“The school is in a lovely location, comes consistently near the top of the education league tables, and could easily become a cosy, inward-looking institution,” she explains. “Our pupils are among the brightest women in the country, they will be taking their place in an increasingly internationalised jobs market, and it is essential that we develop a truly global vision at this school.”
Hence the initial decision, in 2006, to investigate how to set up a sister institution overseas. And no sooner had the franchise idea been floated, than an approach was made by the Korean government.
Five years later, after numerous legal drafts, and the uprooting of large swathes of South Korean vegetation, NLCS Jeju opened its doors. Conducting all lessons, and all school life, in English, rather than Korean.
But there are some significant differences. Although pupil ages range from four to 18, as in London, the school takes boys as well as girls, educating them together when young, separately in their middle years, then bringing them back into the same classroom at sixth-form level. There are 730 pupils at the school in Jeju at the moment, but this will rise to 1,400 eventually — compared to 1,100 in the UK.
Fees are comparable: NLCS in London charges £16,500 per year for senior pupils, and NLCS Jeju £25,000; the difference is that pupils in South Korea are boarders. They also conduct a fiercely contested inter-house challenge with more than a hint of Hogwarts about it; London is less overtly competitive, with no monthly form rankings, and no end-of-term prizegivings.
It’s no mystery, says Mrs McCabe, what NLCS London has to offer its Asian counterpart. “The Koreans have a successful economy but they recognise that, when it comes to education, they need to instil something more than just academic achievement,” she says. “That’s why they are drawn first towards an English style of education, and in particular to a school like ours, which provides a large number of extra-curricular programmes and leadership opportunities, and encourages pupils to take on individual responsibilities.”
Importantly, according to Mrs McCabe, NLCS also underpins all that with a level of pastoral care which ensures that no child gets written off. “What the Koreans want to produce in their young people is a greater level of flexible and independent thought, in all subjects,” she says. “And that includes maths — where, at a certain level, you need creativity if you are to make progress. Eventually, too, the aim is to make Jeju Island into the kind of educational hub that will rival what is on offer in Hong Kong and Singapore.”
This is an aim into which the Korean education authorities are prepared to pour money. Not only have they spent $130million (£80million) on building the school, but they have also contracted to pay NLCS an annual royalty fee for the next 50 years. Which pays, among other things, for four Year Seven girls in London, whose parents otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford the fees.
There are standards to be maintained, and the parent school not only trains staff for their Jeju counterpart, but goes out there to inspect their work. So it won’t be the Korean version of OFSTED awarding marks out of 100, it will be teachers and inspectors from NLCS in London.
“It is vital that we protect our brand and our reputation,” emphasises Mrs McCabe. “At the same time we have experienced a number of benefits. The quality of staff applications to this school has improved since we began our Korean venture. There aren’t many schools which can offer their teachers the chance to visit a school on the other side of the world.”
Already some 20 NLCS teachers have been out to South Korea to see at first hand what is happening there, and to go on what are called “learning walks”, visiting several classes in one day. “It’s a great opportunity, to be able to immerse yourself in the running of another school,” says head of science Rob McMillan, who has been out to Jeju twice. “You can’t help but be inspired by the enjoyment, enthusiasm and confidence of the students, even though they are being taught in what, to them, is a second language. It is also very fulfilling to know that what we are striving for in London can be replicated successfully on the other side of the world.”
It’s not just teachers who are impressed by Jeju, though — NLCS girls like what they see as well. “The campus there is huge, absolutely enormous,” says 14-year-old Libby Nash, one of five NLCS pupils who flew out to South Korea in the summer. “The sports hall was the size of a stadium.”
Fifteen-year-old Asha Rattan has also visited. “We went to lessons there for two weeks, and we did some theatre work during their arts week,” she says. “Everyone was so excited to meet us, because they had heard so much about the school in London.”
Although large-scale exchange visits aren’t feasible, there is plenty of inter-continental Skype-ing between the schools, and there has even been a live debate, in which the controversial motion was “Western Economic and Cultural Dominance Is At An End”.
The twinning of Stanmore and South Korea indicates that, though cultural dominance may indeed be at an end, certain British exports still have a future.
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