North London Collegiate School
Motto | in spe laboramus |
---|---|
Established | 1850 |
Type | Independent day school |
Headmistress | Bernice McCabe |
Chairman of the Governors | Tim Suter |
Founder | Frances Mary Buss |
Location |
Canons Drive Edgware Middlesex HA8 7RJ England |
Local authority | Harrow |
DfE number | 310/6075 |
Students | 1066 (2008) |
Gender | Girls |
Ages | 4–18 |
Houses | Angus, Lindsay, Gibbons, Collet, Aitken |
Colours | Sky blue Brown |
Former pupils | Old North Londoners |
Website |
www |
North London Collegiate School is an independent day school for girls in London. Founded in Camden Town, it is now located in Edgware, in the London Borough of Harrow. It is a member of the Girls' Schools Association.
History
The North London Collegiate School was founded by Frances Mary Buss, a pioneer in girls' education. She was listed by The Times as one of the top ten greatest women of all time. 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(/coin) the term 'Headmistress'.
The small school opened in 1850 at No.46 (later renumbered No.12) Camden Street, London.[1] She believed in the importance of home life and it remained a day school.[2]
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.[3][4]
George Bernard Shaw's mother was a director of music at the school, followed in 1908 by J.B. Manson's wife, Lilian, whose ambitious revival of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas in 1910 gained coverage in The Times.[5]
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 school also 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, and a staff head of house.
The uniform of North London Collegiate School is light blue and dark brown in colour.
The co-ed boarding North London Collegiate School Jeju opened in Seogwipo, South Korea in 2011.[6]
Curriculum
North London Collegiate is the one of the most academically successful schools in England, having been placed in the top twenty in the Daily Telegraph exam league tables every year for over a decade. It has been an International Baccalaureate World School since October 2003 .[7][8] 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.[9]
Headmistresses
- Frances Mary Buss (1850 – December 1894) [10]
- Sophie Bryant (1895–1918) [11]
- Isabella Drummond (1918–1940, previously Head of Camden School) [11]
- Eileen Harold (1941–1944)[12]
- Kitty Anderson DBE (1945–1965) [12][13]
- Madeline McLauchlan (1965 – December 1985, previously at Henrietta Barnett School)
- Joan Clanchy (1986–1997)
- Bernice McCabe (1997–2017, previously at Chelmsford County High School)
Notable former pupils
- Barbara Amiel (journalist)
- Peggy Angus (artist, tile and wallpaper designer)
- Agnes Arber [née Robertson] (1879–1960) (botanist)
- Alice Beer (TV presenter)[14]
- Alison Britton (ceramicist)
- Eleanor Bron (actress)
- Sara Burstall (teacher, headmistress) (headmistress of Manchester High School for Girls)
- Jo Coburn BBC political broadcaster
- Clara Collet (civil servant and promoter of women's education and employment)
- Gillian Cross (children's writer)[14]
- Anne Digby (novelist)
- Fenella Fielding (actress)
- Margaret Fingerhut (pianist)
- Dame Helen Gardner (academic/writer)[15]
- Stella Gibbons (1902–1989) (novelist)
- Margaret Gilmore (former BBC correspondent)
- Eleanor Graham (1896–1984) (publisher and children's writer)
- Noreena Hertz (b. 1967) (academic)
- Gabrielle Howard (1876-1930) (plant physiologist)
- Mary Vivian "Molly" Hughes (1866–1956) (writer, educator)
- Margaret Calkin James (1895–1985) (graphic designer and artist)
- Lilian Lindsay[14][15] [née Murray] (1871–1960) (first female dentist - qualified 1897)
- Anna Madeley (actress)
- Judy Mallaber (MP)
- Jane March (actress)
- Jan Marsh (expert on pre-Raphaelites)[14]
- Katharine McMahon (author)
- Valerie Mendes (author)
- Margaret Theodora Meyer (1862–1924) (mathematician)
- Jessie Millward (music hall artist)
- Susie Orbach (psychologist/journalist)
- 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)
- Ethel Sargant (1863–1918) (botanist)
- Stevie Smith (1902–1971) (poet)
- Marie Stopes (1880–1958)(palaeobotanist,birth control advocate)[15]
- Netta Syrett (1865–1943) (novelist and playwright)
- Eva Germaine Rimington Taylor (1879–1966) (geographer and historian of science)
- Gillian Tett (journalist)[16]
- Natasha Walter (writer)[14]
- Judith Weir (composer)
- Rachel Weisz (actress)
- Anna Wintour (fashion journalist; editor of Vogue.)[14]
Bibliography
- 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) [17]
- "And Their Works Do Follow Them" by Watson, Nigel London, James & James, 2000 [ISBN 0907383300]
References
- ↑ "Secondary schooling". www.english-heritage.org.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
- ↑ Scrimgeour, Ruby Margaret, (ed.), The North London Collegiate School, 1850-1950: a hundred years of girls’ education, (Oxford University Press),
- ↑ http://www.nlcs.org.uk/670/about-us/history-of-the-school/the-history-of-canons
- ↑ http://www.nlcs.org.uk/357/about-us/history-of-the-school
- ↑ Buckman, David (1973), James Bolivar Manson, p. 9, Maltzahn Gallery Ltd, London.
- ↑ NLCS Jeju
- ↑ "North London Collegiate School". Tatler. March 2012.
- ↑ "North London Collegiate School". IB World Schools. IBO. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- ↑ Extracurricular Activities
- ↑ 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
- 1 2 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
- 1 2 The book entitled The North London Collegiate School 1850 - 1950 contains references in the index to this person.
- ↑ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography - subscription based
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 isbi entry for North London Collegiate School
- 1 2 3 North London Collegiate School - Famous ONLs
- ↑ Accomplished ONLS - Distinguished ONLS List Publisher: North London Collegiate School. Retrieved: 23 February 2014.
- ↑ Detail obtained from a copy of The North London Collegiate School 1850-1950
External links
- School Website
- Profile on The Good Schools Guide
- ISI Inspection Reports
- Profile on MyDaughter
- NLCS Jeju
Coordinates: 51°36′54″N 0°17′41″W / 51.61500°N 0.29472°W