NHEHS Old Girls' Association

Today we were delighted to welcome Sarah Tandy (Class of 2000) back to NHEHS, her first visit since leaving school.

Sarah shared her inspiring and honest career journey with our Sixth Form students. After leaving NHEHS, she studied at the Guildhall School of Music and was a finalist in the BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2002. Despite this incredible success, the pressures of the classical music world led her to step away.

At 21, she began a new chapter at Cambridge University studying English. She soon found solace in playing jazz and this period away from London gave her the time and space to work out who she was as a musician and to rediscover her love of music. She would spend hours listening to, among others, Coltrane, Mccoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Oscar Peterson, Erroll Garner, Robert Glasper and Brad Mehldau.

Today, Sarah is a celebrated jazz musician, performing at iconic venues including Ronnie Scott’s. She is a member of the Ronnie Scotts House band and she has also toured around the world. In 2019 she was nominated for Jazz FM Breakthrough Act of the Year Award. In 2020 she was awarded the Parliamentary Jazz Award for Best Instrumentalist.

Our students were fascinated to ask Sarah about her favourite venues to perform at, the jazz musicians she has most enjoyed working with as well as the music teachers who most inspired her.

We were also treated to a brilliant live performance from Sarah, even on our very out-of-tune drama studio piano (usually more of a prop than an instrument!), which she brought it to life with her unmistakable jazz style.

Thank you Sarah for reminding us that success isn’t always a straight path and that sometimes the best journeys come from finding your own way.

Yesterday, we had the immense privilege of hosting the Grand Final of the GDST Chrystall Carter Public Speaking Competition once again.

Established 20 years ago in memory of Chrystall Carter, former Legal Adviser and Deputy Legal Secretary to the GDST, the prize celebrates her passion for girls’ education and her firm belief in the power of argument.

Five outstanding finalists from GDST schools Howell’s, Putney High, Sutton High, Norwich High, and Birkenhead High delivered compelling and eloquent 7-minute speeches, followed by thoughtful questioning from our judges.

It was a pleasure to welcome members of Chrystall Carter’s family, alongside Cheryl Giovannoni (CEO of the GDST), former governors and past Heads, including our very own Mrs Whitfield (Headmistress 1991-2008)

We were also delighted to be joined once again by two exceptional alumnae, journalist Kathryn Flett (Class of 1981) and Nicky Sargent (Class of 1981), Founder of The Farm Group and BAFTA award winner, who served as judges for the competition alongside Will Wareing from the GDST.

Each finalist received invaluable feedback and encouragement from the panel; an inspiring conclusion to an incredible event.

A heartfelt thank you to our judges for their time, insight and continued support. We are so grateful for your wisdom and generosity.

We are happy to announce that the 2026 Alumnae Magazine has been published!

You should shortly an email but, if not, please get in touch via [email protected] so we can update our records. Alternatively, please click on the link in the bio.

If you have opted to receive a hard copy of the newsletter, these will be sent out within the next couple of weeks. We hope you enjoy it!

Well this was a treat!

Wonderful to catch up with NHEHS alumnae, Jessica Arneill (nee Booth)(Class of 2000), Emma Claxton (Class of 2016), Clarissa Poulson (nee Hill)( Class of 1988) and Helen O’Riordan (Class of 2016) at our recent GDST networking event.

It was a superb evening of connection, conversation and career insight and it was fascinating to hear from South Hampstead alumna, Victoria Rennoldson, who shared her powerful perspectives on leadership in the age of AI.

Keep an eye out for our future GDST networking events- we’d love to see you at the next one!

We are very sad to announce that NHEHS alumna, Councillor Dr Aysha Raza (Class of 1992) passed away unexpectedly last Sunday.

Aysha, a Labour councillor for Central Greenford, was first elected in 2014. Between 2021 and 2023 she served as cabinet member for tackling crime and inequality, becoming Ealing Council’s first Muslim woman cabinet member.

She grew up in Greenford and attended Oldfield and Coston Primary schools before joining NHEHS in the senior school. Friends and colleagues have said her deep ties to the borough helped drive her commitment to local causes and community organisations.

Beyond her work in politics, Aysha was a trained neuroscientist and an active member of the community. She was involved in groups including the Young Ealing Foundation, Ealing Wildlife Group and the Royal British Legion as well as a school governor at Stanhope Primary School and William Perkin High School.

She will be greatly missed.

We were delighted to welcome Louisa Preskett Mobbs (NHEHS 1998) back to school this week to speak to our Sixth Form students about her inspiring career journey.

Louisa is the founder of two successful businesses, Polar Black and Maison Margaux. Polar Black is a global luxury events agency producing high-end fashion shows, exhibitions and brand experiences for clients including Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Ralph Lauren, Rolex and Dom Pérignon to name a few! Maison Margaux is a luxury homeware brand collaborating with major fashion houses, hotels and private clients worldwide.

Louisa spoke very honestly about not knowing what she wanted to do when she was younger, taking risks before she felt fully ready, moving to New York with no clear plan, facing rejection (and turning a “no” into a “yes”), building businesses while raising three children and pivoting during Covid when events stopped taking place overnight.

She explained that it’s absolutely fine to not have everything worked out, that resilience is learned, to say yes to opportunities because nothing happens behind a screen and that going out and meeting people and creating your own network is crucial.

Louisa encouraged the girls to keep moving forward, even without a fixed plan, reminding them that careers are rarely linear and that adaptability, courage, hard work and leaving your ego at the door, matter more than having everything mapped out by the time they leave school or university.

A huge thank you to Louisa for returning to
NHEHS and sharing such an empowering and practical perspective with our Sixth Form.

Yesterday we celebrated the school’s historic move from Norland House in Bayswater, where Notting Hill High School was founded in 1873, to Ealing in 1931.

Harriet Jones, our first Headmistress, led the school for 20 years and was honoured in 1893 with a portrait by Sir James Jebusa Shannon RA, a renowned society portrait artist whose work included commissions for Queen Victoria.

The school soon became too cramped for the number of pupils who were attending and, by the 1920s, more girls were travelling in from Ealing than from around the Notting Hill area and the decision was made, in 1930, to relocate.

A new home was found in Cleveland Road, Ealing, Girton House, which had been an existing girls’ school (with 5 tennis courts- an unheard of luxury!), and is the building in which the Head’s office and staff room are still located today. Girton House on its own was not big enough and so a new extension was added.

Within months, under the new Headmistress, Miss McCaig, the school made the move. The spacious site allowed for modern classrooms, a large hall, sports, events and visits, including a memorable appearance by Poet Laureate John Masefield.

The school was formally opened on the 26th February 1931, marking the beginning of NHEHS (including a new logo to incorporate ‘Ealing’ into Notting Hill High School!) as we know it today.

To celebrate this historic day, the girls enjoyed a cupcake at break time, decorated with the old school logo!

Today, on Holocaust Memorial Day, we remember NHEHS alumnae Helga Samuel (nee Kreiner), Elfride Raubitscheck, Eva Goldschmidt and Renate Hes, who were brought to NHEHS on the Kindertransport.

This was a mainly British rescue mission, run by volunteers, to bring Jewish children out of N**i Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia. Helga was on the first Kindertransport and arrived at NHEHS in 1939; her father had been arrested and sent to a concentration camp. In the photo, Helga is the girl with the doll; you can see the identification labels of the other girls.

Helga was joined by Elfride and Eva and later Renate. Each girl was assigned to a family. Their living expenses and school fees were paid for by these families, staff and other NHEHS parents.

Children on the Kindertransport were often the only members of their family to survive the Holocaust.

Helga returned to NHEHS to talk to Year 10 in 1995. One pupil recalled, ‘Mrs Samuels told us that NHEHS adopted her, and helped her to learn the language; she said that she felt extremely happy here.’ Extraordinarily, the family Helga was living with ‘managed to give a guarantee on her parents and brought them over from Germany to England - a deed she will never forget.’

Helga donated a book to the school, ‘I Came Alone: stories of the Kindertransport’. This is now kept in our Archive. Helga signed the book ‘with fond memories of very happy days spent at Notting Hill and Ealing High School’.

Alumnae networking: Future-ready leadership - building your human capabilities in the AI era

Wednesday, 4th February 2026
18:00 - 20:30
Girls’ Day School Trust
10 Bressenden Place
London
SW1E 5DH

We are delighted to invite alumnae to our next networking event – a great opportunity to meet with members of our amazing GDST community, whilst also hearing from a fantastic alumna speaker, who will be exploring leadership in the age of AI.

In a world reshaped by AI and constant organisational change, the leaders who thrive aren’t simply the most technical, they are the most human.

Join us to hear from South Hampstead alumna Victoria Rennoldson, for an inspiring, interactive and practical conversation on what it takes to become a global leader. She will explore why human capabilities, including confidence, clarity, connection and cultural intelligence, are becoming the defining skills of global leadership, and why professionals can risk losing ground as AI accelerates.

She’ll share how to close your own ‘human capabilities gap,’ elevate your influence, and build the global leadership mindset needed for the future of work.

Whether you’re early in your career, an aspiring leader, or already leading across the world, this talk will share inspiration, ideas, strategies, and insights from Victoria’s new book, Become a Global Leader.

There will be the chance to network both before and after the talk, with the opportunity to meet alumnae from your sector over refreshments.

Victoria is a coach, speaker and certified facilitator, specialising in global leadership, communication and cultural intelligence. She helps professionals to accelerate their careers towards leadership and thrive in global team collaboration through amplifying their impact, communicating confidently and connecting with cultural intelligence.

Victoria is the CEO and Founder of Culture Cuppa, an author and a top-ranked podcast host with over 155 episodes.

Please book your place by clicking on the link in the bio or by emailing [email protected]

First day back at school today after the Christmas holidays and there was a lot of excitement among the girls about the (light dusting of!) snow ❄️

It inspired me to delve into the NHEHS archives to find some photos of snowier days…

Do you have any fond memories of snow days at school?

Christmas has officially begun at NHEHS!

The Boar’s Head Carol has been part of life at school for over 110 years and is probably one of our most treasured memories as NHEHS alumnae.

It appears that NHEHS is the only girl’s school in the world to include a Boar’s Head Carol amongst its traditions. The ceremony is only held at one other school in England (Hurstpierpoint College). Several ancient institutions, including Queen’s College, Oxford and a City of London livery company, also have this tradition.

NHEHS uses the version of the Boar’s Head Carol sung annually at Queen’s College, Oxford. This was published in 1521 and is thought to be the first carol to be printed in England.

According to legend, a student at the University of Oxford encountered an angry boar while out walking. Fearing for his safety, he rammed the book he was reading down the boar’s throat and prevented it from attacking him.

A procession singing the Boar’s Head Carol, carrying a boar’s head on a platter, would have made a magnificent centerpiece to a Tudor feast at Christmas!

It is not clear when or why the Boar’s Head Carol began at school. It must have been before 1911, when the GPDST (now GDST) Council decided that it was ‘inappropriate’. Despite this, the Boar’s Head Carol remains an important NHEHS tradition, sung by generations of students.

Do you remember singing the Boar’s Head Carol when you were in your final year at NHEHS?

This week we celebrated a remarkable milestone: Sandip Patel, our IT Operations Manager, has officially reached 30 years of service at NHEHS, having started on the 20th November 1995 (when the whole school only had 5 computers!)

This morning at the weekly staff meeting, Sandip received well-deserved tokens of appreciation from our Head, Allison Saunders, along with warm applause from colleagues who have worked with him across the decades.

And of course, no celebration of Sandip’s time here would be complete without one of our favourite NHEHS stories… the DT fire of 2001!

As recorded in the 2001 NHEHS school magazine, in an article written by alumnae from the Class of 2002, Natasha Delcourt and Juliet Clement (neé Slater), “On Monday 14th May 2001, an electrical fault sparked a fire in the DT room. The whole school was swiftly evacuated as five fire engines and a command console arrived on site fuelled, naturally, by cups of tea from kindly Sixth Formers!

Amid smoke, confusion and Miss Ashley’s particular panic about the dining room fumes (and thus, the food!), the school faced several days of disruption with no electricity and smoke damage to much of the main building.”

Sandip was hailed a hero that day! He raised the alarm and rushed down the corridor to tell pupils in the locker area to evacuate, as smoke started to billow towards them during break time. His quick actions prevented far worse damage and ensured everyone’s safety.

Here’s to you, Sandip and to the next chapter!