Chrysalis Effect

Highgate School’s involvement with local schools is flourishing with the help of a major Independent/State Schools Partnership grant to further the work of the Chrysalis Partnership.

The partnership grew out of the 2007 summer school at Highgate, which was the first to offer subject-specific workshops and advice to gifted and talented Y12 pupils from across the Haringey and Camden boroughs as part of a university access scheme.

The ISSP grant means that pupils were invited to take part in a yearlong programme of activities, beginning with a universities fair at Highgate School in May that was open to all partnership schools’ Year 12 students. The centrepiece was a second, intensive week-long summer school in August this year. The week involved challenging subject-specific tutorials run by Highgate School and Partnership School teachers, lectures by experts, advice sessions from visiting admissions tutors from Oxford and Cambridge and undergraduate mentoring.

As part of its programme of links with sister schools, Highgate School also joined with University College School to run a Year 4 Summer School for 60 Haringey and Camden pupils in July, entitled ‘Windows of Discovery’, that focused on Science, Mathematics, DT and Music.

MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, Lynn Featherstone, attended the launch of the Chrysalis Project and was fulsome in her praise: 'I think this is fantastic. For far too long Highgate School has been regarded as separate from the community of schools in Haringey. What I saw was the beginning of a reaching out and bringing all our schools together to develop and use skills to help all our children.'

Pictured above: MP Lynn Featherstone with Lily Sommer, Clare Fanthorpe and Adam Pettitt. The two girls have places at Cambridge having attended the Highgate summer school last year.

To read more stories from the Autumn 2008 edition of Highnotes, download a PDF copy.

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