North London Collegiate School

Independent day school for girls in London

North London Collegiate School

Address

Canons Drive

Edgware

Middlesex

HA8 7RJ

England

Information
Type| Private day school for girls in London
Private coeducational boarding school in South Korea
Motto| in spe laboramus
Established| 1850; 174 years ago (1850)
Founder| Frances Mary Buss
Local authority| Harrow
Chair of the Governors| Gabrielle Gower, OBE
Headmistress| Vicky Bingham
Gender| Girls (UK), girls and boys (South Korea)
Age| 4 to 18
Enrolment| 1,066 (2008)
Houses| Angus, Lindsay, Gibbons, Collet, Aitken
Colour(s)| Sky blue  Brown
Former pupils| Old North Londoners (ONLs)
Website| www.nlcs.org.uk

North London Collegiate School (NLCS) is a private day school for girls in England. Founded in Camden Town, it is now located in Edgware, in the London Borough of Harrow. Associate schools are located in South Korea, Jeju Island, Dubai, Vietnam, and Singapore, all of which are coeducational day and boarding schools offering the British curriculum. It is a member of the Girls' Schools Association.

The school is included in The Schools Index as one of the 150 best private schools in the world and among top 30 senior schools in the UK.[1] NLCS Jeju is also included in this index as one of top 15 school in China and Southeast Asia.[2]

## Location

[edit]

Canons Drive

North London Collegiate School is located at the western edge of Edgware near Canons Park. It is accessed by car through Canons Drive from Edgware's High Street. However both Stanmore tube station and Canons Park tube station are within walking distance.

## History

[edit]

The North London Collegiate School was founded by Frances Buss, a pioneer in girls' education. It is generally recognised as the first girls' school in the United Kingdom to offer girls the same educational opportunities as boys, and Miss Buss was the first person to use the term 'Headmistress'.[citation needed]

The small school opened in 1850 at No.46. later renumbered No.12 Camden Street, London.[3] Buss believed in the importance of home life and it remained a day school.[4] In 1929, the school bought Canons, a modest villa built by William Hallett Esq, on the site of a palatial residence originally built in the early 18th century by the Duke of Chandos, and relocated to the property (designed by Sir Albert Richardson) in 1940.[5][6]

Lucinda Elizabeth Shaw, mother to George Bernard Shaw was a director of music at the school, followed in 1908 by Lilian Manson, J.B. Manson's wife. Her ambitious revival of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas in 1910 gained coverage in The Times.[7]

The school introduced a house system in 2014, with the houses being named after noted past pupils. The houses have colours, and each house has two house captains amongst the pupils (a year 9 and a year 11), and a staff head of house.

Today the school caters to girls from ages 4 to 18. It comprises a Junior School (Reception to Year 6) and Senior School (Year 7–13). Former pupils are known as ONLs, short for Old North Londoners. The uniform of North London Collegiate School is light blue and dark brown in colour, however uniform is not compulsory in sixth form.

The co-ed boarding North London Collegiate School Jeju opened in Seogwipo, South Korea in 2011.[8] The school opened another international school in Singapore in August 2020.[9]

## Curriculum

[edit]

North London Collegiate is one of the most academically successful schools in England, having been placed in the top two in the Daily Telegraph exam league tables every year for over a decade.[clarification needed] It has been an International Baccalaureate World School since October 2003 .[10][11] Girls may choose to take the traditional A Levels or the Pre-U or the IB curriculum.

The girls are also encouraged to participate in non-academic pursuits. The Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme is available similarly to all independent schools. They may also take part in activities such as World Challenge Expeditions, Young Enterprise, Model United Nations and various community service projects.[12]

## Alleged malpractice in deciding teacher-assessed grades

[edit]

In 2021 90% of its A-level entries got A* grades, whereas in 2019 the figure was only 34%. In December 2022 the Guardian revealed that the school had been the subject of an investigation by an A-level examination board into the teacher-assessed grades given to pupils in 2021. A spokesperson for NLCS claimed that there was no centre malpractice by the school. However, a whistleblower told the Guardian that the school had made decisions "that had little integrity, even though they appeared to be within the rules". [13]

Teacher assessment grades replaced the formal exams that were cancelled due to Covid. [14] North London Collegiate School was not the only private school under investigation. In 2021, the percentage of A* grades from English private schools was 39.5%, but only 16.1% in 2019.[15] Dr Jo Saxton, Ofqual’s chief regulator, confirmed in October 2022 that private schools were being investigated when she appeared before the education select committee.[16]

## Headmistresses

[edit]

Frances Mary Buss and Sophie Bryant in 1900

* Frances Mary Buss (1850 – December 1894)[17]
* Sophie Bryant (1895–1918)[18]
* Isabella Drummond (1918–1940, previously Head of Camden School)[18]
* Eileen Harold (1941–1944)[19]
* Dame Kitty Anderson DBE (1945–1965)[19][20]
* Madeline McLauchlan (1965 – December 1985, previously at Henrietta Barnett School)
* Joan Clanchy (1986–1997) previously Head of St George's School, Edinburgh
* Bernice McCabe OBE (1997–2017, previously at Chelmsford County High School)
* Sarah Clark (2018–2022, previously at Queen's School, Chester)[21]
* Vicky Bingham (2023–present, previously at South Hampstead High School) [22]

## Notable former pupils

[edit]

* Roma Agrawal (engineer)[23]
* Barbara Amiel (journalist)[24]
* Peggy Angus[25]
* Agnes Arber [née Robertson] (1879–1960) (botanist)[26]
* Virginia Astley (musician)[citation needed]
* Alice Beer (TV presenter)[27]
* Alison Britton (ceramicist)[28]
* Eleanor Bron (actress)[29]
* Sara Burstall (teacher, headmistress) (headmistress of Manchester High School for Girls)[30]
* Tanya Byron (psychologist)[citation needed]
* Esther Cailingold, fought with the Jewish forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and died of wounds received[citation needed]
* Jo Coburn BBC political broadcaster[31]
* Clara Collet (civil servant and promoter of women's education and employment)[32]
* Gillian Cross (children's writer)[27]
* Anne Digby (novelist)[33]
* Jo Dunkley (Professor of Physics at Princeton University)[34]
* Fenella Fielding (actress)[35]
* Margaret Fingerhut (pianist)[36]
* Lindsey Fraser (Olympic athlete, Team GB diving coach)[37]
* Caroline Sylvia Gabriel (artist)[38]
* Dame Helen Gardner (academic/writer)[39]
* Stella Gibbons (1902–1989) (novelist)[40]
* Margaret Gilmore (former BBC correspondent)[41]
* Eleanor Graham (1896–1984) (publisher and children's writer)[42]
* Noreena Hertz (b. 1967) (academic)[43]
* Caroline S. Hill (b. 1961) (scientist)[citation needed]
* Judith A. Hill (b.1959) (historian)
* Amy Horrocks (1867-1919) (composer)
* Gabrielle Howard (1876–1930) (plant physiologist)[44]
* Mary Vivian "Molly" Hughes (1866–1956) (writer, educator)[30]
* Margaret Calkin James (1895–1985) (graphic designer and artist)[45]
* Dame Emily Lawson (head of the NHS COVID-19 vaccine programme)
* Lilian Lindsay [née Murray] (1871–1960) (first female dentist)[27][39]
* Jane Lunnon (born 1969, headmistress of Alleyn's School)[46]
* Ishbel MacDonald[47]
* Sheila MacDonald Lochhead
* Anna Madeley (actress)[48]
* Judy Mallaber (MP)[49]
* Jane March (actress)
* Jan Marsh (expert on pre-Raphaelites)[27]
* Katharine McMahon (author)
* Valerie Mendes (author)
* Margaret Theodora Meyer (1862–1924) (mathematician)
* Jessie Millward (music hall artist)
* Susie Orbach (psychologist/journalist)[29]
* Kate O'Toole (actress)
* Ruth Padel (poet)
* Pat Phillips (diplomat, ambassador)
* Myfanwy Piper [née Evans](1911–1997) (librettist)
* Jessie Pope (1868–1941)(poet)
* Anna Popplewell (actress)
* Catherine Alice Raisin (1855–1945) (geologist and educationist)
* Louie Ramsay (actress)
* Esther Rantzen (television personality)[29]
* Ethel Sargant (1863–1918) (botanist)[26]
* Victoria Sharp (High Court Judge) [50]
* Stevie Smith (1902–1971) (poet)[51]
* Marie Stopes (1880–1958)(palaeobotanist,birth control advocate)[39]
* Netta Syrett (1865–1943) (novelist and playwright)
* Eva Germaine Rimington Taylor (1879–1966) (geographer and historian of science)
* Gillian Tett (journalist)[52]
* Angela Tilby (author, Anglican priest and Canon Emeritus at Christ Church, Oxford) [53]
* Natasha Walter (writer)[27]
* Olivia Wayne (news presenter)[54]
* Judith Weir (composer)
* Rachel Weisz (actress)[51]
* Anna Wintour (fashion journalist; editor of Vogue)[27]
* Frances Wood (historian)

## Notable former staff

[edit]

* Edith Aitken (founding head of Pretoria High School for Girls[55])
* Peggy Angus (artist, tile and wallpaper designer), teacher 1947-70[28]
* Edward Aveling, teacher of elementary physics and botany (1872–1876)[56]
* Hannah Robertson, led middle school, later tutor of women at Leeds University from 1905 to 1921.[57]

## Bibliography

[edit]

* The North London Collegiate School 1850–1950: A Hundred Years of Girls' Education Includes 'Essays in honour of the Frances Mary Buss Foundation' together with an appendix section that includes Royal Patrons, The School Prospectus, Prize Day List, Links to Girton College and the University of London, and regulations concerning Prefects and Monitors. Published by OUP (Oxford University Press) in 1950 with 231 pages, including the index. (No author or Editor)[58]
* "And Their Works Do Follow Them" by Watson, Nigel London, James & James, 2000 ISBN 0907383300
* Cockburn, J S; King, H P F; McDonnell, K G T, eds. (1969). "Schools: The North London Collegiate School". A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 1, Physique, Archaeology, Domesday, Ecclesiastical Organization, the Jews, Religious Houses, Education of Working Classes To 1870, Private Education From Sixteenth Century. Victoria County History (via British History Online). pp. 308–310.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ McNamee, Annie (6 April 2024). "These are UK's best private schools, according to a prestigious ranking". Time Out United Kingdom. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
2. ^ "Top Private Schools in South East Asia | The Schools Index 2023 by Carfax Education". www.schools-index.com. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
3. ^ "Secondary schooling". english-heritage.org.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
4. ^ Scrimgeour, Ruby Margaret, (ed.), The North London Collegiate School, 1850–1950: a hundred years of girls' education, (Oxford University Press),
5. ^ "The History of Canons". Archived from the original on 22 January 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
6. ^ "History of the School". Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
7. ^ Buckman, David (1973), James Bolivar Manson, p. 9, Maltzahn Gallery Ltd, London.
8. ^ "NLCS Jeju". www.nlcs.org.uk. Archived from the original on 23 April 2015.
9. ^ "North London Collegiate School Singapore: The Newest British International School in Singapore". Sassy Mama. 7 May 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
10. ^ "North London Collegiate School". Tatler. March 2012. Archived from the original on 4 July 2012.
11. ^ "North London Collegiate School". IB World Schools. IBO. Retrieved 22 May 2008.
12. ^ "Extra Curricular Activities". www.nlcs.org.uk. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012.
13. ^ Adams -, Richard (24 December 2022). "London private school investigated over 'blanket' A or A* grades in 2021 A-levels". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
14. ^ Adams -, Richard (24 December 2022). "London private school investigated over 'blanket' A or A* grades in 2021 A-levels". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
15. ^ McCall, Alastair; Griffiths, Sian; Rodrigues, Nick (5 February 2022). "Private schools 'gamed' Covid rules to give their pupils more top A-levels". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
16. ^ "Independent schools investigated over grade malpractice". 12 October 2022.
17. ^ The Book entitled The North London Collegiate School 1850 – 1950 contains a black-and-white frontispiece portrait of Frances M Buss, with a printed signature – See bibliography for further detail of book
18. ^ a b The book entitled The North London Collegiate School 1850 – 1950 contains references in the index to this person and a black-and-white photographic plate with printed signature- See Bibliography for further detail of book
19. ^ a b The book entitled The North London Collegiate School 1850 – 1950 contains references in the index to this person.
20. ^ "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography – subscription based". Retrieved 13 June 2018.
21. ^ "NLCS welcomes new Headmistress Sarah Clark". NLCS website. NLCS. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
22. ^ "North London Collegiate School appoints Vicky Bingham as new Headmistress". November 2022.
23. ^ "Loading site please wait..." www.nlcs.org.uk. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
24. ^ "Barbara Amiel: Farewell, my lovely". Independent.co.uk. 18 November 2007. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
25. ^ James Russell, 'Angus, Margaret MacGregor [Peggy] (1904–1993)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2016 [1]
26. ^ a b Schmid, Mena. "AA & her milieus: North London Collegiate School for Girls". www.rudischmid.com. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
27. ^ a b c d e f schools, isbi. "North London Collegiate School - Edgware, Middlesex - London - HA8 7RJ". www.isbi.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
28. ^ a b "Obituary: Peggy Angus". Independent.co.uk. 23 October 2011. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
29. ^ a b c "How to be top: Its girls are the cream of north London and its". Independent.co.uk. 22 October 2011. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
30. ^ a b Deborah Gorham (9 October 2012). The Victorian Girl and the Feminine Ideal. Routledge. p. 172\. ISBN 978-0-415-62326-1. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
31. ^ "Jo Coburn". North London Collegiate School. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
32. ^ "Beatrice Webb, Clara Collet and Charles Booth's Survey of London". 21 March 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
33. ^ "Fidra Books - Anne Digby". www.fidrabooks.com. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
34. ^ Law, Katie (2019). "Astrophysics professor Jo Dunkley on the complexities of the universe and her mission to get women into science". standard.co.uk. London: Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
35. ^ "Fenella Fielding: The camp vamp carries on at 90". thejc.com. 30 November 2017.
36. ^ "Margaret Fingerhut - Pianist". www.operamusica.com. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
37. ^ "North London Collegiate School". London's Top Schools. 30 September 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
38. ^ David Buckman (2006). Artists in Britain Since 1945 Vol 1, A to L. Art Dictionaries Ltd. ISBN 0-953260-95-X.
39. ^ a b c "Famous ONLs". www.nlcs.org.uk. Archived from the original on 17 December 2005.
40. ^ "Stella Gibbons". www.penguin.co.uk.
41. ^ "Gilmore, Margaret, (Mrs Eamonn Matthews) - WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO". doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U4000149. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
42. ^ "Eleanor Graham". Persephone Books.
43. ^ Jardine, Cassandra (30 March 2001). "Adventures of a high flier". Retrieved 13 June 2018 - via www.telegraph.co.uk.
44. ^ Louise E Howard (2012). Sir Albert Howard in India and The Earth's Green Carpet. Lulu.com. p. 224\. ISBN 978-1-4716-2449-0. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
45. ^ "Margaret Calkin James, graphic and textile designer : papers - Archives Hub". Retrieved 13 June 2018.
46. ^ Jane Lunnon, kesw.org, accessed 30 January 2021
47. ^ Hester Barron, 'MacDonald [married names Ridgley, Peterkin], Ishbel Allan (1903–1982)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2015 [2]
48. ^ "North London Collegiate School Prospectus". Retrieved 13 June 2018.[permanent dead link]
49. ^ "Class of 97 take up the reins - Tes News". www.tes.com. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
50. ^ "Rt Hon. Lady Justice Sharp, DBE".
51. ^ a b "Escape from the hothouse - The Spectator". 6 September 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
52. ^ Accomplished ONLS – Distinguished ONLS List Archived 7 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine Publisher: North London Collegiate School. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
53. ^ @AngelaTilby (27 September 2018). "I walked past this lake every day between 1961 and 1968 as a pupil at North London Collegiate School. Lovely reunio…" (Tweet) - via Twitter.
54. ^ "Old North Londers — ONL Profiles: Olivia Wayne". North London Collegiate School.
55. ^ "Pretoria High School for Girls". Retrieved 24 January 2018.
56. ^ C. A. Creffield, 'Aveling, Edward Bibbens (1849–1898)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [3]
57. ^ Matthew, H. C. G.; Harrison, B., eds. (23 September 2004). "The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. ref:odnb/48704. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/48704. Retrieved 27 March 2023. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
58. ^ Detail obtained from a copy of The North London Collegiate School 1850–1950

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Profile on The Good Schools Guide
* ISI Inspection Reports
* Profile on MyDaughter
* NLCS International Ltd.

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Schools and colleges in Harrow

Primary schools|

* Krishna Avanti Primary School
* Whitefriars School

Secondary schools|

* Avanti House Secondary School
* Bentley Wood High School
* Canons High School
* Harrow High School
* Hatch End High School
* Nower Hill High School
* Park High School
* Rooks Heath School
* Sacred Heart Language College
* St Gregory's RC Science College
* Salvatorian College
* Whitefriars School
* Whitmore High School

Independent schools|

* Harrow School
* The John Lyon School
* North London Collegiate School
* Orley Farm School
* Regent Independent College

FE & sixth form colleges|

* Harrow College
* St Dominic's Sixth Form College
* Stanmore College

Defunct schools|

* Harrow County School for Girls
* Heathfield School for Girls
* Pinner County Grammar School

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