North London Collegiate School

Our good friend Jane Simister (@futuresmart www.cjsimister.com ) organised for me to visit one of her favourite schools worldwide: NORTH LONDON COLLEGIATE SCHOOL in Edgware (www.nlcs.org.uk).

You can imagine my excitement and awe as I walked up to this building which is now the Administration Centre for K-12, then around the corner to these playing fields… I definitely had grass envy!

Beautiful grounds and facilities, but it was the tone and generosity of the school that was evident as soon as you arrive, that made this day an amazing experience for me.
Briefly, I met with many staff and students across the day where we were able to share programs and initiatives including NLCS’s use of:

• Thinking & Learning Dispositions – as they follow CJ Simister’s program as we do;
• Technology in a Geography lesson where students were encouraged to use deep thinking and questioning;
• Year 6 students to take visitors on a very proud and passionate history tour of their school (see photos below);
• Curriculum initiatives and Specialist Teachers;
• PYP (The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme) in their two franchised schools in South Korea and Dubai;
• Professional learning and growth for their staff through their interactions with their two franchised schools;
• Clubs and sporting activities during the lunch break and after school; and
• Their facilities, their neighbouring countries for excursions, visits to others schools and visitors to their school. 

I met up with two of the NLCS staff two days later at a conference and they said their staff were so excited to have learnt so much from me (those of you who know me, know that this is not to blow my own trumpet), and yet I felt I was the one who learnt so much from them. My point is, taking the time to visit other schools is a win-win for schools who make this practice a part of their staff development. I also learnt that Claremont College is well positioned internationally with our teaching and learning programs and our staff development programs.

Needless to say, I love learning from others and I loved my time at North London Collegiate School.

Janelle Ford
Acting Principal