"According to one parent, ‘the sporty and the unconventional, the quirky and the rebel are all valued’ at NCS. Headmaster Dr Matthew Jenkinson (aka ‘Dr J’) is ‘passionately devoted to the school and has a wonderfully dry sense of humour’. On his watch, it achieves academic excellence – pupils move on to nearby publics such as Teddies and Magdalen College School – ‘without being ruthlessly selective or nastily sharp-elbowed’. Despite being founded in 1379, NCS is refreshingly progressive: it offers a Year 5 International Relations course and Wellbeing lessons; and there is no stigma surrounding the learning support [Inclusion] department. Though the standard is ‘staggering’, parents emphasise that this is not just a musical school – nor is it ‘gin and Jaguar’ territory."