Farewell to Mrs Bingham
A momentous school year culminated in a series of farewell events for South Hampstead’s 12th Headmistress, Mrs Vicky Bingham.
Staff from across the whole school joined together at the sports ground for an evening of celebration and thanks, before Junior and Senior school pupils bid their own farewell at the final assembly of the year. A non-uniform day on the last day of term saw the whole school community aptly attired in some Mehr Licht-inspired sparkle.
Mrs Bingham joined South Hampstead in January 2017 and swiftly established herself as a dynamic force. Her mission was to open doors, hearts and minds. In 2018, she presented her Towards 150 strategic plan to develop and build on the key strengths of the whole school, ahead of South Hampstead’s 150th anniversary in 2026. Aside from her ambition and vision, she will be remembered for her impressive ability to get to know every single pupil in the community. Mrs Bingham taught Philosophy to Year 7 students, as well as Latin and Greek to Sixth Formers, and particularly enjoyed chatting to our youngest Junior School pupils over lunch. She has been committed to championing pupil voice in all its forms. Rather than commissioning a professional artist for her leaving portrait for example, as is tradition, she asked one of our Sixth Form Art Scholars to paint her instead – see image 3 above.
Mrs Bingham embedded debate and discussion at the very heart of academic life. She initiated the South Hampstead Speaker Series, welcoming diverse, internationally-recognised guests, including the former Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney; the scientist, Professor Alice Roberts; broadcaster, Mishal Husain; and comedian, David Baddiel. She also pioneered an expanded debating programme, with national and international success. South Hampstead was crowned ESU Oracy Champion in 2020 and our award-winning Debate Hub initiative has promoted and developed the debating skills of over a thousand local state schools pupils; the inaugural state school debating day will be named The Bingham Debating Competition in recognition of her contribution. Other partnership programmes during her tenure include an enterprising joint recruitment initiative with The UCL Academy; music and language teaching at dozens of local primary schools; and forging links with charities as far afield as Calcutta, Rio and Rwanda. She also resurrected ambitious whole school community walks, with the end of term events raising tens of thousands of pounds for charity.
Mrs Bingham has always led by example, encouraging pupils to find their voice. She has written numerous posts for her own blog and regularly contributed to national debates in the media. Her commitment to make annual eco-pledges hit the headlines in 2020 and she spoken out on numerous issues, from tutoring and cancel culture to smartphone dependency. She has championed a buzzing Mehr Licht co-curricular programme and spearheaded the Waterlow Hall campaign to create a contemporary, flexible performing arts space. The award-winning hall was completed in 2020 with a festival of events and concerts – the single largest project ever funded entirely by the South Hampstead community.
As part of the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST), South Hampstead was established to provide education for girls from all backgrounds, and we have a long tradition of welcoming girls on fee assisted places. At the heart of Mrs Bingham’s Towards 150 masterplan was the desire to promote diversity and inclusion at the school. Alongside changes to the curriculum, and the establishment of a diversity and inclusion steering committee, Mrs Bingham reinvigorated our bursary programme. When she joined the school, just 1 in 40 pupils joining Year 7 received bursary funding. Thanks to our Opening Doors bursary campaign, 1 in 8 of our Year 7 pupils this year are receiving 100%+ means-tested awards.
All this has been achieved against the backdrop of some of the most challenging years in education. In March 2020, the school was forced to close its doors as the Covid-19 pandemic took hold. Mrs Bingham masterminded a seamless transition to Guided Home Learning and bolstered community well-being with her lockdown challenges, pupil/alumnae pen pal schemes, ‘summer of joy’ events and her own version of the ‘hands, face, space’ mantra: habits, plans, treats.
In 2022, just as school life returned to normal, war broke out in Ukraine. Mrs Bingham found space for eight Ukrainian pupils at the school and the funding needed to secure their places – just one example of the determination and compassion that have characterised her time at the school. Throughout her headship, Mrs Bingham has embodied values that she has helped to embed: Aspiration, Creativity, Courage, Commitment and Kindness.
Mrs Bingham never accepted the pigeonholing of South Hampstead as (just) an academic powerhouse, but aspired for excellence in all areas. Her attendance at events, concerts, sports matches, plays, art exhibitions and on trips speaks volumes about her indefatigable commitment to every aspect of school life. As the Good Schools Guide reported, she is “energetic, enthusiastic, full of ideas.”
As her time at South Hampstead came to a close, Mrs Bingham’s efforts and achievements were recognised with an excellent ISI inspection report, which praised the school’s pervasive sense of ‘joyful scholarship’; as the icing on the cake in her final year, she picked up the award for Independent Girls’ School of the Year 2022/23.
As we welcome Mrs Bingham into our South Hampstead Community as an Honorary Alumna, we wish her the very best for the future and say a huge thank you for all she has done for the whole school community. Mehr Licht!