Everyone matters at North London. This means every individual is well-known, valued for who they are, and their contribution is recognised and celebrated.
The opportunities for leadership, public speaking, performance, creative expression, and sports and outdoor activities are many and varied throughout both our Senior School and Sixth Form, and coupled with our focus on supporting the individual, the result is that students feel happy, and are given the confidence to run their own race – to embrace challenges, to be grounded, resilient and to flourish in whatever walk of life they may choose.
“One of the main reasons I loved my time at NLCS was because I was encouraged to value my music and my acting as much as my academic studies because they are such a vital part of who I am.”
– Romy, Old North Londoner
At North London, we have a positive and vibrant community where students are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunities open to them. Whilst ensuring academic excellence and intellectual challenge, equal attention is given to supporting the development of the whole person and inspiring self-belief.
The School offers a wealth of extra-curricular activities satisfying all interests and curiosities, and enabling students to take risks and try out new things. Nearly 100 clubs run at lunchtime or after-school each week, many of which are run by the students themselves, and include subjects from philosophy to climate change, human rights to chess, and dance to literature.
Our unique Senior Societies programme allows students to invite and attend four talks a week, from a diverse range of speakers including leading politicians, barristers and journalists. All of the speakers are invited by the students, with recent talks given by Lord Pannick, Gina Miller, Alan Rusbridger, Alexandra Shulman and Katie Perrior. Across an academic year, students will invite over 200 speakers.
Our students also have the opportunity to create their own magazines and publications on topics of their choice including Law, Languages (click here to read ‘The Linguist’), Science and Economics to name but a few. Each year, we publish nearly 40 journals on a range of issues that are all student-led and written.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award offers challenges and adventure and the Model United Nations and Debating enable the pupils to develop and fine-tune their public speaking skills.
Extra-curricular activities also enable North Londoners to compete externally and they regularly win prizes at a national level in a wide range of specialities, including Young Enterprise, Science Olympiads and many essay competitions run by leading international universities.
Our extra-curricular activities create leadership experiences, enabling students to find their place in the world, enhancing their communication skills, creative thinking and ability to inspire others.
At North London we enable students to succeed in a global society by providing opportunities for them to be outward-looking and internationally minded through educational visits and voluntary work, our franchise schools and partnerships both in the UK and overseas.
Education means more than just passing exams. At NLCS we encourage students to engage actively with their community and the wider world. We want to give students the opportunity to develop their interests in an enjoyable way inside and outside the classroom.
We offer over 30 overseas trips to many exciting locations. Our Modern Foreign Languages department runs a historic exchange with Goethe-Gymnasium in Ludwigsburg, Germany. This exchange was initiated by two Jewish teachers, one at NLCS and one in Germany, and in 2024 will celebrate its 67th year.
There are also language trips to Spain, France, Italy; sports tours to the US and Canada; classicists visiting Sicily; geographers in Iceland or Morocco; and history trips to Berlin and the First World War battle sites. The programme of residential trips is reviewed annually so as to avoid trips repeating too often, which allows students to attend as many as possible.
We have longstanding partnerships with other schools across the globe, providing opportunities to take part in cultural exchange visits with students from our ‘sister’ schools in Jeju, Dubai, Singapore and Thailand.
In addition, there are over 60 days trips each year, including field trips and visits to the theatres, galleries and concert halls around London and the surrounding counties.
The partnership programme at NLCS shapes our students to become future leaders who are committed to driving change and making a positive social impact. Our academic partnerships encourage them to develop and explore their interests, to think deeply and critically about their fields of interest, and to challenge the status quo. By engaging in academic conversations with students from Eton College, Queen Elizabeth’s School, Harrow School, Merchant Taylors’ School, LAET, and others, our programme of symposia, workshops, and stimulating debates nurtures our students’ academic curiosity and hones their academic skills.
Our students in Years 10-13 also lead clubs and activities for local primary schools, such as our Enrichment Reading Club, our ‘Minimus’ Latin club, and our Mini F1 in Schools club. These develop their leadership and creative thinking skills, and foster collaboration. Alongside our students’ community service and charitable activities, we instil in our students an understanding of their social responsibility.
Every student in the Senior School is also involved with charitable work. Our Founder’s Day prayer “Thou dost require much from those to whom much is given” is part of the NLCS ethos and teaches pupils to give back to society. Numerous projects include regular visits to a local care home for the elderly and a school for disabled children, as well as many enjoyable fundraising events.
Our student-led charity committee, Canonaid, runs a vibrant programme across the year and raises money for a charity that is chosen by the student body. Alongside this, students are more than welcome to propose charities for which they would like to fundraise. Previous events have included a 24-hour ‘Danceathon’, staff vs student sport matches, and sponsored walks.
