The story of NLCS began in April 1850 when Frances Mary Buss, a pioneer in girls’ education, founded North London Collegiate School in her family home at 46 Camden Street, Camden Town. Guided by her visionary approach, the school became synonymous with academic excellence, ambition, and the belief that education should unlock potential and inspire confidence.
The Buss family played a pivotal role in the school’s early years. Frances’s brother Septimus and father, R.W. Buss—an artist who illustrated Dickens’ novels—contributed to the vibrant and creative environment she sought to create. Today, some of R.W. Buss’s paintings hang in the historic Buss Room at the Old House in Canons, a reminder of the school’s rich cultural heritage.
Over 170 years later, NLCS continues to uphold Frances Mary Buss’s vision, offering an academically rigorous education that inspires curiosity, independence, and a global outlook. With campuses around the world, including NLCS (Singapore), the legacy of innovation and excellence is thriving, preparing students to lead and succeed in a rapidly changing world.
Explore the journey of North London Collegiate School from its founding in London in 1850 to its emergence as a globally recognised network of leading international schools. This timeline highlights the milestones that have shaped the NLCS family and celebrates its enduring legacy of academic excellence and innovation.
The first international campus of NLCS opened on Jeju Island, bringing the distinctive NLCS ethos to Asia. NLCS Jeju offers a co-educational day and boarding environment known for its academic rigour, exceptional pastoral care, and a vibrant co-curricular programme.
NLCS (Singapore) extended the NLCS ethos to Southeast Asia, offering an education that nurtures a love of learning and personal growth. The school balances academic excellence with an extensive co-curricular programme, fostering well-rounded and ambitious students.
NLCS Hong Kong will be another addition to the highly successful NLCS family of schools and benefit from state-of-the-art facilities and offer a premium education to families in Hong Kong with the aim of nurturing a community where each student experiences the joy of learning and finds their own individual passion. While upholding the NLCS ethos, NLCS Hong Kong will also celebrate and embrace the rich history and culture of Hong Kong.
North London Collegiate School was established in London by Frances Mary Buss, a pioneer in education who transformed the opportunities available to girls. Her vision set a new standard for academic excellence and innovation, creating a legacy that continues to thrive.
Expanding into the Middle East, NLCS Dubai opened its doors to students from diverse backgrounds. The school combines the traditional academic strengths of NLCS with the cultural richness of Dubai, delivering the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme in a dynamic learning environment.
Scheduled to open in August 2025, NLCS Kobe delivers an ambitious and academically challenging education in the Kansai region of Japan. Integrating local cultural elements, the school represents the latest chapter in the global expansion of the NLCS family.
NLCS Phuket will expand the highly successful NLCS family of schools, offering a premium co-educational day and boarding education for families in Phuket and across the wider region. Combining academic ambition with outstanding pastoral care and a rich co-curricular programme, the school will create an environment where students are encouraged to explore their interests, realise their potential and develop a lifelong love of learning. While remaining true to the distinctive NLCS ethos, NLCS Phuket will embrace the unique culture and character of Phuket, creating a vibrant and globally minded learning community.
Founder’s Day at NLCS (Singapore) is a cherished tradition that honours the visionary legacy of Frances Mary Buss, who founded North London Collegiate School in 1850. This special occasion celebrates her pioneering dedication to academic excellence and personal growth while recognising the invaluable contributions of founders, benefactors, and the entire NLCS global community.
The day is marked by meaningful traditions, including a Service of Thanksgiving, uplifting musical performances, and the iconic daffodil procession, a tribute to Miss Buss’s favourite flower. These elements make Founder’s Day a memorable celebration of our shared history and values.
As NLCS prepares to celebrate its 175th anniversary in 2025, Founder’s Day takes on even greater significance, reflecting over a century and a half of educational excellence and innovation. NLCS’s international campuses, including Singapore, proudly uphold this tradition, fostering a sense of unity and belonging across the global NLCS family.
PEI Registration Number: 201621489R | Period of Registration: 25 July 2023 to 24 July 2027
We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.
The cookies that are categorised as "Strictly Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyse how you use this website, measure our advertising and remember your preferences. These cookies are stored on your browser only with your consent. You may choose to enable or disable some or all of these cookies, but disabling some of them may affect your browsing experience.
Strictly Necessary cookies are required for the operation, administration or security of our websites, or to provide a function specifically requested by you — such as website navigation, security, form handling, sessions and remembering your cookie choices. They cannot be switched off through these controls.
| Cookie | Provider | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
nlcs_cookie_consent | NLCS (Singapore) | 6 months | Stores your cookie consent choices so that they can be applied on subsequent visits. |
PHPSESSID | NLCS (Singapore) | Session | Maintains your website session so that pages and forms operate correctly. |
wordpress_test_cookie | NLCS (Singapore) | Session | Used by the website platform to check whether the browser accepts cookies. |
Functional cookies support enhanced website features and remember your preferences. They may be used in connection with embedded video, maps, website forms, display preferences, third-party content and admissions or enquiry functionality.
| Cookie | Provider | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE | YouTube | Up to 6 months | Set by embedded YouTube video to estimate bandwidth and remember playback preferences. |
YSC | YouTube | Session | Set by embedded YouTube video to keep track of views of embedded videos. |
Analytics and Performance cookies help us understand how visitors use our websites and landing pages — visitor numbers, sessions, pages viewed, navigation, traffic sources, campaign traffic and website performance. We use this to improve our websites and communications.
| Cookie | Provider | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
_ga | Up to 2 years | Used by Google Analytics to help distinguish visitors and measure website usage. | |
_ga_<identifier> | Up to 2 years | Used by Google Analytics 4 to maintain information relating to a property and website session. | |
_gid | 24 hours | Used by Google Analytics to distinguish visitors over a short period. |
Advertising and Marketing cookies are used in connection with our digital advertising. They measure advertising effectiveness, attribute enquiries and registrations to campaigns, create advertising audiences, support remarketing, manage advertising frequency and help deliver more relevant advertising to appropriate adult audiences.
| Cookie | Provider | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
_gcl_au | Up to 3 months | Used by Google to store and track conversions attributed to advertising. | |
_gcl_aw | Up to 3 months | Stores a Google Ads click identifier used for conversion measurement and campaign attribution. | |
_gcl_gs | Up to 3 months | Stores Google advertising interaction information used for measurement. | |
_fbp | Meta | Up to 3 months | Set by the Meta Pixel to measure website visits and conversions resulting from Meta advertising, and to support remarketing. |
_fbc | Meta | Up to 3 months | Stores the Meta advertising click identifier used to attribute a conversion to a Meta advertisement. |
IDE | Google (DoubleClick) | Up to 13 months | Used to measure advertising effectiveness and to show advertising that may be relevant to the visitor. |