13th March 2020 — Every year Northcote Lodge joins schools around the world to highlight the importance and the benefits of reading during Book Week, which culminates with a themed dress up day and plenty of fun activities. This year was no exception.

Starting with a drip of tiny early-bird Oompa Loompas, the school was soon awash with ballooning blueberries, madcap grandmas, and wicked witches bedecked in mice. We enjoyed Dahl-themed assemblies with Heads of Year, learning about Dahl’s writing methods (highly regimented and idiosyncratic), the fascinating origins of the BFG’s gobblefunk, and the myriad stories Dahl has penned for children and adults alike. English lessons celebrated many corners of Dahl’s literary contribution and sparked a rush to the library for more reading. Throughout the day, some lucky boys found golden tickets tucked inside their exercise books (celebration ensued!), which could be exchanged for a Dahl book all of their own.

Lunchtime brought quizzes, Mrs Twit’s bird pie, Matilda’s chocolate cake, and a reading marathon in the library. We never knew we had such dramatically inclined teachers! Boys were enrapt by the super - and often rib-tickling - reading that stretched across the whole lunch break. Many boys also posted their own neologisms in the library post box; we can’t wait to read all their newly invented words!

To finish in raucous rebellion as Roald would surely want, we enjoyed a lively Matilda sing-a-long in the gym. Dancing, laughing, and belting our way through ‘Revolting Children’ seemed an appropriately fizzwhizzing end to a brilliantly fun day.

6th February 2020 — At the start of the Hilary term, the boys at Northcote Lodge were delighted to find a wonderful surprise awaiting them on their return to school: a brand-new Computing and Digital Learning space. The suite is a beautifully designed space with wooden floors and desks with plenty of charging stations and large, comfy rugs. It boasts 18 iMACs, seamlessly linked with the boys' iPADs, and digital learning activities; a large display with an Apple TV for boys to screen mirror; a full set of Bluetooth headphones, and good ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity. More equipment, including robots and green screens, is arriving soon.

The open plan digital learning space is not only loved by all for its looks but is appreciated for providing enhanced user experiences, facilitating a variety of learning styles and accommodating flexible areas of Computing and Digital Learning such as Digital Literacy, Computer Science & Robotics, Digital Design & Media. The boys' input at the planning stage was critical to the creation of a functional space. They are proud of the achievement and taking great care of the equipment.

A group of Digital Leaders and tech enthusiasts across all year groups devoted some of their break time to set up and test the new equipment. With the help of regular IT Help Desk support in the new room, boys also enjoy interacting with and learning from the school's IT technicians.

3rd February 2020 — Each year the boys of Northcote Lodge vote for their Charity of the Year alongside alongside NAEF, the charity supported by the Northwood Schools' group as a whole. Along with the community of staff and parents, boys raise funds and support these charities throughout the academic year.

in 2019/20, the Northcote Lodge Charity of the Year is The Felix Project, a London based charitable organisation whose purpose is to reduce food waste and hunger.

Isabella White from the Felix Project visited Northcote Lodge recently to deliver an assembly about the work they do to reduce food poverty in London, helped by their invaluable volunteers. She shared some terrifying statistics on the amount of food waste in the UK and London and on the number of hungry and malnourished families there are around us. We were saddened to hear that there are so many young children going to school hungry: 400,000 children in London are at risk of missing the next meal. Two million tonnes of good, edible food surplus is generated every year by the food industry in this country and the Felix Project collects fresh, nutritious food that cannot be sold. and delivers this surplus food to charities and schools so they can provide healthy meals and help the most vulnerable in society. The boys learned that every £1 we raise will go towards providing 2.5 meals.

Leading by example, Headmaster Clive Smith-Langridge, offered his services for the day, working as a delivery driver collecting food from supermarkets and taking it to various schools in North London. Afterwards, Clive went back to the depot to help with sorting food. Clive described the experience as both humbling and enriching - and also quite an insight into how delivery drivers are treated by some people!

Whilst boys are not able to volunteer in quite the same way, the school will be doing all it can to show them the impact they can make and the great work of the charity.

23rd January 2020 — Rayhaan Kufuor, a Shell boy (Year 4) at Northcote Lodge, was lucky enough to be one of the four young actors who played Tiny Tim in the Old Vic's recent production of ‘A Christmas Carol’, which played to packed audiences over the Christmas period.

Rayhaan and his fellow Tims took turns performing the role and enjoyed the experience enormously. When asked what he had liked most, he said: “I have loved meeting all the actors and I was really excited for the audience to see all the ghosts, as that’s my favourite part of the play!”

We wish Rayhaan every success in any future thespian activities and look forward to seeing him in one of Northcote's own productions soon. We shouldn't have too long to wait as drama is an important part of the Northcote Lodge curriculum and boys perform in at least one major performance a year.

Congratulations Rayhaan!

20th January 2020 — On Friday 17 January, author Mitch Johnson visited Northcote Lodge to talk to the boys about his work as an author and present his debut book 'Kick'. The book’s running theme is a boy’s love for football and it sheds light on important issues such as child labour and sustainability.

During an interactive presentation, the boys took part in a variety of thought-provoking activities. It started with a dynamic game involving a football being thrown around the room so that they could take turn in revealing where an item of clothing they were wearing was made. It was followed by a fast-paced challenge about reassembling a pair of football boots against the clock, to give students an idea of what working in a sweatshop might be like. Then, there was a quiz designed to highlight the environmental and humanitarian issues surrounding fast fashion: did they boys know or think about where and how their clothes are made? During the final Q&A the boys had a chance to ask Mitch anything they liked. Unsurprisingly their questions ranged from ‘what does it take to be a real author’ to ‘what’s your favourite football player’!

Everyone attending the workshop not only thoroughly enjoyed Mitch’s presentation but learnt so much from it too.

13th November 2019 — At the Independent Schools Show in Battersea, London, Clive Smith-Langridge, Headmaster at Northcote Lodge, took to the stage to join a panel of experts at one of the scheduled talks “Stick or Twist” on Sunday 10 November. The panel set out to help parents decide whether 15 years in the same school is indeed the right choice for their child. Having gained considerable experience within the Prep school world including single-sex, co-educational and boarding schools across the country, Clive's view favoured twist. He believes that a child-centric Pre-Prep/Prep school allows children to develop and find their passions and skills, so that they are ready for the right senior school at age 11 or 13. The talk was very well received.

Northwood Schools joined the Independent Schools Show for the first time this year. The show takes place every year in London and attracts thousands of parents seeking to find the right school for their children. Northwood Schools' stand showcased our four schools in South West London, Broomwood Hall Lower School (co-ed 4-8), Broomwood Hall Upper School (girls 8-13), Northcote Lodge (boys 8.13) and NorthWood Senior, the new senior school opening September 2020 for boys and girls aged 11-16. Our staff was busy chatting to parents and answering their questions about our schools, our ethos and what we offer.