London Park School Clapham Friday Morning `Coffee

London Park School Clapham will move to our permanent home at 7-11 Nightingale Lane, opposite Clapham Common and next to Clapham South tube station in the summer term of 2024. Until then, we are in a temporary base at 3 Garrad's Road, London SW16 1JZ, previously home to Northwood Senior.

Whilst we await the exciting opening of our new home, we are grateful to be able to hold open events using the neighbouring facilities of Audley Village at 3 Nightingale Lane.

`Spring Term Friday Coffees

We will have two Friday coffee mornings during the Spring term. These are informal coffee mornings, with each one limited to a small number of families who would like to learn more about what London Park School Clapham could offer their son or daughter. They are relaxed, occasions where the onus is on hearing from our key staff, learning more about our curriculum and approach, and enabling parents and guardians to ask questions.

You will hear from the Head of the LPS Clapham, Susan Brooks, the Principal of London Park Schools, Suzie Longstaff, and meet other members of our team - including our Admissions Manager, Tash McDonald.

Whilst we are always delighted to meet prospective students, given the nature of these coffee mornings, we would suggest that if possible, these are adult-only events. We will throw open our doors and welcome prospective students to get the full LPS Clapham experience once we are in our new home.

Summer Term Friday Coffees and Tour

We will hold regular Friday coffee mornings at Audley Place during the summer term and would be delighted to offer a (limited) tour of our new site. A full tour will be available from September 2024.

The format will be similar to previous events, except that we will start with coffee and a short talk before inviting parents to view the site.

Additional follow-on visits

Of course, nothing beats seeing a school in action, so if, after having been to a Friday Coffee Morning, you wish to find out more about our vibrant community, we will do all we can to accommodate you. Please note however, that space in our temporary location is limited.

Timeline for 2025 entry

• Visit us (we will be holding full Open Mornings from the Summer term and during the Autumn term)
• Register and send us any Digital data and relevant information - e.g. CAT 4 / ISEB + recent school report. We will ask your child's current school for a confidential reference.
• Come to one of our Discovery Days (November/January). These are a way for us to get to know your child better and for them to learn more about us. They are designed to be fun - whilst enabling us to ensure that they will thrive within our smaller community.
• Offers are made following these days - along with any Principal's Awards. Parents have until March to accept or decline.
• We have Offer-holder and new joiner events during the spring and summer terms.
• September 2025 - join us!

If you are looking for SEPTEMBER 2024 entry please contact Mrs Tash McDonald, our Admissions Manager on [email protected], 020 8161 0301.

Suzie Longstaff, Principal of the London Park Schools.

Suzie Longstaff joined London Park Schools as Principal in April 2023. Previously Head of Putney High School, GDST, one of London’s top day schools, Suzie brings 25 years of experience as an education leader to LPS.

Before moving into education, Suzie had a successful rowing career, including coxing the British Olympic VIII at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and the Cambridge University ‘Goldie’ boat in the 1997 and 1998 Boat Races.

With a degree in Economics from Durham, Suzie has a PGCE in Mathematics from Cambridge, a Diploma in Computing from Oxford, and a MA in Education from Bath. She is currently undertaking a part-time MBA. Her teaching career spans single sex, co-educational, day and boarding schools including Shiplake College, Kingston Grammar School and Putney High School, GDST, where she was Director of Sixth Form and Deputy Head Academic before becoming Headmistress in 2014. In 2023 she was appointed as a Governor of the Pointers School in South East London.

Suzie’s rich life experience informs her dynamic, forward-thinking attitude to what an outstanding education can be and is an independent schools’ inspector and school governor. She encourages students to be both innovative and intrepid in their learning in an approach she calls ‘modern scholarship’ which is about making learning challenging, fun and relevant, exploring everything from entrepreneurship and oracy to design thinking and AI.

Suzie values sport, co-curricular activities, and community involvement as key to a rounded education and crucial in promoting good wellbeing in her students. She is a born leader who has established Putney High as one of the UK’s leading schools: it was graded excellent with ‘exceptional’ achievement in its last ISI inspection, ranked 5th for school sport nationally in 2020, shortlisted for the TES Independent Senior School of the Year 2022 and won a Gold Medal at RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2021 for its ground-breaking research into the benefits of biophilia on wellbeing and academic performance.

With her deep understanding of the London market, Suzie was named as one of the i25 innovators and influencers in education in 2019.

Suzie is married, with twin daughters.

Susan Brooks , Head of London Park School Clapham

Susan was educated in Australia, graduating from Queensland University in 2003 with Bachelor of Secondary Education/Bachelor of Arts dual degrees with a specialism in History and French. Having taught up to A Level at Benowa State High and Wynnum North State High, where she was Head of French, Susan came to the UK in 2007 to continue her secondary teaching career at Bromford’s School, Wickford, in Essex before taking up the position of Head of History at Broomwood Hall in 2008. This was followed by promotion to Senior Mistress and Director of Studies, before taking on her role as Broomwood Hall Deputy Head (Academic) in 2014.

In 2019 Susan was appointed founding Head of Northwood Senior, and tasked with the establishment of a new secondary school within the Northwood Schools group for boys and girls aged 11-16 designed to offer a modern, progressive and more personalised approach to education.

In 2021 Northwood Schools and Northwood Senior joined the Dukes Education family and it was announced that Northwood Senior would become the nucleus of a new secondary school in Clapham and be the first within a new model of senior schools under the leadership of Suzie Longstaff, ex-Head of Putney High. Susan was a core member of the founding team and in September 2023, was appointed Head of London Park School Clapham.

Opening a new school allows fresh thinking and practices; for the purpose of education to be examined, and the curriculum, teaching and learning practices and co-curricular offering to be tailored to the ever-changing needs of the modern world. Susan is proud to be able to implement a forward-thinking, contemporary curriculum that draws upon the best of traditional education but reimagines how it is presented to the pupils to create a more positive learning experience for all.

Susan is married to Dave, a counsellor specialising in young people. Her interests include travelling (27 countries to date), reading, paddle-boarding, skiing, and walking her dog, Elvis.

LPS Uniform

Pupils from Northwood Senior (LPS Clapham from 2023) recently performed Macbeth at Streatham Space Project

Host or Publisher London Park School Clapham