Enrichment at NLCS is a core aspect of a student’s learning. The nomenclature adopted by NLCS of ‘Enrichment’ to encapsulate the broader provision outside of ‘traditional’ teaching and learning, is a helpful way to think of the uniqueness of the what is on offer. We do not see the provision of Societies, Clubs, and Activities as something that is extra (ie. Extra-Curricular) or running parallel (ie. Co-Curricular), but rather something the enhances the provision already in place. Students take part in and lead a wide variety of activities and events each week, that enrich their learning, their development as individuals, and, of course, the community as a whole. Indeed, across a week, there are over 100 Clubs and Activities on offer, with students having the chance to attend music ensembles, sporting activities, drama clubs, through to more unusual opportunities, such as a magic club or theatre tech club, or go to a local Care Home or teach at a local Primary School.
One of the fundamental aspects is our Senior Societies programme, where students in Y12-13 apply for and take on a leadership role in one of the fifty Societies, ranging from the traditional such as History Society, through to the more unusual, such as our Humanist Society. These leadership roles allow students to have an unparalleled impact on the cultural and intellectual life of the School, with events usually being run by one or more Societies. This means that year-on-year the Calendar of Events is remarkably different as each Society will choose to lead even well-established events in their own idiosyncratic fashion. Take, for example, our celebration of Black History Month, which this year included a student-led fashion show celebrating different Black Cultures across the globe. It may well be that next year’s Afro-Caribbean Society choose to celebrate Black History Month in a slightly different way, but the core elements of student leadership and aim to enrich the School Community remain.
On the more academic front, the Senior Societies Programme allows students to engage with their subjects on a much greater depth. The students in charge will invite 250 external speakers a year (previous guests have included Alex Shulman, Gina Miller, and Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe), ranging from leading politicians, lawyers, and journalists through to scientists, doctors, and film directors. Every Thursday, Y11-13 have a timetabled slot to attend one of four Society led speaker events, with every Society having the chance to lead at least one of these in an academic year. This opportunity allows students the chance to question, debate, and discuss with incredible experts in their respective fields, thereby pushing their understanding into highly academic territory.
The benefits of the programme, therefore, are exceptional. On the more obvious level, students are able to take on leadership in areas they are passionate about, whether these areas are academic or cultural. They will learn skills of delegation, time-management, and collaboration in a more practical sense. At a more fundamental level, the students will have the chance to understand that an engagement with ideas can be purely for their own joy, rather than that of an exam.
Jai Majithia, Senior Assistant Head