation. During my undergraduate studies, including a year at the University of Bologna, I chose film courses whenever possible and I couldn’t get enough. The combination of critical thought with the exploration of the history of cinema was a new joy to me. While Film Studies was not available at NLCS, the discipline incorporates elements of subjects I loved at School, including foreign languages, art appreciation and philosophy. Film Studies is interdisciplinary, international, and even has an influential feminist theory: so far, so NLCS. As a graduate, I found myself disillusioned with the day-to-day realities of working in the media industry. One day, I miserably chatted to my friend Hannah (herself an ONL) who asked me when I had been happiest: ‘Writing my final year dissertation’, I replied without hesitation. ‘So do a PhD then’, she proffered. It was with reluctance that it dawned on me that perhaps my passion lay in the theory, rather than the practice, of media. The decision to follow my passion for film back into academia forced me to take stock of my previously-held ambitions. As all career shifts necessitate, I had to reconfigure my aims and self-perception: I quite fancied myself as a black-clad media-luvvie, with a lanyard and a champagne glass. The thought of pursuing an academic career had me worried that I hadn’t matured enough into professional adulthood, that I was only good for what School and university had trained me to do. But I liked the idea of having a PhD, I enjoyed research, and I was prepared to take on the challenge. My PhD explored autobiographical filmmaking practices, specialising in documentary representations of trauma:
not quite the euphoria of Dirty Dancing, but equally compelling. Completing it was a long, hard slog involving set-backs, interruptions and frustrations. I did love doing it, though, and it was worth every grumble and sacrifice. What kept me going was my unfailing passion for the subject and belief in the power of cinema. The trick to following your passions is to do it in a way which works for you practically, as well as emotionally. I worked part-time at film festivals and talent agencies to secure some income and to maintain engagement with the industry. As my doctoral research advanced at UCL, I taught Italian and Film Studies at university, and took on private tuition. I discovered a love of teaching, especially lecturing at seminars and conferences. I refocused my ambitions again after the birth of my second child, in 2014. Academic tenure seemed a distant, impractical and impecunious dream. Flexibility and public interaction became higher priorities. I started working with cinemas, convening filmmaker Q&As. I devised a Film Studies courses for adults which I taught at the Phoenix Cinema and JW3 in 2017. I write for the British Film Institute, the Jewish Quarterly, and blog for the Huffington Post. I hope I’m a little less like Baby these days. Of course, I still dance in my pyjamas, but I no longer feel like I’m carrying a watermelon, staggering awkwardly into an exclusive, adult world. Although I will never stop learning, perhaps I’m a few steps closer to identifying with Johnny, the dance teacher. I’ve watched a lot of bizarre, boring and brilliant films, but if I had to pick a line that motivates us to follow our passions, it would have to be Johnny’s zinger, that other one you know from Dirty Dancing: ‘Nobody puts Baby in a corner’.
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IN MEMORY OF KAREN WRITTEN BY LINDSEY BLOCK (1995)
Like many former NLCS students, I’ve been lucky enough to live a life largely led by my passions. But, we all know that life is not a predictable journey: things happen along the way that can break your heart, turn your world upside down and ignite a whole new set of passions. One of my enduring memories of my days at NLCS was not a particularly obvious one: it was walking to and from the coach stop in order to get to School. It wasn’t a notably long journey or a route lined with spectacular views or historic sites, but it was a walk with my best friend’s older sister, two years above me at
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School, Karen Morris. It was a funny thing spending one-onone time with Karen. She was a slightly mythical character growing up, especially without a big sister of my own. Karen knew real boys, she went to real parties. She was always surrounded by, or on the phone to, her many friends. Her room was a sneak preview of what it might be like to have a social life and be cool one day, although I could never imagine being quite like Karen. Karen was a young woman driven by an array of deep passions. She was an active (and loved) youth leader. She
FOLLOWING OUR PASSIONS
had lived in Israel and France. She was passionate about history, particularly her family roots in Austria (she was studying French and History at Warwick University; her last dissertation was on the rise of anti-Semitism in Vienna prior to 1939 which included a visit to Vienna with her mother to explore her roots first hand). A life crammed full of adventure, exploring and anticipation for the future. And then at just 22 years’ old. Karen was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia.
cut the ribbon on the first Karen’s Home from Home for leukaemia patients and their families at Hammersmith Hospital. As summed up beautifully by a guest following the opening reception: ‘Listening to laughter coming from one of the occupied KMMT flats was magic. It reminded me of how, even in a desperately difficult time, you can have a special moment of fun and happiness. With these flats you have created an environment where families can share these times and forget, just for a moment, the bad bits.’
PASSION WITH COMPASSION
PASSION THROUGH PURPOSE
The news was a tsunami that we just couldn’t comprehend. But somehow it was often Karen pulling everyone through. Karen attacked her illness as she did her life: with steely determination and a graceful fearlessness. As ever, she had time for everyone. Do you know a person whose smile lights up the room? Karen’s did. Observing Karen’s journey as she fought the hardest battle of her life forever humbled me and taught me gratitude for every miracle that a day in healthy mind and body really is. Karen bravely turned her personal battle into a passionate call to action for fundraising: at her first appointment at Hammersmith Hospital she saw an advertisement for the Sue Harris Bone Marrow Trust, contacted them and agreed to front a campaign which resulted in thousands joining the bone marrow register and thousands of pounds being raised. After a few months she asked that all funds raised in her name went to Leuka 2000, the charity for Hammersmith Hospital’s Leukaemia Department. One of my deepest reflections from this time was Karen’s passion with compassion; her kindness and grace through the most unimaginable of times.
18 years on and the Trust continues to go from strength to strength. It now funds four Karen’s Homes from Home at major UK hospitals (Hammersmith in London, Addenbrooke’s in Cambridge, Queen Elizabeth in Birmingham and Churchill in Oxford), with a fifth under discussion in the North of England. These Homes are fully equipped and furnished, offering a warm atmosphere where relations can cook their loved one’s favourite food and relax in comfort after an emotional day. And with the growth towards ambulatory care these flats offer a safe environment for patients to escape the cabin fever of the ward, stay overnight and return to hospital for their daily treatment. Every touching message from a visitor to one of our Homes is a reminder of how Karen lived her life: with passion and purpose, and a need to touch the lives of others in a deeply meaningful way. One of the most exciting things for the Trust’s dedicated team of volunteers (there are no paid staff so 99% of all money raised goes to support the Homes) is learning of a new Trust supporter, someone who never knew Karen but yet is standing there beside her. We talk often of Karen’s legacy, and what is this legacy if it is not, at its core, the passion which Karen instilled in all of us; to live our lives with gratitude, kindness and a burning passion for each of our precious days on this earth.
PASSION THROUGH PAIN Karen passed away in September 1998, just 53 weeks after she was diagnosed. So many hearts broke that day, so many lives changed for ever. There is a choice: to sink or fight. Karen’s utter courage and determination sparked a fire inside us to continue her fundraising efforts and honour as best we could her all too short life. Passion driven by pain and a desperate need to try and make some kind of sense from tragedy. Karen’s mother and sister, Sylvia and Debby Morris, established the Karen Morris Memorial Trust in 1999, and in 2007 Sylvia
Above Karen Morris
For further information about the Karen Morris Memorial Trust or to make a donation please visit www.kmmt.org.uk. Karen Morris was a student at NLCS from 1986-1993. She was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia in September 1997 and passed away in September 1998. Lindsey is a Trustee of the Karen Morris Memorial Trust.
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FOLLOWING OUR PASSIONS
MOVE FAST, BREAK THINGS WRITTEN BY TASVI SHAH (2012)
There’s nothing quite like working for a new, fast-growing start-up. It’s a beautiful combination of like-minded ambitious individuals hustling to manoeuver through the journey of organised chaos together. I work for allplants. Our aim is to take ‘eating plants’ mainstream – helping people lead heathier, more sustainable lives with no compromise on enjoying delicious food – which we deliver around the UK. From our creamy Cashew Mac to our spicy Jerk Jackfruit, we’re trying to break the mould of the ‘bland grass’ vegans eat. My decision to join allplants stemmed from a new interest in food sustainability. During the revision period of my final year at university, I found myself in an endless spiral of reading and watching videos around animal agriculture and its catastrophic impact on the environment. This made me seriously think about the meal choices I make three times a day. Did you know that animal agriculture requires 38% of all ice-free land on our beautiful planet? That this industry produces 18% of annual worldwide greenhouse gas emissions (according to the UN)? And that animal agriculture uses 70% of the world’s freshwater consumption? As a fairly ‘environmentally conscious’ individual, who turns off the lights when leaving the room and recycles as much as possible, hearing these statistics was extremely shocking. I had been completely oblivious to the huge degradation my meal choices were having on the environment, and this was awfully unsettling. So, I decided to do something about this. I went vegan, or ‘plant-based’ (for initially a month, but it’s now been nearly two years!), became more conscious about my general consumption choices, and joined allplants.
allplants officially launched in January 2017, and I joined just a few days after. Since then, we’ve outgrown our office three times over, doubled our recipes online and served over 100,000 meals to date. However, this is microscopic compared to the impact our customers have had – by simply eating ‘allplants’, they have so far saved over 18 million gallons of water, 16,000 animal lives and more than half a million square feet of forest lands so far. Working for an extremely fast-growing start-up is tremendously exciting. We’re keen to foster agility, adaptiveness and efficiency in all areas of the business – which means quick decisions, changing course from one day to the next and endless problem-solving. However, living by Mark Zuckerberg’s motto ‘Move fast, break things’, I’ve learned that rapid growth often gives rise to mistakes, oversteps, errors. And without a doubt, herein lie the greatest learnings. For each catastrophically (or even menial) issue that arises, the whole team would drop everything and come running to help create a solution – without fail. That’s the beauty of working in such an intimate, trusting and dependent environment. Not only can we rely on each other to help with anything when the time comes, but we’re also constantly learning from each other.
A growing business with a small team of eight people also means each ‘department’ (which is usually one person!) interacts directly with every other component of the business. I’ve dived deep into all these areas, from operations and funding to growth and marketing – and everything else in between. In my first six months of joining allplants, I had the opportunity to organise our stall at Taste of London, engage in key decisions to steer the direction of the company, recruit new interns and even cook in the kitchen. Oh, and – possibly the most important – learning to adopt the sophisticated technique of expertly critiquing food during taste tests. There’s also something very special about working with a group of people who share the same passion, values and drive as you – to change the way people eat, and think about eating, for the good of people and the planet. From trying to persuade Jeremy Corbyn to taste our food, to serving up our special seven-course allplants lunch at Vogue House, to tweeting JME (the rapper) about our delicious meals, and enjoying a continuous supply of vegan goodies in the office – on top of working with a team who are continuously inspiring, positive and damn cool – the journey has been, and will continue to be, so much fun.
‘RUN BEFORE YOU CAN WALK’ I was always dubious about the skills and formal training one can obtain through starting one’s career in a start-up, compared to a large firm. While budgets cannot stretch to formalised training, ‘learning by doing’ is the best training. You actually get to DO a lot – and with this autonomy comes responsibility, freedom and great erudition.
If you have any questions about working for a start-up or going plant-based – or even if you’d just like to chat – feel free to drop me a message at tasvi_shah@hotmail.com. Here’s a discount code for £10 off your first order from www.allplants.com: TASVISENTME.
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FOLLOWING OUR PASSIONS
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? WRITTEN BY NADIA BLACKSHAW (2014)
Growing up we are asked what we want to be when we are older. The answers for me evolved from fairy to princess, gymnast to writer. But when I was 16, just about to go into Sixth Form, the answer had to be more realistic. Throughout School, I loved science and I also loved to write but after searching for a joint course in physics and history, I decided to take on the wondrous world of physics alone at university. I was extremely fortunate to get into Cambridge for Natural Sciences. The course would allow me to pursue my love of physics but also give me a wider range of courses to study within science. As first year became second, I felt my real passion really did lie with physics and I was starting to dream of being a world-class physicist working at CERN or another lab. However, in my second year I took an extra course in the History and Philosophy of Science. I had loved history at School and thought this course would be interesting and a nice relief from the everyday maths involved with physics. Soon, it was the philosophy of science that fascinated me. I could build on my scientific background but answer questions about reality and the big picture that we never had time for in undergraduate physics. And so again, I faced the decision of whether to stick with my first love of physics for my third year, or take a risk on a new discipline. Again, I chose physics.
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My third year was amazing. We were finally learning about cutting-edge theories like Relativity and Quantum Mechanics but I never quite let go of my love for the philosophy, even touching on philosophical themes in my research review at the end of year. I didn’t write on the physics of supernova or nanoparticles, but instead focused on the possible inclusion of consciousness into Quantum Mechanics. But, the year ended and the most obvious path was to do a fourth year in physics. I had decided to go along with it and even applied. But that nagging feeling originating from lectures in my second year, growing from my research review, couldn’t be ignored any longer. And so, I did what most scientists would consider crazy and moved across into a more arts-based subject. I am now a week into term of my Master’s in History and Philosophy of Science, and it’s two months after my decision to switch. It has been incredible! I no longer get slightly bored of continuous maths equations. Instead, I am learning about the subject I knew I loved back at School, but from a new unique angle. My focus is on the philosophy of physics, mainly the interpretations of Quantum Mechanics. In a few months my life has done a complete 180 degree flip, and yet I have never been so excited for the future. I am attending a variety of lectures across multiple
departments and am even starting a PhD proposal. Looking back to my decision at the end of my second year to stick with physics, I sometimes wonder if I made the right one. Clearly, my passion now lies in the philosophy of physics and maybe I could have started a year earlier. However, I don’t regret my choice. Even though it was the path of least resistance, it gave me valuable knowledge that has helped me immensely in my new chosen field. It is often hard to tell where your real love is, especially at university when it feels like your next move will determine your entire life. But I have learned that life is more stop-start than that. I chose an odd extra course in my second year, because of a love for history stemming from my time at NLCS and a distant dream of combining the sciences and the arts. Little did I know that it would begin a new path where I suddenly feel more at home and ready for the future. So, my story might seem like a message about how you can always change your mind, but it is more about always following your passion. Passions change, and that is ok, but realising the change and not being scared to go with it can be the most rewarding experience ever. It is terrifying, trust me, as someone who has gone from calculators to book lists, but in the end, it’s a step I’d take again and again.
M AY FA IR & PA RK L A N E H AV E THEIR CH A R MS
BUT, AS EVERY NORTH LONDONER KNOWS, THE TRUE PRIME PROPERTIES ARE TO BE FOUND AT CANONS.
Whether your heart is set on leafy Lime Avenue, fun-filled Budge Square or the elegance of the Drummond Room, it is all there for the taking in North London Collegiate’s new custom Monopoly set and it is not just the locations that have been adapted. Pick up a community chest or a chance card and you will find many familiar aspects of school life. Be prepared to be fined for forgetting the words of To be a Pilgrim, or win some cash for remembering your daffodil on Founder’s Day. The North London Collegiate School Monopoly set is available now, at a cost of £35 plus postage and packaging, or through collection from the School. To order your own limited edition set please go to www.tinyurl.com/ nlcsmonopoly and for any queries email Leoni Kohler at nlcspgenquiries@gmail.com 2018 | ONLINE
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INTERVIEW WITH SARAH CLARK Tuesday 16 January 2018
‘My whole career has been about trying to enthuse girls with a love of learning’
WHY NLCS? I’ve always wanted to be the Head of a leading girls’ day school. I am a historian, and the fact that NLCS was the first girls’ day school to be founded, and that it has such an incredible history and a tremendous commitment to the kinds of principles that I absolutely espouse, made it a dream job. I never thought this kind of opportunity would ever come up, so when the phone call came asking me to apply I couldn’t believe it.
AS A HEAD, WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU? I can’t tell you how many ONLs I’ve met in the last two weeks or so who have said, ‘I was a bit of a rebel at School’ – I was too, and what this school does, and what all schools should do, is inculcate the confidence to question. Why shouldn’t you be taken seriously; why shouldn’t you be listened to? Why shouldn’t your ideas and
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thoughts have as much weight as anyone else’s? I think a lot of girls are lacking that self confidence to question at a fundamental level. Cheryl Sandberg once commented that women should ‘sit at the table’ and it was such a brilliant thing for her to say. We have a tendency to go into a boardroom and sit at the back. I was always taught to take my place and if someone doesn’t like it, they can tell me. My whole career has been about trying to enthuse girls’ love of learning, but also to teach them to take responsibility for their thoughts and actions, to build their confidence and resilience, and to pursue their dreams and ambitions.
WHAT ARE YOUR FIRST IMPRESSIONS? Gosh – there’s a huge amount going on, which is fabulous. It’s a much bigger school than my previous school, almost double the size of it – so I have an overwhelming
Photo credit: The Queen’s School
INTERVIEW WITH SARAH CLARK
sense of not just the geography of the place, but the sheer energy that flows through it. It’s vibrant, extremely friendly and the girls are hugely impressive – both in lessons and in the huge range of extra-curricular activities that take place here. I am particularly pleased to see how proactive the girls are in leading discussions and organising their societies. The teaching staff are experts in their fields and their passions also shine through – from Beethoven to Borges! Our support staff are also marvellous; hugely helpful and passionately committed to the School. It really is a pleasure to work in such a dedicated and committed community.
WHAT MAKES A GOOD HEAD? I think it’s important to be yourself – to be authentic. A good head genuinely cares about the children in their school and wants to create a positive environment for everyone to work well in. We’re fundamentally a ‘people’ business and it’s all about communication; it’s about honesty and commitment to what you believe, but also having the ability to take a step back, to review, analyse and listen. Fundamentally, it’s about doing the best you can to encourage and enable young people to grow and develop in a balanced, thoughtful and intellectually satisfying way. We want students to challenge and question. More than ever in this modern world of social media and ‘fake news’, we want them not to just believe what they hear or what they’ve been told, but to read carefully, judge thoughtfully and not to be drawn into making inferences and assumptions without evidence to support their conclusions. My whole career has been about trying to enthuse girls with a love of learning and also about trying to get them to take responsibility for their thoughts and their actions. A head has to be confident; they have to have a real sense of purpose and a direction that they want to go in; they have to want to
work with people, and to accept that he or she is working for the institution as well as with the institution. My job is to hopefully leave North London in a better, stronger place than I’ve found it – and it’s already in an enviable and impressively strong place. So that’s a big challenge, but it’s one I am really looking forward to!
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE SUBJECT AT SCHOOL? Classical Civilisation. I was blown away by the Roman world at school. I absolutely adored it – but I was terrible at Latin and Ancient Greek. Then I realised I could study Classics without having to translate heaps of Hesiod or reams of Cicero, and it was an astonishing moment. The Classical world is just incredible; it’s all there – everything we are concerned about today; love, literature, science, extraordinary artworks, terrible wars and conquests, the rise of dictatorship and the challenge of democracy… and the Greeks and Romans were dealing with all these issues at the same time as not having decent sewage systems and having an average life expectancy that rarely exceeded 40.
WHAT BOOK ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING? I’ve usually got a few on the go at any one time. Currently, I’m reading Fire and Fury. I have taught American history and politics for many years during my career and I have been following the Trump Presidency with concerned interest. I’m also balancing that with the Tolkien translation of Gawain and the Green Knight. I saw the recent documentary by Simon Armitage over Christmas and I wanted to read a different translation of the original. It’s absolutely beautiful.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE MEMORY FROM SCHOOL? There was a school trip to Italy that I went on when I was about 14. To go to Rome and to Florence at such a young age was just amazing. I love Italy – the food, the history
and the people. I love leading and accompanying school trips abroad; there is so much to learn through travel.
WHO WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO DO A CARPOOL KARAOKE WITH? I’m going to say Kate Bush, because I didn’t get to see her at the Hammersmith Odeon, and I’m a huge fan. Or Guns N’Roses.
YOU ARE A KEEN BELL-RINGER; WHAT MADE YOU TAKE THIS UP? Bell-ringing is an ancient and marvellous thing! There’s a tradition in England, and it’s almost uniquely English, that we ring bells in particular patterns in order to call people to worship. Bell-ringing developed in a particular way in England during the late Medieval period because we learned how to use wheels and ropes in order to control when the bells can be rung. This means that we can ring in particular orders, called ‘changes’, and also that we can ring recognisable tunes called ‘methods’. Method ringing can be competitive, like a sport. It can take over three hours of continual ringing to complete a ‘peal’ of changes – so it can be quite a physical as well as a mental challenge! So I love bell-ringing because of the mental and physical discipline that it takes to do it, as well as the sense of coming together as a community. I’m not an especially religious person, but I find something very profound about the history, the tradition and the spirituality of really well rung-bells! I think it’s particularly important as a Head to have hobbies or do something else as well as work – otherwise I think you can become jaded very quickly. Also, as adults in a school environment we are all role models, and I want our girls to see how we can balance our jobs with other interests, enthusiasms and pastimes. Encouraging the girls to lead a balanced and productive life is at the heart of what we do as educators.
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BOOK CLUB
BLOOD SISTER BY JANE CORRY (1974) Three little girls set off to school one sunny May morning. Within an hour, one of them is dead. Fifteen years later, Alison and Kitty are living separate lives. Kitty lives in a care home. She can’t speak, and she has no memory of the accident that put her here, or her life before it. Art teacher Alison looks fine on the surface. But the surface is a lie. When a job in a prison comes up she decides to take it – this is her chance to finally make things right. But someone is watching Kitty and Alison. Someone who wants revenge for what happened that day. And only another life will do...
THE DEMON HEADMASTER: TOTAL CONTROL BY GILLIAN CROSS (1964) Gillian Cross’s Demon Headmaster books have been popular since the original book was first published in 1982, and the books were the basis for a very successful television series in the 1990s. Now the Headmaster returns in The Demon Headmaster: Total Control. With characteristic cunning, he has adapted to today’s world, and a new group of children are faced with baffling and perilous changes in their school. Suddenly, everyone seems to have a unique special skill. Ethan is startling-
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ly brilliant at football; little Tyler has become an expert in robotics; and Lizzie, Tyler’s sister, is exceptionally good at – being bad. Where have these new skills come from? And why? Could this be something to do with their mysterious Headmaster?
THE HOUR OF SEPARATION BY KATHARINE MCMAHON (1975) March 1939. Estelle is the headstrong daughter of Fleur, a Resistance legend who disappeared during the Great War, supposedly killed while helping Allied soldiers to escape. Christa, an only child, longs to break free from the constraints of London suburbia, and fantasises about the ethereal Belgian heroine who saved her father. When Estelle comes looking for the truth about the mother she believes deserted her, an intense friendship grows between the two young women. Estelle invites Christa to De Eikenhoeve, her family’s idyllic country estate. There, Christa encounters Estelle’s two brothers – brooding, tempestuous Robbe and dependable, golden-haired Pieter – and during that long hot summer, passions run high. When war breaks out Christa is forced to return home, but not before she has done something she will regret for the rest of her life. Christa arrives back in England a
changed woman, while Estelle decides to follow in her mother’s footsteps and join the Resistance. Little do they dream that Fleur was betrayed by someone close to them, and that the legacy of this betrayal will have heart-breaking consequences for them all.
THE CHOICE BY VALERIE MENDES (1958) ‘Find Moira for me. Tell her I’m sorry.’ These are Walter Drummond’s dying words to his daughter, Eleanor, on his deathbed in Woodstock in January 1936. Eleanor has never heard the name Moira before, and she dare not even say it to her mother. Yet she becomes haunted by the mysterious woman who consumed her darling Daddy’s thoughts in his final hours. Who on earth was Moira? How strong a hold did she have over Walter Drummond? And why? So begins Eleanor’s quest to uncover the truth about her father and his past. What starts as a promise becomes an obsession, and in Eleanor’s determination to find Moira, she discovers things about her father she would much rather never have known. It is a journey that takes her to Cornwall, to a tiny artist’s cottage by the sea, to a passionate first love affair – and the discovery of a devastating secret.
BOOK CLUB
WHERE PEACOCKS SCREAM BY VALERIE MENDES (1958) ‘The feathers of an angel, the voice of the devil, and the feet of a thief.’ That’s how the mysterious stranger describes the peacocks when he comes to stay at The Riverside, the Oxford pub where twelve-year-old Daniel lives with his Mum and Dad. But could the description fit the man himself? Daniel thinks the stranger may have been stalking him all summer on Port Meadow. His suspicions are confirmed when, several weeks after the man’s arrival at his home, he makes a disturbing discovery. What does he find? Does it prove the man is a villain? If so, what exactly might this mean for Daniel and his family? How much danger are they in? And why, after the man has vanished, does the haunting begin in earnest – and with deadly intent? Set in Oxford and Wolvercote, Where Peacocks Scream is a gripping new mystery for nine-to-twelve-year-olds from the author of the bestselling Girl in the Attic.
THE GEPRUFT – THE REMARKABLE SECOND WORLD WAR LETTERS OF PRISONER OF WAR JOHN VALENTINE AND HIS WIFE URSULA BY FRANCES ZAGNI (DAUGHTER OF URSULA GRIFFIN, 1932) Shot down in May 1942, Bomber Command observer and navigator John Val-
entine saw out the rest of the Second World War as a prisoner in Germany. During that period, he wrote extensively to his wife Ursula, telling her of his survival, the circumstances in which he was shot from the sky, his capture, and the daily rigours of life as a prisoner of war. Extraordinarily, and despite being extremely ill, when John was finally liberated he brought back all the letters he had received from Ursula. Across all their correspondence, parts of which had been blacked out, the word ‘Gepruft’ (meaning ‘checked’ in German) had been stamped by the German censor. These letters, which have been compiled and edited by John and Ursula’s daughter Frances, provide a unique and unprecedented insight into how two people struggled to find solace, and keep their hopes and love alive despite the anxieties of John’s dangerous operational life and his three years behind barbed wire. A truly remarkable and comprehensive account of the effect of the Second World War on the life of a young married couple, and their generation.
DYSLEXIA IS MY SUPERPOWER BY MARGARET ROOKE (1979)
teachers about what helps them in school and they are very clear about what their talents are. They are very eloquent and their contributions come from the heart. For instance, Isobel, 17, from Buckinghamshire, says, ‘If someone found the solution to global warming or cleaning the oceans would people not listen because it was spelt wrong?’ Elliot, 17, from Stirlingshire, says, ‘Ideas shoot from my head and I come up with out-of-the-blue solutions to problems and difficulties... When I couldn’t write water when I was eight or nine I wrote H20 instead.’ The children explain how they have used their strengths and determination to overcome their difficulties and why, despite sometimes harsh experiences, they feel that dyslexia is something positive in their lives. Some say it makes them great at problem-solving, art, 3D thinking, maths or simply kinder friends. Many say their minds work in different ways and they wouldn’t change this for anything. This puts their thinking in line with recent statements from Jamie Oliver, Sir Richard Branson and others.
This is the first time that a book has been published in the words of young people with dyslexia. The children talk about their lives, what has held them back and what pushes them forwards. They use this opportunity to tell their parents and
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ARTS CORNER
Escape into a good book WRITTEN BY CHLOÉ NELKIN (2006)
I have fond memories of the NLCS Library and, when I left, spent many a day during my university studies at the British Library, London Library or the amazing vault-like space of The Courtauld Institute Library itself. Books offer a form of escapism, much in the same way as other art forms like going to the theatre or an exhibition. Author Jane Corry (née Thomas) who left NLCS in 1974 never doubted what she wanted to do; she began writing stories and poems as soon as she could read. At her NLCS interview, at the age of seven, she talks of the following experience: ‘Dame Kitty gave me a book to read. I told her that I had already borrowed it some months ago from the local library. She gave me another. I’d read that too! The same went for the third. After that, we just sat and talked by the roaring fire in her study about how I wanted to be a writer when I grew up.’ English was Jane’s favourite subject and the lessons made her feel good about herself; she has fond memories of writing ‘compositions’ as they were then known. As many of us will no doubt agree, Jane felt there was nothing like getting lost in a story and she loved becoming part of the world she created. After graduating in English from Reading University, Jane worked as a journalist. She turned freelance when she had children, contributing regularly to 26
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women’s magazines and national newspapers and, until recently, was the columnist of the ‘Diary of a First-time Gran’ in the Daily Telegraph. One of the most interesting aspects of her varied and successful writing career was when she became writer-in-residence to a high-security men’s prison, a job which gave her an interest in life behind bars. This inspired her to write her debut thriller My Husband’s Wife which became an international bestseller. Jane had fulfilled her life-long ambition to become a novelist. Her success has continued and Jane’s recent book Blood Sisters got to Number 6 in The Sunday Times and The Dead Ex comes out with Penguin this June. Jane remained involved with the prison sector and is now a judge on The Koestler Awards which are prizes given to men and women in prison for art and writing. As a life story judge, she looks for entries which show a sense of voice and personality. There can be no doubt that Jane’s school English lessons really helped ignite her passion. She recommends that people should ‘just write. Begin with whatever comes into your head. Experiment with different genres. Don’t worry about current trends. Base your story around a subject about which you are passionate. Yes - it is hard to get published. But someone has to get there. So why not you?’ NLCS taught Jane that anything is possible, providing you believe in yourself.
Chloé Nelkin Consulting specialises in PR, events and consultancy with a focus on visual arts, theatre and opera. CNC offers an internship scheme to those who are considering public relations as a career option. Internships last for a minimum of one month and expenses are paid. A love of the arts is essential! This scheme allows people to get a feel for working at a busy Soho office. If you would like to be considered, email info@chloenelkinconsulting. com along with your up-to-date CV and a short covering letter, marking the subject box as ‘internship’.
If you have any involvement in the arts, please do get in touch at info@chloenelkinconsulting. com. To keep up-to-date with my art news and clients, check out chloenelkinconsulting.com.
ONL NEWS
All the team at NLCS wish Barbara Michaels (née Livingstone, 1936) a very Happy 100th Birthday
Roma Agrawal (2001) has published a new book BUILT which came out in February. It’s a popular science book about how we build our world. It takes a unique look at how construction has evolved from the mud huts of our ancestors to towers of steel that reach the sky. Ella Baron (2014) graduated from Oxford last summer with a first in English Literature. She is a political cartoonist. She’s been published in The Guardian and The New Statesman and is about to start a weekly strip for The Times Literary Supplement. She was recently named The Young Cartoonist of the Year in the Under 30s category. An article about the prize can be found here: www.seh. ox.ac.uk/news/ella-baron-wins-young-cartoonist-year-competition
Helen Cuthbert (née Pratt, 1991) and Natalie Mannion (née Jolley, 1991) enjoying a ski trip together. Katja Fenton (1998) and her husband, Leonardo, now living in the Netherlands, welcomed their first child, Giacomo Leonardo, in September 2017.
Claudia Hallett (née Dougall, 2007) and her husband, Nicholas, welcomed their baby daughter, Aurora Thea Arabella, in November 2017. Zelda Harris (née Bitterman, 1946) was recognised in fifth place by The Jewish News in its ‘Jewish Agency Aliyah 100’. This list celebrates one hundred Jews who moved from Britain to help shape the modern State of Israel.
Mariella Mostyn-Williams (2013) recently graduated from Cambridge and is producing this year’s Black Star International Film Festival in Accra, Ghana. The goal of the festival is to help create and build global connections through film. Sarah Schechter (née Barsam, 1975) has been awarded a Bye Fellowship at Murray Edwards College, Cambridge.
Above A few of the Class of 1975 travelled down to Devon, to the house of Jill Hall (née Hankins, 1975), where they spent the weekend together and chatted into the early hours just like when they were at School.
Johanne Hutchison (née Walton, 1998) and her husband, Iain, welcomed their first child Isla, in September 2017. Isla is the third granddaughter for Dorothy Walton, a former Maths teacher at NLCS. Michelle Knight (née Soskin, 1981) was awarded The Evelyn Baker Medal from The Association of Anaesthetists. The award is given for outstanding clinical competence, recognising the ‘unsung heroes’ of clinical anaesthesia. This is the high point of her professional career and Michelle is proud to represent the ethos that was taught to her in her years at North London. Emma Ludlow (1998) is now a personal trainer and fitness writer and blogger. She runs her own personal training business in the Pinner area and is a finalist in this year’s UK Blog Awards in the sport and fitness category. swingoutsisters.com/blog
Suzy Taylor (née Field, 1987) is most known for her paper-cutting work, and she is also a surface pattern designer and illustrator. She was asked this year, by HarperCollinsNY, to illustrate the covers for three anniversary editions of Little House on the Prairie by Mary Ingalls Wilder. Anna Wintour (1967) was made a Dame Commander at a Palace ceremony by the Queen for services to fashion and journalism in May 2017.
e’d love to hear W more news from ONLs. Please keep us updated by emailing us at onla@nlcs.org.uk
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ONL GROUPS
ONLA CAREERS NETWORK NLCS is a community for life and the School’s relationship with its pupils extends far beyond their time at Canons. ONLs are a unique and dynamic group of people with careers and life experiences spanning an incredible array of sectors. Young or old, there is an instant bond between them and an amazing willingness to support each other. The ONL Careers Network was established several years ago to capture this spirit and to offer specific career advice and support to any ONL, regardless of what stage of life they are at. As an ONL myself, it irked me that boys’ schools around the world had their ‘Old Boys’ networks and yet girls schools with equally incredible resources were less vocal about them. So over the last two years, we decided to take the ONLA Careers Network a step further and set up specific career societies for different industry sectors. Currently we have: Law, Media, The Arts, Business & Finance, STEM and Women in Medicine. There is no doubt that we will continue to expand these in the years to come. The purpose of these societies is to provide informal networking forums for ONLs at all stages of their career, ranging from those simply considering a career in a specific industry, to those well-established within their sector. They provide support to current students about their career choices, and help to promote different industry sectors, identify the challenges that women may face within them and very importantly, how to overcome them. Regardless of career or industry, there are a number of common challenges that almost all women face in their working lives. In June this year, we are holding an event that spans all our career societies, where ONLs will hear from prominent women across a number of industry sectors about how the working
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environment has changed for women over the years and the challenges they still face. We hope you’ll be able to join us, full details are in our Forthcoming Events section on the back page. Now more than ever, there is a global emphasis on supporting women in their careers and establishing a work/life balance regardless of family situations. We want our students and ONLs to be aware of their choices, and to have the courage to define success in their own terms rather than what they feel is expected of them. That is why I feel so passionately about the ONLA Careers Network and the support ONLs can, and do, give to one another. For me, this ethos was summed up perfectly by another ONL on social media recently: ‘The truly amazing thing about all the ONLs I know is the confidence to follow the most appropriate path for them, and then be able to excel at that. The timing doesn’t matter, nor the labels attached. Breaking the mould fabulously is what makes the best ONL.’ If you are interested in joining one of our existing societies, please register your interest at onla@nlcs. org.uk. Likewise, please email us if you would like any career support, or if you are able to offer career advice.
Poorvi Smith (ONL 1991) Alumnae Officer
ONL GROUPS
Join our ONLA Societies on Facebook or email us at onla@nlcs.org.uk
Above Sydney Group Lunch Above middle Midlands Group Lunch Above right Hampshire Group Autumn Meeting
ONL REGIONAL GROUPS The regional groups each have their own private Facebook group which is managed by the Alumnae Office. To become part of the group please simply befriend ‘Frances Mary Buss’ (look for the daffodils!) and ask to be added to the relevant group. If you are going on a gap year or simply abroad on a holiday do consider contacting the regional groups as they would love to help you plan your time away. If you would like to become a regional or overseas group coordinator, please email us at onla@nlcs.org.uk. CORNWALL/DEVON Jill Hall (née Hankins) jill22hall@gmail.com Alison Nelson (née Strachan) an276@uwclub.net NLCS - ONLs Cornwall & Devon We are looking for another Group Coordinator for the Cornwall / Devon area. Please get in touch if you’d like to get involved. EAST ANGLIA Margaret Angus (née Claydon) maa@angi.me.uk NLCS - ONLs East Anglia GLOUCESTERSHIRE Dorothy Farley (née Coode) Tel: (01452) 713 883 NLCS - ONLs Gloucestershire HAMPSHIRE Mandy Collins ALCollins@doctors.org.uk Spring Meeting: 14 April, Chandler’s Ford NLCS - ONLs Hampshire LINCOLNSHIRE Caroline Kenyon (née Brandenburger) Tel: (01673) 828 302 caroline@thefoodawardscompany.co.uk NLCS - ONLs Lincolnshire
MIDLANDS Kate Jones (née Levinson) (01564) 776 571 Kate.Levinson@talk21.com NLCS - ONLs Midlands SOUTH WEST Audrey Derrick (née Dickinson) Tel: (01823) 421 323 priorscombe@gmail.com Spring Meeting: 21 April 2018, Warminster Autumn Meeting: 13 October 2018, Bath NLCS - ONLs South West England
ONL INTERNATIONAL GROUPS
AUSTRALIA - Sydney Kay Moyes (née Hannah) Tel: (0416) 002 701 moyes_kay@hotmail.com NLCS - ONLs Australia FRANCE – Sevres Laura Pyke-Jean laurapyke@yahoo.com ISRAEL – Givat Sharet Debra Benstein (née Kestel) dbenstein@gmail.com NLCS - ONLs Israel NEW ZEALAND - Auckland Helen Chipper (née Marr) (0064) 2124 70447 j.h.chipper@xtra.co.nz NLCS - ONLs New Zealand USA - New York Sharmila Sani (née Nandwani) sharmilany@aol.com
USA Spring Meeting Monday 21 May 2018, 6–8pm, The Harvard Club, New York, hosted by ONL Sharmila Sani (née Nandwani) Dress Code: Business Casual For more information, please contact Deborah Sobel at dsobel@nlcs.org.uk
WE ASKED LAURA PYKE-JEAN (1987) FRANCE ONL INTERNATIONAL GROUP COORDINATOR FOR A FEW TIPS WHEN VISITING FRANCE Don’t just stick to Paris or the Ile-deFrance. Take advantage of the great transport systems to travel around the country whether you’re into the seaside, the mountains or city breaks. Rideshare app BlaBlaCar was started up by a Frenchman and it’s widely used in France, as are the new low-cost coach operators, in addition to regular trains, TGVs and short-hop domestic airlines. Motorways are well-maintained but expensive as they have tolls. Also, if you’re looking for accommodation in France, remember that most flats and houses are rented unfurnished and given that it’s hard to evict tenants under French law (even those who don’t pay their rent on time) it can also be equally challenging to find a place as you often need a good ‘dossier’, especially in the Paris area. As a result flat-sharing is becoming increasingly popular.
IS THERE ANYTHING SPECIAL YOU WOULD RECOMMEND? Too many to mention, really. A ‘café noisette’ (small espresso with a splash of milk, so-called as it’s the colour of a hazelnut or ‘noisette’) on the terrace of a bustling French café on a sunny day is pretty near my idea of heaven, no matter which French town it’s in. If any ONLs are living in France and would like to get in touch please contact me directly so we can organise coffee or drinks.
Laura Pyke-Jean (1987) laurapyke@yahoo.com
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DEVELOPMENT
THANK YOU!
ANNUAL FUND 2016-2017
This has been a very successful year for fundraising at North London; we are always grateful for gifts of all sizes towards the Bursary Fund and to capital projects. We were thrilled to receive significant donations as follows –
Thank you to all those who supported our inaugural Annual Fund last year. This campaign allowed the School to purchase a range of items and pay for diverse activities that have benefitted students across both the Junior and Senior Schools, including a new piano for the Music Department, waterpolo equipment, and Lego Mindstorms (an online platform for the development of programmable robots based on Lego).
ÌÌ A PLEDGE OF £250,000 FROM SOME CURRENT PARENTS TOWARDS CAPITAL PROJECTS – THIS WILL BE THE LARGEST NON-LEGACY GIFT IN THE SCHOOL’S HISTORY, TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE ÌÌ A TRANSFER OF £131,000 FROM ONLA, FROM WHICH WE HAVE CREATED THE ONLA BURSARY, TO COVER THE COSTS OF AN 80% BURSARY OVER 7 YEARS ÌÌ A GIFT OF £100,000 FROM THE FAMILY OF A DEPARTING YEAR 13 STUDENT FOR BURSARIES, CAPITAL FUNDS, AND THE RESURFACING OF TWO TENNIS COURTS ÌÌ A GIFT OF £65,000 FROM THE HUSBAND OF AN ONL TOWARDS THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF STEM AND INNOVATION ÌÌ A GRANT OF UP TO £180,000 FROM A CHARITABLE TRUST TO COVER THE FEES AND COACH COSTS OF A STUDENT ON A 100% BURSARY FOR 7 YEARS ÌÌ A GIFT OF £20,000 TOWARDS SPORTS COACHING AND RESOURCES FROM AN ONL AND HER FAMILY ÌÌ AN ANNUAL INSTALMENT OF SPONSORSHIP OF £20,000 FROM BANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCH TOWARDS THE BURSARY FUND ÌÌ A GIFT OF £10,000 TOWARDS THE SCHOOL FROM A TEACHER AND HER FAMILY ÌÌ A GIFT OF £5,000 FROM BERNICE MCCABE TO THE RECENTLY RENAMED BERNICE MCCABE BURSARY FUND
Thank you to all those who continue to support North London, and allow us to achieve our ambitions. We are grateful for gifts of all sizes towards the Bursary Fund and to our capital campaigns.
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to welcoming both current Fellows, and those who are interested in finding out more about supporting us in this way, to a special event. You will also be able to find out about how to join the Fellowship at our forthcoming reunion events.
If you would like to receive further information or register for this event, please contact Jackie Lancaster, our Deputy Director of Development, at jlancaster@ nlcs.org.uk or on 020 8951 6479.
THE EMERALD BALL Last June, the School hosted a wonderful event, to allow our community to thank Bernice McCabe for her 20 years of headship and to raise funds for NLCS and for worthwhile local charities. Several ONLs returned to Canons for this special occasion, where we raised over £40,000 and also enjoyed a fabulous auction hosted by comedian Lee Nelson, an impressive fireworks display, a delicious three-course dinner and the opportunity to catch up with teachers and old friends.
A GIFT IN YOUR WILL Legacies and bequests have played a key part in North London’s success and that continues today. Whether large or small, a gift in your Will can help to make a real difference to the School in a meaningful way. Remembering North London with a legacy gift will ensure that some of the moments you may recall from your school days here – games of Budge, inspiring teachers, lifelong friendships – will also be enjoyed by future generations. Next academic year we will be re-launching the Frances Mary Buss Fellowship – our group of individuals that have made a commitment to support the School with a legacy gift. Sarah Clark looks forward
CALLING ONLS IN THE USA Are you an ONL that lives in the States? Or do you know an ONL who does? Please let us know, as we are trying to contact as many ONLs there as possible for a forthcoming drinks reception in New York, which will be hosted by our Headmistress Sarah Clark. Please drop us a note, at onla@nlcs.org.uk – thank you.
For more information about supporting NLCS, please contact Jo Hemmings, our Development Officer, on 0203 946 8933 or at jhemmings@nlcs.org.uk To make a gift to the School online, please visit the ‘Support Us’ section of our website – www.nlcs.org.uk – for further details. Gift Aid can be automatically reclaimed on any donations made this way by UK taxpayers. Thank you.
A message about Data Protection We may use information about current and former parents and pupils, and others, in relation to fundraising and promoting NLCS. For example, we may contact individuals whom we consider might be interested in supporting NLCS in connection with a specific fundraising activity. In this, we are assisted by a small team of volunteers (which includes NLCS alumnae, governors and current parents) but we will not share your contact details with them, or any other information which we consider to be confidential, without your permission.
MEET YOUR DEVELOPMENT TEAM
The Alumnae & Development Team supports North London’s growing alumnae network, and fundraises for much-needed bursaries and developments at the School. We hold many events for the ONL community from year group reunions and an annual ONL Picnic, to networking events and careers seminars. We always enjoy meeting you and receiving updates and news – by email, phone or Facebook. We’re here to support your ‘Community for Life’ so please do keep in touch!
Deborah Sobel
Jackie Lancaster
We currently have contact details for over 5,000 ONLs across the world, but some of these may no longer be accurate. If you know anyone that isn’t in touch with the School, please ask them to email us at onla@nlcs.org.uk. And finally – if you want to share with us any ideas or suggestions for how we can better support or bring together ONLs, we’d love you to let us know. Please do pop in to see us next time you are at School: Deborah, Jackie and Jo are in Pod 2, near to the Bursary, and Poorvi and Carolina are in the Admissions & Marketing Pod behind the Bursary.
Jo Hemmings
Carolina Jayson
Higgins Trust, following a career in media and live events. Having spent the last few years working in the City, commuting to Bank Station, I can’t tell you what a joy it is to arrive at this amazing School with its beautiful grounds and buildings. The School is a special place with a unique history – and I’m delighted to be part of it. I will be looking after the Annual Fund, legacy giving and our events programme, as well as getting stuck into fundraising for bursaries and buildings.
JO HEMMINGS, DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
I joined the team in January 2015, and I’m responsible for leading North London’s fundraising and alumnae relations activity. I have worked previously at the Royal Opera House, the Donmar Warehouse and the National Theatre, and started my career as a graduate trainee at Mars. I’m fortunate to work with a fantastic team of people who are passionate about the School, our ONLs and our students. Though not an ONL myself (but rather a South Hampstead-er), having various cousins and friends who came here has made me feel very at home in this clearly special school.
I also joined the Team in January, and am already greatly enjoying my role. I am not completely new to North London, having spent the last year working in the International Team with our overseas schools in Jeju and Dubai. I started my career in public relations, and then worked in marketing in the Media industry, including on the launches of Channel 5 (some of you may recall the retuning of televisions in millions of households!), and of FilmFour at Channel 4. I will be supporting the School’s fundraising efforts, in particular through managing our database, providing administrative support and assisting with the organisation of our events. I am looking forward to getting to know the wider school community in the years ahead.
JACKIE LANCASTER, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
CAROLINA JAYSON (ONL 1991), ALUMNAE OFFICER
I joined NLCS in January 2018, after three years running the Development team at City of London Boys’ School. I have worked for charities including Coram, the first ever children’s charity, and Terrence
I joined the team at the end of 2015 and was so delighted to be back at NLCS after so many years! I have such great memories of the School and am still close friends with many of my classmates, which partly
DEBORAH SOBEL, DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
Poorvi Smith
inspired my wanting to be active within the Old North Londoner community. My career background is in building and managing Sales and Customer Services departments within the telecoms industry, and I hope to be able to make use of my experience through getting to know other ONLs and working with Poorvi to build connections within the ONL community. I am stunned by all the improvements here and the expansion of the facilities. I have an eight-year old daughter and a four year old son who will love the opportunity to run around the same grounds I ran around 30 years ago, during summer holiday camps here. I recommend any ONLs to contact us and come and have a look for themselves.
POORVI SMITH (ONL 1991), ALUMNAE OFFICER I am an ONL and mother to a 10-year-old daughter. I have worked in the Alumnae Office for four years, and previously worked in the advertising and marketing industry. I returned to NLCS for my 20 year reunion and very quickly fell back in love with the grounds, the buildings and the general ethos of the School – so much so that I began working here the following year. I still find it difficult to go into the staffroom and have to remind myself that at the age of 41, I am legitimately allowed to go there without getting into trouble! Whilst I secretly still harbour a dream to become Prime Minister, my role in the Alumnae Office keeps me busy. I particularly enjoy running the Career Networking service and never cease to be amazed at the incredible careers that NLCS girls go on to do.
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STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS
STAFF BABY NEWS
Claudia Ash, a baby girl, Katalina, May 2017 Tess Sittner, a baby girl, Lily Eve, September 2017 Jo Demetriou, a baby boy, Zacharias, October 2017 Sarah Shaw, baby girl, Cora, October 2017 Emma Staves, a baby boy, Stanley Michael Jamie, November 2017 Dora O’Sullivan, a baby boy, Samuel, November 2017 Louise Pearson, a baby girl, Ava Missy, December 2017 Fred Hitchcock, a baby boy, Benjamin Willoughby, February 2018 Paul Dwyer, a baby girl, Cora Rose, February 2018 Erica Breffit, a baby boy, Matthew Henry, February 2018
STAFF MARRIAGES
Ms Frances Cooper married in the Summer and is now Mrs Frances Johnson Ben Owen married in the Summer and is now Ben Feeley-Owen Michal Stoklas married in the Summer Dr Mandy Welford married in the Summer and is now Dr Mandy Potter Dr Muray-Pepper married in October 2017
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LONG-STANDING STAFF LEAVERS
Jo Benjamin (Teacher of Mathematics) left to join UCS as Head of House Lisa Lobo (Teacher of PE and Assistant Head of Upper School) left to join NLCS Dubai as Vice-Principal (Pastoral) Mrs McCabe OBE (Headmistress) left to take on the role of Director of International Schools and Education Strategy and Chair of Academic Board for Headteachers of NLCS Schools Rob McMillan (Head of Science) left to join Putney High School as Duty Head Nick Massey (Head of Russian, Community Service Officer and Second in Modern Foreign Languages) left to study for an Msc in Social and Cultural Anthropology in Amsterdam Eliot Maunder (Teacher of Classics and Timetabler) left to join Manmouth School, Wales Alex Wilson (Acting Headmistress) left to join Hull Collegiate as Headmistress
STAFF OBITUARIES
Maureen Kendler was a Religious Studies teacher and the Religious Communities Co-ordinator at North London from 1995 to 2002, specialising in the teaching of Jewish Studies. She was held in huge affection and with true respect by students and colleagues alike, and she always had a remarkable ability to combine an enormous depth of scholarship and sharp intellect with a quick wit, a wonderful sense of humour and a genuine warmth of rapport. Maureen was the School’s very first Religious Communities Co-ordinator. She approached this new role with her characteristic blend of energy and sensitivity, finding creative strategies to enable the different faith groups within the School to celebrate their distinctive identities, to promote dialogue and exchange of ideas, and to ensure that all students were able to realise how lucky they were to be part of such a diverse, open and outward-looking community. Maureen was a leading figure in Jewish Education in the UK, later becoming Education Officer for the Jewish Council for Equality and a teaching fellow at the London School of Jewish Studies. She touched thousands of lives, both here at NLCS and across the wider world of Anglo-Jewry, and she will be very sadly missed.
Sue Varley taught Pottery in the Art Department from 1984 to 1999. She encouraged girls to produce imaginative work, often inspired by the work of early civilisations, and always properly and beautifully made. She taught alongside Rosalind Bliss and Susan Bennett, and between them, they made exciting Founder’s Day exhibitions in pottery, an artistic highlight of the school year. Sue studied at Corsham (The Bath Academy of Art) which was an important influence on her artistic thinking. In 1970 she set up a pottery workshop where she made her hand-built pots, in particular delicate pinched bowls, reflecting her impressions of the Welsh landscape. She regularly exhibited her work. Sue wrote: ‘I feel humble when I work with clay. I am aware of the fact that it was once igneous rock, which, over an enormous period of time, has been weathered and worn down by the forces of nature, frost, wind and water and changed into a plastic pliable material. Through the process of firing in a kiln it almost returns to its original state. Once fired it will not rot, dissolve or decompose. It can exist indefinitely although it can crack, shatter or break’.
REMEMBRANCE
Jennifer Barker (née Axtell, 1952) died in November 2017 very suddenly and unexpectedly. She was an active lady and did not like to sit still. Her motto was to live life to the full, and she certainly did that. Whilst at School Jennifer played a lot of sport and this continued throughout her life. After she married she took up squash and this became a big part of her life, eventually being awarded the Hawkey Award for Services to Squash in 1983. She completed the London Marathon three times. A memorial service was held for her in February 2018 with over 200 guests in attendance. Sandra Goodchild (née Ody, 1958) died aged 75 on 23 August 2017 after a recurrence of breast cancer. After leaving NLCS she took a secretarial course and then worked for a number of companies, latterly as a PA at ICL. Upon retirement she started a proofreading business from home. She is survived by her husband, four children and eight grandchildren, as well as her older sister, Miranda, who also attended NLCS. Recently Sandra was involved in the Hampshire group of Old North Londoners and took great pleasure in reminiscing about her time at NLCS. Sheila Gould (née Blunn, 1944) died on 27 December 2017. As an NLCS scholarship pupil during the war years, Sheila made
lifelong friends and gained a determined ‘can do’ attitude. Sheila worked as a teacher; she never forgot what it felt like to be young and many hundreds of children benefited from her caring and passionate style. Sheila leaves a gap in the lives of her two daughters, two grandchildren and great-grandson. No funeral, no flowers but a celebration of her life was held on Felpham Beach, building sandcastles, on 10 February. Margaret Law MBE (1947) died on 27 August 2017. When Margaret was a child, her parents moved to Edgware to be near North London Collegiate School. They wanted her to have the same standard of education as her brother. Margaret came top of the class every year and went on to gain a Physics degree from Bedford College, London. At a conference for professional civil servants in Eastbourne, Margaret met Peter Morris, a political analyst. Margaret had a phenomenal memory for words of songs and passages from books, Peter also. The first time they met socially he quoted from The Cloister and The Hearth and Margaret, recognising the passage, responded in kind. They enjoyed this intellectual ‘sparring’ and two years later they married. They were a very great support to one another. Sadly,
Peter died of cancer on 15 August 1998. Margaret was good fun and had an infectious laugh. She was a member of the scientific staff at the Fire Research Station at Borehamwood. She enjoyed telling people that she was awarded the title of ‘Man of the Year’ by Engineering News in 1979! Margaret died peacefully at home aged 88, from complications due to dementia. Alix Pirani (1948) sadly died on 11 November 2017. Pamela Richings (neé Smyth, 1941) passed away on 3 December 2016 having lived with cancer for nine years. She attended NLCS from 1938. When the War started she was evacuated with the School, but returned to London in time for the bombing! Most of her school exams were taken in the air raid shelters at Canons. One of her teachers told her mother that Makepeace Avenue was a suitable name for Pamela’s road in Highgate because she was a good peacemaker. After marriage and bringing up two children, Pamela worked as a phlebotomist at St Bartholomew’s Hospital and then at Croydon University Hospital, retiring at the age of 80. She was a keen Christian and the defining work of her life was bringing people to a faith in Jesus Christ. She is greatly missed by so many whose lives she touched.
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1 Year Reunion Class of 2016
3 Year Reunion Class of 2014
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10 Year Reunion Class of 2007
20 Year Reunion Class of 1997
30 Year Reunion Class of 1987
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40 Year Reunion Class of 1976
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50 Year Reunion Class of 1966
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ONL REUNION
MEMORIES FROM SCHOOL DAYS I have so many fond memories of School – spending my free periods in the Anderson Room, buying hair gel by the gallon, lost hockey boots in the gloom of Peron and Mrs Lloyd’s cheese and onion pie! I could also never forget half the Sixth Form dressed as backing singers for Dexy’s Midnight Runners! I look forward to catching up with you, and ONLs from other year groups, at future alumnae events. Julie Alberg (née Mills, 1985), ONLA Committee Member I don’t have very fond memories of my school days but I made life-long best friends at NLCS, I loved the grounds and the Old House and I was very happy to visit School after I left. I became involved with ONLA, helping to organise my 20 year reunion in 1992, and never left. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to make friends with ONLs of all ages, of staff who taught me and of everyone who helps to keep NLCS running efficiently. Now that ONLA is run in-house I’ve returned to the Committee to represent the over 50s and I’m delighted to still be involved. Jane Cole (1970), ONLA Committee Member Dashing between lacrosse practice and string orchestra rehearsals, I fondly remembers the halls of NLCS and its wonderful teachers. I credit my passion for travelling to NLCS, thanks to volunteering in Zambia and The World Challenge in
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Peru – I have currently travelled to over 55 countries and can’t wait to explore more. From my years at NLCS, from the boat house cello lessons with Miss Moody to chatting with the dinner ladies in the PAC Café over chai latte, I have many great memories and I cherish being part of the ONLA Committee. Rosa Jung (2009) ONLA Committee Member
around the Rolling Stones at lunch time was a welcome relief. (I hope I can refer to this so many years later!!) But I always loved the grounds, as I think we all do. And some of the teachers were kind and funny and founts of knowledge!! Many thanks again for your hard work and for the wonderful atmosphere of the current School. Maggie Batty (1967)
I remember the Old House, the gardens and Lime Avenue always looking beautiful, especially in the Autumn. The fun times during lunchtime playing Budge round Budge Square with my friends. The daffodils on Founder’s Day and the linseed oil on lacrosse sticks! I currently have a daughter in Reception at NLCS, whom I hope will have as many fun-filled memories to cherish as I do! Roma Patel (née Shah, 1996) ONLA Committee Member
I have fond memories of Miss Stewart, our biology teacher, who took us on an ecology field trip to South Wales which hugely inspired me in my A level course. I must however confess that I was the one who, when younger, encouraged others to leap about off walls and in trees, and when someone got injured, I ended up being sent to Dame Kitty as a ring leader! Roz Foad (née Carpenter, 1967)
The highlights from my Class Reunion were seeing everyone from School, of course, as well as being showed around by Poppy and her friend, I believe from Year 9. I enjoyed hearing about the School as it is nowadays from the new Head, and of course the food was excellent! The occasion put me in touch with some mixed feelings. I did not always do well in what for me could be a very competitive environment. So Elizabeth Bird slipping back into our Chemistry Class having hung
I remember rushing into the Assembly Hall, interrupting Miss MacLauchlan during her Assembly just to announce the theme for the school magazine, and everyone gasping as they thought the school was on fire or something… Susie Barson (1977) Probably my fondest memory is sitting round the pond near the Art Block in the summer, drawing and painting the view. A truly magical way to spend a lesson! Rosalind Stewart (1977)
The Old North Londoners’ Association Today
6,117 ONLs in touch with us
AGED
18 101 to
ONLA
Networking Societies
£402,000 RAISED for The Bernice McCabe Bursary Fund 21 bursary recipients’ fees paid in full from fundraising
In addition, £131,000 provided by ONLA towards The Bernice McCabe Bursary Fund Keeps you up to date with news about ONLs and School
ONLs
came back for reunions
Invites you to interesting events
Helps find you career opportunities, internships and work placements Visit North London
Network and build your career
£1.9 9 2 2,162 2,865
m donated to the School by 399 ONLs over the last 10 years
ONLA Committee Members
Law
Medicine
Enables you to volunteer to give career advice to students and other ONLs
Reasons to attend events
Catch up with old friends
Business & Finance
WHAT ONLA DOES
OVER THE LAST YEAR
342
Arts
Alumnae Officers
Offers Academic and Travel Awards to ONLs of all ages
8
Media
STEM
FINANCIAL AWARDS given in 2017 to ONLs wishing to continue their studies or travel abroad after leaving School
633 ONLs on
Facebook Friends
Likes on Facebook
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ONL INFORMATION
Annual General Meeting SATURDAY 12 MAY 2018
Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting 2018 of the Old North Londoners’ Association will be held at North London Collegiate School, Canons, Canons Drive, Edgware, HA8 7RJ on Saturday 12 May 2018 at 10.30am. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE MINUTES OF THE LAST AGM 2017 MATTERS ARISING SECRETARY’S REPORT PRESENTATION OF ONLA ACCOUNTS ELECTION/RE-ELECTION OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND VICE PRESIDENTS ÌÌ ANY OTHER BUSINESS
All ONLs are more than welcome to attend. The Association is run for the benefit of ONLs and we would be delighted to receive your input. If you would like to attend, please contact the Alumnae Office by 25 April 2018. If you would like to nominate another ONL for election or re-election to the Committee at the AGM please contact us for guidance on how to nominate and to receive the forms.
COFFEE AND PASTRIES WILL BE SERVED AT 11AM.
email: onla@nlcs.org.uk call: 020 8951 6475
AGENDA ÌÌ ÌÌ ÌÌ ÌÌ ÌÌ ÌÌ
Forthcoming Events 2018 Please visit the ONLA section on our website, nlcs.org.uk for the most up-to-date list of events and reunions. APRIL 21
SOUTH WEST UK ONL GROUP LUNCH, WARMINSTER
MAY 12 ONLA AGM 10, 20, 30 AND 40 YEAR REUNIONS – CLASSES OF 1978, 1988, 1998 AND 2008 21 USA ONL GROUP DRINKS RECEPTION, NEW YORK
JUNE
Visiting Canons ONLs are warmly welcomed back to the School at any time. Please don’t wait for a reunion – if you are going to be in the area, please contact the Alumnae Office and we would be delighted to organise a visit for you, with a tour of the School led by current girls. Please contact onla@nlcs.org.uk or 020 8951 6475. ONLs have an open invitation to attend any of the School shows, performances and sports matches. For example, this year the School will host 40 events from Music to Drama to Art in the Performing Arts Centre. Information about these events is available at www.nlcs.org.uk. Founder’s Day remains a popular date in the School calendar and space for ONLs to
attend is limited by the attendance of Year 13 parents. If you wish to be placed on the waiting list, please contact the Alumnae Office onla@nlcs.org.uk or 020 8951 6475 from January 2019. Names on the waiting list are added on a first-come, first-served basis and we will not be able to confirm your seat until approximately a week beforehand.
Buzz Square Frances Mary Buss has over 2,000 ONL friends on Facebook. To become part of the ONLA Facebook community, please befriend Frances Mary Buss and ask to be added to the correct group for your year. We also have different regional groups set up, as well as ONLA Art, Business, Law, Media and STEMM Societies. You can also keep up with the latest news about ONLs and current girls by following @nlcsalumnae on Twitter.
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24 ONLA SUMMER PICNIC 26 WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE – CAREERS EVENT FOR ALL ONLS 28 CLASS OF 2015 THREE YEAR REUNION
SEPTEMBER 12 CLASS OF 2017 ONE YEAR REUNION 26 CLASS OF 1968 50 YEAR REUNION
OCTOBER 3 13
ONLA 55+ REUNION SOUTH WEST UK ONL GROUP LUNCH, BATH
ONLA AWARDS North London is keen to maintain a relationship with our students beyond their time at School, supporting ONLs in their endeavours and ambitions whenever possible. All ONLs are eligible to apply for Travel and Academic Awards. Please contact the Alumnae Office for more details.
CANONS LIFE We’ll only send you a copy of Canons Life, the School’s termly newsletter, if you choose to ‘opt in’ to receive it. If you would like to continue to receive Canons Life by post, please email us at onla@nlcs.org. uk or phone us on 0208 951 6475, and we would be delighted to send it to you. The online version will be available as usual on our website.