Canons Life - Summer 2013

You can download Canons Life atwww.nlcs.org.uk

First School Sports Day

Focus on sport at canons

The Summer Term 2013 at North London Collegiate School

Canons Life

Lacrosse tour 2013During the Easter holidays 37 Yr 9 & 10

students travelled to california to play

lacrosse. Five days were spent in the

san Francisco area sightseeing as well

as playing lacrosse. The girls visited the

Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street and

Alcatraz. The next stage of the tour was

in san Diego, where more matches took

place as well as a visit to the zoo! This was

a fantastic opportunity for the girls to travel

to this part of the world, play lacrosse and

make some great new friends.

Message FroM tHe HeaDMIstress

The summer term at Canons remains, as always, a vibrant

time of year with many splendid events and activities taking place. As you may be aware, last term the School underwent a full inspection as part of the regular schedule of inspections conducted by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI). I am delighted to tell you we have received the official report and that NLCS was judged ‘excellent’ - the highest possible rating - in every single category, from the quality of teaching, pastoral care, and extra-curricular activities to the level of pupil achievements. The full report is available on our website.

We have also celebrated successes in a range of fields, from art to drama, music to sport. You will see from the feature on sport, later in this edition, the achievements of pupils in a wide variety of sporting endeavours. The elegance and confidence displayed by the girls in our second whole-school gym and dance display, featuring girls from Yrs 2-13, was thrilling. Pupils have also excelled in the fields of drama and music, showcasing their talents in numerous music concerts and drama productions. A busy season of performances ended with two productions in the Studio Theatre from students in Yrs 10 and 11 and, of course, Canons Follies in the Performing Arts Centre.

This term, girls have again enjoyed lectures from a series of distinguished visiting speakers. In the Nicholson Lecture series, teaching staff share their love of their subject by giving talks on topics as diverse as conservation, heroism in classical literature and political ideology. The girls also enjoy a full programme of academic symposia and partnership events. These events allow pupils to work with their peers from a variety of different schools, providing opportunities for the development of intellectual curiosity and subject enrichment. I was delighted to be able to take a number of staff and sixth form students to the Prince’s Teaching Institute’s Summer School at Cambridge University in June. This gave the opportunity for both pupils and staff to hear leading academics in a range of different fields and engage in stimulating academic debate. This also served as excellent preparation for the students for university.

The spirit of internationalism has flourished again this term with exciting trips and student exchanges taking place to broaden pupils’ educational and cultural experiences. At the end of term a group of Yr 12 pupils will travel to The Flying Angels School in Zambia, where they will have the opportunity of assisting in the teaching of classes and running extra-curricular activities. Our first set of exchange pupils departed for Korea in late June, where they will spend the final two weeks of the summer term at NLCS Jeju and the first week of the summer holidays with their exchange families. Community Service again played an important part in the pupils’ extra-curricular life this term, with girls successfully hosting events such as our annual Mencap Fun Day and the Livability Homes Summer party.

To celebrate the wider NLCS community, we have organised many events for parents, Old North Londoners and Friends of the School. In the summer term, the Alumnae Office hosted the annual ONLA AGM, reunions for the Classes of 1983, 1993 and 2003, and the annual ONLA Picnic.

Work on the new buildings is progressing well. The new facilities will benefit the entire School community, with extra space for teaching and extra-curricular activities, together with dedicated social space for girls in the Upper School. We are looking forward to the opening of the buildings with a celebration in the Spring Term of 2014. I would like to thank warmly all those who have to date supported the development of these projects with gifts to the School.

As this very busy term ends, I wish you all a happy and restful summer holiday.

Bernice McCabe, Headmistress

Lacrosse WorLD cup 2013 Three ONLs and one current member of staff will be taking part in the Lacrosse World cup in Canada this summer. natasha taberner and Lucy Wray (ONL) will be playing for Wales, while nicole sawdaye (ONL) will be representing Israel and Katie Bohane (ONL) Ireland.

nIcoLe saWDaYe The Lacrosse World Cup this summer will be my first international tournament and it’s a massive honour to be representing Israel. The training has been tough but I’m ready to be in Canada and start what I know will be an amazing experience.

KatIe BoHane I’m so excited to be representing Ireland in my first Lacrosse World Cup this summer in Canada. As a team we are fit and ready and I can’t wait to be amongst the sport’s most talented and athletic players from all over the world.

sport

Natasha Taberner

Lucy Wray

suMMer 2013 | nortH LonDon coLLegIate scHooL

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sport in the Junior schoolSport in the Junior school has

continued to be as popular

as ever and the introduction

of new activities within the

curriculum have been a real

hit! Extra–curricular clubs and

squads have continued to

thrive with a good uptake for

golf and fencing.

The U10 & U11 rounders squads

have had an exciting season,

with a number of matches for

the different teams. Both the

U10A and B teams had fantastic

wins against radlett prep where

some accurate and fast bowling

and great catches in the field led

to a well fought victory.

The U11 athletics squad are

training hard at their weekly

sessions and are looking like

being a very strong team. They

performed exceptionally well in

their first match against stormont

where the final scores were NLCS

141 and Stormont 97.

The Yr 5 and 6 swimming

squads have swum with

speed and spirit in the pool

with several personal bests

achieved. For the first time,

we chose several Yr 4s who

have worked well in their

lessons and shown a prowess

in the pool to participate in a

swimming gala against royal Masonic school. NLCS girls

won convincingly

against a strong

team.

Gymnastics and

dance continue

to thrive at NLCS

and the girls

are now working

extremely hard to

choreograph and

learn routines to

perform in the

annual gym and Dance Display

along with the

Senior Gym and

Dance squads.

sport

sports captaIn “The role of Sports Captain is an amazing opportunity to give back to the school. Having been involved in a range of sports since Yr 7, it is great now to have an input in organising events for the whole school. I am looking forward to September, in particular the start of the lacrosse season, when girls in Yrs 11-13 play matches together, forming strong friendships with team mates across the different years.” emily Mort, Sports Captain

What inspired you to be so involved with sport? I guess it has to be my school sporting career. It wasn’t really until senior school that I realised I was pretty good at sport. I fell in love with lacrosse and just knew from the age of 12 that I had to be a P.E. teacher.

Has sport changed during your time at nLcs? Sport has changed hugely over the past 9 years here at NLCS. There are certainly more girls out at extra-curricular clubs than ever

before. The range of sports on offer is vast - from the classic sports of lacrosse and netball right through to ultimate frisbee, trampolining and table tennis. We have also worked hard to improve standards at the highest level. We have a number of girls competing at the top level in their own sports but also have teams which have progressed further than previously.

What makes sport at nLcs stand out? I believe we have a fair balance

between sport for all and pushing the top performers to be their best. I am also extremely proud of our older girls who give up so much of their time to help run practices, matches and tournaments for the younger years.

What are your plans for sport at nLcs in the future? I would love to provide more and more sports for the girls to ensure that everyone can find an activity to play now and into the future. I also hope to build on our successes with our teams.

Canons Life reporters catch up with

Mrs anseLL DIrector oF sport

English Schools Track & Field Cup County Round 2013

canons L IFe | 2

nortH LonDon coLLegIate scHooL | suMMer 2013

Yr 10 trip to Paris Yr 8 trip to the RhinelandYr 7 pupils in Picardie making croissants

suMMer terM trIps

cHarItY

Yr 9 & Yr 10 girls take part in the Ludwigsburg exchange

Yr 8 Chambéry exchangeYr 8 girls enjoy the sights of Seville

Mencap Fun Day Sixteen children with special needs attended the annual Mencap Fun Day. Guests were able to choose from a range of activities, including arts and crafts, swimming, outdoor sports and playing on the bouncy castle. It was lovely to see so many smiling, delighted faces and it was great to welcome back children who have attended in previous years.

Zambia trip 2013This summer, 18 girls currently in Yr 12 will be visiting the Flying angels community school in Lusaka, Zambia, to build relationships which have been established between the two schools for the past 6 years. The girls will work within the school, helping with senior and junior school classes, as well as visiting the Flying angels orphanage and a trip to the Victoria Falls.

“This annual trip is such an amazing opportunity. I’m really excited about not only having the opportunity to teach but also being able to learn more about Zambia’s diverse culture!” – amber Moore Yr 12

Livability Summer Party 2013

perfectly purple This term the Junior School has been raising money for Young epilepsy. The charity aims to improve the lives of children and young people with epilepsy. A group of 14 girls travelled to Lingfield in Surrey to visit st piers school and the Young Epilepsy base. They were given a tour of the site and met some of the students living there. One of the events organised by the girls for this charity was purple Day. Pupils dressed in purple and bought and sold purple cakes. It was a fantastic day which raised £531.49.


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anIMaL FarMAudiences were amazed by the maturity and talent displayed by the cast of the Yrs 7 & 8 play Animal Farm. Performed over two nights, this exciting and challenging play was brought to life with remarkable flair and energy. Combining wonderful costumes, a totally believable farmyard setting (complete with hay and mud) and incredible vocal and physical performances, this was a powerful and compelling production.

perForMIng arts revIeW

Music updateMusic is very important at NLCS.

With a huge variety of choirs,

orchestras and bands both in

the Junior School and the Senior

School, music is made available

to all. There are over 500

private music lessons taking

place every week!

This term the Music Department

has embarked on a number of

new initiatives. Aside from the

termly Middle School and Senior

School concerts, this term has

seen the introduction of new,

smaller musical recitals and

Tuesday lunch time concerts,

both of which have proved to be

hugely popular among the girls.

We have also celebrated

some notable successes.

Congratulations go to tiffany cheung and anoushka sharp in

Yr 9 and Inis oirr asano in Yr 8

who have won the prestigious UK

chamber Music competition,

held at St John’s, Smith Square.

Lower school concert The Lower School summer concert was

a soaring success. Around the world in

80 minutes! Stops on the way included

Mexico, germany, austria and Japan

and the girls sang in Hebrew, Finnish

and russian. The journey ended in

London, where the arrangement of

London-based songs was nothing short

of spectacular.


canons L IFe | 4

JeJu neWsA group of girls departed for Jeju on Saturday 22 June and spent two weeks boarding at NLCS Jeju and participating in classes with their exchange partners. They participated in the annual Arts Week and other summer term activities in Jeju. After the end of term they spent a further

week with their partners and their families, in some cases on the South Korean mainland, which added an important cultural dimension to the visit.

asHa Yr 10 “I am excited about various aspects of the exchange, such as experiencing the different culture of Korea and witnessing how this

impacts upon the lives of students at NLCS Jeju.”

eve Yr 10 “I was eager to take part in this first ever exchange to NLCS Jeju. I have never visited Asia before, so I

wanted to experience the culture in this part of the world.”

taHnee Yr 10 “I know that I will have to adjust to many differences but I am absolutely sure it will be an incredible experience.”

LIBBY Yr 9 “After seeing numerous pictures and hearing assemblies informing us of all the steps in Jeju’s development I was curious and excited about seeing the real thing.”

rHea Yr 9 “I can’t wait to see Jeju’s equivalent of Budge Square and to explore the beautiful island.”

DeveLopMent upDateFor over 160 years, North London

Collegiate School has sought to

offer the best possible education

to young women from a wide

variety of backgrounds. To meet

this goal, the School has relied on

the generosity of its supporters:

the Buss family opened their own

home at the School’s founding;

Frances Mary Buss’s supporters

raised the funds for Sandall Road;

later supporters helped purchase

Canons; throughout the history of

the School, generous benefactors

have helped raise funds for

scholarships and bursaries. The

Development Office works to raise

funds from today’s supporters and

to foster NLCS’s great sense

of community.

Currently NLCS offers

approximately 20% of the pupils

in the Senior School some help

with fees. Throughout the year,

we have had generous donations

towards bursaries from a number

of individuals. During the Summer

term, Parents of 2013 Leavers

are raising funds for a Sixth Form

bursary place. Together these

efforts help make excellence in

education available to girls whose

parents would not be able to

afford the fees. This economic

diversity has been an important

part of the School’s ethos since

its founding.

At the moment, our biggest

project is to raise funds for two

new buildings at Canons. The new

buildings, one replacing the ICT

block adjacent to the Hall and the

other on a paved area near the

Medical Centre, will benefit the

entire school community, offering

space for NLCS’s curricular and

extra-curricular activities, without

taking away from our green space.

To date, we have raised nearly

£1.25 million for this project

from parents, ONLs, Friends of

NLCS and grant making trusts,

including a grant from the Wolfson

Foundation. We will continue

fundraising for this project in the

Autumn, looking forward to the

opening of the buildings with a

celebration in the Spring Term

of 2014.

The School has historically been

the beneficiary of planned giving

from its supporters. The Frances

Mary Buss Fellowship exists to

recognise those who support

NLCS through planned giving. They

gather annually for lunch, followed

by a concert and tea.

onL eventsONLs studying at universities in

London, Cambridge and Oxford

were reunited with staff over drinks

at the annual ‘University Drinks’.

These are always a wonderful

opportunity for staff and old girls

to mix socially and hear each

other’s news.

On the 29th April, NLCS hosted a

memorial service for the friends

and family of a much loved ONL,

past NLCS parent and Governor,

Ennis Brandenburger.

In May, the Alumnae Office was

delighted to host the annual ONLA

AGM and reunions for the Classes of

1983 (30 year), 1993 (20 year) and

2003 (10 year). The event was very

well attended with over 120 ONLs

filling the corridors and grounds with

laughter and reminiscences.

Mrs McCabe hosted a lunch for

members of the Frances Mary

Buss Fellowship in June.

On Sunday 23rd June, over 120

ONLs, their friends and families

flocked to Canons with their

picnics for the annual ONLA Picnic.

Like last year, we welcomed back

ONLs from across the generations,

with children and grandchildren

enjoying the grounds and games

laid on by the Sports Department.

The Class of 2010 reunited on the

3rd July for their ‘Pimm’s Party’

in the Drummond – ending just in

time for the evening performance

of Canons Follies.

career netWorKIngPoorvi Smith (ONL 1991) runs

a Careers Networking Service

for ONLs. This popular and ever

growing network should be the first

port of call for any ONL looking

for career assistance. By working

with the broader NLCS community,

including ONLs, parents and other

contacts, the Service can help

offer internships, work placement

and specific career advice to any

ONL, regardless of where they are

in their career.

Please contact Poorvi Smith,

Alumnae & Development Officer, at

[email protected]

Forthcoming onL events:cLass oF 2012 reunIon

Monday 9th September 2013, 4.30pm-6.30pm

cLass oF 1973 reunIonWednesday 11th September 2013, 11.00am-4.30pm

cLass oF 1963 reunIonMonday 16th September 2013, 11.00am-4.30pm

ONLs are always welcome to visit and tour Canons. Please contact Emma Maltz, Alumnae & Development Officer, at [email protected] or on 020 8951 6475 for further information or if you would like to join any of the upcoming events.

Ennis Brandenburger memorial service

Class of 1983


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Yr 6 trip to France

Yr 5 at Preston Montford

Yr 4 at Bushcraft

Yr 3 Roman Day

Yr 3 having fun at the Verulamium

Yr 1 girls enjoy Grounds Day

Lower School Concert 2013


JunIor scHooL

InauguraL InternatIonaL BaccaLaureate conFerenceNLCS IB students hosted the School’s very first IB conference this term. Five schools visited NLCS including Charterhouse, George Green’s, Godolphin and Latymer, Haileybury and St Helen’s. The agenda for the day was very busy with three speakers from King’s college London, oxford and cambridge providing the assembled audience with some fascinating ideas to think about. These included talks on the evolution of logic, research into child development and the devices used to gain consensus. Students really enjoyed the day and found it very helpful. It is anticipated this will become an annual feature of the IB Diploma programme calendar.

Cliff McNish, a successful author, visited NLCS this term to talk about his life as a writer. He spoke about how he formed ideas for his books as well as giving top tips for budding young writers.

cliff Mcnish visit

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Yr 11 student runner-up in Master photography awardsPhoebe has been named runner-up in the Young Photographer’s Award in the Master Photography Awards.

Yr 12 student commended in

the Peterhouse College Vellacott

History PrizeNadia has been commended

for her essay which incorporated Science and History entitled ‘Why was

Copernicanism controversial?’

Yr 10 student publishes her second novel ClickClick by Jasmine Beer. This is a story of family, friendship and facing reality and explores the strange sequences of events that lead to life-changing discoveries.

Yr 8 student performs with the London children’s BalletSasha performed in the Secret Garden with the London Children’s Ballet. “Being part of LBC was an incredible learning experience. My ballet and performance ability improved and throughout the performances we learnt what it would be like to dance professionally.”

Yr 7 student becomes english Youth chess championElizabeth has become the English Youth Chess Champion for 12-year-old Girls 2013. Part of her prize is to play for England in either the European Youth or World Youth Championships.

celebrating success

physics trip to cernDuring the Easter

holidays, Yr 12

Physics students

travelled to geneva,

switzerland to visit

the Large Hadron

collider at cern.

The girls were lucky

enough to see inside

the cMsb detector,

one of the four

detectors on site.

This was followed by

a fascinating talk on

the history of CERN.

They were also given

the opportunity to

look around the

museum, which

explained some of

the physics behind

the Large Hadron

Collider.

WWW.NLCS.ORG.UK

The Canons Life team

Production: Sophia Breslauer (Yr 10), Sophie Hiscock (Yr 10) & Rianna Shah (Yr 10)Journalists: Jasmine Beer (Yr 10), Meher Iqbal (Yr 10) & Claudia Mulholland (Yr 10)Photographers: Amber Abrahams (Yr 10), Dina Khadum (Yr 10) & Ella Steinert (Yr 10)Photographer and Picture Editor: Ms Larraine BristowEditor: Dr Hazel Bagworth-Mann

Documents

Canons Life - Summer 2013