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Our View
Located in the heart of cosmopolitan Camden, this all-girls day school in north London has a special vibrancy, generating its own unique community spirit within its walls. ‘The girls are just magnificent,’ says proud head Taryn Lombard. ‘They know themselves, they are spirited, they make a difference and are driven.’ All this empowerment doesn’t mean they’re not grounded and super inclusive, though – it’s a school where everyone is applauded, the faultless performers as well as those who make stops and starts.
Where?
Just two minutes’ walk from Camden Tube station, The Cavendish School is incredibly convenient (and offers wraparound care from 8am to 6pm). Behind the gates lies something of a Tardis, with more buildings than at first appears. Two stately brick buildings (purpose-built as a school in the 19th-century) contain classrooms, art and music departments, an admin block, a gymnasium and a dining room, while a more recent addition houses Year 5s and 6s and a new theatre. The not-quite-full-size netball court doubles up as a playground, and Regent's Park, Primrose Hill and Parliament Hill offer nearby outside space for more sports activities. The catchment area is mainly Islington and Primrose Hill, and nearly half of pupils walk to school.
Head
Mrs Lombard, who hails from South Africa, joined as head four years ago from Wimbledon High. She tells us she’s passionate about all-girls and non-selective schools that are owned by charities, rather than private equity, and that The Cavendish School ‘felt like a fit’ for her. She loves its family-focused community spirit and is as big a champion of what happens in the classroom as she is of extracurricular activities. Sport is a particular passion, and she has improved the PE and games offering enormously.
Admissions
The school is proudly non-selective, with offers made for nursery and Reception without the need to meet the child. ‘It’s an education for everyone that is the same or better than selective north London schools,’ Mrs Lombard tells us. Nursery pupils can start the day after they turn three, and the main intake is at this age and four. Spaces do come up now and again further up, and the school operates a waiting list.
Academics and senior school destinations
Nursery and Reception sit side by side, sharing a large dedicated early years outdoor space with its own playground equipment, a mud kitchen and a special area for the children to garden in (best of all, it's covered by a canopy to allow all-weather outdoor play). There is a very high adult-to-child ratio, with a lot of one-to-one teaching. Class sizes are 20 maximum with a two-form entry. From nursery, there are specialist teachers for French, music and sport, and once a week little ones cook in the ‘Long Room’. They also all play together on Friday afternoons.
The transition to Reception is seamless and throughout the school there is excellent inter-year mixing, with Year 3s reading to nursery children and Year 4s reading to Reception. They then keep their reading partner the whole way through school. They also have peer maths. From Year 3, pupils have specialist teachers for IT and science, and from Year 4 some English and maths lessons are taught by specialist teachers. Grouping is based on learning style as well as ability, and pupils are encouraged to ‘struggle a bit to get to where they need to be’, a Year 1 teacher tells us. Oracy is a big thing, with show and tell for younger pupils and then, from Year 3, annual English Speaking Board exams. There’s real creativity to teaching, with games, flashcards and workshops all part of the mix. Twice a term, every class has an outdoor learning session in Regent’s Park.
Nobody gets left behind at this school, Mrs Lombard tells us: ‘You can get to wherever you want from here, while being wholesome and grounded.’ Many sit the 11+, for which the school prepares them, so there is no need for extra tutoring. About 98 per cent of this year’s Year 6s are going to their first-choice school. Among the most popular destinations are City, Channing, South Hampstead, Queen’s College and Francis Holland. A few head off to boarding school and a growing minority to state-sector Camden School for Girls.
Co-curricular
The girls play everything from netball and football to rounders and volleyball, with fixtures on site as well as on Primrose Hill, with Parliament Hill hosting the annual sports day. The gym is brilliant – and many of the girls are fantastic gymnasts who compete at regional level. Swimming lessons are held at a pool in Kentish Town, a short walk away. Netball, gymnastics and swimming have invite-only squads, but there are clubs for pupils of all levels. There is also a hugely popular parent-organised Saturday football club in Regent's Park, led by a professional coach.
The Cavendish is very musical, with many leavers picking up scholarships. A specialist music teacher expertly advises girls about when they should start playing an instrument, after which they can join the training orchestra. There are also choirs open to all, a Year 6 band and an invite-only chamber choir. In the classroom, pupils learn French songs, Japanese music and the ukulele and recorder. Some 24 peripatetic teachers give individual lessons and there are lots of performing opportunities, with pupils playing twice-weekly at the beginning and end of assembly and at early-morning informal concerts, which working parents can attend.
Drama is big too. On our visit, the Year 6 girls were in the final day of rehearsals for Mary Poppins with everyone involved, on or backstage, and the whole performance is entirely run by the pupils (they even make their own sets and props). The good-sized theatre room has tiered bench seating and a temporary stage (assemblies are also held here). Each year group stages an annual Shine Performance showcasing their creative endeavours, from singing and dancing to artwork. The art room has its own kiln, and other activities include woodwork, printing, watercolours and oil painting.
There's a dizzying array of after-school clubs: LAMDA is popular (this year every pupil received a distinction), as are circus-skills club, which is run by an ex-Cirque de Soleil performer, the pupil-led dance club, cookery, chess and computing. The morning running club sees the girls do two miles along a route that includes the nearby canal before school starts. Trips are plentiful; Mrs Lombard says she wants to explore ‘the richness on our doorstep’, and recent outings have included the Wallace Collection, city farms and the local Wagamama, where Reception pupils made their own lunch during a lesson about healthy eating.
School community
Pastoral care is excellent, with timetabled sessions to check in with the girls, a staffed pastoral room off the playground and weekly meetings of the SENCO, pastoral and safeguarding teams. Not forgetting the school dog, Dexter, who is universally loved. A school council includes all year groups and has weekly meetings with senior staff to follow up on requests and give feedback. They’re ‘pretty passionate’, one teacher tells us. Part of their remit is to nominate a charity; this year’s is Sand Dams and they’re on target to raise £10,000.
There are many two-working-parent families here, but the parent body is active. Many come in to talk to the girls about their careers in, say, film, comedy, textiles or charities. They’re a lively and diverse mix, we’re told. About 50 per cent of pupils have a parent who is a non-native English speaker. Wraparound care is excellent too and hugely appreciated by busy working parents, who can sign children up for extra hours at the end of the day on both a regular or ad-hoc basis.
And finally....
This nurturing school has a wonderfully inclusive environment where girls are gently pushed out of their comfort zone and taught in a fabulously creative way. Consequently, they emerge confident and self-assured, having had a great time. ‘I learn a lot and it’s always fun,’ one pupil tells us. You can’t ask for much more.