THE NORTH LONDON COLLEGIATE SCHOOL
In April 1850 Frances Mary Buss opened the North
London Collegiate School for Ladies at 46 (later
renumbered 12) Camden Street. Camden Town
was then a professional neighbourhood near both
Hampstead and the City, and 35 daughters of gentlemen and 'the most respectable' tradesmen assembled
on the opening day. The Vicar of St. Pancras, Canon
Thomas Dale, who already had a similar school for
boys in his parish, lent his interest and support, and
David Laing, Vicar of Holy Trinity, Kentish Town,
acted as Honorary Superintendent. The girls received an education which from the first included
Latin, French, natural science, and periods of
recreation; German, Italian, and music were extras.
The teaching encouraged thought and observation
rather than learning by rote, and its success was
immediate. By December 1850 there were 115 pupils
and Miss Buss had founded 'the model for girls'
Day Schools throughout the country'. (fn. 70)
At this time there were no public examinations for
girls, but in 1863 Miss Emily Davies prevailed upon
the Cambridge authorities to allow girls to take the
Local examinations unofficially. After only six weeks'
notice 84 candidates sat the examination; of these 25
were from the North London Collegiate School.
Contrary to the expectations of the critics the girls
worked at their papers in a business-like way and
showed no sign of physical strain. Fifteen pupils
of North London Collegiate were among those who
passed. As a result of this experiment girls were soon
admitted to the examinations on the same terms as
boys except that, to avoid the supposed evils of
emulation, their names were not published. (fn. 71) The
next step was to gain public recognition for girls'
schools. The terms of reference of the Schools
Enquiry Commission did not specifically exclude
the education of girls, and several women teachers,
among them Miss Buss, gave evidence. Her pupils,
she said, were mostly upper middle-class, but any
girls of good character were admitted; they came to
the school extremely ignorant but she was sure that
they could learn 'anything that they are taught in an
interesting manner and for which they have some
motive to work'. The science instruction, she feared,
was 'too much perhaps the means of interesting
knowledge rather than of mental training'. Full
mathematics was not taught, only arithmetic, but all
the girls learnt French, 50 learnt Latin, and some
studied political economy. No girl was excused any
part of the syllabus except for reasons of health.
There were 200 girls, 11 governesses, 8 visiting
women teachers, and 13 visiting masters. Fees
ranged from 9 to 12 guineas and salaries from £24
to £80 a year. (fn. 72)
In 1870 Miss Buss decided to transform her
flourishing private venture into a public grammar
school for girls by transferring it to a trust which
would carry on the work when she was no longer
able to do so. New premises were acquired at 202
Camden Road; (fn. 73) here there was a large schoolroom
which could be partitioned by curtains, a similar
room upstairs, two classrooms, and long passages
for 'musical gymnastics'. (fn. 74) The move allowed Miss
Buss to found a second school, the Camden School,
in the accommodation left vacant in Camden Street. (fn. 75)
Unfortunately Dr. John Storrar, chairman of the
trust 1870-4, was a man accustomed to command,
and his relations with Miss Buss, who had exercised
independent authority for twenty years, were often
difficult, although she got on better with his successor, Canon Anthony Wilson Thorold. (fn. 76) The
changed status of the school was confirmed in 1875,
when a scheme for its administration was prepared
by the Endowed Schools Commission. An appeal for
an endowment fund for the two schools brought in
gifts from several City companies, notably the
Brewers' Company, which provided £20,000 for
buildings and £600 annually from the Platt Charity,
a Brewers' charity, while for scholarships there was
an additional £2,000 from Dame Alice Owen's
Charity. (fn. 77) This enabled Miss Buss to proceed with
her plans for a new school building in Sandall Road.
The Clothworkers' Company granted £105 a year
for scholarships and £2,500 for an assembly hall,
which bore the company's name. The new school
was opened in 1879 by the Prince and Princess of
Wales. The latter had been the patroness of the
schools since 1871. Meanwhile the Camden School
had moved into new buildings in Prince of Wales
Road in 1878.
Satisfactory inspection reports by the College of
Preceptors in 1874 and the University of London
in 1876 testified to continued academic progress. (fn. 78)
But Miss Buss was a pioneer in other directions,
encouraging gymnastics, swimming, skating, hockey,
and athletics. She incorporated in the new buildings
the first gymnasium designed for a girls' school and
obtained the use of the St. Pancras baths, but her
proposal to make the girls 'really bold swimmers' by
capsizing a boat in open water was not adopted.
She started a school sports day, and in the interests
of dress reform organized a tug-of-war between girls
who wore stays and those who did not; the latter
won. Miss Buss had little time for fainting girls,
for whom she recommended the cold water treatment. She also encouraged the more usual accomplishments such as art, music, needlework, cookery,
and handicrafts. (fn. 79)
By present-day standards discipline appears to
have been very strict; talking seemed to be the main
evil, and 'every moment, almost every movement,
was ordered'. There were many rules, breach of
which involved signing the 'Appearance Book', but
any form which went for half a term without a
signature was allowed a 'gratification'-half an
hour's free time-as a reward. Elaborate measures
were taken to ensure that the assignments of homework were properly done and that cheating was
prevented. Ink was normally prohibited in school,
and a Saturday morning might be spent in removing
an accidental stain from the floor. It must be
remembered, however, that many of the staff and
pupils felt themselves to be pioneers in a great
campaign against sex discrimination in education. (fn. 80)
Miss Buss wrote to Maria Grey (fn. 81) in 1881 'there is
no such thing as a woman's education question', (fn. 82)
and she intended her girls to prove it; moreover,
many former pupils testified not only to her discipline but also to her kindliness and generosity.
Although an authoritarian, she was prepared to
delegate authority to prefects and monitors, and she
encouraged self-governing clubs and societies. (fn. 83)
Miss Buss's influence outside her own school was
extensive. She had a deep concern for the dignity
and status of the teaching profession. Believing that
academic qualifications alone were not sufficient for
a teacher, she arranged lectures for her own staff on
the theory and practice of education. Her belief in
the value of training made her an ardent supporter
of the first Training Colleges; she was closely
associated with the foundation of both the Maria
Grey and Cambridge Training Colleges. She also
considered that association between members of the
profession was not only valuable but essential. It
was, therefore, quite natural that it should have
been at a meeting at her house that the Association
of Head Mistresses was inaugurated. Nine headmistresses were present; Miss Buss was elected as
President of the Association and held the office until
her death in 1894.
Her successor at North London Collegiate, whom
she had designated as early as 1878, was Mrs. Sophie
Bryant, a mathematician and a brilliant teacher. In
1884 she had become the first woman D.Sc. and in
1894 she was one of the three women appointed to
the Bryce Commission on secondary education. She
was also a member of the Senate of London University and the L.C.C. Technical Education Board,
a governor of two training colleges, president of the
Head Mistresses Association 1903-5, a member of
numerous other committees, a worker for Irish
Home Rule and for women's suffrage, an oarswoman,
an alpinist-she climbed the Matterhorn-and a
prolific author. (fn. 84) Despite all these activities she
devoted much time and thought to the school,
keeping both staff and pupils in touch with the
problems of the outside world. In the face of considerable criticism she introduced pupils from
elementary schools. Early in 1918, wearied by wartime anxieties and wishing to devote more time to
educational writing and political work, she prevailed
upon the governors to accept her resignation. (fn. 85)
Miss I. M. Drummond, who was appointed to
succeed Mrs. Bryant, was a former member of the
staff of North London Collegiate and had been
latterly headmistress of the Camden School. Miss
Drummond relaxed some of the regulations and
encouraged the free choice of creative activities in
the arts and in school societies. (fn. 86) In 1929, with the
assistance of the Middlesex County Council, the
school acquired 'Canons', (fn. 87) a Georgian house standing in extensive grounds at Little Stanmore, and
soon a section of the school was travelling there each
morning of the week for lessons and games. Eventually it was decided to move the whole school to
Canons, and the foundation-stone of a new building
extending behind the house was laid in May 1939.
The work was sufficiently advanced by September
1939 for it to be continued despite the war. (fn. 88) After
a period of evacuation at Luton it was possible in
June 1940 to open a united school within the bare
walls of the new building. (fn. 89) Having re-established
the school, Miss Drummond retired in the following
December. (fn. 90) Her successor, Miss E. G. Harold,
dealt competently with the problems of wartime and
had the satisfaction of seeing numbers rise to over
650 before she resigned in 1944. In 1941 the Sandall
Road building was severely damaged in an air-raid. (fn. 91)
After the war the new headmistress, Dr. Kitty
Anderson, made every effort to restore normal conditions of work. (fn. 92) The school was decorated for the
first time, and tennis courts and games fields were
properly laid out. Recognition as a direct grant
school was continued. In 1955 the Mary Done
swimming-pool was opened by the Duchess of
Gloucester, President of the school, and in 1959 a
new Drawing school was erected. By 1964 there were
860 girls in the school, of whom 228 were in the
Sixth forms and 109 in the preparatory department.
Dr. Anderson was President of the Association of
Head Mistresses from 1954 to 1956, and served on
several educational committees. She was awarded
a D.B.E. in 1961. (fn. 93)