Sophie Ralli, Class of 2006

Former bursary pupil, Professional Artist

We lived in Stamford Brook. My best friend had gone to NHEHS junior school and I was desperate to go too. The chance came at the end of my primary school. I didn’t start off needing a bursary but I remember money increasingly being a problem – my parents were separated and my mother an artist. We were looking at free schools to move me to but I loved being at NHEHS and was so desperate to stay. It was a really worrying time for me.

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  Because of my family circumstances I didn’t go to university but I had another lucky break (the sort that sadly is no longer available), and was able to do an external degree equivalent qualification while working for the Civil Service and training to be a surveyor. After having children I came to the realisation that what I really wanted to do was teach and after a couple of false starts I found that I wanted to be in an adult education setting which at least in part catered for the less advantaged members of society. I taught English as a second language to a wide variety of students including refugees and asylum seekers and then secured a role managing and expanding the provision of such language classes within a local authority.

  ‘My reason for leaving a legacy to my old school is that getting a place at NHEHS was probably my luckiest break in life and if in some small way I can help someone else to get that opportunity it would be great.’

Multi-generational supporters

Centre: Francesca Scarles, Class of 1974, with her daughters, left: Madeleine Scarles, Class of 2005; right: Abigail Scarles, Class of 2007; all three were Deputy Head girls. 

My father, John Quinnen, sent all six of us to NHEHS. He was chairman of the NHEHS Committee of Parents and member of the Board of Friends of the Girls’ Public Day School Trust for 19 years. I tried to follow in his footsteps and was on the OGA Committee for nearly 25 years.

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  My father’s mother died in the Spanish Flu in London and, as his father was a serving soldier and couldn’t look after him, he was sent to a Barnardo’s Home at the age of six.  Some years later his father re-married and then Norman joined his father and stepmother.  From this difficult and lonely beginning, family became very important to my father, indeed to both my parents, and they went on to have six daughters and two sons.  From humble beginnings he trained as an accountant, and, as a result of hard work, was eventually promoted to the board of a major company.

  All six of us daughters went to Notting Hill spanning twenty-seven years (and the boys to St. Benedict’s).  My parents strongly believed that the best gift one could give one’s child was a good education which would last them a lifetime.  Not only did it provide an excellent start in life enabling us to make the most of every opportunity; Notting Hill also provided life-long friendships. In a tribute to him in the 1986 NHEHS OGA magazine, Miss J. Hendry, headmistress of NHEHS 1960 to 1974 wrote, ‘The essential goodness of the man made itself felt by all those around him….The school was blessed in having such a steadfast friend and I feel truly privileged to have known him.’

  Following his active support of school during his lifetime, John generously left a legacy to NHEHS in his will. We thank him and his family for their continued support.

Clare Johnson, Class of 1973

I was very relieved to be awarded a Direct Grant because it meant I could continue attending the school I knew. It helped so much to be able to stay at the same school because familiarity and stability were very important for me, especially during my unsettled secondary years throughout which my father’s health was declining. If I hadn’t received financial assistance my life might have been very different. Attending NHEHS helped me to gain wider horizons, a less parochial viewpoint, and to meet a greater variety of people than would have been possible otherwise. It gave me enough confidence to be able to regard myself as equal at heart with others.

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  It encouraged many interests which have brought beautiful enrichment into my life and it has helped me to continue developing an open-minded attitude and a love of learning.

  For me, receiving a bursary meant stability, continuity and the opportunity of a broad academic education which has stood me in good stead all my life.

  The funding of bursaries opens windows to the fresh air and clear light of knowledge and opens doors to children’s lifetimes of adventure.

  In today’s world, when girls and women are still second-class citizens in many places and ways, I’d say that the GDST offers girls excellent opportunities rarely available anywhere else. It helps prove that girls do shine through!

  It encouraged many interests which have brought beautiful enrichment into my life and it has helped me to continue developing an open-minded attitude and a love of learning.

  For me, receiving a bursary meant stability, continuity and the opportunity of a broad academic education which has stood me in good stead all my life.

  The funding of bursaries opens windows to the fresh air and clear light of knowledge and opens doors to children’s lifetimes of adventure.

  In today’s world, when girls and women are still second-class citizens in many places and ways, I’d say that the GDST offers girls excellent opportunities rarely available anywhere else. It helps prove that girls do shine through!

Natasha Delcourt, Class of 2002

Former bursary student and donor, Commercial real estate lawyer

My parents are immigrants; my father is Belgian, my mother, Polish; I am first generation English. My mother was determined that I should do well at school. I went to St Gregory’s Catholic primary school in Ealing and wanted to go to another local secondary school as that was where my friends were going but my mother wanted me to have the best opportunities so put me down for the NHEHS entrance exam.

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  I got in – I still remember the family excitement of the letter arriving – but there remained a few anxious days before we learnt I had been awarded an assisted place as I definitely couldn’t have gone without it.

  I was shy – I still am really – but I learnt to manage it and at NHEHS my confidence grew. There was another girl in my class who had an assisted place but I didn’t find out until the end of the first year; it wasn’t something that was talked about. I quickly saw why my mother had wanted me to go to NHEHS. It was cool to be clever, a school of book-y girls just like me! When you did well in a test it was celebrated, everyone wanted to do well; we were encouraged. I went on from NHEHS to read Psychology at university but early on decided it wasn’t going to be my career. I went along to a law career fair with friends and I realised this was what I wanted to do and did a post-graduate law conversion course. At 24yrs I got a life-changing job with Clifford Chance, one of the top five international law firms headquartered in the UK; I was thrilled; my mother cried! A NHEHS education had led me to this point and prepared me to thrive in this environment. NHEHS has taught me to speak up for myself, not to be intimidated, to back myself; when in doubt to know that I got there on my own merit. When I got to NHEHS everyone was given the same opportunities, the same chance; I want to support efforts to ensure that this equal access is offered right from the beginning, from the admissions stage. I am proud to support the NHEHS bursary fund.

Ayesha Seghal, Class of 2018

Former bursary recipient, Studied History and English at the University of Oxford, class of 2021. Studying Social Anthropology at the London School of Economics and Political Science, class of 2022.

My seven years at Notting Hill and Ealing High School helped mould me into the person I am today and helped me access opportunities I never would have thought possible. The school nurtured me from a young age, both academically and pastorally, and I have made friends and support networks for life. Without the bursary, I would never have been able to attend Notting Hill and Ealing High School, I would not have got the grades required for university, and I would not have felt so confident moving forward into higher education.

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  Now I have graduated from Oxford and am undertaking my Masters at LSE, I’m thrilled with the continued support and communications from staff, and of course access to the Alumnae Network! I am eternally grateful to have received the bursary .  

  Whether you are a parent, pupil, alumna, or honorary alumna of NHEHS, you are considered to be a valuable, life-long member of the NHEHS community and we hope you will find a way to support our 150th vision to increase bursaries.