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Canons LifeThe Spring Term 2014 at North London Collegiate School

HistorY FocusMessage FroM tHe HeaDMistress

With such a rich past, it is no surprise that history and tradition are very important at NLCS. Each Spring Term this is evident at Founder’s Day, when the school community comes together to celebrate its heritage and to commemorate its founder, Frances Mary Buss. To coincide with the centenary of the First World War, the focus at this year’s Founder’s Day was NLCS during the Great War and

the many ways that North London girls and Old North Londoners took part in the war effort.

Much of the information that we have about the School’s history is held in our extensive archives. In this Canons Life we learn about the wealth of historic materials held at NLCS from an interview with Mrs Morgan, who tells us about her role as Chief Archivist.

This Canons Life also looks at the subject of History at the School. We feature an interview with Nicky Robertson, the Chair of the History Society, and find out about historical activities the girls have undertaken this term. These include the Story Box project set up by the library and Year 7’s code-breaking project, in which they used a real-life Enigma machine from the Second World War. Girls have also had the opportunity this term to learn about history further afield on trips to Florence, Berlin and Washington.

As always, there have been numerous enriching and engaging activities taking place at NLCS, from talks by notable speakers to challenging problem-solving workshops. The second annual Philosophy Conference, attended by eminent speaker A.C. Grayling, also took place this term, along with exciting and unique activities organised as part of Classics Week and Maths and Science Week.

The ambitious and exciting Senior School production of Earthquakes in London produced some highly professional performances as well as an extraordinary transformation of the PAC! The student-directed production of Jumpy was engaging, funny and sensitive, and Years 7 and 8 gave a compelling performance of Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers. The Arts Celebration, the South East Schools’ Chamber Music Competition and the many other music concerts have once again delighted us and given the girls a chance to demonstrate their talents!

This term we have been delighted to welcome two groups of NLCS Jeju students to Canons; a large group of Year 6 boys and girls spent time here with their Junior School peers in early March and a group of exchange students from Year 9 joined us in mid-March. Hosted by our own pupils from Year 9, they were able to attend Founder’s Day along with all students and staff and celebrate our shared heritage. We also bade farewell and thank you to our departing Senior Students, known as the ‘Big Six’, who have led the School admirably, lending great energy and enthusiasm to their role as well as sound judgement.

At the end of another busy term, I wish you all a restful holiday.

Bernice Mccabe, Headmistress

interview with Mrs Morgan Head Librarian/archivist

What is the NLCS Archive?

The NLCS Archive houses

material reflecting the history

of the school since its

foundation in 1850 by Frances

Mary Buss. The other major

collection contains books

and documents on Canons

and all its owners, especially

the Duke of Chandos in the

early 18th century. Between

them these two collections

number thousands of items

and a range of media such as

books, letters, diaries, and

photographs, and artefacts

such as historical uniform and

pupils’ work.

How do you receive

information?

In addition to the wealth of

material collected by Miss

Buss and her family, and by

previous generations of pupils

and staff, I receive donations

from ONLs or their families,

and sometimes acquire

items I spot on the Internet.

I also collect contemporary

documents and other

items, and always welcome

suggestions and donations

from the school community.

How do you preserve

historical material?

Photos and documents are

stored in acid free plastic

pockets and boxes, which

protect them from damage,

and the room in which they are

stored has no windows and a

constant temperature. As an

extra precaution we even wear

special white gloves when

handling some items!

What is the most satisfying

thing for you?

I love the contrast and the

variety, and using important

collections with a wide range

of people from outside the

school, such as academics

and the media. Even more

satisfying is working with

staff and pupils to make the

Archive a living collection

which we can all enjoy. Every

day I learn something new,

and the highlight of the year

is Founder’s Day, when the

Archive comes into its own.

With the help of the other staff

in the department, I research

a different topic every year,

and every year new light is

shed on our illustrious past.

It is also amazing to employ

21st century methods with

historical items. One moment

I’m carefully handling an 18th

century letter, and another I’m

scanning it and viewing it on

an iPad!

History trip usaTwenty girls from Years 10 and 11 visited New

York and Washington as part of their study of the

history and politics of twentieth-century America.

The trip took in historic sights relevant to the civil

rights movement, the Cold War and 9/11. As part

of the tour, students visited the UN building, Wall

Street, Harlem and Ground Zero in New York and

the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King Memorial,

White House and National Holocaust Museum in

Washington, but of course they also found time for

shopping in Times Square, a visit to the Hard Rock

Cafe and a trip up the Empire State Building!

enigma Machine As part of this year’s annual Maths and Science Week, Year 7 had the unique opportunity to take part in an Enigma code-breaking project presented by Dr Grime from the Millennium Mathematics Project in Cambridge. He demonstrated an actual Enigma machine from WW2, one of only very few remaining.

story Box Project Story Boxes were created by Archives staff to

enable pupils to experience the excitement

of using primary historical material. They

include copies and transcriptions of original

NLCS archival

documents based on

topics covered in the

curriculum and on

extracurricular subjects.

The original documents

and photographs are

also available for pupils

to see and handle.

The first four boxes

were launched to

coincide with National

Archives Awareness Week, and covered: The

Great Exhibition 1851; The British Empire;

Sophie Bryant and Irish Home Rule; and 18th

Century Life at Canons. The boxes are available

in the Library and can be borrowed in the same

way as a library book.

Sports Day 1917

Miss Collet and the pupils of the

winning Senior Flag Team. The

prize money was donated to three

charities, and “one Form sent

money to its prisoner of war”

Pupils wait for the “Wagonette” August 1917, “On the Land” in Briantspuddle

“The North Londoners”, Briantspuddle, August 1917, Pupil

Lucy Parker with NLCS friends

“Going Home at 6 o’clock” August 1917, “On the Land” in

Briantspuddle

“On the Land”, August 1917 Pupils shocking the crops,

stacking them upright to dry ready for the harvest

Sports Day 1918-1919Instead of awarding prizes at Sports Days, money was donated annually to war charities

Pupil Lucy Parker’s photograph of her

friends Molly, Ida and Irene at work

“On the Land” in Briantspuddle,

August 1917

nLcs during ww1This year’s Founder’s Day celebrations looked at NLCS during WW1 and the impact the war had on the school, its staff and girls. Mrs McCabe also spoke of ONLs who made a contribution to the war effort.

nicky robertson – chair of History societyWhy did you become Chair of History Society?

From studying the localised history of the

site of our school to learning about Northern

Iberian law in the 10th Century, NLCS’s

History Society has never failed to delight

me. I began attending the weekly lectures in

Year 10, and every week, my passion grew.

As I moved up through the School, there were

more opportunities to get involved with the

Society. Mrs Brown and the History Department

encouraged me to explore history outside the

school syllabus, for which I will always

be grateful.

What have you enjoyed most in your role?

We’ve had a variety of incredible speakers

and it has been a privilege to host them and

have them share their knowledge with us. The

highlight of my time with History Society was

the History and Politics Week we held last

term, particularly exciting was having Lord

Hennessy, the noted historian, speak at our

symposium.

What activities have you got planned for the Summer Term? We will go to a lecture on the Nazi regime

during the Second World War given by the

famed military historian Richard Overy held by

Birbeck University and we are currently planning

an event for November to commemorate the

First World War.

Who is your favourite historical character and why? George F Kennan is my source of historical

inspiration. The main reason that I admire

him is because he was not a great leader of

a nation, or a decorated war hero, but his

contribution to the diplomatic service in the

United States had profound implications for the

Cold War. He has influenced me by showing me

what impact an individual can have on history,

one which I hope to emulate.

Nicky Robertson (right) and the History Society Cake SaleWar Poems by Jessie

Pope, ONL, published in 1915

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Sports Day 1915

Staff and Upper VIth pupils at the

beginning of the Flag Race

Pupils punting, photograph taken from

the album of Doris McAdam, ONL

triPs & extra-curricuLar newsPerForMing arts review

Year 13 student-directed play ‘Jumpy’Year 13 presented a highly entertaining and hilarious version of April De Angelis’ Jumpy. First performed at the Royal Court Theatre in 2011, the play explores the trials and tribulations of a mother facing up to being 50 and her dealings with her mutinous teenage daughter. Directed by Year 13 student Tamara Schindler, the cast expertly presented characters of both sexes and a range of ages.

classics weekStudents enjoyed a wide range of classical themed events to celebrate the annual NLCS Classics Week. Activities included a trip to the theatre to see Aristophanes’ Clouds, a captivating student-led performance and the girls finished off the week with a classically inspired ‘mufti’ day.

Maths successCongratulations to Nicole Rosenfeld, Joanna Yass, Sarah Li and Danishia Vijayakumar for winning against King Alfred School 49 to 9 in Round 3 of the Hans Woyda Mathematics Competition. The girls impressed with their ability to answer questions in 60-second time limits. Mrs Jacques' training programme has been entirely effective in getting the girls to the top of their game. Their speed and accuracy were devastating.

Gayatree Amalananda, Aisha Goodman, Wendi Fan and Aberami Shanmugarasa have qualified for the

London Finals of the Year 10 Maths Challenge and Sarah Li, Thiviya Sivakanthan, Amy Sankey and Glara Yu came a very close second in the Team Maths’ Challenge scoring almost full marks.

This year's Senior Maths Challenge results were also the best in the School's history, with 22 girls obtaining gold medals, more than ever before. Congratulations to all medal holders, and those who qualified for the Senior Kangaroo Competition and the British Mathematical Olympiad.

Philosophy conferenceThe PAC hosted 90 Sixth Formers and staff from visiting schools, including QE Boys, Oundle, Bedford School, Kingston Grammar School and King Edward VI, Southampton for the annual Philosophy Conference.

Four eminent thinkers came to NLCS to share their ideas, inspire and show Sixth Formers what it might be like to study Philosophy at university. Professor A.C. Grayling, Master of the New College of the Humanities, talked about two fundamental questions which form the basis for the whole of Philosophy: ‘What

exists?’ and ‘What matters?’. Dr Stephen Law, author of The Philosophy Files, spoke on atheism. King’s College London’s Dr Eleanor Knox spoke on Physics and the Philosophy of Time and finally Tim Crane, Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy and fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge, gave two opposing arguments on the relationship between mind and body.

Berlin, GermanyFontainbleu, France

earthquakes in LondonThis year’s Senior School production Earthquakes In London was a resounding triumph. Written by playwright Mike Bartlett for the National Theatre, the play is an exploration of the effects of apocalyptic Climate Change predictions on three sisters leading very different lives in London. The play is an account of life, love and extreme unease in present-day London, flashing back to 1968 and forward to the years 2026, and 2525. Over three nights students from Years 10-12 produced astonishingly mature performances to bring this challenging and exciting play to life. The PAC was transformed with a new mezzanine floor to accommodate a traverse stage with rooms at either end. The result was an exciting, fast-moving and ever-changing experience for the audience.

Blood BrothersYears 7 & 8 gave a compelling performance of Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers. Written in 1982, this award winning play revolves around fraternal twins separated at birth and explores the issues of nature vs nurture. The show delighted and entertained audiences over two nights.

chamber Music competitionTwelve students took part in the Finalists’ concert of the South East Chamber Music Competition at the prestigious venue of St John’s Smith Square in Central London. The girls made up three ensembles, playing in the Junior, Intermediate and Senior Age categories, and every year the standard in the final is formidable.

This year, the girls achieved an unprecedented success, as all three ensembles won their categories – a fantastic achievement!

Zell am See, Austria

Florence, Italy

senior concertThe Senior Concert was a wonderful evening of music and song provided by the Senior School students including the A cappella Choir, Senior Orchestra, the Show Choir, Chandos Singers, Senior and Parents Choir and the Chamber Orchestra.

Professor A.C. Grayling (left) and Dr Stephen Law

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Junior scHooL newsPoetry competitionThe first ever Junior School Poetry Competition was launched in January. Girls chose poems to learn by heart and recite. Girls from Years 3 to 6 performed their poems and each team chose a single winner. The girls then performed their poems at a grand final.

The winners of the two competitions were Aria (4H), for the Year 3 & 4 competition, with a delightful rendition of A.A Milne’s Lines and Squares and Georgia (6R), whose animated recitation of Robert Louis Stephenson’s My Shadow secured the Year 5 and 6 cup.

chinese new YearReception girls were treated to a fun morning of Chinese New Year celebrations! They learnt how to make exciting Chinese

dragons, beautiful lanterns, and were shown how to write their names in traditional Chinese calligraphy.

world war two workshopYear 6 girls were transported back to the years between 1939 and 1945 as they learnt about life during WW2. In a very ‘hands-on’ workshop, they created their own Anderson Shelter and

propaganda posters, carried the wounded on stretchers and wore gas masks. They also had the opportunity to learn some

Morse code and demonstrated their skills of observation by identifying and describing potential enemy agents.

tempest Hits Year Four Seas raged as sailors from Year 4 were tossed about on a make believe ship that was wrecked on a strange island. The girls were enthralled as they met extraordinary characters and became embroiled in the magic and plot Prospero set against his brother, Antonio. Listening to and reciting the words of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, the girls had lots of fun taking part in this mini production organised by the Young Shakespeare Theatre Company.

vikings in trainingYear 3 had a splendid day being ‘Vikings in training’. The Freshwater Theatre Company introduced them to all things Viking – oatcakes, longboats, sagas, jewellery and even arguments! The girls made their own ‘mini’ long boats which were good enough to rule the waves, just like the real Vikings.

Junior school choirsThe Chamber Choir have received rave reviews for their performance at the National Choir of the Year 2014 Competition. They were named ‘Choir of the Day’ and have been put through to the National Selection Stage. We now wait to hear if they will be one of the four choirs selected to perform in the Category Finals at London’s Royal Festival Hall in October.

This term the Year 5 & 6 Choir have participated in the annual Watford Festival. This large group of talented girls competed with five other local school choirs, and were awarded first place with honours. The choir were praised by the judges for achieving a beautiful choral sound. This is a wonderful achievement for this all-inclusive choir.

onL newsTwo drinks evenings were held in March,

reuniting NLCS staff with ONLs at university in

Oxford and London. University drinks for Bristol

and Cambridge will be held in May.

Please contact Emma Maltz, Alumnae &

Development Officer, on 020 8951 6475 if you

would like to join any of the upcoming events.

onL careers networkPoorvi Smith (ONL 1991) runs the 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 provide specific career advice to any

ONL, regardless of where they are in their career.

We also run an ONL Career Network group

on LinkedIn.

Please contact Poorvi Smith, Alumnae &

Development Officer, at psmith@nlcs.org.uk for

more details.

FacebookThere is a bespoke group on Facebook for NLCS

Alumnae. This will enable you to connect with

other ONLs both from your own year group and

the wider community, as well as keeping you

updated with latest news and events. To join this

group, please befriend Frances Mary Buss.

ONLs are always welcome to visit and tour

Canons. Please contact Emma Maltz, Alumnae

& Development Officer, at emaltz@nlcs.org.uk or

on 020 8951 6475 for further information or if

you would like to join any of the

upcoming events.

Forthcoming onL eventsonL undergraduate university Drinks: Tuesday 29th April 2014 – Bristol Tuesday 6th May 2014 – Cambridge

onLa agM – Saturday 10th May 2014, 10.30am

reunions for the class of 1984, 1994 and 2004 – Saturday 10th May 2014, 10.30am

onL industry Drinks: Media Society – Thursday 15th May 2014 Law Society – Thursday 22nd May 2014

FMB Fellowship Lunch – Tuesday 17th June 2014, 11.45am

onLa Picnic – Sunday 22nd June 2014, 12.00pm-4.00pm

class of 2011 reunion – Wednesday 2nd July 2014, 5.30pm-7.30pm

JeJu newsJunior scHooL visit The Junior School girls in Year 6

welcomed their Jeju counterparts

this term. Thirty eight students

participated in a joint Jeju/London

experience which saw the two

groups working together in teams

to build skyscrapers, write poetry,

create posters and debate.

The speed with which the groups

made friends and exchanged

email addresses was impressive

and there are many girls keen to

visit NLCS Jeju.

The Korean students were

delighted with their visits to

museums and iconic London

landmarks but the highlight of

their trip was spending time with

the girls at Canons.

Year 9 excHangeAt the end of the Spring Term girls in Year 9 welcomed their Jeju exchange partners for the second annual exchange between the two schools. During their stay the students attended school for two weeks taking part in lessons and activities, they were also able experience Founder's Day. The girls then spent a week with their exchange partner in and around London.

The girls from NLCS will travel to Jeju during the Summer Term for their leg of the exchange visit. They will get the opportunity to experience life as a student at NLCS Jeju and gain an insight into Korean culture during their stay with their host families.

introducing the new senior committee“I am really excited to have been chosen as Senior Student for this year. I can't wait to work with the rest of the Senior Committee to represent the School and the students. I'm honoured to be part of such an amazing team and am looking forward to a great year.”

Lucie de cock, senior student for 2014-2015

Poetry Competition

Amy, Yasmin, Lucie (Senior Student), Phoebe (Sports Captain), Tori and Ella.

Oxford Drinks

Year 3 Viking Day

Junior School World Book Day

Junior School Chamber Choir

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sPorts newsnetballAt the beginning of the term the Under 12 Netball team participated in the RMS Annual Netball Tournament. It was a challenging match but some fantastic team and individual performances led them to victory by one goal, winning 9 goals to 8. The team also took part in the Middlesex

Tournament where they played

exceptionally well winning all their

group matches. In the semi-final

they played a terrific game and

after extra time emerged victorious

scoring a golden goal. They had a

tough game in the final and were

defeated by 2 goals but all girls

played fantastically well and should

feel proud of this outstanding

achievement.

Harrow schools cross countryThirty three North London girls braved the exceptionally wet and muddy conditions to take part in the Harrow Schools Cross Country course. With excellent performances throughout, all the year groups came first in their age categories.

Eighteen girls then went on to be

selected for the Harrow team, with almost the entire senior section being made up of NLCS runners.

Individually, out of a field of more than 100 girls, Megan Wilson came fourth in the Under 17 category and now goes on to represent Middlesex at the National Cross Country Championships.

British schoolgirls' skiingTo rival the recent Winter Olympics three girls have been showing off

their skiing skills. Cerys Gorringe and Manon Lowth in Year 8 and Annecy Stevens in Year 9 travelled to Flaine in France to

take part in the British Schoolgirls' Races.

The girls took part in a range of events, including a team parallel

slalom knock out and individual competitions. With some wonderful performances the girls finished the competition as the top Under 14 team. In addition to this, they came sixth overall out of the 43 teams, despite competing with older rivals up to the age of 21 - many of whom were Junior Nationals.

table tennisThe NLCS Table Tennis team competed in the English Schools Table Tennis Association’s regional tournament in the Under 19 Girls category in January. The tournament took place in Bournemouth and had teams from all over the South East region of England.

The team of four which is made up of Sophie Tofalides and Anisha Rasan from Year 12 and Maria Wang and Michelle Mui from Year 10 played 24 matches in total, with 8 matches against each team. There was an overall victory for NLCS as they won all of their 24 matches, not losing a single game.

As a result of this amazing achievement the team qualified for the National Finals which took place at the end of term in Leicester. After a long day of competitions against four other teams from across the country the girls were delighted to be awarded Runners Up.

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The Canons Life Team

Production: Sophia Breslauer (Yr 11), Sophie Hiscock (Yr 11) & Rianna Shah (Yr 11)Journalists: Jasmine Beer (Yr 11), Meher Iqbal (Yr 11) & Claudia Mulholland (Yr 11)Photographers: Amber Abrahams (Yr 11), Dina Khadum (Yr 11) & Ella Steinert (Yr 11)Staff Editor & Production: Larraine Bristow