You can download ONLine at www.nlcs.org.uk

the old North loNdoNers’ associatioN magaziNe issue 18 | 2013

ONLine

ONL Features

MadhuLika Sikka iN WashiNgtoN

iSabeL VieLba iN afghaNistaN

CLaudia NeWMaN gloBetrottiNg

hiLary bLaCkburN iN caNada

editOr’S WeLCOMe

From afghanistan to australia, it sometimes seems as if oNls are

everywhere! this edition of oNline celebrates the geographical diversity of the Nlcs community and traces it back to dame Kitty anderson’s world tour of 1965 - a gap year of her own! mrs mccabe's founder's day address was on 'internationalism' this year which reflects just how important our global community is at Nlcs. in an even bigger edition than usual, oNline also features regular pieces like the arts corner, oNl News and oNl Book club. We hope you enjoy it! it is always so good to hear about what oNls are doing, wherever you are in the world, so please keep in touch and let us know your news. if you know of an oNl who has lost touch with us, do pass on their details – we are keen to ensure everyone is included. our theme for 2014 is ‘Philanthropic oNls’ so please let us know if you have any ideas for oNls to feature or if you would like to be

involved in the magazine.

holly O’Connell (2003)

ONLA Editor

Please contact us

email: onla@nlcs.org.uk

Post: oNline, canons, canons drive, edgware ha8 7rJ

tel: 020 8951 6475

editOriaL teaM arts Columnist

chloé Nelkin (2006)

archives Columnist

Joelaine fitch (2006)

rebecca choong-Wilkins (2010)

Sub-editor

sheli rodney (nee levenson, 2004)

Magazine design by Johnny Marks, Printin 2000

WeLCOMe tOONLine 2013dear old North londoners,

at canons we have enjoyed a year of celebrations and exciting developments. during the summer term of 2012, we held parties and special events at school to involve all the pupils in the celebration of the Queen’s diamond Jubilee and then the london olympics.

the theme of founder’s day this year was ‘internationalism’ – a strength of the school since its inception, in terms of the breadth of its intake, its curricular and extra-curricular life and in the ambitions and reach of its former students. as holly o’connell, our editor, suggests old North londoners are indeed everywhere! this issue of oNline explores the lives of oNls abroad since the early years of the school. i think miss Buss, a great traveller herself, would be proud to see how well Nlcs prepares pupils today for lives which often take them around the world. our international links and exchanges with schools in other countries including language and cultural visits to europe, australia and, for the first time this year, Nlcs Jeju, develop not only depth of cultural knowledge and understanding, but give pupils an outward-looking perspective and the confidence to become leaders in a fast-paced and ever-changing global economy. We want them to leave school after their time here with the ability to take on the world!

today, as in the past, Nlcs seeks to offer the finest possible education to able young women from a wide variety of social and cultural backgrounds. We currently offer help with fees to approximately 20% of pupils in the senior school, many of which are funded through the generosity of the oNl community and Nlcs parents. for this we are very grateful for your continuing support. this year we are proud that 33% of girls entering in Year 7 are receiving some form of help with fees. We are committed to finding new sources of revenue to enable us to offer more bursary places, in order to maintain the broad social mix of girls, which makes Nlcs the unique place that it is. Nlcs Jeju, our first franchising venture, has been successful already in providing funds for bursaries for girls at canons. the royalties from one year alone are funding a full 7 year’s education for 4 pupils entering the school at 11+. We are exploring further franchising opportunities in other jurisdictions to generate additional funds.

the establishment of Nlcs Jeju, judged in its first formal inspection to be offering an outstanding academic and pastoral education to its pupils, is already helping us to build on our Bursary fund, but it also delivers other benefits: we have already been able to offer to oNls from canons up to 7 gap year placements each year; you can read about these experiences on page 16in the article by zoe ilivitsky.

Next year, the girls here at canons will be able to enjoy improved facilities, due for completion by January 2014. the building project will offer space for our wealth of curricular and extra-curricular activities, without taking away from our precious green space. the girls at school today enjoy our excellent facilities as a result of the generosity of previous generations of oNls, former parents and staff; i particularly enjoyed meeting a dozen of our ‘frances mary Buss fellowship’ donors for our annual lunch last summer.

in february we saw the launch of our 2013 capital campaign, culminating with a joyful ‘Nlcs Variety Performance’ in the Pac, attended by oNls, parents, governors and friends of the school. You will have received the brochure ‘extending excellence in education: 2013 capital campaign’. i hope you find this of interest.

in 2012/13 North london collegiate school has also joined together as a community to celebrate the lives of two oNls who between them gave years of dedicated service.

in march we invited the family of connie hurran (nee Kemp oNl 1929) to unveil a plaque and renovated fountains in the formal school gardens to commemorate connie.

You will read later in this edition about ennis Brandenburger (nee freedenberg, oNl 1943) who died in June 2012. ennis was passionately committed to education and served her old school for many years with dedication and energy. the school will hold a memorial service for ennis on 29th april 2013.

as i reflect on the past year at school, i recall the words connie hurran used at the opening of the first school in 1996: “all of this means that whatever you are good at, whatever you like doing, whatever you want to be, you have the opportunity to do it to the best of your ability”. We remain true to that spirit and continue to provide an education which transcends borders and welcomes students from all walks of life.

Please do visit us when you are able to – the girls love to meet oNls and hear tales of school in both the distant and not so distant past.

i hope to see you at school again soon,

With warmest wishes,

bernice McCabe Headmistress2 | O N L i N e m a g a z i N e

ONLa traVeL aWard uPdateS

the tribunal is an independent body,

to which employees can apply, to have

decisions judicially reviewed and obtain

an injunction or damages. our job was to

bring the uN to account.

the key areas of law being practised were

employment, public, international and

administrative law. as a non-law student

planning to convert, i was quite daunted

by being thrown into the deep end with

this internship. i was surprised to work

so closely with a Judge – Vinod Boolell,

a former supreme court judge from

mauritius who had also tried war criminals

in the former Yugoslavia and cambodia. he

appreciated our enthusiasm for the tasks

and, once we had discussed files with

him, he would let us draft whole

judgements independently!

this was first-hand experience of legal

drafting that is normally impossible to get

on vac-schemes and mini-pupilages in

london and i really appreciated the degree

of responsibility we were given.

the uN had quite flexible working hours,

with a 2.30pm finish on fridays, which

enabled many a weekend trip exploring

Kenya. my favourite trip had to be my three

days in the maasai mara, where i caught

sight of four of the “big five” game animals

and returned with hundreds of pictures

that i viewed on loop while listening to

“the lion King” soundtrack!

the whole experience was a little

expensive, potentially prohibitively so, with

the meagre allowance given to interns at

the uN barely covering meals. this is why i

was especially

grateful for the

extra funding

i received

from Nlca, as well as the

scholarship offered by oxford which

covered my flight costs. having started

my law conversion course, i can see that

the internship honed my legal reasoning

skills and has given me a taste for an

international career. What’s more, i find

myself incessantly bringing up stories and

anecdotes from this trip to my friends

and family, having opened me up to a

fascinating part of the world that i can’t

wait to return to, perhaps with some more

swahili under my belt!

I applied for the travel award in order

to support my medical elective. i spent

the first five weeks of my elective

at starship children’s hospital’s cancer

unit, in auckland, New zealand. many

children had leukaemia, although there

were also rarer illnesses. admissions

were often for chemotherapy or

side effects such as infections in

immunocompromised patients.

i went to ward rounds, clinics and

inter-disciplinary meetings and observed

procedures. i met some inspirational

children suffering real traumas, such as

amber, aged 12, who remained optimistic

despite almost complete paraplegia due

to a tumour in the spine. at the weekends

i explored auckland with my cousins and

travelled to the Bay of islands.

i then went to Nkhoma, a village in malawi,

and worked on the paediatric and adult

medical wards. the hospital has 220

beds and treats 30,000 outpatients

and 12,000 inpatients a year, despite

having very few doctors. malaria was

extremely prevalent and tuberculosis and

hiV-associated problems were common.

sometimes patients received frustratingly

poor treatment. We had a patient who

had been left, unconscious, overnight

and was breathing four times a minute.

We ventilated her and suctioned blood

from her lungs. With limited resources (no

ct scanner or intensive care facilities)

we could do very little, so had to stop

treatment, knowing that she would die.

i also travelled with other students to lake

malawi and liwonde National Park, where

we went on safari.

the two halves of my elective were very

different but both were enjoyable and

valuable experiences.

travel award report ramya arnold (2008)

travel award report Claire Strauss (2005)

A local monkey who stole my highlighter pen!

Like many other oNls, i have been fortunate enough to take advantage of the many

work experience opportunities on offer in london, while enjoying free accommodation

and meals at home. my university was running an international internship scheme and

i was offered a two-month placement at the united Nations headquarters in Nairobi,

working in the dispute tribunal for the internal administration of justice.

O N L i N e m a g a z i N e | 3

This summer i travelled to chicago,

where i volunteered for an interfaith

charity, the Jewish-muslim community

Building initiative. along with a fellow

muslim student intern, a german action

and reconciliation for Peace intern, and

our supervisor, we organised a city-wide

event, called iftar in the synagogue. iftar

is the name given to the meal in which

muslims break their fast during ramadan.

as part of our initiative, we organised

for three large synagogues in the

chicago area to open their doors (and

kitchens) and to share in this moment

with their muslim neighbours.

across our three locations, roughly

1,000 people attended the event

– roughly 50:50 from the two

communities – and the feedback

was immensely positive.

in the us, the islamophobic backlash that

the muslim community has experienced

since 9/11 has been even more extreme

than in the uK. sharia law is outlawed in

tennessee, and many other states try to

follow suit annually. in chicago and New

York, there are racist advertisements on

buses that portray muslims as a barbaric

people. the Jewish-muslim community

Building initiative was set up after 9/11

in order to show the muslim community

in chicago that their Jewish counterparts

condemned such behaviour and to open up

channels of communication and friendship

between the two groups.

Within the organising committee, i wrote

the press releases for the event and

oversaw the logistical organisation,

including the catering, recruiting and

liaising with our volunteer teams who

helped out on the night.

This award enabled me to extend an

internship in external relations with

uNhcr rwanda (the uN refugee agency)

during a busy period for the operation.

the decision to extend was twofold: i was

organising the rwanda programme for

uNhcr’s biggest annual advocacy event,

World refugee day, and wanted to see

plans through to completion. secondly, the

country was experiencing its first influx of

refugees for years, due to renewed fighting

in neighbouring dr congo. the emergency

response for the 20,000 recent arrivals

necessitated extra duties – i focused on

monitoring population movements

and related political developments,

researching country of origin information to

assist with refugee status determination,

liaison with journalists, and redoubled

fundraising efforts.

during this, World refugee day events

materialised successfully, including

Kigali’s first refugee film festival and

photography exhibition. this was coupled

with a debate on refugee issues, to

advocate for tolerance and assistance –

though complications must be overcome

when debating in climates of limited

freedom of speech! Parallel open-air

film screenings ran in two of the longer-

established refugee camps, to more than

3,000 children at once, which i hope will

continue on a monthly basis… camp living

is depressingly dull!

much of my role was in communications,

and i sought to bring refugee voices to the

fore and share them globally by writing a

Bulletin and human interest stories.

the interests sparked during this formative

internship shaped my course choices

during my current human rights law ma

at

soas, and i’ve found it hard to

disassociate from the refugee cause. i

now work with destitute failed asylum

seekers at the refugee council, and

with detainees at colnbrook immigration

removal centre. human rights abuses

don’t just occur in central africa.

i very much appreciate this award

for helping me pursue and refine my

career path, and wish every success to

future recipients!

ONLa traVeL aWard uPdateS

travel award report Michal Goldschmidt (2009)

travel award report Laura Parker (2006)

Iftar Synagogue

Laura’s Refugee Bulletin can be viewed at www.unhcr.org/4fcca6d49.html

Laura Parker UNHCR Rwanda Gihembe Camp May 2012

4 | O N L i N e m a g a z i N e

ONLa aCadeMiC aWardS

academic award report Saarah ebrahim (2008)

Since my first experience in research

during the sandwich summer of the

international Baccalaureate at Nlcs, i

have always taken a keen interest in the

medical field. it was with great excitement

that i looked to Nlcs to help fund my

research placement at the department of

obstetrics and gynaecology, university

of cambridge.

having previously

learnt that my

specialism lies in the

field of immunology,

i was delighted

to spend my time

focusing upon the origin of murine

uterine Natural Killer (NK) cells under

the supervision of mr Jens Kieckbusch,

overseen by dr francesco colucci. innate

immunity is a complex and intricate

research theme and appreciating Natural

Killer cell activation would help us to

understand the role in health and disease

at the foetal maternal interface.

throughout the programme i was able

to embrace the skills of the lab and

articulate techniques that would aid my

advanced studies in medical research.

With every step i took along the steep

learning curve, i encountered new insights

and work for further investigation.

the study unravelled questions that

ignited an urge to understand to a

greater depth, the web of seemingly

endless explanations into NK cell

trafficking. results suggested an

immature precursor cell already committed

to the NK cell lineage gives rise to uterine

Natural Killer cells but at the moment

remains inconclusive.

i am most grateful to Nlcs for its support

and for providing me with an opportunity

to cultivate a new found inspiration. this

has allowed me to be most certain in

my decision to pursue a career in this

particular field.

Current treatment

of schizophrenia

is considered

inadequate

as existing

antipsychotic drugs

do not alleviate

many cognitive

deficits. cognitive domains affected

include attention and working

memory. in my studies i investigated

these two aspects of cognition using

touch-screen tasks, where a drug

called PcP induces schizophrenic

symptomatology in healthy human

subjects and enhances psychosis

in schizophrenics. rats were sub-

chronically treated with PcP. Working

memory was then assessed using a

touch-screen working memory task.

in another experiment, rats were

administered methylazoxymethanol

acetate (mam). offspring have

neuroanatomical and behavioural

changes like in schizophrenics – for

example, impairments in attention

and the ability to remain alert to

incoming stimuli, and this was

measured in rats using a touch-

screen continuous Performance task.

PcP-treated rats were impaired

on working memory relative to

control rats and, for the first time,

the effect is existent months after

treatment. mam-treated animals had

an increased false alarm rate – they

were unable to disinhibit incorrect

responses (more impulsive). as

these both prove to be animal

models of schizophrenia, next,

an anti-impulsivity drug will be

administered to the mam-treated

rats to assess its effect on the false

alarm rate, providing a potential

therapeutic in future treatment.

academic award report dhaarica Jeyanesan (2010)

during the summer of 2012, i travelled to

the addis ababa to conduct research for

my geography degree at the university of

cambridge. i conducted 20 interviews and

collected secondary data in the format of

reports and research documents.

my dissertation explores the impact of the

2009 charities and societies Proclamation

on ethiopian charities working in the area

of child development. the Proclamation

is a controversial piece of legislation that

imposes a legal framework regulating

non-governmental organisations’ activities

in the country. my research studied the

impact of the legislation on: ethiopian

residents’ charities which are run by

ethiopians but receive more than 10% of

their funding from overseas.

these organisations can no longer legally

work on rights, democracy and good

governance issues, and capacity is now so

poor in domestic charities that the concept

of rights and democracy in development

is becoming increasingly marginalised

in ethiopia. Not only are these charities

limited by the restriction on their activities

but also charities can only devote 30% of

costs to administration issues, with the

other 70% being project and operational

costs. in practice the law categorises many

administration costs inappropriately and

this 70:30 issue is proving a real challenge.

however, in spite of this, i managed to

collect significant data with the help

of the oNla Bursary academic award,

i feel in a position to produce a truly

unique dissertation.

academic award report Georgina Prichard (2010)

O N L i N e m a g a z i N e | 5

ENGAGEMENTS

MARRIAGES

BIRTHS

keren bagon (2003) announced her engagement to itay tokatly in

december 2012, in israel.

Lauren Gaventa (2003) became engaged to david hirschfield in July 2012.

Olivia Godfrey (2003) became engaged to zeb Wayne on

2nd october 2012, in los angeles.

Sophie rogers (2003) announced her engagement to david eden in January 2013.

dharmi Shah (2000) announced her engagement to Nirav morjaria on 27th January 2013 in london.

Joelle rashti (2003) married Jonathan

rich in July 2011.

anisha Shah (2002) married siva Palan

in a registry office ceremony on 21st June

2012, and their indian wedding ceremony

took place on 24th June 2012.

Charlotte Olins (2004) married stuart

singer in June 2012.

Lucy tobin (2004) married howard lesser

in august 2012.

Sam Goldman (2003) married Nigel

hikmet on 29th august 2012, in israel.

Lucy Wray (1999) married tom mercey

on 7th July 2012.

hannah boyden (née margolis, 1995) had a baby boy, Josh,

a little brother for Jacob, abi and tali.

Stephanie holding-Shah (née holding, 2002) had a baby boy, enzo rafael

shah, on 13th June 2012, weighing 6lb 13oz.

deborah Jones (née Peters, 1995) had a baby boy, sammy alexander

Jones, on 4th september 2012.

Fizzah Nurmohamed (née Kazmi, 2003) had a baby girl, ava fatima,

on 23rd september 2012.

ON

L BI

RTH

S, M

AR

RIAG

ES &

EN

GAG

EMEN

TS

Lucy Wray and NLCS Friends

Baby Enzo

Ava Fatima Nurmohamed

6 | O N L i N e m a g a z i N e

FEAT

uR

E: A

rt a

nd S

cien

ce in

the

uSAemily Ferenczi (1998)

At the time, i couldn’t think of any

other ways. my one goal was to

become a doctor - i loved the idea of

medical school, of learning about the

human body and being one of the people

qualified to try to fix it when it goes

wrong. so i spent six hard but glorious

years at medical school, learning much

about myself as well as about the various

disciplines in our curriculum. after what

seemed like an eternity - but also a blink

of an eye - there i was: a doctor! i began

my working life in london - straight into the

world of night shifts, clinical procedures

and daunting real life responsibilities. this

was a welcome yet terrifying change, from

a life in which the most important thing

had been exam results. suddenly, i was

faced with the reality of what we had spent

all those years studying for: life and death.

i decided i wanted to be a neurologist -

fascinated by trying to solve the diagnostic

puzzles of the strange conditions that

affected people’s ability to move, feel,

speak and think. however, one terrible

downside of neurology was that so many

of these diagnoses are lacking hope of

a cure. despite many recent advances,

the brain and nervous system is still so

little understood that many available

neurological treatments are, at best,

non-specific and at worst, non-existent.

research was beckoning me once again,

this time in the form of a Phd. But i

calculated that a Phd and remainder of my

medical training would take me well into

my late thirties and i suddenly felt an urge

to explore somewhere else in the world. i

applied for a fulbright scholarship to do

a Phd in the usa and to my surprise i got

it. eighteen months later, i found myself

plunged into the world of neuroscience

at stanford university, california, joining

a cohort of young, enthusiastic american

scientists who are determined to change

the world. to understand the brain we

need more tools - tools that can help us

manipulate and visualise activity across

the whole brain, as well as monitor brain

activity at time scales fast enough to

be relevant. i am now deeply involved in

research and tool development to probe

the brain to understand some of the most

complex neural diseases the world faces:

psychiatric diseases. We hope to emerge

in the future equipped to combine clinical

and scientific skills to tackle neurological

and psychiatric diseases in a new way.

living abroad has been exhilarating.

americans are extremely welcoming,

friendly and wonderfully enthusiastic

about most things! silicon Valley is a

thriving centre for new ideas and change

and it is hard to avoid being swept up in

this mentality. every now and again i feel

sentimental for some european cynicism,

perhaps even for a drop of rain, and

definitely for more holidays! But these are

small sacrifices in exchange

for becoming part of this

inspiring community.

one lesson i carry with me

from my Nlcs days is that

life should never be one-

dimensional. What i loved at

Nlcs was the encouragement

to pursue many different

interests: academic, artistic,

sporting - and these could

often complement each other

rather than hinder. i put this

into practice recently when i

painted a picture of my most

recent scientific project. the

painting appeared on the

cover of the journal Nature

methods, where the paper

was published. the marriage

of art and science is perhaps

not such a strange one,

but one that for me started

during my Nlcs days, rushing

from an a-level physics class

to an a-level art class. the

lesson i have learned is that

science is a creative pursuit

and one cannot predict

where the next inspiration

will come from - perhaps

from medicine, perhaps from

somewhere else. i hope that

creativity in science will lead

us down paths of discovery

never before predicted

and ultimately allow us to

find cures for the world’s

most elusive and torturous

diseases. mrs clanchy’s

comment about helping the

world in many different ways

often echoes in my thoughts.

by emily Fereczi (1998)

Studied medicine at the universities of Cambridge and Oxford and is now pursuing a Phd in neuroscience at Stanford university, California.

on one of my last days at Nlcs, then

headmistress mrs clanchy told me:

“remember – there are other ways to

help the world than becoming a doctor!”

Emily Ferenczi's Opsin Abstraction

O N L i N e m a g a z i N e | 7

around the World with Old North Londoners – dame kitty anderson’s “Grand tour”.

and set forth across the Pacific ocean to

australia and New zealand: “over seven

days of ocean and still more ocean – no

land and not a single other ship in sight,

only lots of flying fish.”

dame Kitty, whose fondness for hats

was well known, happily reported to miss

mclauchlan that the christmas paper

hats were “elegant ones, and mine was

a mortar board in gold with gaily coloured

tassel!” even on board, dame Kitty

reported that she “met many people

with whom i had some link

through Nlcs or mutual

friends”. Yes, Nlcs really

is global!

the New Year saw the

travellers watching “the

sun rise over tahiti”, a

place dame Kitty found

“out of the world, with

its palm fringed lagoons,

exotic vivid flowers,

thatched houses and

friendly colourful people.

i loved it all.”

after stopping off in fiji, the voyage ended

in New zealand, where they visited a large

sheep station, home of helen aitken (née

murray), oNl and former head girl. the

aitkens took their visitors to the Waikei

thermal area where they saw “steam

which shoots out of the ground alarmingly,

and boiling mud pools”.

from New zealand it was onward to

melbourne, where the travellers were

welcomed by more oNls, as well as some

former Nlcs staff members. then they

flew to south australia, to the adelaide

home of Barbara tahourdin (née Ker

Wilson, 1948). there, dame Kitty wrote: “i

am having a delightful time ... and look out

into the garden with its vines, grapefruit

and orange trees and passionfruit ... the

sun is shining and the sky is blue.” she

gave an outdoor interview on the tennis

lawn for australian national television.

Visits were made to other oNls in

adelaide, including alison Bailey, genetics

researcher at the university of adelaide,

ARC

HIv

E FE

ATu

RE: D

ame

Kitt

y A

nder

son

“Where’s damn kitty?”

the adventure began with a

stormy crossing. as dame

Kitty recalled: “We had a

tremendous gale in the Bay of

Biscay and the ship performed

every antic possible. it

pitched, tossed, rocked,

shuddered.” however, they

survived that first leg of their

journey and enjoyed their stop

in trinidad, where they were

met by the parents of oNl

Jacqueline sealy. then they

continued to curaçao

that was a very good, if mispronounced, question from davydd (aged two, son of ONL diana White – née Langley, aka Wynne, 1948). after a long, outstanding career that included more than 20 years as headmistress of NLCS and being awarded the dbe for services to education, one might suppose that kitty anderson’s retirement would be spent peacefully pottering around her native yorkshire. instead, come 1965, dame kitty and her travelling companion, dr Margaret yates, were on board the SS Southern Cross, heading for the other side of the globe.

8 | O N L i N e m a g a z i N e

who allowed her visitors to “look down

her row of microscopes”. dame Kitty

also addressed a meeting of all adelaide

headmistresses, and the federation

of university Women held a dinner in

her honour.

the next destination was sydney, where

dame Kitty stayed at the home of diana

Wynne, who reported that her infant son

davydd repeated the same question each

morning as soon as he woke up:

"Where’s damn Kitty?"

after australia the intrepid travellers sailed

to india via hong Kong, where they were

guests of the indian council of cultural

relations. dame Kitty had “a heavy

programme of lectures and meetings in

Bombay, madras, calcutta, Benares and

delhi”, yet despite her official duties, she

managed to see “quite a number of old

North londoners”, and felt that “one of

the high spots of [this] tour was visiting

maya [Battacharaya, oNl 1944] and being

entertained by her in calcutta”. she also

visited the loreto house school, which

had an exchange programme with Nlcs.

then it was time to head homeward.

the travellers’ final tour destination was

israel, where dame Kitty met “many

old North londoners”. they stayed with

sheila Kritzler (née osler) at Kibbutz

lavi, where dame Kitty took a class of

children, who were fascinated and did not

want the lesson to end. oNls ruth fluss

(née lowenthal, 1956) in haifa and lisa

thaler (née Pollack, 1948) in Netanya also

played host to their former headmistress.

lisa recalls spending a “most wonderful

and enjoyable month” with dame Kitty.

they “laughed a lot but also had a lot of

serious discussions ...” more oNls were

encountered in upper galilee, Jerusalem

and tel aviv. after this final stop, they

headed home by way of italy.

Back in Yorkshire, dame Kitty surely

had a “rare traveller’s tale” to tell of

her trip “around the world with old

North londoners”.

by Joelaine Fitch (2006)source: Ker Wilson, Barbara, ed., Everyone Mattered: the Life and Times of Dame Kitty Anderson (london, the chandos Press, 2003) isBN 0954531108

Memories of Lisa ann thaler (née Pollack, 1948):

i remember very clearly

when dame Kitty went on

her “round the world trip”.

her last stop was in israel,

and her base for a month

of her stay here was

our home. she went to

Kibbutz lavi and gave an

english lesson there to the

fascinated children. then

she stayed with sheila

oster Kritzler and we were

all invited to tea at the

British ambassador’s.

We dressed up very

smartly for it and when

the ambassador arrived

he had just come from a

game of tennis and was

informally dressed in an

open-necked shirt. We had

a very good time with him

– and our young children

loved dame Kitty.

ARC

HIv

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ENONLs Now – Zambia Flying angels Summer School

walking into a toilet

cubicle in the zambian

compound N’gombe in 2008,

i looked down to see a long

drop, and then ahead, straight

into rusty-coloured african

scrubland. it was certainly a

shift in perspective. if

you can only afford to build

three walls in a toilet, the

back wall is the logical one to

bypass – people wandering

past in the distance were

certainly further away than my

fellow toilet companions.

having taken part in the

annual trip to flying angels

school in year 12, the

creativity of zambian toilet

arrangement was just one of

the many things that led to

a fixation with returning and

doing something more.

at the end of my gap year

in 2010, i returned to run a

summer school programme

that two oNls had completed

in 2007. along with oNl

frankie goodway, we decided

to extend the programme to

three weeks, adding an extra

week at the Junior school. We

collected a motley crew

of 12 volunteers.

this shrunk to

eight, then six,

then – two weeks

before i was set to

leave london – just

four. We decided

to go ahead – the

ever-phlegmatic flying angels

teachers barely batted an

eyelid at the change of plan.

our summer school had two

main objectives: improving literacy

and verbal expression through a

programme centred on the arts and

humanities. for all my preparations

– i had arrived a month in advance

– the success of the programme

was ultimately contingent on the

brilliance of my fellow volunteers.

While adam lovett’s debates on the

utilitarianism and liberal democracy

aroused spirited retaliation, in the next

door classroom frankie was teaching

gestural greek drama through sophocles’

antigone, whose resonant issues of

familial allegiance and religious devotion

provoked an emotive response.

our mock election was timed alongside the

run-up to the real elections, which pivotally

went on to see mmd party replaced by

the Pf – the first new party since zambia

became a multi-party state in 1991.

splitting the eldest group into political

parties according to personal choice, our

mock elections echoed many features

of its real counterpart. issues such as

tribal loyalties and religious homophobia

swiftly emerged; “mmd” campaign policies

included bribing the younger students

with sweets, and attempts to rig the

election with false ballot papers led to the

disqualification of the “Pf” party.

of course, there were also mishaps. the

class on london culture and the Beatles

fell totally flat, and our driver reminded us

regularly that “now” in africa meant soon

and “now-now” meant considerably later!

some of the Junior school students stole

all 10 of our glue sticks and 60 felt-tips on

the first day. But stern words from ruth,

the deputy headmistress, saw them all

returned within the hour.

importantly, we worked with Junior school

teachers to integrate a programme of

tiered reading books, donated by Nlcs,

into the curriculum. By the end of the

week, hal hainsworth had relinquished

his lunch breaks to sit in the sun and

supervise students desperate to finish

their books before afternoon activities.

my gap year had taken me from the forts

and palaces scattered across rajasthan

to the soviet-style expanse of Beijing,

and i had arrived in africa with 8,000

photographs, basic mandarin, few clothes

and dwindling funds. the oNla travel

and bursary fund donations to both my

mandarin diploma at soas and the cost of

the summer school in zambia were vital,

but also contributed to rather more than

just facilitating the “gap” between the end

of school and the beginning of life.

by rebecca Choong-Wilkins (2010)

Please email rebecca.choongwilkins@st-annes.ox.ac.uk if you would like more information on the summer school or to get involved next year.

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ONLs then – african Medical Missionaries: We Work(ed) in hope

Orme speaks of oNls scattered from

“the crowded villages of india” to

“the vast fields of china” at a time when

the world was still discoverable – a time

when eight cannibal chiefs rowed oNl

J glower down the river congo to meet

their tribes.

“so, through these early pioneers, we

touched the cannibals,” orme proclaims.

there was undoubtedly an aspect of

“civilising” in this philanthropy and the

damaging consequences of colonial

christianity should not be played down.

Yet, reading orme’s speech in a secular,

post-colonial 21st century context,

there is a startling absence of religious

or ideological moralising. she conveys

a warmth that bespeaks her resolute

concern to help, to “touch”.

the connotation of colonialism in the

word “pioneers” is displaced by the

assuredly groundbreaking missions of

the 150 oNl pioneers across the globe.

Not just as women, but as voyagers, they

were trailblazers – initiating and running

humanitarian projects.

the oNl missionary union’s work began

with dr edith Young, who in 1925 was

awarded the Kaisar-i-hind medal for

her services to india. subsequent oNl

generations followed suit, including dr

doris clay, who worked in the Jester

hospital, shanghai. With characteristically

dry humour, orme notes that “evidently the

patients [there] are treated better than by

the chinese doctor who wrote his bulletins:

1st day Patient bad, 2nd P worse, 3rd P in

sink, 4th P on the flit, 5th P flut”.

this precedent for seeking scientific

qualification and devoting expertise to

the needs of others was initiated by mary

Pailthorpe. the second girton student to

gain first class honours in mathematics, in

1881, she went on to the london school

of medicine.

she then spent 27 years as a medical

missionary at the Victoria hospital,

Benares, india. reminiscing about

Pailthorpe, fellow oNl frances Wilkinson

writes: “she had qualifications possessed

by few medical men and women in india,

but the chief charm of her life comes

from her own beautiful, sympathetic, deep

nature.” she adds: “one other titbit. When

her hair was cut off in her illness in 1906,

she found it so much cooler and more

practical and hygienic that she wore it short

to the end of her life. in 1906!! strong

minded woman.”

characteristically cerebral, it is clear the

oNls of the missionary union were not

blinded by idealism or self-righteousness.

orme speaks with an astute awareness of

the fractious effects of religion, including

her own. she speaks sympathetically

of one son abandoned by his mother

for converting to christianity, after he

accepted food from a fellow christian

but of inferior caste. closely inspecting a

detail in the background of a photo sent

by oNl sophie hyman de tiel, a doctor at

st catherine’s, cawnpore (now Kanpur),

orme points out: “You can

see what a splendid place st

catherine’s is. these three

little patients holding hands

– a christian, a hindu and

muslim – seem well content.”

the oNl missionary union was

eventually disbanded, and over

time the alumnae network was

established. regardless of any

new purpose, there remain the

integral bonds of friendship,

support and pride.

these first generations of

“global” oNls are not only

characterised by the humour

and courage they took to their

work, but by the strength of

character exhibited by women

who, as qualified experts in

their fields, chose a life of

extreme philanthropy and

physical deprivation. Women

who sincerely believed in

breaking social boundaries to

achieve the exceptional, and

whose head-shaving tactics

doubtless shocked other oNls.

there is a fearlessness here

that hopefully still resonates

among current North

londoners. overwhelmingly

apparent, however, is the

understated way these oNls

reference their achievements.

Wilkinson’s reminiscence of

Pailthorpe ends: “a satisfactory

alumna, i’m sure you’ll feel!”

satisfaction is perhaps the

best we can hope for.

“i always used to feel it was the height of courage to work amongst the cannibal people, though i don’t think i should feel the same fear now.” Speaking to the ONL Missionary union, around 1930, ONL helen Orme adds: “after all, they cook you first, so it doesn’t really matter.”

by rebecca Choong-Wilkins (2010)

China Lester Hospital, Shanghai Seven maids with seven mops

O N L i N e m a g a z i N e | 1 1

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how would you describe your

job in a sentence? Providing

enlightening, interesting,

edifying and sometimes

entertaining journalism to an

engaged audience every day

– which they can listen to on

their radio, mobile device

or computer.

Why did you move to the

uS to work? i married an

american after i graduated

with my m.Phil from cambridge

university and moved

to america.

describe your average day at

Morning edition on NPr news.

the great thing about the daily

news business is there isn’t

really an average day, as so

much is driven by the news

of the day. however, i get up

early, around 5am, make my

tea, catch up on overnight

email, read a ton of news

sources and my twitter feed to

get a sense of what i’ve missed overnight

and what i should anticipate for the day,

where we should be focusing our attention

in news coverage.

how have you transformed Morning

edition during your time there? We have

made the show more lively and responsive

to news. it is a more nimble operation that

can turn stories around quickly and react

to fast breaking news events, but we also

provide time to take a breath on the big

stories and examine some issues in more

depth. i think the most important thing we

do is take the time to listen to voices on

our air.

how has the show changed with the

advent of social networking and new

technology? i think it has really allowed

us to be more engaged with our audience

and find sources across the globe in a way

that would have been very labour intensive

before. the technology has allowed us

to reach so many new places – but the

downside is that things move so fast,

one has to be careful to ensure we are

accurate and thoughtful in our coverage.

there is so much pressure to be first and

fast in the competitive media environment

that we live in.

What do you think is the secret behind

the show’s success, with 13 million

listeners? i think there is still a huge

appetite for smart, intelligent, non-

judgemental coverage of the news, arts

and culture and the sciences – all areas of

coverage that NPr excels in. We treat the

audience with respect and allow them to

do their own thinking.

What is your new book A Breast Cancer

Alphabet about and why did you write

on the subject? in december 2010 i

was diagnosed with breast cancer. i

underwent surgeries and chemotherapy.

it was a tough period. i learnt a lot of

things from people who had gone through

breast cancer and from going through the

experience myself. i was fortunate enough

to have friends i could consult and also

had excellent medical care. i wanted to

write a little something that people who

didn’t have those kinds of resources might

find useful. some of it is serious, some of

it light-hearted, but i hope all of it is useful.

What has been your biggest achievement

in your career? i guess still being

employed! the broadcast news business

is going through a tumultuous period and

Madhulika Sikka (1981) is executive editor of the news team at uS media organisation National Public radio (NPr). NPr creates and distributes news, information and music programming to a network of 975 independent stations. through them, NPr programming reaches 26 million listeners every week. She was interviewed by diana Grant-davie about her career, her recent promotion to executive editor, her new book on breast cancer and the impact of her time at NLCS. at the time of the interview, Madhulika was executive producer of NPr's Morning edition, public radio's most-listened-to program with an audience of almost 13 million listeners each week on more than 700 public radio stations across the united States.

Madhulika Sikka, credit Kainaz Amaria/NPRexecutive editor of the news team at uS Media agency NPr

1 2 | O N L i N e m a g a z i N e

i feel privileged to be working at a high-

quality news organisation that seems to be

appreciated by the audience.

What is the best decision you’ve made

in your career? Probably the best

decisions are the ones where you say

no to something, as much as the things

you say yes to. on occasion i have had

some opportunities that i have passed on,

because even though on paper they may

sound impressive, they were not the right

fit. it is tempting to say yes to move up,

but if the fit isn’t right, your gut probably

lets you know that saying no is ok.

What are your plans for the future?

start my new job as executive editor in

January 2013 and hope that i excel. i am

looking forward to providing broad editorial

direction for NPr on all platforms.

do you feel your time at NLCS has helped

you, both in your career and life? Yes. and

as with many things, you appreciate things

more with the benefit of hindsight. i learnt

that it was ok to be intellectually curious

(an important thing for girls) and i learnt

to speak up for myself. i probably also

got a lot of my work ethic from Nlcs (and

my mom). i am a pretty tough taskmaster

(ask my children or staff!) and i am quite

sure that is an ethos i acquired at Nlcs.

i think that Nlcs prepared me very well

both for university and for life and made

me a big believer in single sex education.

in fact, i am the mother of two teenage

girls and they go to an all girls school here

in Washington dc – National cathedral

school – that often reminds me of Nlcs.

are you still in touch with any of your

friends or teachers from your time at

NLCS? i turned 50 last year and my

husband tracked down a few friends to

come to my party in london – it was like

old times and made me realise how much

of our personalities are set by the time we

leave school.

by diana Grant-davie (2012)

Prints have always played an

important role. before the invention

of photography, engravings enabled

people to see otherwise inaccessible

works of art. Simply, a print is an

image transferred from one surface to

another – whether a woodcut, linocut,

lithograph, screenprint (a medium i still

miss from my school days), engraving,

drypoint, aquatint, mezzotint or etching.

Known for her beautiful etchings, linda

adato (née falber, 1960) has fond

memories of drawing by the pond in front

of the art department, where she was

taught by moy Keightley, Peggy angus

and gladys anderson. miss anderson

encouraged her to apply to hornsey

college of art, where she studied for a

year before emigrating to the us with her

family in 1962. she and miss anderson

remained in touch. she received her Ba

and ma from ucla and although she did

enjoy her art classes there, she secretly

thought the teaching had been much

better at Nlcs.

for a while, she taught printmaking at

manhattanville college in New York

state. like-minded printmakers

encouraged her to apply to the society

of american graphic artists, where she

served from 2007 to 2010 as the third

female president in its long history.

among other memorable experiences,

she curated an exhibition in australia

for all the members and was present at

the opening.

her work has been shown throughout the

world and is in collections including the

achenbach foundation for graphic arts of

the fine arts museums in san francisco,

the British museum, the corcoran gallery

of art in Washington dc and the New

York Public library.

linda’s studio, with two etching presses,

has nearly always been in her home and

she is constantly busy working on her

next print. for more details about her

work see www.lindaadato.com.

by Chloé Nelkin (2006)

ARTS CORNER

if you have any involvement in the arts, please get in touch, info@chloenelkinconsulting.com Keep up-to-date with my art adventures by following artista at http://chloenelkin.wordpress.com

Brooklyn Roofscape

Blue Bridge across

the Gowanus

Linda Adato Under the Overpass

O N L i N e m a g a z i N e | 1 3

As i reflect on my time at

Nlcs, 50-plus years after

leaving, i recall the sense that

every school day i was able

to enter a world of beauty,

fairness and validation. it

was a place of redemption.

my mother was a holocaust

survivor and terribly damaged.

she would have sudden violent

rages. our father left and

our childhood was traumatic

with lucid intervals. once my

brother left for university,

things deteriorated. in 1960,

the evening before o levels

began, my mother suddenly

threw me out. i had nowhere

to go.

a neighbour took me in so

that i could do my exams and,

unbeknown to me, dr (later

dame Kitty) anderson was

informed. she at once cabled

my father, who was working in

tehran, telling him that i was

homeless, and that he should

return to london immediately.

(What a marvellous woman

she was!)

he was on the next plane and

i finally saw my dad again after

many years. he took me back

to tehran, but as there were

no suitable schools there,

he contacted his brother in

melbourne, asking if he and

his wife could foster me until i

had completed my schooling.

they telegrammed back: “Yes”.

my new guardians were a cold,

childless couple. they never

laughed. australia seemed

to me a benighted

place then. lolita,

which i had read, was banned!

there were no chocolate biscuits. the

girls at my new school were parochial

and unsophisticated. i missed my

friends and Nlcs sisters, who wrote

marvellous letters for years on those

sixpenny aerogrammes. dame Kitty wrote

to me too, as did miss mellor and miss

Vamplew. one week i had 30 letters to

reply to! they truly sustained me.

i’d sit forlornly on the wintry beach, telling

myself that the water lapping my toes

would eventually lap england’s shores...

i got good a levels, but english

universities didn’t accept them.

trapped, i sat residential college

scholarship exams at melbourne

university and won one. at last, i

left my guardians. dame Kitty wrote,

saying she was proud of my academic

achievements and especially proud of

me “personally”.

freedom! melbourne university was

exciting. i wrote for the university

newspaper. i starred in the revue in a

racy sketch written by germaine greer.

edna everage gave a hilarious talk while

still a local housewife. i acquired a

prestigious boyfriend. When we eventually

decided to go to england, i discovered that

australia had become hard to leave.

england made me, and i love her

eternally. But the trees i first gazed at

for hours were australian trees. the first

contemporary poetry i read was australian

poetry. the first man i loved (after elvis!)

was australian. these are formative

experiences too.

everywhere in australia, the sky is

vast. it’s a giant dome. the tall gumtrees

tower majestically above you, but they

are dwarfed by the sky. there is a primal

feeling when surveying this beautiful land.

it says to you: “i was here for millennia

before you, and i will be here for millennia

after you have gone, but while you are

here, i am yours.”

i am in an ecstasy every time i return

to england, but equally when i return to

australia. melbourne is now repeatedly

voted the world’s “most liveable city”.

alone in the developed world, australia

has experienced no recession and the

mood is cheerful. there are chocolate

biscuits. i have degrees from both

australian and english universities,

longstanding friendships in both countries.

i have lived parallel lives, and count myself

doubly rich.

People comment on how together i am,

considering my dysfunctional background.

Nlcs contributed largely to that.

as a psychotherapist, i know that a child’s

vital needs are validation and safety.

Nlcs reliably gave me both. for crucial

years, i was nurtured in a place which

was beautiful, peaceful, predictable and

fair; where there was no punishment;

where there was enquiry, discovery and

discourse; where there was laughter

and affection; which inculcated social

conscience in the wider world; where i was

affirmed, safe and happy. as the years

pass, i realise increasingly how indebted i

am to our unique school.

by Victoria rousseau (1962)

Victoria rousseau (née Veronica “lonk” massarik, 1962) recalls the life-saving support of her NLCS “sisters” from Melbourne, australia.

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stanisabel Vielba

isabel Vielba writes about her extraordinary life as an army doctor in afghanistan

I suppose my interest in all things “green”

started at North london. the wonderful

grounds at canons provided the backdrop

to many games of “dungeons and

dragons”, as well as an unofficial explorers

club with the associated den-building and

tree-climbing – skills i later formalised

during duke of edinburgh expeditions to

the lake district and the Brecon Beacons.

on a gap year before university, i spent

three months in remote Patagonia with

raleigh international. this introduced me

to a life of hiking, “bivvying” (sleeping

outdoors under an improvised shelter, as

opposed to a tent) and long drops. it was

there that i also met and made friends

with several aspiring military personnel

and was impressed by their commitment

to the task at hand, camaraderie and

general competence.

after graduating from medical school,

i resolved to give military life a go. as i

started my foundation training, i joined the

territorial army (ta). as a result of being a

military virgin and several Nhs-related job

moves, i took a somewhat indirect path to

becoming an officer. in November 2011,

i completed the soldier’s basic training

and then moved on to the professional

qualified officer’s course. in July 2012, i

passed out as a captain in the royal army

medical corps from the royal military

academy sandhurst. Just two months

later i started my pre-deployment training

to join 243 field hospital (based across

the south-west, where i am currently

completing my specialty training in

emergency medicine) in a tour of duty

in afghanistan.

having been back in the uK a few days,

i can give a somewhat rose-tinted,

but hopefully accurate, account of my

experience on tour.

i was deployed for three months as

the general duties medical officer (the

junior doctor!). our ta field hospital

(243) combined with us colleagues and

several uK regular counterparts to staff

the hospital at camp Bastion, the main

operating base for uK troops in helmand

Province, afghanistan. this is one of

the busiest trauma centers in the world,

pioneering world-class care. Patients are

of all classifications and ages, and have

injuries including from ied (improvised

explosive device) blasts and gunshots.

my job involved day-to-day care of ward

patients, seeing patients in the emergency

department, as well as primary care,

assisting in surgical theatre and acting as

a general spare set of hands. in contrast to

the Nhs, the care is consultant delivered,

which gave me a unique and cherished

opportunity to learn from my international

consultant colleagues, and i was privileged

to make some great friends in the process.

as a winter tour, we didn’t struggle

with 40°c heat, but had only the

occasional cold night to suffer. We were

accommodated in tents for six to eight

people, with hot showers and laundry

facilities. the cookhouse provided three

good meals a day. and thanks to the

generosity of friends, family and the

general public, particularly at christmas

time, there were mountains

of sweets and chocolates

in every department of the

hospital. the festive season

also brought several ViP visits.

most memorable for me

was meeting James Bond on

my birthday!

although i saw nothing outside

the base, i learnt a little of

the culture through our afghan

colleagues at the hospital and

from the patients. a few words

of Pashtu took me a long way

with what i saw as a stoical

but welcoming people. it never

ceased to amaze me how

brave the children were – often

not shedding a tear in the face

of horrific injuries. in the case

of a few long-term patients,

real friendship formed

between the patient

and staff. although

we were sad to say

goodbye to them,

it was wonderfully

rewarding to see

them recover from

what were often

such devastating

injuries.

all in all, my tour of duty

was what i expected it

to be: a life-changing,

humbling experience.

this 10-year conflict has

transformed trauma care

to an unprecedented level,

something that should benefit

us all as the expertise is

transferred to the Nhs.

by isabel Vielba (2002)

Isabel on RAF plane to Afghanistan

Isabel and James Bond (actor Daniel Craig) on her birthday

Isabel on American base, Camp Leatherneck

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During the first term of our

sixth form year, mr dan

lewis, Nlcs’s deputy head

(franchising), gave a talk to

us on gap year opportunities

at Nlcs Jeju, and i decided to

take a gap year. so in february

2012 i was on a flight to

Jeju, south Korea. i had no

idea what to expect and it is

only now, looking back, that

i can see i was on the verge

of a great year, packed with

amazing experiences.

landing in Korea was not

what i expected at all. it was

westernised with dunkin’

donuts and 7/11s everywhere.

it was only when i was shown

to my room at Nlcs, that it

finally hit me - i’m in Korea!

my first impression of Nlcs

Jeju was that it looked like

a holiday resort. the new

buildings are amazing: big,

new versions of the london

ones i know so well. although

i quickly got to know and love

the teachers and students,

the cultural differences at the

beginning were huge – not

least having boys there!

the first close relationships

i made were with six other

gap year students. We’d

spend most of our free time

together, exploring the island

and just having a good time.

some of my most memorable

experiences are of us all

cycling to the sanbang-san

mountain, going to seoul

during half term, surfing on

Jungmun beach, or just day to day

in breakout.

one of the strangest aspects was the

overnight switch from being an Nlcs

student to being a member of staff. i

loved working with such passionate and

fun people, on duty and off, day and

night. the level of responsibility that i was

given, and the trust the teachers had in

me, were amazing. i had the opportunity

to work on my own projects, such as with

the marketing department, as well as

getting really involved with the children. i

started helping out with the netball squad

and ended up being one of their coaches,

running sessions and even going on a trip

to seoul with them.

the most memorable and amazing aspect

was getting to know the children. in the

boarding house i was like a big sister, with

girls coming to me for advice or homework

help. around school i was a younger

“teacher” to whom they could relate.

spending time teaching lessons, running

activities or just chatting to kids during

breaktime was the highlight of my day.

there were many tears, on both sides,

when i left.

the Jeju experience gave me so much

and i feel i grew up more in that

six-month period than any other in my

life so far. for the first time, i was an

adult and was responsible not just for

myself, but whole classes of children.

as a consequence, the eventual move

from home to university in september

was easy. i also feel that i have a

much more realistic view of working

life, as well as where my career may

take me.

it is difficult to compare Nlcs london with

Nlcs Jeju. each is unique: one with one

hundred and sixty years of history and the

other a brand new school. Both will always

remain very dear to me and i hope to go

back one day and visit everyone in Jeju.

by Zoe ilivitsky (2011)

in our first of two articles about the influence of NLCS on schools abroad, Zoe ilivitzky (2011) recalls her gap year placement at NLCS Jeju in korea.

North LondonCollegiate School

Jeju

1 6 | O N L i N e m a g a z i N e

in our second article about the influence of NLCS on schools abroad, Joelaine Fitch (2006) explores the impact of edith aitken (c.1879) and Frances Mary buss on Pretoria School in South africa.

A group of girls at one of the best girls’

schools in the country are holding

daffodil-like flowers and singing the school

hymn. their motto is “We work in hope”

and they are celebrating their pioneering

female founder. But it is not that well-

known favourite “to be a pilgrim” – it

is an english translation of the dutch

eendracht school song. the “daffodils”

are in fact irises and the motto has been

translated into latin – Prosit spes labori.

the school’s pioneering female founder is

not frances mary Buss, but edith aitken.

and the country whose league tables this

school is topping? it’s sunny south africa,

not rainy england...

Welcome to Pretoria high school for

girls! its similarities to Nlcs are no

coincidence – edith aitken, the school’s

first headmistress, was an oNl and former

member of Nlcs staff who modelled

Phsg on her former school. she wanted

her school to be “conducted with the

earnest hope that here girls of different

races and different denominations might

meet in the commonwealth of letters

which gave erasmus and shakespeare to

the world; to acquire there, in accordance

with the ideals of christian duty, the

healthy physique, the trained mind and the

disciplined character which should fit each

to live worthily in that state of life unto

which it should please god to call her.”

the ideal of inclusivity was, and is, strongly

upheld at Nlcs – as one of the first oNls

said: “at North london ... no one cared

where you lived or ... what your father was

– he might be a bishop or a rat-catcher”.

however, despite fundamental ideological

similarities, Phsg could be no identikit

copy of Nlcs: the challenges faced by

Phsg in Boer War-ravaged africa would be

very different to those of Victorian north

london. her obituary in the times relates

that she arrived in south africa to find

“school buildings, one or two members

of staff, but no pupils or equipment”.

undaunted, she prepared the school for

its official opening on 10th october 1902,

and it opened with 106 pupils. inez du

saar reminisced that “there was such a

shortage of equipment, of everything that

was necessary to run a school properly!

But the whole proceeding became an

adventure to both staff and pupils ... we

grabbed our opportunities with both hands

and determined to make good.”

despite initial difficulties, Phsg

flourished under the leadership of its

much-loved headmistress. its first

head girl, daisy antill Place, wrote

that she would “like to pay tribute to

miss aitken for the manner in which

she overcame almost insuperable

obstacles ... it was not very long before

she had got the whole establishment

organised and in working order”. Within

two years, it received glowing reports

from inspectors, who complimented

the high academic standards, excellent

organisation and “the general tone and

orderly bearing of the pupils”.

the girls strove for academic success,

theatrical and musical performances were

regularly held, a literary and debating

society was established early on and

there was a library and a museum.

emphasis was placed on the girls’ physical

education: miss aitken “always encouraged

the girls to be as active as possible”

and sports included tennis, swimming,

basketball and hockey. some fifty years

earlier, miss Buss had been considered

radical in her attitude towards physical

education for girls, as even forward-thinking

friends such as dorothea Beale, head of

cheltenham ladies’ college, mocked the

spectacle of girls playing hockey.

the coming of age

celebrations in 1923 were

tinged with sadness, as it

was the year miss aitken

chose to retire. one girl

wrote that “it is impossible

to imagine the school which

[she] has made without its

inspiring spirit”. miss aitken’s

final address to the school

included a brief history of

miss Buss’s foundation of

Nlcs. she encouraged the

girls to remember the “years

of struggle and hard work”

suffered by women such

miss Buss and miss Beale

that enabled girls to have an

education as good as boys’.

her challenge to the girls is

as relevant to us today: “the

seed [of women’s education]

was sown and watered, even

with tears; it has come up

and there is a harvest. the

question remains, are you fit

to gather it in? ... all these

opportunities – what are you

going to do with them? ...

What are you going to make

of it all? are you going to use

these wonderful lives of yours

or let them run to waste?”

if edith aitken could see

Pretoria high school for girls

today, no doubt she would

be very proud indeed. the

school continues to

flourish academically

and has just been

named third-best

public school in the

gauteng Province,

based on its final

school year results.

meanwhile, miss aitken’s

ideals of integrity, inclusivity

and excellence continue to

be upheld.

by Joelaine Fitch (2006)

FEAT

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lyin

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e N

LCS

flag

abro

adPretoria High School 1928

O N L i N e m a g a z i N e | 1 7

FEAT

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ife a

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r

Had you asked me in

2002, when i left Nlcs,

what i would aim to achieve

in the next ten years, you may

have actually received a full

blueprint for what this last

decade has brought me. man

of my dreams: check (but don’t

tell him that!). Baby: check.

a career in journalism: check.

a healthy dose of hard study,

a little partying and as much

travel as i can fit in: done,

done and done.

Being at Nlcs made the

world seem like a large open

book, something i could plot

with broad sweeps of my

pen, but getting myself to

this point has been as much

of an education as anything

i could have received

at school.

on leaving Nlcs, i flung myself

straight into my gap year:

travelling around the world

with stops in india, australia

and the united states.

teaching young children in a

tiny, poverty-stricken village in

south india immediately forced

me to evaluate where it was

i had come from and what i

could go on to do. Being so far

away from what i knew, was

terrifying, but at the same time reassuring

– i felt i could now stand up to the world

with some strength.

as clichéd a phrase as it is, i had now

lapped the globe and been thoroughly

infected with the travel bug. it was not

long before i would set

off again, electing to

spend my second year

of university abroad.

New York beckoned

this time – not that i

was heading to the

glamorous heights of

manhattan, rather the

post-industrial and very snowy town of

Buffalo, around six hours away from where

i actually wanted to be! i survived though,

and came back knowing that i could live

pretty much anywhere. Well, nearly.

the next few years brought me into the

seductive world of fashion journalism. it

wasn’t all frocks and fancy heels, though.

in fact, more often than not, it was ironing

piles of clothes in a stuffy hotel basement,

in readiness for a photo shoot, or even

dog-sitting for a flamboyant fashion

designer. still, i have ironed clothes all

over europe, america and New zealand.

luckily, i earned my stripes and soon got

to do more of the “fun” stuff.

it was then that life presented me with one

of those awful decisions. after years in the

female-dominated environment of fashion

magazines, i finally came face-to-face with

the man who i knew was the one for me.

in just weeks he had won me, but, in the

middle of that whirlwind i was offered a

fantastic job at grazia magazine: in dubai!

mr right proved himself though, telling me

to take the job and then coming to visit me

every few weeks for the next 15 months –

he loves collecting air-miles.

and now, having married the man i love,

life trumps itself and gives me enzo rafael.

that brings me to the here and now. i

couldn’t have predicted it – 18-year-old

me certainly would have had no idea! the

here and now is the unchartered waters

of motherhood, hong Kong style – thanks,

this time, to hubby’s curiosity for the world.

motherhood is a gift i feel

blessed to be experiencing.

Watching my little man grow and

develop fills me with huge joy, and

knowing that i am helping mould

him in to the man he will one day be

is an absolute privilege.

as for hong Kong, it feels like home, for

now. having a new baby so far from family

and friends isn’t easy, but i’m certainly

enjoying the challenge. the city itself is

an exciting world of opportunity and a

fantastic base for exploration. in fact, as i

type i am sitting aboard a plane to taipei.

Why not check it out for the weekend?!

While i still dabble in some freelance

writing and styling work, i have set my

sights on entrepreneurship. right now

though, i am just enjoying being a mummy.

it is the greatest journey i have been

on yet.

i guess that’s the beauty of life – who

knows where it will take you next!

by Stephanie holding-Shah (2002)

Stephanie holding-Shah (2002) talks about catching the travel bug and the journey life has taken her on so far.

Hong Kong View

Mum & Enzo

Night market with Enzo

1 8 | O N L i N e m a g a z i N e

FEAT

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rClaudia Newman (2006) reveals how acceptance onto the WPP Fellowship Scheme has opened up the world for her.

Twenty-eight degree heat, an

abundance of noodles and a different

shopping mall for every week of the year,

my 11 months in singapore could be

described as a soft introduction to asia. i

chose to move to singapore for my second

year of the WPP fellowship – a graduate

programme that comprises three year-long

rotations across different companies within

WPP, a leading marketing communications

organisation. this provided a unique

opportunity to develop an understanding

of business in asia. at mediacom, i am

a regional manager responsible for the

media strategy for coca-cola and Pringles

in Japan, Korea, malaysia, thailand,

australia and indonesia. the experience

has reinforced the need to understand

differing local preferences. the leading

coke competitor in malaysia is an isotonic

called “100 Plus”, while in singapore it is

bubble tea.

singapore is an easy place to arrive in

without knowing a soul. given its transitory

business community, many friendly expats

have been in exactly the same position.

much to my delight, i quickly lost the

nickname “newbie Newman” as fresh

arrivals appeared after just a couple of

weeks. When an asian feast costs less

than a ticket from canons Park to oxford

circus, it's not hard to find an occasion to

eat out with new friends.

an undeniable attraction of singapore is

the number of exotic destinations within

a two-hour plane journey. this year i have

been lucky enough to visit thai beaches,

cambodian temples and orang-utans in the

jungles of Borneo.

We often joke that

singapore is the best-run

company in the world.

everything runs like

clockwork, which i have

found makes for a calmer

experience than london. i

remember my first commute

on the mrt (singaporean

tube): as i heard the train

approach on the platform

below, i tried to fly down the

escalator but i was stymied

by the absence of a “stand

on the right” rule. i soon

learnt that singaporeans

have no reason to rush

for a train when they know

with absolute certainty that

another one will arrive in

two minutes. since then

i have had to accept that

there is no way to get

down an escalator quickly

in singapore.

i'll be sad to leave

singapore at the end of the

year but i am lucky enough

to be moving to New York

for my final year of the

fellowship. this promises

many more international

learning experiences,

though the first shock is

likely to be experiencing

winter again!

by Claudia Newman (2006)

O N L i N e m a g a z i N e | 1 9

FEAT

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r Chloe Nelkin (2006) talks to hilary blackburn (née catherine hilary Prince, 1962) about settling in Canada.

I know it’s clichéd to call

oNls “inspirational” and

“adventurous”, but hilary

Blackburn is amazing. it

was suggested i talk to her

about her recent motorcycle

“road trip” around california,

but this is just the tip of the

iceberg. i came off the phone

feeling proud to be an oNl.

a product of his era, hilary’s

father didn’t believe in

education for women and

wanted her to leave school

at 16 and get a job. instead,

hilary chose a profession

that ensured she had to stay

at school, and went on to

study at the london school

of Pharmacy. a year after

graduating, she and her

husband, also a pharmacist,

decided to travel. ontario

was a major hub for British

pharmacists and the couple

thought they would try it out

for a few years. that was in

1968 and they are still there.

canadian winters can be

horrendously long and cold

but the couple embraced the

outdoor lifestyle – hilary took

up downhill skiing and, living

on the st lawrence river, they

also bought a boat. at first

hilary missed london and

her friends, family and the

accessibility of good art and

music, but nearby ottawa

and montreal soon made up

for this.

taking a pharmacy position

in a retail store, hilary found

there were no other women

working in the town. customers would

phone and only want to speak to the male

pharmacist! a true North londoner, she

developed a technique to deal with this –

saying “fine, call back tomorrow”, before

hanging up. People were cured of their

prejudices in no time.

after the birth of her first child, she

accepted a position at the local hospital.

more women worked there but

inappropriate remarks and sexual

harassment were rife. Nlcs had made

hilary comfortable enough with herself to

do battle. she believed in female equality;

Nlcs girls were not inferior to men – they

spoke up and were organised, strong

individuals. school gave her confidence

and a sense of adventure that she has

now passed on to her children.

combining a career with raising a family,

hilary still found time for sport. four

compulsory periods of Pe every week had

instilled a firm belief in the importance of

exercise and, even now, she feels guilty

if she doesn’t exercise daily. she hikes,

kayaks, canoes, skis (and thoroughly

recommends Western canada for this,

with which i concur), snowshoes, scuba

dives, swims, cycles (recent cycling trips

include the ardennes, ireland Provence

and turkey) and plays tennis at senior

competitive level in ontario, competing in

biannual tournaments.

hilary doesn’t sit still for long – she’s

been scuba diving in the galapagos, hiked

the inca trail and visited machu Picchu,

popped to rio, dived on the great Barrier

reef, cycled round hawaii, explored

california on the back of her husband’s

motorbike and so much more.

she is living a very different life

to the one she anticipated but there is

no doubt she has enjoyed herself and

continues to do so in leaps and bounds.

by Chloe Nelkin (2006)

Hilary snowshoeing

Hilary in New Zealand and Mount Doom

Hilary cycling in Turkey with husband Ian

in May 2011

2 0 | O N L i N e m a g a z i N e

calling the class of 1973 for your 40 year reunion on

Wednesday 11th september 2013 – please save the date!

Hong Kong View

REu

NIT

ED

throughout 2012 ONLs attended events to swap news, visit familiar haunts and view the latest changes at Canons.

50th reuNiON Class of 1962

calling the class of 1963 for your 50 year reunion on monday 16th september 2013 – please save the date!

40th reuNiON Class of 1972

O N L i N e m a g a z i N e | 2 1

calling the classes of 2003, 1993 and 1983 for your reunions on saturday 11th may 2013 10.30-4.30.invitations have been posted out – please contact the alumnae office for more information.

SuMMer reuNiONS2012 ONL Picnic

10th, 20th aNd 30th reuNiON Classes of 2002, 1992 and 1982

calling all oNls – come and join the fun at our next annual oNl Picnic on sunday 23rd June 2013.it is a fun day for your whole family with rounders and tennis on offer, as well as games for children.

REu

NIT

ED

2 2 | O N L i N e m a g a z i N e

calling the class of 2010for your three year reunion

on Wednesday 3rd July 2013, 5.30-7.30– please save the date!

3rd reuNiON CLASS OF 2009

uNiVerSity driNkS

BRISTOL, CAMBRIDGE, LONDON & OxFORD

REu

NIT

ED

O N L i N e m a g a z i N e | 2 3

the elements i had been trying to

glue together to create this elusive

second career.

at that first meeting it became clear

that we shared a fierce work ethic,

a determination to create a sound

commercial entity and, most importantly,

a sensitivity to the potential ethical pitfalls

of the tutoring world. had i searched for an

ideal business partner (and, as it turned

out, friend), i’m sure my quest would have

failed. serendipity surely played a part in

our meeting and it did a very good job:

it was apparent from day one that we

worked well together, finding it easy to

make decisions, allocate responsibilities

and create the momentum required to

expand the already successful business.

fate aside, we also benefited from the

wonderful support and network that we

were able to access through the Nlcs

alumnae department and careers service.

Poorvi’s contact with so many academically

gifted and ambitious oNls has provided us

with a steady stream of tutors and enabled

us to maintain the high standards that

we (and our clients) expect of our tuition.

there’s no doubt that being able to trace

our provenance to canons drive provides a

kite mark for our business.

Not one to stay quiet, fate intervened

again and this time the mischievous imp

decided to throw hong Kong at us. Jaime

and her husband ed took the bold and

characteristically adventurous decision to

move there and show the other side of the

world how relocation is really done. Jaime

became a partner in the new and thriving

online business, sassy, and threw herself

into meeting a network of other vibrant

and entrepreneurial Brits, while keeping

her heart (if not her time zone) well and

truly in sync with rose okin.

the practicalities of running the

business at such a distance

have undoubtedly surfaced:

the absence of daily counsel

and a physical presence can be

tough, but skype and email have

minimised some of these hurdles

and enabled us to have regular

chats and business reviews. Jaime

has been in london several times

since her move and we always

take these trips as an opportunity

to catch up and share ideas.

eighteen years after leaving Nlcs,

my connection to the school and its

significance in my life is perhaps stronger

than ever. as any oNl will tell you, there

is a sense of identity and membership,

if you like, to a group of people that

goes beyond textbooks and exams. the

existence of the alumnae team and

careers service is so valuable to the

maintenance of that spirit and network.

our success over the last few years is

something of which we are very proud:

we now list more than 100 people as our

clients and have more than 50 tutors on

our books; we received positive press

coverage in The Times and The Telegraph

and continue to create new partnerships

and ventures. the last word though

may have to go to ms austen: “...they

were both ever sensible of the warmest

gratitude towards the persons who... had

been the means of uniting them.”

by Michelle Okin (1994)

Car

eers

Net

wor

king

Ser

vice

– a

suc

cess

sto

ry a serendipitous reunion of two ONLs saw the formation of rose Okin tutoring.

It is a truth universally

acknowledged that if two

oNls are in a room, they will

invariably get talking (at the

same time) and find that they

have near-identical memories

of Budge square, lime avenue

and daffodils. it’s also fair

to say that there will be no

shortage of opinion, drive

and energy.

the nine years that separated

our time at Nlcs certainly

disappeared when Jaime and

i met, firstly online through

the oNl alumnae facebook

group and then in person, to

discuss forming a business

partnership that was to

become rose okin. Jaime had

been tutoring for some time

after realising that she had a

talent not only for explaining

difficult academic concepts,

but also for helping students

to organise and gain control

over their studies. i was on

my second maternity leave

from a career in advertising

and contemplating a change

of direction. Jaime’s email to

our facebook group requesting

tutors sparked my interest and

seemed to alight on many of

Jaime Rose

Michelle Okin

2 4 | O N L i N e m a g a z i N e

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.

our objective is to be the first port

of call for any oNl who is looking for

career assistance. By working with

other oNls, parents and any contacts

we may have, we can offer work

placements and specific career advice

to any oNl, regardless of what stage

of life they are at.

oNls are welcome to contact us for

any advice.

We are also looking for oNls that

would be happy to act as career

mentors, or if you are able to offer any

work experience or placements.

ONL BOOK CLuB

dr Claire Monk (1982)

claire’s ‘Heritage Film Audiences:

Period Films and Contemporary Audiences

in the UK’ was published by edinburgh

university Press. it is a study of audiences

for historical representation in film. the

period drama is a British phenomenon but

this is the first empirically-based study

of the genre's audience. By exploring the

attitudes and habits of this audience, it

breaks new ground both in scholarship of

contemporary period films and in

film-audience studies. the book contrasts

two opposite sections of late-1990s uK

audiences, which has illuminating and

unpredicted results. it includes an extensive

discussion of merchant ivory productions

and Jane austen adaptations.

Jane Corry (nee thomas, 1974)

Jane, who writes under the pen name Janey

fraser, launches her latest book at the end

of march 2013. it’s called ‘Happy Families’

and is being published by arrow, random

house. the story explores whether there is

such a thing as the perfect family.

www.janeyfraser.co.uk

tamara atkin (1999)

tamara is a lecturer in medieval literature

at QmW, university of london. her book,

based on her d.Phil thesis is ‘the drama

of reform: theology & theatricality,

1461-1553’. Published by Brepols,

spring 2013.

ONL career NetWorKiNg

Lottie Moggach (1998)

lottie is a journalist who writes regularly for the times,

and publications ranging from elle to the ft. her first

novel is out in the summer, called ‘Kiss me first’. last

year, Picador won the rights for Kiss Me First in a hotly-

contested eleven-publisher auction.

contact Poorvi Smith,

alumnae and development officer,

by email: psmith@nlcs.org.uk or by

telephone on 020 8951 6377.

O N L i N e m a g a z i N e | 2 5

We are delighted to share with you that the following staff members have

had babies in the last year:

mrs Jo cooke, a little boy George, sep 11

mrs sam Wettreich, a little girl Ziva, feb 12

mrs Jo demetriou, a daughter anastasia, april 12

mrs Jo Benjamin, a little girl Sienna, april 12

mrs amy ansell (nee Newsome), a little boy Mason, 1st June 12

mrs Julia sheikh, a daughter anais, summer 12

mrs Niranjali manek, a little boy Saavan, august 12

mrs geraldine castle, a little girl darcie, december 12

mrs susie stutely, a son ethan Oliver, Jan 13

mrs elizabet gunzi, a little boy Xavier Valentine, Jan 13

mrs laura Needoff, a little girl Gracie, february 13

mrs erica Breffit, a little boy adam George, march 2013

STA

FF N

EwS

STA

FF v

ALE

TTE

StaFF baby NeWS

StaFF MarriaGeSanna ryan married adel Mayadeen on

27th october 2012 in hertford.

Natasha Garland married dan taberner

on 21st July 2012, at haileybury college,

hertford.

Lawrence haigh married Sandy Gomm

(clarinet teacher) on June 6th, 2012

at grimsdyke manor. Mr & Mrs Mayadeen

Julia Sheikh (modern & foreign languages) came to us in 2009 as a

teacher of spanish and is leaving to pursue other interests.

alexandra Neville (mathematics) joined us in 2009 and is relocating to the

south of london and is taking up the post of teacher of mathematics at

st Paul’s girls’ school.

Sonia Li (mathematics) came to us in 2007 and is taking up the post of

teacher of mathematics at Notting hill & ealing high school.

Jon Linklater (Biology) joined us in 2007 and is relocating to North Yorkshire

and taking up the post of head of Biology at ripon grammar school.

Gillian robinson (modern & foreign languages) came to us in 2005 and is

leaving to spend time with her new baby.

Sue Muswell (Biology) joined us in september 2005 and is taking up a

post at immanuel college, Bushey.

Jane O’Connell

When Jane o’connell

crossed the road from

aylward school in

1998, she brought a

special mix of care and

humour to the Junior

school. so many girls have benefited

from mrs o’connell’s enthusiasm and

patience. ‘everyone mattered’ to her and

she ensured that each new Year 3 girl

settled in quickly and enjoyed school life.

she listened to each and every worry, and

solved many a break time argument before

the end of the school day.

By Mrs J Newman, Head of Junior School

2 6 | O N L i N e m a g a z i N e

barbara Pomeroy (oNl 1968)

Barbara toyne was a pupil at Nlcs

from 1961 – 1968, sharing some

of her time there with her sister Pamela

(who, in her capacity as an architect has

designed all of the recent new buildings at

school – what a family!) after a successful

and typically fearless career as a pioneer

woman in the field of engineering and

some time raising her young family,

Barbara Pomeroy wrote to the then

headmistress Joan clanchy in february

1987 asking if there was a part-time post

available for a teacher of Physics. from

that small beginning came 25 years of

loyal service to the school.

as her excellent teaching and great

capability became evident, Barbara took on

a series of new positions: as examinations

secretary, as senior school observer to

the governing Body, and organising the

careers convention. in 1995 she was

promoted to head of science, and in

september 1999 to the post of Pastoral

deputy, succeeding anne thomas; in 2003

she became senior deputy head when the

post was first created.

Barbara’s approach might best be summed

up by the phrase “everyone matters”,

and her dedication to the pastoral care of

students was clear in her determination to

ensure that all girls were supported

through their time at the school,

something she cared about deeply. she

also maintained her passion for science,

enthusing generations of girls with a love

of the subject, not only in this country

but also abroad: when she visited the

flying angels school in zambia, she took

with her an entire science laboratory

in the extra suitcase she persuaded

British airways to allow her to take. that

visit generated a memorable assembly

featuring a video of an elephant weaving

its way through the breakfast tables

she had been sitting at, an assembly

which inspired a number of sketches in

canons follies, where she was invariably

represented by a girl walking on her

knees in an attempt to represent her

diminutive height. this was something

which Barbara always took in good spirit;

as she explained, ‘inside i’m a tall person’

– something which those oNls who were

sometimes summoned to her office for a

STA

FF v

ALE

TTE

dressing-down can probably

testify to...

in Barbara’s final assembly

she showed the school

some souvenirs of her time

here as a pupil: her school

tie, her hymn book and the

photograph of her taken by

her proud parents on her first

morning in her new school

uniform. her farewell gift to

colleagues included some

framed pictures and coasters

featuring stunning photographs

of the school grounds that she

had been privately taking for

months, with great talent. We

know she will continue to hold

the school in great affection,

and that many generations of

North londoners are grateful

to her for all her teaching and

support. We are not surprised

to hear that she is extremely

busy in her retirement,

travelling, painting, gardening

and spending time with her

family, and we wish many

years of happiness in this next

phase of her life.

By Mrs A Wilson, Mrs H Turner,

Mrs M Fotheringham and

Mrs C Wagner

Margaret Fox

it is impossible to capture the 35 years that margaret fox has been part of Nlcs in a

short article. she arrived in 1977, moving from cleaning and lovingly looking after the

front entrance area to the catering department. gill conway (nee Boyne, oNl 1996)

remembers her serving a sausage roll every break time. once catering had been taken

over by a contractor, mrs fox was snapped up by the Bursary, and borrowed by numerous

other departments as word of her magic spread. finally, the Junior school were lucky

enough to have her invaluable support and i can clearly remember the support she

offered me from every perspective – as a pupil, parent and member of staff. each day,

no matter who you were or why you had come to school, she made everyone feel as if

they really mattered. over her 20 years in the Junior school, she got to know over 1,000

girls, their parents, a huge number of teaching staff, office staff, catering staff and

groundsmen and of course three headmistresses, four heads of the Junior school and i

think six Bursars – what a terrific record!

We wish mrs and

mr fox every

happiness in

their retirement

and great joy in

their new home

in hampshire.

We trust mrs

fox will be a

regular visitor

to school – to spread a little

more magic.

By Mrs J Newman,

Head of Junior School

O N L i N e m a g a z i N e | 2 7

REMEMBRANCEruth arnaud (1969) died 19th august

2011, studied english at Birmingham

university, and after teaching in suffolk,

attended the central school of speech and

drama. she spent her entire working life

in the theatre, first as a stage manager,

both in repertory and for a long period at

the Young Vic; in the early 1990s, she

moved to the literary and theatrical agent

casarotto ramsey, where she worked until

her death.

avis blundell Jones (née dyer, 1933)

who died aged 97, was a pioneering gP

and first female president of the sW

section of the British medical association.

after leaving Nlcs, she became one of

a handful of women studying medicine

at university college hospital, qualifying

in 1938 and marrying geoffrey. she was

active in the Bma, and was made a

fellow in 1973. she is survived by her

children rosamond, Peter and Paula,

and six grandchildren.

audrey brain (née Wheeler, former staff)

died aged 93, having taught piano and

aural training for more than 70 years. she

taught at Nlcs from 1939 to 1975. she

retired in 1983, but continued to teach

privately until 2012. she is survived by

her four children, Jenny, roger, michael

and tina.

ennis brandenburger (née freedenberg,

1943) died on 22nd June 2012, with

her family around her. if one word could

encapsulate her life, it would be ‘language’.

ennis loved language and was fluent in

french and german. this love of language

will remain a

lasting influence

on her family to

whom she was so

committed – her

three children,

their spouses

and her three

grandchildren.

if ennis had been asked to choose her

favourite word, she might have chosen

‘education’ – this was a theme of her

life. she attended Nlcs from 1939-1943

after her parents moved to the suburbs

to escape the bombing in central london

during World War ii. from Nlcs she went

to st hilda’s college, oxford.

after monitoring the german press

during the allied occupation for the royal

institute of international affairs (chatham

house), ennis married, devoted herself

to raising her family and worked in the

family business.

her great commitment to education

and Nlcs never wavered. she became

secretary of oNla, then governor

and finance chair of Nlcs’s Board of

governors. she was highly respected for

her sharp mind, her careful listening, her

vigorous commitment and her no-nonsense

approach. ennis remained a champion of

education, and acted as counsellor-in-chief

to her relatives and friends, their children

and grandchildren on all educational

matters, until the very end.

Lilian Violet Cadoux (née humble,

1937) died on 22nd November 2012

in lancaster, aged 92. she married

harold cadoux, who died in 1974, and

she is survived by three children, eight

grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Joyce Coysh (former staff) died in 2011.

she was mother to two oNls (heather

gibb, 1979, and gillian low, 1973) and

served as secretary to the Parents’ guild.

she volunteered as secretary for a bursary

appeal – the bursary was named after her

and her husband, Bill coysh. she went on

to work as assistant Bursar for around 10

years and taught typing to the girls.

Julia elliott (née o'donovan, 1959) died

on 13th January 2013 and is survived by

her husband timothy.

Valerie Gagen (née southey, 1980) died

on 11th march 2012 at university college

hospital after a short illness. her husband

Nick, children thomas and mark, and her

mother were at her bedside when she died.

Moira ruth Gold (née lefton, 1967)

died on 3rd July 2012. after Nlcs, she

accepted a scholarship to oxford. after

her gap year on a Kibbutz, she gave up her

place at oxford to stay in israel where she

had met eugene, her husband - graduating

in french and spanish from hebrew

university. five years later they moved

to the us where their two sons were

born. moira taught french and spanish in

schools and hebrew at a synagogue. she

is survived by her husband of 44 years,

their sons Jason and david, her mother

esta and her sister Barbara.

Patricia hobbs (née arnott, 1948) died

on 17th august 2011. Paddy had a

scholarship to Nlcs in 1940 and treasured

her many oNl friendships throughout her

life. she trained and worked as a primary

school teacher, and married John. she had

several children’s stories published while

her own three daughters were young. as

they grew, she had more time to write, and

two of her radio plays were produced by

the BBc. she is survived by John, her three

daughters and eight grandchildren.

Janet Johnson

(née asham,

1965) died on 2nd

september 2012,

at the age of 65.

she won the James

cropper scholarship

to oxford. after a career in teaching,

she took a doctorate at oxford in 2003,

published several articles in academic

journals and became a research fellow at

lady margaret hall. But nothing compared

to her love for her family – her husband of

40 years, their three children and her joy at

the arrival of four grandchildren.

2 8 | O N L i N e m a g a z i N e

Greta ann Josephy (née Bateman, 1960)

died on 3rd November 2012. greta trained

and worked as a casualty nurse at the

middlesex hospital, married richard

Josephy and had three children. greta

returned to work at the churchill hospital

and then became a district nurse until her

retirement. although diagnosed with a rare

lymphoma in 1999, greta continued to

have a very active and happy life.

Sheila Lee (née howlett, 1952) died of

cancer on 7th June 2012, aged 78. in

1952 she won an exhibition to royal

holloway college where she read history

and was President of the union in her final

year. she married John, had two children

and spent the next 22 years as an army

wife. she founded a highly regarded

bereavement counselling service at her

local hospice, exemplifying in her life all

the qualities that Nlcs seeks to instill

today. she is missed by her husband,

children and grandchildren.

Monica king (née Pearson, 1938) died on

6th November 2011. she trained at the

middlesex hospital, london, from 1940

to 1945. she described wheeling patients

down to the sub-basement during bombing

raids, covered in bits of plaster dust. she

later became a midwife, married anthony

and had two children.

Lesley Nickell (1962) died peacefully in

her sleep on 11th february 2013. lesley’s

passions were birds and choral singing,

in Britain and all over the world. she was

a founder member of the cBso chorus

and sang with them for 40 years including

concerts this year.

Mrs Xanne Poulsen (née Wallace, 1943)

died in 2012, at the age of 86. she is

survived by her son marius.

Vivienne ross (née abulafia, 1957) died

on 17th November 2012, after a long

fight with cancer. she is best remembered

for her dignity,

determination and style

– and her dedication

to Nlcs. her

achievements in golf

resulted in more than

100 trophies gained at

various clubs; both for

the county, and representing great Britain

in the macabbiah games in 1989. she will

be sadly missed.

betty elsie Smith (née Barwick, 1948)

who died on 30th october 2011, aged 80,

retained an interest in the activities of her

old school and avidly read Nlcs news. she

is greatly missed by her son simon smith

and family.

edith Spivack died on 21st January 2012,

aged 101.

Clare Sykes (née hardwick, 1947) died

on 18th october 2012 in Warrington,

somerset, aged 82. she was the loving

wife of clive, mother of Jennifer and

david, and grandma of stephanie, fiona

and Nathan.

e Joan thomas (née huxley, 1931)

who died in January 2011, was the last

surviving sibling of three huxley sisters

who attended Nlcs in the 1920s-30s. she

lived in sarratt and knew all the children

in the village (and later their children), as

she weighed babies at the fortnightly baby

clinic for nearly 40 years.

Jocelyn urmson (née maplesden, 1959)

died on 18th may 2012. Jocelyn lived in

edinburgh where she worked for various

firms, particularly the edinburgh club,

for many years. after graduating from

st andrews university, she worked as

a systems analyst in the early days of

computing, before getting married. she is

survived by her husband chris, daughters

and grandchildren, her sister (lesley, oNl

1965) and her brother Jon.

diana White (née langley, aka Wynne,

1948) died at home on 1st march 2012.

diana held her years at Nlcs in great

affection – she felt she was taught the

value of education, the duty to use her

education in society and the importance

of believing in herself as a woman. after

school, diana moved to south africa

to be with her first husband, donald,

and worked in radio – presenting and

acting in radio plays – writing, editing

and journalism.

she and donald

also made films

for the uN about

the traditional

folk tales of what

is now tanzania.

Back in london,

diana worked her way up from secretary

to replace a retired enid Blyton as editor

of sunny stories for children, then on to

adult journalism at modern Woman. they

continued to move around the world, had

their only son davydd, and diana worked

at several well known publications,

including time magazine, australian

Women’s Weekly, presenting a weekly

cookery programme on television and

writing the script for a film that donald

directed. in 1964 in sydney, diana played

host to an important visitor: dame Kitty

anderson. in 1991, diana was widowed

but found love a second time and married

roger White, with whom she shared 15

wonderfully happy years.

Joan Williams-ashman (née mellers,

1939) died on 14th November 2012 at

st mary’s convent.

Olive Wood (1948) died on 9th November

2012. olive studied history at royal

holloway college and later moved to

leicester, where she became personal

assistant to the Vice-chancellor of

leicester university for many years. her

group of Nlcs friends celebrated her 80th

birthday with her.

O N L i N e m a g a z i N e | 2 9

ONLNEWSrachel binnington (nee Kemp, 1982) works as accountant's assistant and, with her

husband, volunteers in a prison going in to chat to the men every week. she also acts

as a discussion facilitator on courses designed to rehabilitate them into society. they

are involved with the chapel where her husband is a volunteer prison chaplain. their son

delights in answering the phone and stating that his parents are in prison again! the

couple even spent their 25th wedding anniversary in prison.

Mary Cozens-Walker (1957) has been married to artist anthony green for 50 years and,

in their very different ways, they have documented their lives together with wit, humour

and attention to, sometimes intimate, detail. mary works in textile appliqué and ‘stitch’

drawing to develop extraordinary, evocative art objects which elude every attempt at

classification. Nlcs have very proudly hosted mary’s retrospective exhibition (January-

march 2013) in the Performing arts centre. mary’s book ‘objects of obsession

1955-2011’ is available to purchase through the school.

bridget decker (nee shell, 1987) has been working in china for the last 19 years, mostly

in the northeastern city of shenyang. during that time, she has taught english (university,

high school, private tutoring) and presently homeschools her two daughters, hadashah

(7) and teshuah (4). she met her husband, emmanuel, in china and they volunteer with a

medical organisation that trains doctors in family practice medicine.

Sarah ebner (1989) now works for the times, where she writes and edits their education

blog, school gate. she recently won the award for outstanding online commentary at

the education Journalism awards and spends too much time talking about schools and

universities! sarah is also the author of a book for parents whose children are starting

school for the first time. the “starting school survival guide: everything you need to

know when your child starts primary school” is published by White ladder. sarah has two

children, Jessica aged 11 and robert, aged 7.

Norman Flower is the brother of the

late Pamela Flower (oNl). Nlcs

was very privileged to welcome mr

flower to the Pamela flower tennis

tournament final in 2012. the winner,

monisha Kochar in Year 10, was

thrilled to be presented with the cup

by mr flower. he could vividly recall

dropping Pamela at the canons drive

entrance as a boy, but remarked that

it was his first visit inside the school.

talented, vivacious and a genuine friend to

all that knew her, Karen immediately started

to fundraise upon her diagnosis. inspired

by Karen’s dedication, the Karen morris

memorial trust (Kmmt) was set up by family

and friends in her memory in 1999.

to date the Kmmt has raised an incredible

£1.6m. its primary focus is building

‘Karen’s homes from home’ for leukaemia

patients and their families – facilities

within hospitals that allow families to

be together at a difficult time in a relaxed,

welcoming atmosphere. there are currently

3 Karen's homes from home, with talks

to open another 2 in the next couple of

years. the Kmmt also currently supports

complementary therapists, counsellors

and clinical support nurses in leading

haematology departments across england.

the Kmmt continues to do an inspirational

job of helping families get through some

extraordinarily difficult times. it fundraises

tirelessly to

ensure Karen’s

legacy continues.

supper quizzes,

the london

marathon, theatre events, concerts... each

occasion helps keep Karen’s ambition alive

- to ensure as many leukaemia patients as

possible suffer as little as possible during

their fight with their illness.

any oNl wishing to support Karen's charity

can do so by donating online through

justgiving.com or virgin money giving

and by becoming a friend of the Kmmt

on facebook. further information on the

Kmmt web site: www.kmmt.org.uk or by

emailing sylvia@kmmt.org.uk

the karen Morris Memorial trust – continuing the work of a very special North londoner

karen Morris (left 1993) was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia in 1997 and

lost her battle to the disease one year later at the age of just 23.

3 0 | O N L i N e m a g a z i N e

stage at night. in the week preceding

the ceremony we did three full dress

rehearsals, two of which had an audience,

so by the time the night came we couldn’t

have been better prepared! my section,

featuring 1,500 volunteer dancers and

around 50 professionals, was a tribute to

British music through time and honoured

tim Berners-lee, the inventor of the World

Wide Web. i was dancing in the “Now”

section, alongside dizzee rascal, my

first experience of street choreography!

Waiting in the tunnel to go on, the

atmosphere amongst the volunteers was

just incredible, we were all beyond excited.

then we ran on, and it almost didn’t seem

real. luckily with the lights you couldn’t

really see the enormous audience, so i

just focused on the dance moves and tried

to soak it all in. it seemed to be over in

moments, but it was an experience i will

never forget.”

alexis rose (1996) is currently the

director of operations for accenture

management consulting (europe,

africa and latin america). in July

2012 she was named as one of

management today’s ‘35 Women

under 35’. here she shares with

us her experiences as a Volunteer

Performer in the london 2012

olympics opening ceremony.

“Performing in the opening ceremony was an amazing experience. from the moment in

2005 when i watched the announcement that we had won the bid, i knew i wanted to be

involved. i never imagined i would end up dancing in front of 85,000 people in the olympic

stadium! i applied in 2011 and took part in a ‘general ceremonies audition’ before being

recalled for a specific dance audition. i couldn’t believe it when i was offered a role! the

preparation process was intense – 23 rehearsals lasting from 5–12 hours each.

We started off learning choreography on sunday afternoons at a tV studio in east

london, and then moved to the 1:1 venue in dagenham (a “lifesize” mockup of the

stadium floor) where we did all the blocking of entrances and exits. finally in June we

moved to the olympic stadium, where we did evening rehearsals to get used to the

ONLNEWS

robyn Slovo (1972) is working as a film

producer. her recent films include ‘tinker

tailor soldier spy’ and she is currently

working on ‘smileys People’ for production

in a couple of years. her next film, a

Patricia highsmith adaptation, is currently

in post production.

Julia Wagner (née Brown, 1999) has been

awarded a doctorate in film studies from

ucl, where she teaches in the italian

department. she is married to adam,

and their son Joseph shalom was born

on 12.10.10.

anna Madeley (1995) has been

described by the British theatre

guide's Philip fisher as one of the

united Kingdom's "brightest and

most versatile young actresses".

she is currently appearing at the

almeida theatre, islington, as the

governess in ‘The Turn of the Screw’

(January-march 2013).

ONLa COMMittee NeWSthe oNla committee would like to announce the retirement of rita Mirchandani and

thank her for her tireless support of the committee in her role as secretary.

We are delighted to announce two new appointments to the oNla committee.

dr roma Patel (oNl 1996) has taken over from rita mirchandani as oNla secretary.

annabelle James (oNl 1994) has joined the oNla committee and will also coordinate

oNl groups in the North of england.

We wish both roma and annabelle all the very best in their new roles.

News from the hampshire ONLa Groupon saturday october 20th the hampshire oNla group met at helen Jex's (1983) house in

Winchester to share lunch together. We had an excellent attendance of 15 and, as usual,

a magnificent spread was laid before us, contributed to by all present and there was

much chat and swapping of news. two members had attended founders day this year,

so it was interesting to have an up to date account of the school. the weather was kind,

although muddy under foot, so we could only admire helen’s well laid out and manicured

garden from inside the house. We were very pleased to welcome a new member who

lowered the average age considerably.

the 2013 meetings will be on april 20th in chandlers ford and on october 19th in

southampton. We are always pleased to welcome new members.

Please contact: marilyn ayres (nee swallow) marilyn.ayres@mac.com By Marilyn Ayres

O N L i N e m a g a z i N e | 3 1

Notice is hereby given that the annual

general meeting 2013 of the old North

londoners’ association will be held at

North london collegiate school, canons,

canons drive, edgware, ha8 7rJ on

saturday 11th may 2013 at 10.30am.

aGeNda

1. apologies for absence

2. minutes of the last agm 2012

3. matters arising

4. secretary’s report

5. Presentation of oNla accounts

6. election/re-election of committee members and Vice Presidents

7. any other Business

Coffee and pastries will be served

at 11am.

all oNls are entitled to attend and

we would welcome as many of you as

possible. the association is run for

the benefit of oNls and we need your

input. if you would like to attend, please

contact emma maltz, alumnae officer,

by Friday 26th april 2013 by email:

onla@nlcs.org.uk or write to emma at

the above address.

if you would like to nominate another

member for election or re-election to the

committee at the agm please visit

www.nlcs.org.uk for guidance on how

to make a nomination and the relevant

forms. alternatively, contact the

alumnae office.

oNls are warmly welcomed back to 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, last year the school hosted 36 productions in the Performing arts centre, plus art exhibitions throughout the year. information about these are available at www.nlcs.org.uk under the forthcoming events section. alternatively, we would be happy to post you a copy.

founder’s day remains a popular date in the diary and places for 2014 can be booked from January 2014 through the alumnae office onla@nlcs.org.uk or 020 8951 6475. Places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis and we will let you know if we are able to offer you a seat approximately two weeks beforehand.

ONL GrOuPSregional groups are run by oNls to meet and develop friendships with other local oNls. some groups meet up regularly, others on an ad hoc basis, often at each other’s homes or a local pub or restaurant. if you would like to get in touch with the oNl group in your area, they would be delighted to hear from you. for the full, up to date list of groups, please visit: www.nlcs.org.uk

if you are interested in setting up a new area or special interest group yourself, please contact the alumnae & development office on onla@nlcs.org.uk or call 020 8951 6475.

COrNWaLL/deVONJill hall (nee hankins) jhall22@btinternet.comalison Nelson (nee strachan) an276@uwclub.netthe group is also on facebook: cornwall/devon oNla group.

eaSt aNGLiamargaret angus (nee claydon) maa@angi.me.uk

eaSt SuSSeXmarguerite Wright (nee steinhardt) tel: (01273) 330387

GLOuCeSterShiredorothy farley (nee coode) tel: (01452) 713883

haMPShiremarilyn ayres (nee swallow) marilyn.ayres@mac.com

LiNCOLNShirecaroline Kenyon (nee Brandenburger) tel: (01673) 828302

MidLaNdSKate Jones (nee levinson) tel: (01676) 535249 Kate.levinson@talk21.com

SOuth WeStaudrey derrick (nee dickinson) tel: (01823) 421323 priorscombe@tiscali.co.uk

WeSt SuSSeXmrs h. a. sherwin-smith (nee davis) tel: 01403 790403 hilary@sherwin-smith.com

OVerSeaSauStraLiaKay moyes (nee hannah) tel: australia 02 9975 6150 moyes_kay@hotmail.com mobile: 0416 002 701

NeW ZeaLaNdPauline miller tel: auckland (09) 577 3319 prmiller@xtra.co.nz

uSasarah feldman (nee shaps) feldman05@juno.com

iSraeLdebra Benstein (nee Kestel) dbenstein@gmail.com

COMMuNITy FOR LIFE

aNNuaL GeNeraL MeetiNGSaturday 11th May 2013

ONLA INFORMATION

Please visit the oNla section of www.nlcs.org.uk for the most up to date list of events and reunions.

May11th oNla agm

11th 10th, 20th and 30th reunions – classes of 1983, 1993, 2003

JuNe19th frances mary Buss

fellowship lunch

23rd oNl summer Picnic

JuLy3rd class of 2010 summer

Pimm’s Party

SePteMber9th class of 2012 reunion

13th class of 1973 40th reunion

16th class of 1963 50th reunion

forthcomiNg eVeNts 2013