The American School Of London Is Conviniently Located In The Neighbourhood
Only a stone throw away is the famous American School in London
The North American College in London is a world, independent K-12 college in St John’s Wood, London, Britain for scholars aged between four and eighteen years. Established in 1951 by Princeton graduate Stephen Eckard, it’s the oldest American college in the town and the sole non-profit American college in Britain .
As of Sep 2006 the high-school has an enrollment of 1,344 scholars. ASL is to be found on 3.5 acres ( fourteen thousand m2 ) in central London, and maintains twenty-one acres ( 85,000 m2 ) of playing fields nearby. The high school follows an American structure and is organised into 3 departments : the lower, middle and schools. Though the bulk of scholars hold American citizenship, the college has a powerful world flavor with over 50 states represented. Less than a tenth of the scholars speak a principal language apart from English. Slightly over 1/2 these need further support in the topic. The high-school provides extra learning support to almost one-fifth of the scholars though not one of them have a statement of special instructional need.
The college’s stated mission is to offer an ‘American education of the highest quality’ to the families it serves.
The college functions as a very important cultural centre for American families in London and maintains close links with the North American Consulate . The History Of the college ASL was set up in 1951 by Stephen L. Eckard, an American journalist and previous teacher living in London. Mr. Eckard was working for the northern US Service of the BBC when a few co-workers inspired him to start a college that followed an American curriculum.
The high-school commenced with 13 scholars, and all classes occurred in his Knightsbridge flat. Inside half a year, the high-school had become so popular that 3 teachers were hired and it was moved to a more roomy property in Chelsea. An alumnus of ASL in its early years recollected Mr. Eckard wearing many hats : “Headmaster, advisor, teacher, director, even bus driver Stephen Eckard did it all.” The College kept on growing, moving first to a giant house in Grosvenor Square and then adding 2 homes in Gloucester Gate and 4 homes in York Patio . Scholars played sports at Regent’s Park and on the turf of Winfield House, the home of the US envoy. The 1st High College graduation was held in 1960, an event that brought Mr. Eckard much joy. “It would be tough to exaggerate the pride I feel in our College’s first graduating class,” he announced.
“To the extent that it marks a significant point of attainment for me in the development of the North American College in London, I am hoping this feeling is shared by the Senior Class.” In 1964, the newly created Board of Curators made the landmark call to generate funds for a $7 million building to shelter the whole College . They broke ground in 1968 with assistance from envoy David K.E. Bruce. The foundation stone was laid 2 years on by envoy Walter Annenberg. The Rt. Hon. Margaret Thatcher, MP, then secretary of state for education and science, spoke at the building’s dedication in 1971. In Sep 2k, the high school opened a new highschool wing, including a further 24,000 sq. feet ( 2,200 m2 ) of space, a new gymnasium, art studios, PC laboratories and a refurbished library. In June 2006, the highschool broke ground on the college Center for Education and the humanities, to make a 450-seat theater and new flexible teaching and performance space. The Center was finished in winter of 2007 and officially opened in March 2008.
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