The MagazineCroydon High School 2013

We all want the best for our children and the health of their eyes can have a big impact on their school life. That’s why it’s important

for them to have regular eye examinations, just as you do.

Research shows that one in five school-aged children have an undetected eye problem. As a result many cannot see well enough to reach their full academic potential. They may also find it difficult to enjoy everyday childhood activities.

Often, younger children don’t realise they have a problem with their sight, so it’s important that you look for the signs, which include…

Squinting or a “lazy” eye Sitting too close to the TV or computer screen Headaches Eye rubbing Short attention span Disruptive behaviour

At All In One Eyecare, we offer under 16s free eye examinations and popular branded glasses. We also stock high-end designer frames for children, such as Ray-Ban, Ted Baker and Gucci.

To arrange your child’s free eye examination, contact All In One Eyecare on 020 8680 2828, email info@allinoneeyecare.co.uk,

or drop in to see us at Whitgift Centre (first floor, near Allders), Croydon, Surrey CR0 1XB.

Free eye examinations for under 16’s

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This year has been one to remember not only for Croydon High School, but for the whole of the GDST. We celebrated 140 years of the Girl’s Day School Trust with various competitions both in and out of school. These included a 140 words creative writing competition; a maths competition involving making 140 in as many calculations as possible; an art competition to symbolise 140 in an artistic way; and lastly a drama competition of a one minute 40 second monologue.

All members of the committee have been forward thinking, bringing new ideas and concepts for articles to make the magazine an exciting read. We would especially like to thank Mrs Cook and Ms Forshaw for all their hard work during this busy time of year, especially providing the occasional box of Maltesers! Ms Forshaw spent a great deal of her time making sure the magazine was of the best literary quality, but our thanks must especially be addressed to Mrs Cook for helping make this magazine come together as a whole.

Overall, being on the magazine committee has been a memorable experience, and both of us are grateful for all the effort that has gone into creating another glowing edition. We know that the skills we have learnt will transfer easily into whatever we do in the commencing years.

Enjoy!

Rhea Dillon and Molly Harris

Editors and Head Girls 2013 -14Editorial Team: Gabriela Forzani, Olivia Hanson, Shrina Sokhi, Katie Tomsett, Laura Jeffery, Jess Payn, Emma Lipczynski, Jodie Bower (Year 7 rep) Emma Westray (Year 8 rep) Caroline Ip (Year 9 rep) Hannah Lipczynski and Ysabel Cruickshank ( Year 10 reps) and Amy Jones ( Year 11 rep).

Letter from our Editors CONTENTSTITLE .................................................. Page No.Interview with the Head ....................................... 2

Oxbridge Interviews ............................................. 3

House Reports ....................................................... 4

GDST 140th Birthday ............................................. 6

Ivy Link Lunch ........................................................ 8

Juniors ..................................................................10

Fashion Show and Charity Work ........................26

Sports Report ........................................................28

Sports Day ............................................................30

Netball Weekend at Condover Hall ..................31

Sports Scholars.....................................................32

Girls who are Going Places ................................34

Hockey Stars .........................................................37

Music ....................................................................38

Drama ..................................................................40

Art ..........................................................................42

Our stunning cover artwork for this year’s magazine was produced by Magazine co-editor and Year 12 Art Scholar Rhea Dillon. It is fair to say that Rhea’s piece was the undisputed highlight of the Summer Art Exhibition at Croydon High – it had a huge impact on many people, not least the subject of the work who saw it for the first time on that evening! Rhea told us what her inspiration was for this work.

“This portrait conveys a strong matriarchal figure through the composition used, which is why I decided to paint my grandma – Joyce. She is someone with lots of strength whom I look up to and this aspect is reflected almost literally in the composition. Jenny Saville was the most inspirational artist for this piece; from different compositions used in her pieces practised through my photography, her use of large elaborate brush strokes and even deciding to work at a larger scale.”

Rhea went on to say “I would like to thank the Art Department for all their support and encouragement throughout this academic year.”

Cover Story

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An In te r v iew w i th Mr s Leonard b y S h r i n a S o k h i a n d M o l l y H a r r i s

How do you feel your year has been for Croydon High?I think it has been an excellent year. There have been so many new initiatives and opportunities for the girls to experience different things, things that I believe will make a real difference to their education. As you know, Croydon High is all about seizing opportunities and having a go! I believe there will be some really good results for those who have taken public exams this year and this will give those girls the confidence to continue to aim high with their studies as we start the next academic year.

What do you think could be improved?

I still think there is a lack of resilience from the girls and we need to push more to build on this. It’s a tough world and the girls will need to be tough to cope with whatever life throws at them. They have the skills to do well if they have the resilience to deal with the setbacks that they may encounter on the way.

What are your goals for next year? To keep ahead of the game – not always easy with the pressures of expectations and the Government always wanting to change things! My priority in all things is to create the best possible learning environment which will prepare the girls for life.

Making sure I have a finger on the pulse is vital, both internally and externally and never allowing complacency. That’s why I still teach – how can I expect teachers to follow me if I’m not even in the classroom myself?

What has been your highlight of the year?In such an eventful year, it’s hard to pinpoint one specific event. We have had some excellent guest speakers, including Olympians Lawrence Okoye and Kate Walsh, who inspired us all with their commitment and dedication. We have had some outstanding Drama, Art and Music events which reinforce my belief in the levels of talent in the school. The annual Ivy Link lunch where we welcomed back around 150 old girls and ex-staff was another wonderful occasion. The Fashion Show was another high point of the year, especially because of the personal element to it and how much money the girls raised for that charity. There’s so much going on, every week is different but it keeps me energised. I genuinely enjoy going to every single event. It is a big part of why I love what I do.

What have been the challenges that you have faced and how have you overcome them?I think the greatest challenge has been balancing the

financial demands. We hit all the targets but it has certainly been a challenge because of increasing utility costs and other demands. We have carried out significant refurbishments in both the juniors and the seniors, but there are still parts of the school building in need of updating. I always enjoy a challenge…but it has been hard work!

If you had all the money in the world, what would you change about the school?I would like to offer more bursaries, making it more affordable for girls to attend the school and benefit from the outstanding education I believe we offer. I would also like to be able to extend opportunities to girls at the school who may be financially inhibited. For example, we started up an equestrian team last year - this is obviously expensive and I’m sure if it were more affordable many girls would have loved to have tried it. I know I have said it before, but I really think that a full education is all about doing more of the ‘extras’.

Is there any particular sport that you would introduce and why?Rowing might be one that might work. It’s different to the others as it’s non-weight bearing and can be done individually or as part of

a team. But of course, to introduce this, the school would need to be near water so that could be a challenge! Not everyone wants to compete at sport, I realise, but I believe everyone should exercise. I am always interested in exploring new ideas for activities that encourage fitness and healthy lifestyles and which can become good habits for life.

Can you name a point in your life where you’ve had to be resilient?Yes – when my Dad died. He died young and that was particularly difficult for me. It made me feel like I had been cheated because I didn’t get to spend that time with him like other people had done with their dads. He was not only my Dad but also my coach…and a huge inspiration to me.

What are you looking forward to?At this moment, I am looking forward to the summer break with the chance to spend time with my family and friends. This part of my life is very important to me and I always say to the girls (and the staff) that it is vital to keep that work life balance. After that, I will be refreshed and ready to start another year. Who knows what will be ahead…but I know for sure that it won’t be dull!

Mrs Leonard with Head Girls Emma Lipczynski and Katie Hughes on their last day at Croydon High

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OXBRIDGE B O U N D ?Did you feel apprehensive about applying to Oxbridge at first?

JESSICA PAYN (offer from Cambridge to read English) Yes! It had been my dream to apply to Cambridge from a young age so there were a good ten years of accumulated anticipation and pressure! I think all candidates feel anxious. You have to perfect your Personal Statement, face the dreaded interview and also potentially take entrance tests or submit impressive written work.

OLIVIA JENKINS (offer from Cambridge to read German and Russian)I always knew that I would like to apply, so I had been preparing myself since the beginning of Year 12, reading books etc. But obviously when it came to the interview I felt nervous, doubting myself at moments. However, even if I hadn’t been offered a place I knew that I’d gain a valuable experience from the process.

Emma Lipczynski (offer from Oxford to read English Language and Literature)Yes – very! I’d say that I’m apprehensive even now. There are lots of myths surrounding both Oxford and Cambridge: the questions that will be asked at interview; the amount of work that will be set if you attend either university; the cleverness of the students and so on. It is difficult to rationalise these and work out which are true and false. I was very nervous after I found out I needed to go down for interview. At Oxford, this is particularly daunting as they often keep you at the college for a few days

and interview you multiple times. I was relatively lucky only having to stay for two nights but I did get homesick!

How did you feel when you found out you had been offered a place?

Jess: I think my primary emotion was overwhelming relief! Having successfully convinced myself that my performance at interview was not at all impressive, I was elated to discover that I was wrong. The happy glow lasted for several weeks after opening the envelope and I was even happier when I found out that my friends had also been offered places.

Olivia: I was ecstatic! I was dancing around the house the whole day! It just felt so good that all my hard work had paid off.

Emma: I was ecstatic too! It took over a week for it to sink in, and even then I thought there must have been some mistake. I’d viewed the whole process of applying as something to do ‘for the experience’ rather than with any real belief that Oxford would want me. This had helped control my nerves during the application and therefore meant it was a real shock when I discovered that they did want me!

Is there anything you would have done differently?

Jess: Of course, there are specific moments in my interview that I would have liked to reverse: points where I wasn’t particularly coherent and questions that I didn’t answer very well. More generally, I would have tried to worry less. Easier said than done, but anxiety definitely acts to prevent clear thinking. Think in depth about your answer before beginning to voice your ideas, as this small mental pause often means your response is more logical, maybe also more interesting and thought-provoking.

Olivia: Perhaps I wouldn’t have done all the extra reading that wasn’t on my personal statement, because they really focused on the statement in the interview. But I don’t regret doing it because it has helped with my understanding of my chosen subjects as a whole.

Emma: I think it’s difficult to say as I worry that a different approach

to the process would have meant a different result.

What would your advice be to anyone thinking of applying to Oxbridge?

Jess: First off, don’t be intimidated: Oxford and Cambridge are two of the best universities in the world, but if your grades match up to those required, you are a worthy candidate. In the interview itself, the same applies: be prepared to stand your ground when challenged on something you’ve written in your Personal Statement. They want to see whether you can handle debate and discussion and will deliberately push you. Before the interview, read, read, read. Regardless of your subject: reading around what you wish to study enhances your understanding and wider reading can be a bank from which to draw examples, or to make your Personal Statement distinctive.

Finally, think about the wider questions surrounding your subject. Considering complex issues not directly relevant can be useful; in the interview you will be tested to see if you have that flexibility of mind with which good Oxbridge candidates approach unfamiliar intellectual challenges. I found past interview questions valuable: for example, do you have to see a play to understand it, or can it just be read?

Olivia: Make sure your personal statement shows obvious signs of intellectual curiosity, such as extra reading or doing an EPQ and know everything on it inside out, because for me it formed the basis of some of the interview. Also, go to the open day of the college you are applying to. I met one of the professors there who interviewed me and I got to know my way around the college before the interview which helped me relax on the day.

Emma: Namely to have a go! I was undecided up until the summer holidays of the year I applied as I was terrified of a rejection. Looking back, however, I think you lose little by applying and gain a wealth of experience, and confidence, in being forced to do something that scares you – especially at interview. More specifically, however, my advice would be to start reading around and doing extra-curricular related to your subject many months (if

possible years!) before as it really gives you a head start and means that your application will be as strong as possible.

Do you think that doing an EPQ does really impress the universities, and in particular Oxbridge?

Jess: the EPQ demonstrates genuine interest in, and commitment to, the subject you wish to study at university and develops key independent study and research skills that you will need in your degree. There’s no doubt it impresses the universities; both Cambridge and Oxford have openly declared their support for the qualification and encourage applicants to undertake the Project. I did the EPQ and think it must have been a factor in why I received all five offers.

Olivia: Definitely – as long as it’s relevant to your subject. It shows that you’re curious to explore your subject beyond the confines of the curriculum. In my German interview, my interviewer noted that I had done one and seemed interested in that.

Emma: In my case, I would say that it does. In one of my interviews at Oxford they asked at length about my EPQ. This enabled me to talk well (and for a long time) about something that I really understood as well as enabling me to chat with confidence. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it was the reason I got the place but I do think it was a contributing factor. As well as this, at an interview at Warwick they asked me similar questions about my EPQ; it suggests that the benefit of the project is not limited to Oxbridge.

Croydon High encourages the highest aspirations and for some, there can be no greater goal than to aim for a place at Cambridge or Oxford. This year Jessica Payn, Olivia Jenkins, Emma Lipczynski and Lizzie O’Leary made the decision to ‘go for Oxbridge ‘ and Shrina Sokhi spoke to three of them to see how they found the experience.

Tutor and Oxford alumna Ms Forshawe points the way for Olivia (in the pink) and Jess (in trademark hat).

Emma and proud family.

Lizzie O’Leary with another proud mum. Lizzie had an offer from Cambridge to read engineering.

PS. Following the A Level results in August we are delighted to announce that all four candidates have achieved their dreams and are off to their chosen colleges. We are extremely proud of them all and hope their experience will inspire others to aim high!

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It is always a special moment

as Mrs Leonard reads out the

result in reverse order and the

tension mounts, but this year

again saw the wait was very

worthwhile.

There were some outstanding

individual performance from

both juniors and seniors,

but as important were the

efforts of each and every

member of the House to push

themselves to gain that vital

extra place and point. A little

sadly, we could not manage

a third consecutive triumph

in the overall year-long house

competition as we were just

pipped at the post by Curie –

many congratulations to them,

and next year we will be back

stronger than ever!

We must pay tribute to all the

efforts of our departing House

officials, Emma Ward (Captain)

and Vee Ragunathan , who

both played an inspirational

role throughout the year.

We welcome and

congratulate their successors,

Emily Beck (Captain) and

Roshni Fernando (Vice-

Captain); they have a hard

act to follow, but they have

a great house to lead and

anything is possible!

Flourish and prosper!

It is a pleasure to report on another fantastic year for Eliot. The blue riband event of the entire house year is Sports

Day in July and – amazingly – for the third year running (pun intended) Eliot placed first in the combined junior

and senior competition.

Garrett began the year confidently and ready to win some competitions, by working as a team in both the junior

and senior school. We had a number of wonderful performers in CHS Has Got Talent and first place went to

Garrett thanks to Navela Krishnarajah with her amazing Indian dancing.

ELIOT HOUSE

GARRETT HOUSE

We also won the annual

Christmas tree competition,

and even though Garrett

were presented with the

thinnest (and… well..,

ugliest tree out of the four!)

teamwork again came to

light as each individual house

member placed something

red onto the tree, which in

the end looked a lot better

(to say the least!) As we all

broke up for Christmas, we

said goodbye to our former

Head of House Miss Lucy

(pictured), who motivated us

so well for the past few years

but we welcomed our new

Head, Mrs Clarke, with open

arms, ready for new ideas and

ways to keep Garrett House

motivated.

As spring term came around,

we stayed motivated and

before we knew it we were

saying goodbye to our former

House and Deputy House

captains, Georgia Wallis and

Ellie Byrne, and hello to our

new House captain, Tanya

Hill and Deputy, Navela

Krishnarajah.

Sports Day was the first

challenge and there was true

Garrett team spirit, especially

during the Squadron relay

(which we won in style)

cheering on each Garrett

member from Reception

to Year 10.

We are looking forward to

even more great things in the

year to come.

GO GARRETT!

2012-2013 HOUSE REPORTS

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This was an excellent year for Seacole. We started off with a bang this year by having the most participants for open day, demonstrating the pride we have in being CHS girls. We were consistent throughout the year in our

positive attitude and team work skills, as well as our dedication to our House, led us to be very successful in many inter-house competitions.

SEACOLE HOUSE

CURIE HOUSE

I can proudly say that

Seacole has an array of

talents, even if this was

not shown during the

CHS talent show; we

have shown it in various

other ways.

Our tremendous sports

team put on a brilliant

show in the inter-house

swimming gala and

despite tough competition

from the other houses we

managed to finish top.

In the spring term, I am

pleased to say that we

showed our enthusiasm

to win, where we again

had the most participants

and so won the Easter

card competition. Our

outstanding drama talent

was demonstrated in

the inter-house drama

production, which I am

glad to say we won,

well done to everyone

who participated; you

really deserve a pat on

the back.

Of course all this could not

have been accomplished

without the leadership

of Daisy Beaven and

Elizabeth O’Leary who

Seacole will unfortunately

be bidding farewell to. We

owe them a huge thank

you and wish them all the

best for the future.

We would also like to say a

big thank you to our House

leader, Miss Dixon, who is

a very inspirational and

motivating character and

sure to be an excellent

guide to our new house

captains Sara Sivathas

and Natalie Haden-Scott.

We know they will try their

hardest to live up to the

standards of our House.

Let’s keep up this positive

attitude throughout the

year and be even more

victorious next year.

SEACOLE FOR EVER!

The CHS Has Got Talent which

was held before Christmas

gave Curie another chance

to showcase the talents of our

many individual students.

After watching the auditions,

with acts ranging from

dancing, to stand-up comedy,

to a dog act – it proved very

difficult to select just three

for the talent show. However,

we were very pleased with

our final decisions and the

girls made us very proud

on the day – especially the

Year 7 student who was

forced to sing an “a capella”

performance( originally

a duet) as a solo, as her

friend was unfortunately ill.

Regrettably, the Christmas

period was not a complete

success as we lost the

Christmas tree competition

for reasons completely

beyond us.

Our tree was clearly the most

beautifully decorated!

Throughout the school

year Curie girls excelled

themselves in both effort and

participation. In both the

Easter card and bookmark

design competitions we

submitted most entries and

won the former competition

overall as well. In sports events,

events such as debating and

the maths challenge and

through the commendations

they have received for

their school work, Curie girls

continued to add points to

the House total.

Thanks to all this effort, we

were all delighted to hear Mrs

Leonard announce at the final

assembly of the year that we

were the Champions!

The best of luck to Annette

Azu and Aimee Evans

(pictured here celebrating our

win with Mrs Gower) who take

over the Curie leadership roles

this year and we hope that

next year is as successful for

them as this year was for us.

Curie has had a very successful year. At the end of last year

Curie inexplicably placed last in the bid for the House cup,

despite seemingly winning many of the events throughout the

three terms... we suspect foul play! But our poor performance

only drove us to pull out all the stops this time around.

We started the autumn term off well with a team building

activity in the sports hall in which each year group was given

the task of forming one letter of the our House’s name. The

aerial view of the completed task was certainly impressive!

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LUCY BAKES UP A STORM

Back in September, Lucy Mars from Year 11 made it through our Bake Off heats to represent the school at the semi-finals held at Blackheath High. With stiff competition from twelve other GDST schools, Lucy had to bake a Lemon Victoria Sponge from a recipe specially created by Mary Berry – herself a GDST alumna. Lucy did brilliantly but sadly was not successful in making it through to the finals despite producing an absolutely delicious cake. Lucy said “I was a bit nervous, but it was fun. It was good to meet the girls from other GDST schools.”

CROYDON HIGH RECORD BREAKERSIn November, we attempted to enter the world record books, taking part in a science experiment involving over 2,300 girls at the 26 GDST schools and academies across the country – 77 of them from Croydon High. We all set out to measure gravity in a bid to set the record for the world’s biggest practical science lesson in multiple venues.

The experiments measured the value of acceleration due to gravity. One

measured the time taken for an object to drop a set distance, and the other timed a swinging pendulum. Girls in Year 6 and 7 took part with great enthusiasm. “It is really exciting,” said Zara Uddin in Year 6 “to think we have taken part in what might be a world record breaking event!”

The school followed strict guidelines set by Guinness World Records (GWR), including video filming of the whole event and the involvement of independent witnesses to count the girls and ensure they were participating fully.

The results were compiled and submitted and in January we were delighted to receive the news that the attempt had been successful and that we are now in the record books! LINGUISTS SPELL

SUCCESS! On 5th March Ms Díez and a group of nine students went to Howells Cardiff for the day to take part in the Modern Foreign Languages Spelling Bee Final, having performed brilliantly in the regional heats. The girls had to learn 140 words in their target language; were given the words in English; had to translate them and then spell them as fast as they could in one minute. The long journey proved worthwhile with some excellent results.

Year 9 Spanish - Priya Patel, Fariha Baba and Hannah-Louise Vine came third after a close contest with Sheffield. Priya Patel had the second best individual score of all Year 8 and 9 Spanish students with an astonishing result of 21 words spelled correctly in one minute.

Year 8 German Damini Patel, Emma Westray and Lucy Wingrove also came third. They had to spell the longest words in the contest ! (Umweltverschmutzung) 19 letters

Year 8 Spanish Nayna Patel and Amelia de Lima (unfortunately Samantha Martin was unwell and

Happy 140th Birthday to the GDST!Throughout the year, there have been various events and inter-school competitions

to mark the 140th anniversary of Girls Day School Trust. In true Croydon High style,

we entered in to everything with enthusiasm and certainly did our school proud.

Nayna and Amelia with the impressive trophy

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couldn’t take part so Amelia had to take two turns) came first in the Year 8 group and the Spanish group also triumphed as the group with the most words spelled in three minutes (50 words). Olé!

“Personally I think it was a fun and new experience because I have a general interest in modern languages, and I loved being a part of this language competition,” said Priya Patel in Year 9

CREATIVE WRITING AND SHORT FILMSGirls rose to the challenge of these competitions and we had a high standard and plenty of entries. In the Creative Writing Challenge, girls were invited to choose from the following themes; Celebration, Girls, Anniversary, Birthday or Trust and to write a piece of under 1500 words. Our senior representative was Kate Shillabeer in Year 11.

Katya Pitt in Year 7 was chosen to represent the middle age range and Phoebe Marchand from Year 5 was the Junior representative. Extracts from these pieces of writing can be enjoyed later in this magazine.

Budding Steven Spielbergs came forward when the challenge to produce a short film was announced. Ultimately it was a team from Year 11, led by Kira Pandya and Amy Jones and a Year 7 group led by Rhea Patel whose creative film making won them the opportunity to see their productions at a special screening held at the Curzon Soho cinema in Shaftesbury Avenue.

Whilst we were not amongst the winners for either the Creative Writing or Short Film competitions, we were extremely proud of our talented girls and their willingness to have a go!

CROYDON CELEBRATES THE 140TH TOO!

To recognise this significant year for the GDST, Croydon

High ran some in-house competitions themed around the

number 140 which attracted lots of interest from the girls.

Four competitions took place in the summer term in the

following areas:

English: A 140 word piece of writing – not as easy as it

seems! This was won by Adahna Ekoku in Year 7 with her

imaginative piece entitled, The Accomplice, which can be

enjoyed later in the magazine.

Maths: How many ways can you make a sum that

equals 140? Emily Slade in Year 7 painstakingly calculated

1,140 sums all with the answer 140 – and all checked by

Miss Kermani!

Drama: A dramatic performance or monologue lasting

exactly 1 minute and 40 seconds which was won in dramatic

fashion by Carlotta Meyer from Year 9 with her excellent

performance of a piece from The Witches.

Art: Incorporating the numbers

140 in Art – this was won by

Blanche Brown in Year 9 with

her charming illustration.

Well done to all who took part in any of the activities which we hope contributed to making the 140th anniversary one to remember.

Happy 140th Birthday to the GDST!

8

From Pimms on arrival at noon, until we waved the last hardy few goodbyes around 4.30pm, the atmosphere was warm and full of laughter, reminiscences and good cheer. The ladies congregated in the Lower Dining room and enjoyed a browse through a selection of our archive material relevant to their year groups. They then moved in to the main Hall, where beautifully laid tables awaited and they took their places to some lovely piano accompaniment provided by Marketing Prefect, Katie Tomsett.

In their first official function in their new roles, the

Senior Prefect team were outstanding: greeting guests, mingling with all ages and then assisting with the serving of the lunch. Everyone seemed to enjoy the delicious meal and particularly the platters of enticing deserts that were presented with tea and coffee. Thank you to Harrisons, our excellent caterers. Wine, juice and conversation flowed freely. A projected slide show of photographs of the school and pupils over the years caused great interest and the inevitable shrieks of embarrassment!

Mrs Leonard then addressed the group, expressing her

pleasure at seeing so many there and particularly welcoming Pauline Davies, Head at Croydon High between 1990 and 1997. She talked about her pride in the achievements of the girls and asked each of the prefects standing with her to introduce themselves and say a little about their hopes for the future.

Mrs Leonard then spoke about all the exciting developments in the school and also shared her hopes and plans for the future. Her words were extremely well received.

Head of History, Colin Divall then spoke, passionately as always, about his plans to develop a bespoke History curriculum for next year’s Year 7 which will teach the girls world history as it relates to the history of the school. Mr Divall explained we are in a unique position to be able to do this with our archives rich in resources and material that he hopes will really

make the subject live. He appealed for help by asking that anyone who has any archive material of their own to allow us to copy it and also if any of those present would like to be involved in talking to the girls about their own experiences. There was a great response to this with offers of help coming forward immediately and more no doubt to come.

The prefects were then on hand to take guided tours around the school. For many it was their first visit to the site, being Wellesley Road girls, and for others it was a chance to see their old form rooms again and at last see what the staff room looked like! It really was a memorable and happy occasion and one that was obviously appreciated by our guests, with so many writing to say how much they enjoyed themselves and how impressed they were with the staff, the organisation but mostly by the girls. They are Croydon High!

THE ANNUAL IVY LINK LUNCH – A REALLY WONDERFUL OCCASIONOn Saturday 8th June, almost 150 friends of the school, including old girls, ex-staff and one former

Head, came together to celebrate their common bond – Croydon High School.

Rhea’s View on the Ivy Link LunchThe prefect team were invited to attend the annual Ivy Link Lunch on Saturday 8th June. Having helped to serve the ladies their food we introduced ourselves properly to the alumnae, stating our names and our aspirations for the future.

After a talk by Mrs Leonard and Mr Divall we took our guests on tours of the school. For some former students, who had not attended Croydon High in this current building in Selsdon, it was a great insight into what life is like at CHS now. For those who had studied here, the refurbishments made to the school and artwork on display gave an exciting opportunity to reminisce about the ‘good old days’ and also see how Croydon High has changed since their departure. Overall it was a thoroughly enjoyable day for the newly appointed prefects to get to know the old girls and former teachers of the school, as well as for the alumnae to appreciate Croydon High as it is today.

And some of the many messages of thanks received…

“Thank you everyone so much for all your hard work to make Saturday’s Lunch such a delightful occasion. I enjoyed it immensely. I look forward to next year!”

“Thank you very much for a most enjoyable lunch and afternoon. It was obvious that a lot of thought and preparation had gone into the organisation of the lunch, which made it such a pleasure for those of us lucky enough to attend. I thoroughly enjoyed the tour of the school - please thank Katie who was a delightful guide and very tolerant of both our chatter and reminiscing.”

“A short note of thanks and appreciation for a superb lunch, beautifully presented with style. But then CHS always did do style well! It was great to have a chance to meet up with others from my year group and hopefully I will get to attend another such lunch in the future.”

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10

Letter from the Junior Head, Miss Cordingley

There has been much talk in this, the 140th year of The Girls’

Day School Trust, of what makes a ‘GDST Girl’ or in our case, a ‘Croydon High Girl’.

I have been privileged to hear talks by several alumni and what comes across in all cases is enthusiasm, determination and perseverance, even when faced with disappointment. These are the qualities I want in the girls at the Junior School. Whether floored by a Maths investigation or almost winning a netball match, the ability to aim high, to know how to get there and to be determined to do so, these attributes make for success. The

other factor which is important is having good friends around you to encourage and give strength to each individual.

I have certainly seen much evidence of all of this during the year. I love seeing the Nursery girls learning to negotiate with each other – and at times with the teacher. “I just need to finish this then I will put it away!” Almost at the end of Reception, the girls put on an amazing assembly for their parents and the school, reading fluently, and showing most competent writing and painting skills. With what confidence they spoke and explained what they had learned – not parrot fashion but with genuine interest.

It is always a pleasure to show visitors round the school; I know I can ask any pupil to explain what they are doing in a lesson and they will be clear and enthusiastic in their explanation, telling visitors what has happened up to that point and what they are aiming to achieve. They are proud of their work. Of course it is the extra

activities that will remain in the girls’ minds, the swimming galas and Sports Day, visitors coming in and the trips out, especially the residential visits for Year 5 and Year 6, from which they always return considerably older and more independent. It is always a treat to hear about these on their return, from pupils and staff.The end of this year sees a great difference in the look of the school, with the smart new entrance to the Junior School (and the new entrance to the Nursery almost completed too), the many refurbished classrooms and of course, the Discovery Zone, incorporating a Library, space for laptops and the marvellous 4D room. During

this year all the girls have been transported to other worlds: to a magic carpet flying over mysterious forests, a Gruffalo’s cave, a volcano, or in the case of Year 6, to the darkness of World War2. With a hundred themes to investigate, as well as the potential to add our own, there is far more yet to be discovered.

Finally, this year saw the Juniors collect well over two thousand pounds for Grace Children’s Village in Uganda. Every child and parent contributed in some way and I am proud of the girls’ commitment to helping others.We hope you enjoy this snap shot of our year…

?

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Hello from Nursery

We can all write our names!

12

Our London Trip

I saw the London Eye.It was gi-normous.

Emma

We went on a blue coach to London. Abisa

We went over the pineapple bridge. The River Thames looked

brown. Penelope

I saw Westminster Abbey. It was very big. It has stained glass

windows. Desai

We saw the Horseguards sitting on their horses. They have to

keep very still. Tanaiya

We had our break in Trafalgar Square in front of the National

Gallery. Emily

We went past the Houses of Parliament. Mr Cameron

works there. Sneha

We went past Downing Street.Mr Cameron lives there.

Samantha

We went past Big Ben. It was very tall. We did not

hear it chime. Zara.

We saw Nelson’s Column and four lions. Nelson was a very important sailor. Mishka

13

We went inside the National Gallery to see the tiger painting

by Henri Rousseau. Roma

We walked through St James’s Park and saw lots of ducks and

swans. Elsa

We had our lunch at the Royal Mews. TaniaWe saw Buckingham Palace.

We had to look at the flag to see if the Queen was there. Aurelia

Sheila showed us the brown horses. They were called

Concord and Lexington. Seanna

I dressed up as a postilion. He rides the horses pulling the

coach. Zariya

We saw the Gold State Coach. It was MASSIVE! It was very

shiny too. Eva

We saw the Crown coach. It carries the Queen’s heavy

crown. Amy

This flag was flying. It is called the Royal Standard. It means The

Queen was there! Imogen

We saw lots of Union Jacks down the red road. It is called The Mall.

Penny

Sheila stood by the back wheel of the Coach. It was bigger than

her. Mia

I dressed up as Queen Elizabeth when she was crowned. Amara

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Zahra

Year 1 We worked on our laptops. We wrote about our lovely school.

Come to Croydon High

School!

Sophia H

Millie B

Sophia P

Claudia

Emily

Shreya

Rose

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We went to the British Wildlife CentreWe saw the deer. We got

to feed them and that was my favourite part.

Izzy taught me that every Easter they have a fight. Whoever wins gets all 15 girlfriends so they take it

very seriously. Amber

Izzy showed us a Tawny Owl. It had a heart

shaped face, and one ear up and one ear

down so that she can hear everything up or

down. It likes to eat mice and rats and voles.

Georgina

We saw three baby Barn Owls, and we saw a

Tawny Owl. It had a bath and its feathers were

sticking out and it was wet, and her name was Florence. We saw Sika

deer walking everywhere, and they hid from us because they were

scared of us. Keya

We got to hold a horn from a deer. Izzy had a bucket of food and

bread and nuts, and you mustn’t put your fingers

through the wire. We saw the badger’s bed and

there was a red light, and we watched a film.

Ruby

We saw Harvest mice and rabbits and a

weasel, and in a glass tank there were frogs and tadpoles. We went in the Red Squirrel’s enclosure and one jumped on Mrs Rowe and Mrs Cooper

said “Stand still” and Mrs Rowe said “I am!” and

then they climbed down.Aiyana

First we went to see all of the mice family. Second

we saw little dwarf rabbits and some more cute

little Harvest Mice. Then we had a little snack.

Afterwards we saw some Red Squirrels and they

jumped on Izzy.Kayra

We went to see the badgers. We went into a cave and we saw their beds. It was really dark,

but our eyes got used to it. It looked very cosy but I think I would prefer my

own bedroom. Lilia

We went to see the otters and one of the otters

stood on its back paws and it swam in the water. We saw some Sika deer

and one of the deer was lying down.

Meg

We went to see the otters. There are not very many

otters in the wild because they are shy. The otters

were very playful. We fed the deers with bread and

when we were feeding them some ducks and birds were coming too.

That was the best day ever!Abhishree

We saw a real live hedgehog. Izzy was

holding it. We learnt that their spines were made out of hair except it was much stronger. Then Izzy showed us a deer horn. We could hold it and it

was heavy.Millie G

We watched a film called ‘Day in the Life of a Vole’

and we learnt about most of the creatures

that try to kill him. There was a big place with

creatures and two baby frogs popping their heads

up and we could see water snails.

Maddy

We saw the badger’s bedroom where they

sleep. There’s a hole for them to have fresh air. They sleep in a room called a sett. It had a

glass window so that we can see through it.

We saw the badger outside and a truck

made him hide. Eva

We saw the badgers in their bedroom. We went inside the cave and we

saw them. Honey was the pretty one, Toby was the fat one, and Thick was the smallest one. They

were very busy. They were taking some bits in

and out. Temilola

We saw the foxes. Izzy called the foxes out

because it was feeding time. I found out that

hedgehog’s spikes are made out of hair! And Red Squirrel babies do not have teeth! It was

amazing! Louise

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Year 2 We have learnt about Minibeasts and..

Once upon a time there was a boy called Patrick.

At his High School (Willow High School) he was learning about MINIBEASTS! It was his favourite subject. He was chosen to bring in a spider.

He wasn’t scared of them and everyone else was. The next day he went into his garden to find a spider. Suddenly he saw one! When he picked it up it talked! It said “My name is Emma, what’s your name? she said in a cute, sweet, thin voice. ”M…m…m..my n..name is P..P..Patrick” said Patrick. He had a queer feeling about this. He could hardly believe his eyes (and ears of course!).

The next day at school he brought in the fuzzy spider in a little pot. When they had studied the spider they had to write a story about a spider and you must know by now what Patrick’s story was called ….The Story of the Spider.

Jiya Doshi

One day Sam the spider decided that he would go and play with his friend

Ben the beetle.

Ben the beetle lived in a muddy part of the house. When Sam got to Ben’s house, Ben wasn’t there. Sam thought about the family, they might have stepped on Ben. Sam searched all around the house for ben. There was one problem, the bathroom door was locked. Sam then remembered that the family were opening the door in an hour. Sam tried everything to open the door in less than an hour. Sam tried to jump up and turn the door handle, but he couldn’t. It had been half an hour by now and Sam was tired out. “What am I going to do? Ben might have been killed by now” Sam said. Suddenly the door opened and the family were there. Hooray thought Sam and quickly hid. When the Mum of the family had gone Sam went in the bathroom and searched everywhere for Ben. To his surprise he found Ben, they hugged and went home. While they were at home they wrote a story about their adventure and then had a little nap.

Tara Paulpillai

Once upon a time there lived a young, black, spinning, scuttling spider that

lived in England.

One day she went out scuttling and saw a stranger. He was robbing her auntie’s house. She started to scuttle to her auntie’s house. She knocked at the door and her auntie opened it, all her things had been stolen. Auntie named the spider Honey, she was scared but decided to find out who the thief was and put him into one of her webs. She left at night. Suddenly she saw a shadow that looked like a monster. She thought it might be the stranger. When she got close it was just some garbage making a shadow. Suddenly there was a big bang, Honey thought it was the stranger, so she quickly spun a web and caught him. It was now morning and Honey’s aunt was waking up, when she saw what had happened she was surprised. “Honey, you are my hero!”. They took the robber to jail and locked him up. The robber decided he would never rob again and that was a promise to himself.

Ria Shah

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We also studied beaches in the past and present. We linked this topic to our English and wrote ‘Seaside’ poems.

We read ‘The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch’

and made lighthouses, making an electrical circuit to light the bulb!

The Sounds of the SeasideWaves whistlingCrunchy sand

Stones clatteringNoisy band

Children screamingWaves clattering

Ice-cream drippingMums chattering

Waves swayingSharks munchingMums shoutingSand crunching

Chanelle Ohemeng-Mensah

Seaside PoemWaves splashingChildren scream

Sand drippingDripping Ice-cream

Fishes swimmimgSpades dashing

Buckets clatteringWaves clashing

Crunching chipsMummies wavingDonkeys cloppingChildren changing

Estella Yip

Seaside Sounds Sand snapsSea swishes

Children playingDashing fishes

Ice-cream dripsFish and chips crunch

Puppet showsJudy and Punch

Serena Chetwood

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Year 3 Roman Art–

19

ExpLOSivE creations–Exploding, bubbling,

screaming

All I see are streams of

Molten lava.

Rumbling, crumbling rock

All I hear is the hissing of

The volcano

Thump, clatter, damaging the town

All I smell is

The smoke and ash.

The world is devastated

Everyone in pain

The volcano struck

No town left to claim.

Rebecca Haines

The volcano has erupted.

People are screaming and shouting.

It feels as if a herd of elephants has raide

d the town.

I feel horrified at the state it is in.

The volcano’s flaming, fiery lava is covering the city

In a blanket of boiling hot lava that has destroyed

Everything.

Niamh Long

A blazing spark of light shoots out like a rocket

A thundering roar follows into the dark night

Steaming, smoking, bubbling lava is ready to burst,

Hissing and spitting like a rattlesnake.

Finally it erupts

Lava pouring down the slopes as fast as lightning

Dazzling the darkness like the sparkling sun.

Inaya Iqbal

There was a mighty rumble

Then an ear-splitting roar

Mount Vesuvius had erupted, throwing ash

clouds into the sky

Burning ash, raining down the sides of the volcano.

Suddenly, part of the enormous volcano

collapsed.

The city of Pompeii was hidden by a thick layer of

ash.

It felt like the world had just ended.

Marina Chimonides

A fountain of fire bubbling, oozing out like

treacle.

Glittering igneous rock surrounding the volcano

A bottle of exploded lemonade.

Sparks and lava glittering

in the moonlight.

Like an ear-splitting roar of a lion

Screams erupted around the streets

Horrific explosions, terrific shouts.

The worst moment ever.

Isabel Slade

The magma swelling up, getting ready to burst.

The growl of the dragon bellowing to the world with

its rumbling roar.

When magma explodes like fireworks, the volcano is out

of control.

Everything where I had once lived is now destroyed.

I can’t breathe, the ash and pumice is stuck in my throat.

I am suffocating!

Amelia Fletcher-Alvarez

The city is burning!

Fast, fast, fast

I can’t do anything to stop it from happening

The lava is orange and yellow in its core

Too hot to touch.

It will turn you to stone.

Isabelle Kurankye

India & Francesca

Jessica & Rebecca W.

Madeleine & Abigail

Vanessa & Katherina

Zoe & Nicole

Orrin &Eleanor

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Year 4

Cinquains

Simile poems

MusicHigh notes, low notes,

Dancing, prancing, skipping,Smiles and fun everywhere

you go,Dancing

Malaika During

At schoolPlaying, chatting

Teaching, learning, talking

People are always being kind

Good schoolAriana Mehta

The writer of this poemIs as slender as a tree

With hair as long as can beAnd as happy as a bee

Is as fair as a maidenAs pretty as a flower

Her eyes as dark as chocolateAnd as slow as an hour

As clever as an authorAs funny as a jesterAs soft as a cushion

And likes the name Lester

The writer of this poemNever ceases to amazeIs one in a million billion

Or so the poem saysEloise Bowen

My school,Fun and jolly,

Enjoyable and kind,Best school in the whole

entire world,Our school!

Alex Sharpe

Summer,Sandy beaches,

Having good fun on the beaches,

Everyone having fun,Beaches!

Eve Papacharalambous

PlaygroundI scream and shout

Freedom is ours - hurrayWe can do whatever

we want nowFuntime

Lucy Vine

Sunshine,Boiling hot sun,

Smooth and rippling waterFun, fun in the

sunny meadow,Summer!

Anna Kassim

The writer of this poem Is as tall as can be

As sporty as an athleteAs busy as a bee

As chatty as a chimp

As clumsy as an airheadAs cheeky as a monkey

As soft as a bed

As happy as a larkAs keen as snow

As funny as a clownAs pretty as a rose

The writer of this poemNever ceases to amazeIs one in a million billion

Or so the poem saysFinty McEwan

ClassroomFull of children

Noisy, bursting with funChildren hands up - give

good answersTeachers

Kimberley Bradshaw-Haydock

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LOST FOREVER

I was standing there MotionlessTense fear like an electricity boltRunning down my spineMy voice was frozenMy scream was silenceHere they were, coming closer,Closer, closer,Nearer,NearerMarching down the road,Guns ready in handCould casually throw away the lives of us,We were all out of the house,Except…Mama!I couldn’t believe itThe shell was going to fall any second,I was about to run after her when,Granny grabbed my handWe were running away from my precious Mama,Running frantically for our lives,Granny was pulling me,Pulling me hard,We were runningWhen suddenly the bomb came,Mama had been killedI was certain,My poor poor Mama,Lost forever, Forever.

Charlotte Hoy

MY HEART IS BROKEN

I’m panicking!Help! Help!War is happeningWhere’s Mama?Where’s Mama?Everything is brokenThere’s no time to thinkRun! Run!My heart is achingIts thumping extremely hard.Help! Help!The gunmen are comingRun!Escape while you canSmoke is in the air I can hear explosionsI can see the checkpointI can hear the ruthless tankers drawing closerThen suddenly the shell fell on our houseI never saw Mama again1My heart is brokenBroken into a thousand pieces.

Layla Janmohamed

THE TIME

The big bang explodesEvery minute it’s driving nearerWaiting for the bomb to strike usPlanes zooming round zrrrrNo birds cheeping happilyBirds squalling and flying awayNo people singing, people shouting and hidingBangs from the bombs make me want to lookLook out!But no!I try to stopAnd then the moment happenedIt hit my homeThe feeling struck my heart And broke it.Why? Why did it have to?I ran with GranThat was the end of my little town.

Sara Weinberg

AYESHA IS VERY SAD

Ayesha is very sadShe is also madThe bomb dropped quicker than lightningIt was very frighteningThen I saw my house blow upMy mum was in it.So I started to runI ran faster than a rocketThen we finally stoppedThe shops were goneBecause of the bomb.My granny told me my mum diedSo I cried and criedOur town was as dark as night.

Kaylin Screene

A CAUSE OF CALAMITY

The bomb had just hit my homeMy mum had just diedI felt as prickly as cactiI was furious at the bombersBut angry at my mumFor packing all the stuffAnd telling us to go onI felt as cramped as a kittenIn a box with the lidSlammed tight.

The gust of wind slapped my faceI felt as cold as iceI wanted to be safeI wanted to cryEverything was gloomy and sadI wanted to be happyBut everything was bad.

My heart was brokenAs we sat on the stepIn the darkness of the nightI saw someone wavingI froze to see someone smilingNot at all like me.

Devangi Vyas

QUICK! RUN!

I am scared Of the bombs going off!Where’s Mama?Wher’s Mama?Come onLet’s go!The Gunmen are comingLet’s leave Beware of the bombs!Quick!Get away from the houseIt’s too late !Run!Look there’s a flatQuick!Run into itPhew!We are safe nowGranny are you alright?

Georgia Whittaker

We have been working on ‘Oranges in No Man’s Land’ by Elizabeth Laird.

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Year 5A button in my hand as white as an angel,

With a precious memory kept inside

Of a loving mother who died for her daughter.

She wore it on her special day and so will I.

My dress is as white as a star

Shining in the moon light.

I walk along the luscious white carpet,

It is time

I thought in my head.

To say

I do

To the person I love,

But I only wish for my mother.

Sofia Raccio

Jane woke up with a shudder,

It was the day she was dreading,

Monday.

She walked like a zombie tired and sad,

She felt that the day was going to be bad,

With a glimpse of her eye she saw her lucky button,

This will definitely help her through the day.

She said goodbye to her mother,

And farewell to her brother,

Jumped on the bus and ran to the back,

She sat down and stared out of the window looking at the train track.

They eventually arrived at the school,

Clutching her lucky button in her palms,

She had to hurry as she was going to be late.

Jane opened the big black doors,

Everyone stared,

As her lucky button blew away in the wind!

She screamed, “Oh no!”

Her lucky, sparkly pink, daisy button was gone!

The sound of laughter rang in her ears,

It was just as she feared, the day was going to be awful.

Caitlin Perry

Friday afternoon

Raindrops banging against the window

Wanting to escape

Harry’s messy blonde hair

Covering his icy blue eyes

His nose pressed against the window imagining his mum walking along the path

Fiddling with his brightly coloured button that lightened up his dungarees

Whilst being distracted by the shouts and screams of children cahsing

Paint escaping

Building blocks clattering to the ground

Although it is only morning milk

Keya Patel

Arieba walked along the sandy beach

Pulling her braids with

Buttons hanging off each

Click clatter went the buttons

As fast as the patter of rain

She thought of home

Not walking by the Caribbean Sea

But by the Lane.

The buttons glimmered at the scene

Red, blue, yellow and green

She rubbed the circle with four needle points

She pulled hard on the braid

Sending a button flying

As the hair was forced in another direction

Arieba felt like crying.

The button landed far away in a pool of salt

Fallen off her head like a loose bolt.

Falling threads revealing

Ginger strands.

Proud hair fell back.

No need for a hair band

She threw the buttons off her hair

Flying in the sand

They lay.

Waiting for another person to come along

And call them theirs

Another day.

Prina Bharadia

Year 5 girls were invited to enter a poetry competition for the Laurie Magnus Poetry Prize. They had to write a poem about a button.

23

The enchanting pearl button

Lies in my hand,

With all my dreams inside it,

Like a secret treasure box.

Just a few hours ago

This had belonged to a prima ballerina,

A tragic but beautiful swan

Whose jumps

Reached the highest of the heavens,

Whose twirls

As light as a feather,

And had the gracefulness

Of a bright red rose.

The enchanting pearl button

This very precious gift,

I shall treasure for evermore –

And then one day I’m determined

To be a swan myself.

Rikako Hirai

It was after dark,

Glenda, driving in the pitch black night,

Just waiting to get to her destination.

There she was standing in front of the automatic doors,

Ready to escape from loneliness.

She took her first step into the store as the doors closed behind her.

Footsteps as slow as a fat cat,

Hands trembling looking as if she was being electrocuted.

Then a loud noise of screaming when she reached into the store.

She rushed up and down the stairs until she set foot near the buttons.

She looked round but could not find the right one to finish her creation,

The button she designed, the button she has lost.

Milina Patel

Man waiting nervously

Fiddling with brown buttons

As brown as chocolate

Heart pounding

Thud thud thud

Butterflies flying in his tummy

Gazing around the small waiting room

Brown buttons on his brown suit

Click Clack Clock

A shiver creeping up his back

Slowly

Mr Hensfield watched

Cars zoomed past

Beyond the window

Rain splashing against it

Like a toddler flicking paint.

The sky was dark

The atmosphere miserable

Mr Hensfield strolled

Into the room

It smelt of coffee

It was cold

He was frightened

His heart pounded.

Thud thud thud

The rain splashed

Splish splash splosh

Will he get the job?

Insha Shaikh

A great time was had by all in Nettlecombe!

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Year 6Following their French trip the girls wrote some Haikus and created some photo collages.

Seemingly toothless,Silver trail following,

Time has no meaning.

Scraped from their surface,Accompanied with garlic,

MUM! Its dinner time!

Siobhan Chou

A wave of gigglesConjuring our sweet delights

A picture to keep

Mariam AhmedDelicate, soft, warm

Delicious, soothing, fresh milkTrusting the stranger

Sara Writer

Sweet smells fly around,Crunchy breads and juicy fruits,

Foods to hunger me.

Anya Lewis

Erika Henry

Capturing moments To be cherished overtime

Friendship never ends

Seyi Ogunyemi

A splash of colourColliding smells and noises

Tempts me to purchase

Ria Dhopatkar

The hungry snailVile and slitheringHad gone to sleep

Georgie Gill

25

The cold, dark feeling,

They all stand so motionless,

Sadness fills the air.

Khushi Patel

Sad deprived faces,

Stones standing estranged,

Never seen again.

Anya Pillai

Action above ground,Gripping for dear life, smiling ,

Slowly descending.

Ashika Patel

Highest of the heights,Hearts pounding fast blood

pumping,Time flies like a kite.

Safina Porteous-Simpson

Concentrated mindThinking fast using technique

Whole body working

Pippa Evans

Smiles on every face,A moment of pride, cherished,

Rumble,rumble…….LUNCH!

Maya Patel

Long gone dead and cold,Remembered with love

and warmth,Our freedom fighters.

MarneyRoss-Johnson

Stone soldiers stand tall,An ocean of calm and peace,

Flowers pay respect.

Zara Uddin

Isabel McCarthy

Francesca Light

26

Junior DramaThe Drama department in the junior school has been very active this year with two full scale musical productions and a large number of girls taking additional lessons and working towards the nationally recognised LAMDA examinations in Drama.

This year there were two sessions in which girls from all across KS2 worked hard and achieved excellent results in performing poetry and prose to an outside examiner.

In the last weeks of the Spring Term, the girls of year 3 and 4

presented a production of “Wind in the Willows” to a delighted

audience of friends and family. It was hard to believe that the

actors who transported us to the familiar scenes of life on the

riverbank, were so very young.

The catchy tunes of this musical version set the feet tapping

as the musical director Mr Bentley, led the singing and the

accompanying strings from Miss Cordingley and Mrs Lovering.

The girls rose to the challenge of learning a huge number

of lines and they learned how to deliver them audibly and

with sincerity, achieving a spontaneity that belied the hours

of practice at home and rehearsal under the guidance of

the director Mrs Broyd. With simple pieces of scenery we were

quickly transported from the riverbank to Toad Hall ,from the

terrors of the Wild Wood to the cosy warm of Badger’s house.

Great fun was had developing the musical chase as Toad

escaped from prison and evaded the following

train-load of police. Year 3 girls provided a strong

supporting choir and thrilled the audience with

their energetic dance routines as stoats, weasels

and the shimmering blue river itself.

The whole cast had been to see the play at the

Polka Theatre in January, but it was evident from

the shining faces of cast and audience alike at

the end, that the Croydon High version was just

as enjoyable.....if not, better.

The Tempest by Julian Chenery, Matt Gimblett and Shakespeare

In June, girls in Years 5 and 6 entertained their friends and

family with their magical production of the Shakespeare’s play.

A challenging choice of show for Junior School performers,

the story was made more accessible for the young performers

and audience by Chenery and Gimblett’s musical adaptation.

Having seen the production at the Ashcroft Theatre in the

Autumn and met the authors in person, the girls approached

the preparations with great excitement.

The play contains what are often considered to be some of

Shakespeare’s most beautiful poetry and whilst adapting much

of the text into modern English, the major speeches are left

untouched. How exciting it was to hear Esha Parekh delivering

“Full fathom five thy father lies” underscored by the girls’ chime

bar accompaniment. Thought by many to be Shakespeare’s

last play, many of Prospero’s words seem to echo the

sentiments of a Shakespeare at the end of his career and the

Wind in the Willows – A performance by years 3 and 4

27

great speeches such as “ We are such stuff as dreams are

made on” and “Now my charms are all overthrown” acquired

a new poignancy when delivered with such freshness by

Marney Ross-Johnson, Jessica Man and Khushi Patel. Sharing

the part, they performed with great maturity in their individual

scenes and closed the play together in the moving words of

the Epilogue.

In this production, many of the parts were skilfully shared by

pairs of girls who changed places during the action of the

play. The spirit Ariel was charmingly interpreted by four girls,

Sara Writer, Francesca Doswell, Erika Henry and Esha Parekh,

suggesting that this character was somehow, magically,

everywhere on the enchanted island. Their appearances were

sometimes heralded by ethereal chime-bar music played from

all four corners of the auditorium and on occasions, all four

were on stage at the same time, mirroring each other’s actions

as they spoke.

Miranda, Prospero’s young daughter was played with

sweetness by Pippa Evans and Ashika Patel, and the

developing romance with the young Prince Ferdinand was

given innocence and credibility by Kate Ferguson and

Francesca Light. Their wedding celebrations brought an

opportunity for the girls to shine in cameo parts, rhythmically

executed by Anya Pillai and Georgina Wisden as the two

quarrelling ends of the rainbow, Iris; Kareena Patel as Ceres

and Maya Appiagyei as the goddess of love Juno. Dancers

from Year 5 gracefully accompanied the wedding masque

with flower garlands and twinkling costumes.

Mrs Broyd’s ingenuity in costume design was put to the test

in the creation of such a variety of characters, not least the

“half-man, half-fish” of Caliban, the unwilling slave to Prospero,

imaginatively interpreted in this production by Seyi Ogunyemi

and Siobhan Chou. Confident comedy performances by

Maya Patel and Anya Lewis as the drunken butler, Stephano,

were to be remembered , as were the representation of the

fool, Tinculo, by Isabel McCarthy and Georgie Gill.

The Lords, dressed in similarly styled robes with dramatic,

contrasting collars to denote their individuality, are an

important part of the plot of the play. It is through their

scheming and action that Prospero finds himself on the

magical island and through the continued plotting of the evil

Antonio (Josephine Baker and Valarie Moro) and Sebastian

(Mary Radecka and Safina Porteous-Simpson) that he very

nearly loses his life. The loyal Gonzalo (Sneha Ferdinand

and Zara Uddin), the King of Naples (Mariam Ahmed)

and lords Francisco (Ria Dhopatkar) and Adrian (Sewa

Sangowawa) were ably interpreted as the plot unfolded.The

year 6 characters were supported by year 5 with wonderful

surround-sound singing, from all corners of the hall. Year 5

girls also appeared as storm-bedevilled sailors, magical

sprites and spirits of the stormy sea in the opening scene. The

dramatic music, physical theatre representation of the storm

and subsequent shipwreck will long be remembered for the

entire cast in action, filling the whole stage area in the very first

minutes of the play.

Much of the original language of Shakespeare was performed

with great fluency whilst the more modern dialogue and songs

of Gimblett and Chenery added more modern humour and

catchy tunes. Produced and costumed by Mrs Broyd and with

musical direction by Mr Bentley, the show was a great success

and one of which all the performers can be rightly proud.

28

On two consecutive nights last November, Croydon

High’s Sixth Form produced their annual Fashion Show

which this year raised money for the Forget Me Not

fund. This Leukaemia and Lymphoma research charity is

particularly close to the girls’ hearts, as it was founded in

memory of their good friend Nicole Favre.

In 2004, this much loved Croydon High student lost her

battle to acute myeloid leukaemia. She was 8 years

old. Her classmates, now in the sixth form, wanted to

remember her which they did in quite spectacular

fashion

The girls, joined by boys from Whitgift School, delivered

two memorable shows, with catwalk themes ranging

from London 2012 to ‘Sweets’, musical items ranging

from a Spanish solo to the school’s own Gospel Choir

and various dance items including a wonderful

Bollywood routine; the talent really shone through!

Nicole’s favourite colour pink was much in evidence

and the night ended with a bang with an explosion of

pink and purple confetti.

The target for the fundraising was set at £4,000 and the

school is very proud to announce that after donations

came flooding in, they raised a staggering £16,388.55 for

Nicole’s charity.

On Monday February 4th, the sixth form girls presented

a cheque for this amount to Sophie Loveday, Regional

Fundraising Assistant (London & South East) for the

Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research charity. The

presentation took place in a special assembly in front of

the whole school.

This is not a one-off fundraising effort by the school, as

each year since Nicole’s death, they have competed

in the Purley Swimathon to raise money for her charity.

This took place in February with Jennifer (Nicole’s sister)

started the Swimathon and the whole team swimming

extremely well, completing a total of 144 lengths in

55 minutes. Congratulations to Jennifer Favre, Louisa

Rowland, Yasmin Nartey, Clara Agyekumhene, Shreena

Patel, Madeline Jones and Jessica Riley.

If you would like to find out more about the work that

the charity is involved in, or if you would like to make a

donation, please visit their web site at

www.leukaemialymphomaresearch.org.uk

Croydon High School honour former student and dear friend with magnificent fundraiser

FASHION SHOW IS A NIGHT TO REMEMBER…

29

FASHION SHOW IS A NIGHT TO REMEMBER…

As the nation pulled together to support Red Nose Day

on March 15th, Croydon High prepared tosupport the

event in a very special way.

The normal MUFTI day invitation was accepted by girls in

both the Junior and Senior School with an huge number

of ‘onesies’ on display in all designs – spotty / stripey /

animal print or just plain bright!

The staff had a very special surprise in store for the

girls and in assembly they offered tantalising glimpse

in the form of a video trailer of what was to come later

in the day.

At lunchtime in the Lecture Theatre the lights were

dimmed, money was collected and so began the first

showing of Croydon High’s staff tribute to One Direction’s

Comic Relief video.

The video consisted of a great many staff including–

junior, senior and support staff lip synching their way

through the song in a variety of outfits, noses and in

one case even in a supermarket trolley! It was filmed

and edited entirely by two talented Year 10 girls – Lucie

Barnes and Eve Drummond who were sworn to secrecy

– and was directed by Head of Drama Emma Webb and

Head of Careers Susan Gower.

Due to its outstanding success the video was shown a

total of five times in school with the final showing being

in the presence of a Croydon Advertiser reporter who

immediately posted it on to the Croydon Advertiser

webpage.

The video alone raised over £350 and overall Croydon

High amassed a grand total of just over £2000 for Comic

Relief – a great effort.

Croydon High definitely had its 15 minutes of fame when

the video went viral when it attracted a great many

positive comments and over 10, 000 views on YouTube! If

you haven’t seen it yet, it’s definitely worth a look!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga76N_YLHVE

D ing s mething funny f r m ney

30

ATHLETICS Once again the CHS Athletics team has excelled themselves with excellent results throughout the year groups.

Starting with year 7 Athletics team who started off their season with a strong performance at the Thomas

Tallis School in Greenwich where they took part in London Youth Games Sports Hall competition. The team

performed very well to finish an impressive 4th. With some girls taking individual medals during the day. The

year 7’s also performed well at Croydon schools. Also doing well was the year 8 Athletics team with some good

results from Carys Marsden who came 1st in the Javelin, Lauren Apostolov who ran well in the 1500m to become

2nd and the Relay team who came an impressive 2nd in the final at Croydon Schools held at Croydon Arena.

Also well done to the year 9 athletics team who performed well and also to Esther Keegan who did well to get

a podium place. I would also like to congratulate all the girls who ran at The Trust Athletics in Bath, it was a long

day and an early start but overall the whole team performed extremely well, with some strong performances

from Isobel Reeves 2nd in the high jump, Cora Sexton 1ST in the long jump and Charlotte Rhule 2nd in the 1500m

and some other good performances from Alex Edwards the younger years too. As well as coming first at the Trust

event Cora also came 3rd and Charlotte 4th at the Surrey County Schools while representing South Croydon. by Charlotte Rhule

SWIMMING Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and thank everyone who was swum for the school this

year for their continued hard work, dedication and successes. Everyone who has participated has given me so many

reasons to be proud of the Croydon High Swimming Squad this year. The team spirit that has been shown at all of the

training sessions and galas has far surpassed my expectations and I sincerely hope that this will continue into next

year. We have competed in several galas and have had many victories, in both individual races and friendly galas.

However, one of the things that I am most proud of, is the great improvement that has occurred throughout the team

since September, both on an individual basis and within the team as a whole. I am sure that with maintained hard

work, the squad will only continue to become stronger and look forward to seeing more progress and development

next year. by Ione Drage

GYMNASTICS It’s been a really good year for gymnastics at CHS! As the first full year with our new coach, Ian, it’s been great to watch all the girls improve

throughout the year. After a good performance in the tumbling in November, and a reasonable display in the Under 19’s floor and vault,

in January, Miss Lath joined us. With her background in rhythmic gymnastics, she helped us with our choreography, and with a lot of work,

everyone gave incredible performances.

Highlights of the season include the silver medal for the Over 14’s at the Trust Rally, and the improvement of the Under 11’s, from 10th to 5th – an

incredible feat considering our team is so young. This was the first time competing for many of our younger competitors and they had a really

enjoyable experience. One of our year 6 gymnasts said, ‘It’s really nice to get on so well with my team and be able to watch us get better’.

Another highlight for the gym department this year was the performance in the Spring Concert, which gave us the opportunity to work with a

different department on the Hiawatha piece. As well as honouring dedication to gymnastics, we honoured the best performance of the year,

from Lauren Giles, who performed admirably in the Trust Rally, and best progress, by Alex Edwards, who said, ‘I’ve never enjoyed gym as much

as I did this year, and I can’t wait for next season’. Many thanks to everyone who has competed this year, for making my year as captain so

enjoyable. by Melissa Pococke

HOCKEY It’s been a very busy year for CHS’ hockey teams with Trust tournaments and lots of matches. The Senior team

kicked off the year by qualifying for the quarter finals in the Senior Trust tournament after sailing through the

group stages. After a competitive match, we sadly lost 1-0 to Shrewsbury in the quarter final, but later on in the

year the U15 hockey team showed the same determination and skill in their Trust tournament. Year 7 had their

first 7-a-side matches against Bromley High School in November and Yr7A drew 2-2 and Yr7B drew 1-1. Many

a match has been played against CHS’ local rivals, Sutton High School, this year. Every team from years five to

thirteen has battled against them, resulting in many great goals and well deserved wins. The diligence and

ability to work as a team has been evident in all of the matches. The hard work shown by the girls

in the practices really paid off when it mattered most. Therefore, every single player should be

proud of what they have achieved as we have all worked our hardest this year! I would like to

take this opportunity to wish the South Africa touring team good luck in October and also say

thank you to the PE Department. In particular, I would like to say a big thank you to Mrs Beck on

behalf of all of the teams, without her hard work and patience none of this would have been possible.

by Gemma Hallett

S p o r t S r e p o r t

31

NETBALL This netball season has been rather successful for all year groups, with every individual showing great team

spirit and determination.

In the Croydon Netball League both the Year 7 and 8 A and B teams performed at a high level. Both A

teams only lost one game in the league to Coloma Convent School, and so as a result they finished

second in their divisions. The B teams were determined and victorious and won their league by a clear

10 points. The Year 9 B team were also triumphant and won their division having beaten every team in

their section. The A team were in a tough division, but showed great strength and worked well as team.

Both the Year 10 netball teams tried their best and were motivated throughout the season, finishing

in the top three within their divisions. With a staggering total of 30 points the Year 11 team won their

league with each player training and performing at a very high standard. All teams made it through to

the Surrey Finals, where they worked hard, had fun and tried their best.

The senior team participated in many competitions and were the runners up in both the Croydon Netball

League and the Croydon Schools Tournament, in which they played very well and narrowly missed out on

the trophies. Everyone worked well within the team, and especially as they all knew it was the last year they

would be playing together before heading off in their separate directions they wanted to perform at the best

possible level while having fun. They made it through to the Surrey Finals, which were held at Croydon High

School, and they did our upmost to keep the standard of our performance high despite the freezing weather

conditions. Although, they didn’t win their section in the Finals, they played great netball and included many of

the set pieces they had practised during training sessions. The last tournament that they participated in was the

Trust Rally. They made it through to the semi-finals of the plate, where they fought out a nail biting game against

Sevenoaks, but unfortunately just missed out on a place in the final.

It is evident that this year has been rewarding and intense, but most of all enjoyable for all age groups within the school. by Daisy Bevan

TENNIS This year the tennis team have greatly improved. There has been a high attendance at practices and all the girls have worked really hard and

this has shown in their results.

We ended the season by going to the GDST trust rally and after long fought group matches we came second in our group and were put through

to the plate competition. In this we got to the quarter finals and all the girls played well and exceeded expectations.

I hope this great performance from the girls will continue on into next year and the team will be able to progress further in their competitions.

On the 27th June around 80 girls took part in the first CHS biathlon. The first year to run were

Year 5 athletes, completing the swim and run with Tay Blair finishing in 1st with a excellent time of 3min 45seconds. Joani Baker and Finty McEwan finished in 2nd and 3rd place.

The second race was the Year 4s where Kiara Patel completed the course in 7min and 16 seconds with Manika Dhoat in 2nd followed by Ariya Khandewal in 3rd. The winner of the Year 6 race was Josephine Baker in a time of 5min 42seconds followed by Siobhan Chou in 2nd and Marney Ross-Johnson in 3rd.

The seniors then took to the course and the Year 7s were first to go. Freya McEwan romped over the finish line in 8mins 38 seconds with Zara McMillan and Canice Screene behind her. The honours for

Year 8 went to Georgia Taylor with Lauren Apoltho and Bairavi Jennarajan in second and third and a winning time of 6 mins 51 seconds. Esther Keegan strode across the line in a time of 9mins 54 seconds with Hettie Carpenter and Sophie Hayden-Scott fighting it out for 2nd and 3rd.

The weather just about held with only a few spots of rain but the sun never managed to shine, perhaps it will shine for the Biathlon next year. All the girls ran and swam with enthusiasm and showed great sports womanship.

C H S B i a t h l o n 2 0 1 3 b y A l e x E d w a r d s

32

Sports day is always a special occasion at Croydon

High. It is the one day of the year that all girls from EY/

KS1 through to KS 4 compete together and against each

other and try to earn valuable house points. Other schools

have sports days which are normally in the morning or

afternoon; we at Croydon High have a full day of sport.

After a fantastic, inspirational weekend with Murray

winning Wimbledon and the British Lions winning the

series, it was CHS’s turn to show what we are made of! It

was a glorious sunny day; the girls from Y3-6 started the

programme just before 9am by completing their field

events, distance and hurdle races. After break, the senior

field events and hurdles took place. It was an exciting

morning all round, with several school records being

broken by all year groups.

At lunchtime, the staff and pupils were treated to a BBQ

lunch out on our lovely school grounds. The PTA set up the

PIMS tent and prepared the strawberries & cream. Parents

arrived, set up their picnics and the stage was set for the

afternoon track events.

The EY/KS1 athletes came out, they patiently waited for

their different races. The rest of the girls gathered in their

house areas on the far side of the field. Girls competed

in lots of races, varying in distance. The competition was

fierce! There was some outstanding running from the

girls, records continued to fall and house points won.

The climax of the day was the Squadron Relay where

girls from each house/year group took part. It’s always

a slightly worrying occasion as the girls do not get the

opportunity to practice together and anything could

happen! Reception started the race handing the baton

to Y1 and so on. Thankfully the race went well and Garrett

crossed the line in first place followed by Eliot.

In total, throughout the day 13 records were broken

and 11 records set as they were new events. It was a

truly fantastic day and all the athletes competed

extremely well.

Final Results

House Curie Eliot Garrett Seacole

Totals 915 1032 988 947

CHS Sports Day 2013

33

From the 5th October 2012 to the 7th October 2012,

30 girls from year 8 and year 9, accompanied by Miss

Dixon, Miss Lucy and Miss Carpenter, travelled to Condover

in Shropshire. Year 8 took along their A team and the B

team and the Year 9’s took their A and B’s as well.

The year 8 and 9’s B teams combined together to make a

team. We were participating in a netball tournament with

different teams from various places. The place we stayed

at was really nice and the leaders were really kind to us.

There were many things in the area including a shop,

cafeteria, many activities and two netball courts.

On the Friday, once we had arrived and found our rooms,

we went down to dinner. After having a tasty dinner, our

leader for the weekend called J-D, showed us around

the place and showed us the different activities we

could do. We then all went off and did different activities.

I did tunnelling, the lazer-maze room, and to finish off the

evening, a campfire! There were many other activities to

do like zorbing, cinema room and stepping-stones!

The next morning we woke up and went to breakfast. The

year 8 A team and the Year 8 and 9 mixed team were

playing in the morning. The year 9 A team were playing

in the afternoon, so that meant we could do activities in

the morning. We did high ropes, leap of faith and rock

climbing! Sunday morning we woke up and finished off

the netball finals and watched the other teams in their

matches.

The year 8 team came 4th overall in the tournament and

the year 9 team came 3rd. We then packed up our things

and left for the 5 hour coach journey home. We all did

very well and it was good to bond with one another!

Hettie Carpenter 9M

CONDOVER HALL NETBALL WEEKEND

34

FLORA and FREYA MCEWANFreya and I do the same sports both in and out of school and we have achieved different levels within different sports.

We represent the school in hockey, netball, swimming, cross country, rounders, athletics and tennis. I came first in Croydon Schools for the Javelin and Freya came second in the 1500m recently.

Outside school we play netball for Hillcrest and won the Nonsuch League, hockey for Metro Kent JDC, tennis for Virgin, Limpsfield and Shirley Park. I have had two Surrey U12 trials for tennis and am in the top 10 in Surrey. Freya is 16 in the county. We are playing regional tournaments and reaching semi-finals. Our aim is to get into the finals and win! We are playing in Surrey Aegon U14 Division 1 - for singles and two doubles. We are participating in many club tournaments and on our way to reaching the finals! I ran cross country for Croydon in the London Boroughs up in Parliament Hill and I came in the top 25. Freya and I both ran cross country for South Croydon in the Surrey Cross Country in Reigate. We both had a trials for Surrey U13 cricket.

Our aim is to get better at all sports, put maximum effort in and to try and win. We like working in a team and motivating people. We both want to get into the Surrey tennis squad so we are going to work hard. We are starting to coach our year at tennis to help improve everyone’s technique and game which is a great experience for us. We hope to get into the Kent U13 hockey team and we have trials in September. Next term we have a trial for U14 Surrey netball which we are looking forward to.

ELLIE HADEN-SCOTTMy name is Ellie Haden-Scott, I am in Yearr 8 and I am a P.E scholar. I have represented the school in netball, rounders, hockey, tennis, swimming and gymnastics. I play netball outside school at a club called Hillcrest and I play tennis outside school as well. I play club level Netball and Tennis. I would like to get involved in clubs for other year groups, maybe in the junior school to encourage them to do sport outside school to help their team get better. I enjoy playing small matches for sport in P.E lessons.

My aims are to win the Croydon schools and get through to the Surrey finals for netball. We achieved my aim to win the Croydon schools netball competition this year. Being a sports scholar helps you keep fit and healthy and be proud to represent the School.

HETTIE CARPENTER I represent the school in a various number of sports including hockey, netball, swimming, tennis, cross-country, rounders and athletics. In hockey I play midfield or forward, In netball I play GA, swimming I do front crawl, back stroke or butterfly and in athletics I have done the 200metres and the relay. Outside of school I go to Downs the netball club in Epsom and I also play for Purley Walcountians Hockey club. I am also playing in the Croydon Netball Borough team. I also am a member of Kingswood Golf club and I love playing in the summer. I am going to start doing a park run as well. I have helped with the year 6’s netball at school and I hope to do it again in the winter.

I really enjoy all my sports and I really enjoy working with all my teams. I love playing netball and hockey because I love working together as a team and I am looking forward to representing the school on the South Africa tour in October. I aim to get into Surrey Hockey and to work my hardest. I also aim to help the students in the junior school and give them so advice when they need it. I really enjoy doing sports and am privileged to have the scholarship.

Sports SCHoLArS

35

SHAKIRA MAHADEVA Gymnastics, swimming, tennis and athletics are the main sports in which I represent the school and, with gymnastics squad training 4 out of 5 lunchtimes and tennis training every weekend, I continue my participation in these sports both inside and outside of school. I have always enjoyed participating in sport myself but being the year 10 sports scholar and undertaking the related responsibilities has given me more confidence in leading others. Helping with extra-curricular clubs has given me the opportunity to help younger swimmers and gymnasts to improve their levels of performance as well as my own. I hope to continue to work with the under 9 and under 11 gymnastics teams, choreographing their floor routines and developing their skills to further improve their competition rankings.

I think this is the aspect of being a sports scholar which I like the most: passing on the things I have learned through training and competing in my sports to younger performers. If I didn’t have this responsibility, I probably wouldn’t have taken the opportunity to coach or choreograph gymnastics and wouldn’t have discovered that I enjoy both just as much as I do performing.

HANNAH BLOXSOME This year has proved to be another good year for CHS Sport.

Team sports have achieved some exceptional results including:

Netball: Winners Croydon schools and Croydon league and Surrey schools finalists.

Gymnastics: 3rd in Surrey schools tumbling.

On a personal note as a sports scholar I continue to coach younger pupils on a weekly basis in both Swimming and gymnastics. I was also awarded my swimming colours.

The strength in depth of our younger future sport stars ensures that CHS will continue to be the envy of other school sports departments.

JESSICA RILEY Whilst I’ve been at Croydon High, I have represented the school in gymnastics, swimming and cross country. I’d say my favourite is gymnastics because I started that when I was six and have had a passion for it since then.

I’ve also helped coach some girls from the junior school and run a couple of their curricular gymnastics lessons which I found really fun!Outside of school I am a diver and I have represented Great Britain three times as an international junior.

I would love to represent Great Britain again especially as a senior – the Olympics would be the ultimate goal for me although I would be happy going to the Commonwealth Games or the World Championships!

However my up-coming goals for diving would be to qualify for Junior Europeans followed by Junior Worlds next year!

LUCY ROBBINS My name is Lucy Robbins. I have represented the school in Athletics, Swimming and Gymnastics. I also do gymnastics outside of school hours. I used to compete at regional level and competed nationally in the Olympic fast track squad for diving.

I have coached gymnastics for a year at my club and have enjoyed it thoroughly. I enjoy helping the younger girls to learn gymnastics by coaching in my lunch times. I enjoy playing sport because it allows me time to socialize with my friends while doing the thing I love. It’s a great escape from school work and I get to just enjoy myself and keep fit all at the same time.

My aim for sixth form is to continue competing for gymnastics and possibly create a few routines to showcase the talent that our school has.

36

they say travel broadens the mind and if that is the case, our girls should certainly be broad minded! It seems never a week goes by without a trip taking place: locally, nationally or even internationally. the trips are varied in the extreme but one thing remains constant, the exemplary behaviour and attitude of our girls which is often commented on by those they meet on their travels. Here are some of the trip highlights from the year.

CORDOBA, SPAINIn March Year 9 Spanish students took a trip to Cordoba, where we stayed in groups of two and three in homes.

We were received by friendly families. Living amongst the locals was

great fun and useful for our language skills – we were able to catch a glimpse of what it is like to live there! Unfortunately, it rained a great deal; nevertheless, we visited a bull ring and Seville Cathedral, a mosque and the Spanish markets, and practised our Spanish with our families, local traders and shopkeepers. There was

a religious procession while we were there, and we also visited a vineyard and learnt about how wine was made and stored, and an olive grove where we tried, and took home, some of the olive oil. By far the highlights of the trip were flamenco dancing and the chance to try pottery making, which we all found very entertaining!

Girls who are going places!

The French exchange to Le Mans was inaugurated

in April 2013. Despite there being an annual German Exchange there had yet to be a French Exchange. The girls were therefore naturally excited to have the opportunity to be fully immersed in French life for just under a week and the French teachers’ excitement almost surpassed the girls.

After the exchange had been announced and the girls had confirmed their participation they began to rigorously pore over their French vocab sheets to try and learn as many helpful phrases as they could.

‘Exusez-moi, où sont les toilettes?’ was a great favourite among the Year 10s. The excitement increased when partners were found out and then, before they knew it, April 10th arrived and the exchange began.

At 8am the girls collected at St Pancras Station. There they kissed their mothers and fathers goodbye and boarded the EuroStar to Paris. The journey was filled with animated chatter. Arriving in Paris, the girls lugged their heavy suitcases off the Eurostar and onto the metro to continue their journey to Le Mans.

Once they arrived at their destination, they met their partners and their families and went home with them. The next morning they spent in school getting a feel for true French life, followed by a guided tour of Le Mans in the afternoon and an evening spent with their families.

Friday was the much awaited day trip to Paris, including visits to the Montmartre, Notre-Dame and the Eiffel tower. The day also included a boat trip on the Seine, which for many of the girls was one of the highlights of the trip, Tanya, 15, said ‘The trip was really enjoyable and it was lovely to see parts of France from a different perspective. For me the trip to Paris and the boat trip were my two favourite parts’. Saturday and Sunday were spent with the families and many of the girls immensely enjoyed spending the weekend with their partners and getting a feel for French

culture and a different

view on what French people do at the weekend (a topic that comes up in the text book many times). By Monday morning the girls were back in school with their partners. During the afternoon the girls could be found in the town centre of Le Mans doing some last minute shopping and taking surveys. Unfortunately Tuesday arrived and the girls said goodbye to their exchanges and families, looking forward to seeing them again when they come to visit England. By 4pm the girls were back at St Pancras where they were met by their families (biological this time) full of stories of the last seven days.

The Exchange to Mans

37

YEAR 7 TRIP TO SKERN“The activities made you face your

fears, have fun and make new friends all at the same time!! The instructors

were kind and gave very good encouragement.”

Year 7 had skilful and tremendous week at Skern

Lodge. They were there for a week and they went just a week after term started so everyone

could make friends.

Most of the activities involved teamwork. Many girls were afraid of heights but by the

time they left Skern that was no longer the case!

The activites were nerve racking so the girls relied a lot on the instructors to reassure them

and help but fortunately they were all very understanding and funny . The courses were a mixture of working as a team and partaking

in solo activities such as abseiling.

“Skern was a worthwhile experience that I and everyone else will never forget.”

“I can still remember every detail of every activity I did. I will never forget Skern.”

“I don’t know if I would have made friends without Skern as I’m normally quite shy but it really made me overcome my fears and

talk to new people and make friends.”

Climbing the bouldering wall

Abseiling down a cliff!

Making new friends

Jodie Bowen 7sm

“Some of my favourite activities were, abseiling down a cliff, surfing, rafting, high ropes and the obstacle course.

Many of the activities included teamwork; this helped me make friends and get more involved”.

38

WASHINGTON & NEW YORK

During Easter I got the chance to visit New York for the first time with a group of girls from years 11 and 12. The trip occurs every two years and had previously been throughout the February half term but this year Easter was the correct choice as during our visit we had non-stop sunshine to the delight of everyone.

In Washington we assumed the tourist route of visiting the Supreme Court, The Capitol building and the White House. The girls were able to gain a greater insight into US Politics and it’s history, proving especially useful for

those who will go on to study American politics in year 13. For an afternoon we also explored the many museums and galleries that Washington has to offer.

As a lover of art, fashion and the buzz that cities naturally project, Manhattan was destined to be my kind of heaven, enforced greatly by the beliefs of family and friends.

One even made the comment stating, “Rhea, if you don’t fall in love with New York, then well… Well! You will love it!” Intrigued by this insightful remark, I was secretly worried that it wouldn’t live up to its fame…

After three days in Washington the journey to New York was much anticipated and stepping into Times Square, seeing the view from the Empire State, walking across Brooklyn Bridge, having a boat trip around the Statue of Liberty sounded like great fun. Before going to New York I had always wanted to have a second home, if not move there, yet upon my introduction to Manhattan I didn’t feel that convinced. There I said it.

New York didn’t blow this fashion-loving art student away. Was I not feeling well?

Working in London, as well as taking any opportunity to

explore the city, my city, you get comfortable with the array of exciting choice we have – from Soho to Canary Wharf to Camden. Looking around the city, taking in the real atmosphere is something I value greatly.

So when I didn’t just focus on the tourist hot spots but visited Downtown (we likened it to trendy Clapham) and Uptown (we likened it to unruffled Richmond) Manhattan on the last few days of the trip, I noticed the type of current and cool city that I had been dreaming of.

Overall it was an unforgettable trip and I will take many memories from it.

BONN, GERMANYOn the 13th February 20 Year 10 girls and Miss Kolankiewicz travelled to Bonn in for the German exchange. Girls stayed with host families for a week and visited breathtaking and exciting sights and museums during the day. At the weekend each family organised different activities for their exchange partner, with many girls meeting up in groups with their partners. My exchange and I went shopping in Cologne, one of the most famous and

historically significant cities in Germany. Thanks to the euro, and the cheap prices, our pockets didn’t empty too quickly from the shopping! We also visited the cathedral and the amazing Olympic museum showing the history of Olympia and the founding of the modern Olympics. On our journeys, we saw the historic seat of the West German government before the reunification of Germany. Our History girls definitely loved that! Luckily, it wasn’t all educational

because we chomped our way to the Haribo factory, and bought our own weight in Haribos! All in all, as we would say in German Alles in Allem. The German exchange was both a delicious and a culturally enriching experience. Tanya Dosanjh said, “ I expanded both my German vocabulary and my waistline, but hopefully the latter will be temporary.” I personally found that being surrounded by the language and

the culture, I gained a better understanding of Germany as a country and my German improved immensely. Aruchana said, “Yum Yum!”– she clearly

loved the haribos.

LE TOUQUET, FRANCEOn Thursday 23rd May, Year 7 woke up at 6:15 a.m.to set off for Le Touquet. We started to complete our booklets we had been given.

We answered questions about: types of transport, types of French Signs, weather, farming, rock and land types and wind farms.

First of all, we visited the sand dunes, where we learned many interesting facts about sand dunes and how they came to be like this. We also discovered that they are protected, which means that people are not allowed on the s and dunes so as to preserve them.

Our next task was to look at the seafront and beach, where we did an environmental survey of the area, by rating how good it was in certain areas, such as how much graffiti it has, and answered some questions about it. We also looked at some of the attractions there, including Aqualud, Crazy Golf and Sand Yachting.

Next was car spotting, where we went round a car park noting down the department which each car was from. The most common was

department 62, which was the department we were in. We then went down a row of shops on the high street, writing down what type of shops there were, then conducted a five minute pedestrian count, and did an environmental survey of the streets.

Finally, we looked at French houses for sale and conducted an environmental survey of the Westminster Hotel.All in all, everyone had a great day! Emily Slade, 7K

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Hockey Stars at Croydon High…both future and current!

In the summer term, with the generous support of HSBC’s Sports and Sustainability Funding, our pe department ran an exciting Hockey skills course for girls in Years 4, 5 and 6. this free five week course was offered to girls in our own Junior School and also to those at local primary schools and we were delighted with the response and the enthusiasm from these budding sportswomen.

After the success of the GB Women’s Hockey team, who won Bronze at London 2012, there has been a real surge of interest in the sport, particularly amongst women. We believe it is never too soon to encourage girls to play and enjoy competitive sport of any sort and we are lucky to have an excellent coaching team here at Croydon High, as well as superb

facilities with our own astroturf.

It was very exciting to see how all the girls really developed their skills and techniques over the five week course and, most importantly, how they had fun and gained an insight in to what a great sport Hockey is. Mrs Leonard, who presented the prizes and certificates on the final day was clearly delighted to see so many of them enjoying ‘her’ sport and she encouraged them to keep going with it.

Addiscombe Hockey Club also offered a similar course for boys and girls, which ran over the same weeks and this was similarly successful with real promise starting to show amongst some keen young players.

The course ended on the 11th July and earlier in that same week, at our annual Lower School Prize Giving ceremony, the guest speaker was a true Hockey Star; Kate Walsh, the Great Britain Ladies Hockey captain.

Kate arrived early at school and took a training session for the hockey players in Years 6 and 7. This was a marvellous opportunity for the girls to be taught by one of the world’s best players and also then a chance for them to show off their own skills!

Kate was duly impressed by their enthusiasm and ability to learn. Kate then went on to present the prizes in the Prize Giving ceremony.

After performing this duty admirably, Kate went on to give an address that was truly inspirational and included a short film of the highlights of the Olympics and also some behind the

scenes shots of the athletes’ village.

Kate is obviously continuing to live the London 2012 pledge to Inspire a Generation – we hope that we may see some future stars amongst our girls.

We are delighted to announce that for those who do wish to continue or take up Hockey, Addiscombe Hockey Club will be starting their own Hockey Academy for boys and girls in Years 3-7, which will be held at Croydon High School on Sundays at 10 am (starting from September 8th). See their advertisement here for full details – we hope it will be a big success.

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NeW ArrIVAL IN tHe AUtUMN terMThere was great excitement at the beginning of the autumn term, when we received delivery of our new Boston Steinway piano. Before it was wrapped up in its protective cover and blankets, lucky Sophia

Patterson from Year 4, who happened to be walking through the hall after her very first piano lesson, was invited to show us how to find middle C.

The Steinway’s permanent home will be Room 46, the larger music room so more girls will have the opportunity to play it, as this is where both Juniors and Seniors hold their Informal Concerts. A Level and GCSE performances are recorded here, as well as all our termly class

concerts and it will also be available for rehearsals. A very big thank you to the PTA for their enormous fund raising efforts towards the purchase of the piano.

Thanks too to everyone who raised money through the Great Piano Marathon, as well as to the Old Girls who sent in donations to sponsor a key.

Croydon High honours legendary alumna, Jacqueline du Pré

In October we marked the 25th anniversary of the death of legendary cellist and Croydon High ‘old girl’ Jacqueline du Pré.

Her musical legacy continues to inspire and thrill musicians and audiences around the world to this day.

At school her name forever lives on through the Jacqueline du Pré scholarship, established in her memory three years after her death.

On 13th October, the whole school community joined together to mark the anniversary with a spectacular concert. Some of the youngest girls in the school played alongside Jacqueline du Pré scholars past and present, staff and alumnae and they ably demonstrated the outstanding musical talent at Croydon High School.

A number of alumnae sent us their memories of Jackie, a little girl who grew up to be regarded as one of the greatest cellists who ever lived.

The school hall was packed and there was a buzz of excitement throughout the evening. Two former du Pré Music Scholars, Kimberley Wong (2005) and Caroline Wong (2008) returned to perform solos with the orchestra: Vivaldi’s Winter from The 4 Seasons and Caccini’s Ave Maria and a third former scholar, Caroline Atkinson (20011) performed Sibelius’ Romance Op 78 accompanied by our new Steinway. Caroline Wong also gave a performance of the first movement of Elgar’s Cello Concerto, the piece with which Jackie was always associated.

Our own cellists featured prominently in the concert, which began with a massed cello ensemble of 24 players, performing two pieces arranged for them by Patsy

Gritton, including girls from Years 4 to 13 and a Cello Quintet with 5 cellists from Years 7 and 8, all of whom started learning with the Peggy Guillou Scheme.

The Boston Steinway piano was launched with a few words from Mrs Lesley Lipczynski, Chair of the PTA, and Elizabeth O’Leary and Eleanor Bunce were the lucky pianists selected to play it in public for the first time. This was followed with a performance of the Adagio from Beethoven’s Trio Op 11, played by Molly Harris (clarinet), Georgina Halliday (Cello) and Elizabeth O’Leary (piano), all

of whom are 6th form Music Scholars.The Chamber Choir, accompanied by Eleanor Bunce, with the help of Jemma Upton (flute) and Elizabeth Lovering (oboe), brought the evening to a close with three songs, ending with John Clements’ There is Sweet Music Here, a most appropriate choice for Croydon High School.

A retiring collection of over £700 was taken on the night, with the proceeds to be divided between the local Multiple Sclerosis society (Jacqueline suffered from this disease) and the Jacqueline du Pre Scholarship Fund.

Music has always been an integral part of school life here at Croydon High and this year there have been a number of outstanding individual performances and concerts that have left us with the sweetest of musical memories.

M U S I C

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MUSICAL FAREWELLOur Year 13 Jacqueline du Pré scholar, Lizzie O’Leary, looks back on her harmonious years at Croydon High.

It’s always said that once you’re in the music department at CHS, you can never really leave, so it’s very surreal to be looking back at seven years of concerts, tours and bad jokes about brass instruments!

This year has been particularly exciting, with the arrival of the new Boston Steinway piano and it’s unveiling at the du Pré memorial concert. Celebrating the life of Jacqueline du Pré alongside current

and former music scholars was an amazing experience; it was interesting to see where they had gone after leaving Croydon High and that, although only one had studied Music, their love for the subject had clearly gone with them. For me, the opportunity to play the brand new piano at this concert was the musical highlight of my year.

In addition to this, the Spring Concert is always a treat, and this year was no exception; we enjoyed performing the unusual Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast with the choir. It’s still not uncommon for people to break out into a rendition of the opening lines!

Aside from this year’s events, there is one piece that particularly stands out to me: our performance with Whitgift School of Zadok the Priest at last year’s Spring Concert. This is my favourite choral work, and I think anybody who’s performed it would agree that all the hard work required is worth it for the feeling

of singing in a large choir after that famous introduction. I also have to mention the 2008 choir tour to Paris; memories of singing at Disney and Mr Dodsworth’s late-night guided tour of the city are fondly remembered.

When I, and many of my friends, started at CHS, I had little more than a vague interest in music; the hard work and dedication of the music department have made it a passion we will all take with us.

I look forward to next year’s musical opportunities, and, of course, coming back to see what’s happening at Croydon High!

SPRING CONCERTThere was a touch of sadness at the Spring Concert in March when our Year 13 girls realised it was their last ever school concert. Many of them have been performing at school

for the last seven years, and those who have been on every Music Tour since Year 8 are sad that they won’t be part of our Italy 2014 Tour.

Nevertheless they ended on a ‘high note’ with the

Symphony Orchestra playing extracts from symphonies by Boyce, Mozart and Schubert. Wind Band gave us some lighter music with a ‘John Williams Medley’ arranged for them by Abbie Gunn (Year 11) and Chamber Choir sang Days with April composed by Molly Harris (Year 12).

We had some solos from 6th Form music scholars and a

Flute Quartet tackled a very difficult Rondo by Kuhlau.

The second half was taken up with a performance of Coleridge-Taylor’s Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast, accompanied by some ballet and stunning gymnastics, choreographed by Miss Lath, one of our talented gap-year students and the solo was beautifully sung by our own singing teacher, Miss Jones.

LUNCHTIME CONCERT IN ST MATTHEW’S REDHILL

Thank you and congratulations! • That was a “classy” concert and so enjoyed by our audience today. • Lovely concert this afternoon at St Matthew’s. • The girls sang and played their instruments beautifully. • I thoroughly enjoyed listening to them!

These are just some of the emails received by Mrs Cohen after the Chamber Choir’s annual Lunchtime Concert in St Matthews’ Church, Redhill. The programme included Kuhlau’s Rondo for Four Flutes, Mendelssohn’s Konzertstücke No. 1 for Two Clarinets and piano, as well as nine songs sung from memory by the choir; five of them sensitively accompanied by Ellie Bunce (Year 11) on the piano.

One of the highlights was Days with April, written by Molly Harris (Year 12) for her AS exam, but the standard of the whole concert was exceptionally high.

M U S I C

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Review: A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol was written by Charles Dickens, one of Britain’s most successful and honest writers and is one of those classic tales that has been enjoyed for generations and will be for generations to come, so it was apparent that all the girls involved in CHS’ production would have a daunting but enjoyable task on their hands.

At the end of last term we said goodbye to the much loved Dr Barnsley and started the new term with a new Head of Drama, Mrs Webb, who came to CHS with fresh ideas and the desire to push the department to even greater heights by challenging us all and helping us to explore drama in different ways. Mrs Webb instantly put out audition times and scripts to get the production on its legs.

The cast consisted of girls from all age groups. Being involved in a production at CHS is a unique way for girls to meet others that they might not have known otherwise and to forge strong friendships that can last all the way up through school and beyond.

The girls always felt comfortable putting forward their ideas and experimenting with the script. When rehearsing the environment was warm and friendly; everyone was treated as equal as if we were a professional cast. I always love being around when there is a drama production on due to the atmosphere and attitude that the girls project, making us closer in the community within CHS. It is truly unlike anything else.

Rehearsals happened weekly with all of the girls attending with energy

and a determined nature, making it very easy to become involved and excited about the upcoming performance.

Girls immersed themselves in the Victorian Era getting fully into their characters, whether a rich upper class socialite or a poor child on the rough streets of London. The high standard of acting showed girls thinking and caring so much about their and others’ performances; they put in a lot of hard work to transport the audience back in time.

The performance, like any, would not have functioned as well as it did without the hard work and unlimited support of the backstage, costume and lighting team, who were up for any challenge and seemed to have a solution to anything put in their way.

By Gabbie Forzani

We began the 2012-13 year with a new Head of Drama, Mrs Webb, who wasted no time before making her mark with an ambitious production of the Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol, at the end of the Autumn Term. Mrs Webb has brought in lots of energy and new ideas and inspired the girls to give some wonderful dramatic performances throughout the year.

Acting Masterclass

In the October half term last year I had the opportunity to go on a one week Shakespeare Masterclass course with the National Youth Theatre under Kate Buffery.

The week consisted of an intensive six day course starting at 9.00am and ending at 6.30pm each day at NYT headquarters in Holloway Road, London. We had to learn a monologue from one of Shakespeare’s plays to perform on The Globe stage at the end of the week. I didn’t know what to expect but on Monday morning when I arrived to find a group of 30 really lovely young aspiring

actors I knew we would all have a fantastic time together. I chose Lady Macbeth’s ‘The raven himself is hoarse’ which was a role that I had not tackled before because I thought it would be a good opportunity to learn about who she is and find out why she is considered one of Shakespeare’s most vicious female characters.

Kate is always going to be one of the key figures in my life. She is a truly remarkable actress who gave us all energy, support and respect in the most modest and sincere way. Kate trained at RADA and went on to work in television, film and theatre, playing a wide variety of roles, including one that

earned her a nomination in the 1983 Olivier Awards as best supporting actress in Daisy Pulls It Off. She is currently writing a play that looks set to be another fantastic achievement.

On Saturday we all gathered outside The Globe, excited to get onto the stage, we went over our lines and thought about what a wonderful journey we had been on. Inside The Globe we went backstage, into the stands and on the stage which was electrifying. It made me even more ambitious when thinking about what I want in my future. Paul Roseby, the artistic director of NYT, attended our recital and gave me and others extremely

positive feedback. The week was one of the most valuable experiences of my life where I learnt a lot about performance, writing and myself as an actor. The week was filled with eye openers, advice, tears, pure happiness and gaining an even deeper love for the theatre and the people who create it.

By Gabbie Forzani

HIGH DRAMA AT CROYDON

Gabbie Forzani – inspired by The Globe

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REVIEW: THERE’S A LEAK!

After weeks of preparation and hard work, girls from years 7–10 were ready to take the stage on 1st and 2nd of May as the second half of theatrical evening, following Year 7s amazing show, Greece.

The story of There’s a Leak! revolves around an innocent young girl, Elsa (Sophia Djounov 9G) and her cat, Igor (Georgia Weaver 9G).

The plot followed the two characters as they met a host of people who were all interested in ‘the leak’. The performances went very well and during the Thursday performance, we had the pleasure of performing to Mr Ben Hales, the writer of the play. He was delighted with our

performance and liked our renditions of the characters. All in all, the play was an amazing comedy to perform. The cast and crew can’t wait for the next one!

By Blanche Brown & Fariha Baba Year 9

Following their acclaimed performance of “There’s A Leak”, Croydon High were invited to perform again at the 2013 Leatherhead Drama Festival.

We are very proud to announce that Sophia Djounov, Blanche Brown and Georgia Weaver were shortlisted at the Festival for the Outstanding Actor Award.

Well done girls!

It was not the Greece that year 7 were first expecting when I mentioned this to them in February, but this tragi-comedy reinforced all the key features of Greek theatre that they had been learning about this term; Chorus, messengers, moments of realisation and reference to lots of ancient Greek myths and legends.

Seeing the whole year group up on stage, working creatively together was a real treat and, judging from the response of the audience, parents, friends and staff enjoyed it too. 7Si started the evening with the prologue and opening three scenes of this tragi-comedy, with Adahna Ekoku setting the scene as Heracles, the odd job man and Kristen Agyekhumene giving a sterling performance as Zeus. We find out that Zeus’ boiler is not working and he is furious as he cannot have a hot shower! With Hera (Alice Male) and Dionysus (Rheanna Thomas-Grant) trying their best to soothe Zeus’ ruffled feathers, Heracles is sent for to fix the problem, and two mortals (Lauren Burns and Katherine Walker)

and the chorus fill us in on the latest happenings in ancient Greece.

With the fabulous Jennifer Cairns as Prometheus, 7Sm presented the next three scenes. Whilst selling Grecian urns at the market place, we discover it is Prometheus who has stolen fire from Mount Olympus, and two mortals (Piya Varma and Nahid Inayat) warn of Zeus’ wrath if he ever finds out who is responsible. Hermes (Nicole Bambroffe) appears to inform the inhabitants of Athens that if anyone has any information on who has stolen the fire, they must report to Mount Olympus to earn a reward of a week’s timeshare (and as much ouzo as they can drink!) Zeus (Renee Brown) and his lawyer (Jodie Bowen) put Prometheus on trial and he is sentenced to be chained to a hillside for eternity and have a giant vulture peck his liver out every day…a pretty severe punishment, even for a Greek tragedy!

Finally, 7K round up the events in the final four scenes. Sharada Patel, Leah Watkins and Lauren Pococke

played the three mortals watching poor Prometheus suffer at the hands (or should I say beak?!) of the vulture, and engage the services of Heracles (Emily Slade) to help free him. Jessica Grant as Zeus and Heracles fall out over delays in getting Zeus’ pilot light replaced, but all ends happily as Prometheus is saved by Heracles, the boiler is mended and our story ends with a party on Mount Olympus in full swing!

Some exceptional performances from all three Year 7 classes – each bringing an energetic and enthusiastic chorus as well as superb individual characters to the stage! Well done to all of you!

SPRING PRODUCTIONSGREECE is the WORD! Review by Mrs Webb

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3D DESIGN TRIP TO THE V&AAt 9 o’clock on a busy

Tuesday morning, 9 year

10 students bundled on

to a busy train headed

for Victoria for a day

of walking, sightseeing,

sketching…and more

walking. We began our trip

through London by walking

through a time warp - past

buildings varying from

the early 19th Century to

Arts and Crafts and Art

Deco. It was so exciting

so see such a range of

beautiful and inspirational

buildings in such a small

part of London, and it was

definitely worth the sore

feet. We even had time

to pop into the Saatchi

gallery, where we saw

art ranging from a sofa

covered in Obama’s

face to a giant kite made

entirely from paper.

We finally arrived at the

V&A, where we spent

the afternoon exploring

the various galleries,

ranging from intricately

priceless jewels to giant

plaster copies of Spanish

cathedrals. We had a

fantastic time sketching

various pieces of

furniture and jewellery in

preparation for our final

coursework, and it has

definitely given us unlimited

inspiration and ideas.

We all had a wonderful

day and we enjoyed

ourselves immensely, and

we all would like to thank

Mrs Thomas and Jan for

the time they gave up

for us and their endless

advice and guidance

on all things creative. We

had a wonderful day and

can’t wait for the next

opportunity to do this

again.

Helena Brawand 10Di

ART & 3D DESIGN EXHIBITIONThe Art &

3D Design

Department

finished on a

high this year

with the annual

exhibition, where

year 11, 12 &

13 girls showcased their

talents. It was so pleasing

to see so many parents and

grandparents attending

and so many younger girls

who are aspiring to take

GCSE Art or 3D Design next

year or the year after! It

was sad to see Georgia

Syms year 13 go as she has

been a fantastic student

but we wish her lots of luck

in her new adventure in

Canterbury where she will

be studying Art and I am

sure she will keep in touch.

COMPETITIONSThis year the Art & 3D

Design Department judged

some fantastic work in a

number of competitions

including the Easter card

competition, Drama poster

competition, Book mark

competition and the Royal

Mail Christmas stamp

competition. Many girls

entered these competitions

and it was really exciting

to see the variety of ideas

and materials used.

NEW ART ROOMWe have been really

privileged this year to

have one of our art rooms

refurbished with new sinks,

surfaces, storage, flooring

and windows which lets

in huge amounts of light,

we have also had an

interactive whiteboard

installed and have a new

ceramics area.

The department cannot

wait to use the new

facilities next year.

NEW LASER CUTTEROur new laser cutter arrived

in September 2012 and has

been a real asset to our

3D Design course. Through

the 2D Design Software

package, the girl’s designs

can be directly cut into

acrylic, wood, paper or

cloth or engraved onto

these surfaces along with

metal or glass. So far we

have used the laser cutter

with Years 8 to 11 and

you can see examples

throughout the magazine.

Next year we are updating

our software programme

which will enable us to

scan images to the Laser

which can then be cut or

engraved into the above

materials.

PROJECT BASED LEARNINGGirls have been working

hard on their six week

homework projects

where they have created

recycled jewellery, still life

paintings, and masks and

in year 9 a free choice

homework where they

can create pieces of

work inspired by their

favourite artists.

These small individual

projects aim to help

girls manage their time,

work independently and

prepare them for GCSE.

Our Year in Art & 3D Design‘Creativity takes courage’ Henri Matisse

At Croydon High School the Art & 3D Design Department, students demonstrate and develop their experiences in as many areas as possible including drawing, print making, sculpture, painting, glass fusing, ceramics, textiles,

photography, metal work, wood and plastics.

We pride ourselves at Croydon High on not having a house style and we support each individual girl to be completely independent; which allows them to develop their work in personal ways with exciting and diverse outcomes.

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ROYAL ACADEMY OUTREACHYear 10 – 13 pupils enjoyed

a day of life drawing under

the instruction of one of

the Royal Academy tutors.

Throughout the day they

were taken through a

series of stimulating, and

often fast-paced, drawing

exercises of all kinds. These

were designed to make

them look at and think

about their work in ways

they may never have

considered before.

FASHION SHOWThis year the 6th form

fashion show worked on the

theme of ‘Carnival’. Year

12 and 13 girls designed

and made a wonderful

array of outfits print making,

recycling and developing

dressmaking skills. They

displayed great teamwork

and independence as they

worked to raise money for

a very worthwhile fund. Miss

MacDonald supervised and

advised the girls while they

designed and made their

garments.

YEAR 6 TASTER DAYSIn September, there was a

year 6 taster day where the

department was inundated

with enthusiastic artists of

the future who were all

inspired by the artist Pablo

Picasso. They had a Cubist

style tea party where they

listened to music and drew

the objects from different

angles to create their very

own Cubist drawings.

KS3 SUMMER EXAMSGirls did extremely well

in their summer exams

this year, focusing on

their observational

drawing skills year 7

drew a shell, year 8 a

self-portrait and year 9

their shoe(s).

THINGS WE ARE ALREADY LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT YEAR:

• GDST Art exhibition at Streatham & Clapham High School: The GDST are organising an Art exhibition to celebrate its 140th anniversary in October 2013. The department have selected 9 pieces of work which will show case Croydon High School. There is great excitement over the event and we are delighted to be taking part. (Photographs in folder)

• Year 10, 11, 12 & 13 Art trip to Venice: In October we are taking year 10, 11, 12 & 13 girls on a study visit to the beautiful Italian city of Venice. This is a four day trip and we will be visiting some amazing places including The Peggy Guggenheim Museum, The Academia gallery, St Mark’s square, The Basilica di San Marco and many more. The girls will be working towards their coursework element of the GCSE and A Level part of the course which is worth 60% of their overall grade.

• Year 8 gallery visit to London: We are looking forward to taking year 8 to London in the Autumn term to visit the Tate, this will give them the chance to see Art works up close and personal and draw directly from them. An inspirational day for all.

• Starting new A level 3D design course: Next year will see the exciting start to the new A Level 3D Design course. Girls will be able to work in a range of materials from glass and metal to wood or ceramics. This course will be an opportunity to explore their personal interests, whether they are Architecture, jewellery making, or product design.

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ART Scholars

LAUREN BURNS – YEAR 7When I was chosen to be an art scholar, I was thrilled!! Nobody had picked up on my talent and enthusiasm for art before.

Through Year 7, I have learnt new artistic techniques and I have progressed in my art skills. Art Club provides a great opportunity to produce different kinds of art, and learn about different artists and their work. Below, there are a couple of pieces of my work that I have done in Year 7.

The one on the left is a still life to represent different aspects of my personality. The sketch of the shell is my summer exam piece that I was really pleased

with. I have thoroughly enjoyed being an art scholar, and I look forward to learning lots more in the future!

ABIGAEL MORRIS – YEAR 9I have enjoyed art from a young age, finding creative things to do in my spare time. I absolutely love painting especially when using oils and acrylics. Being an art scholar it gives me the opportunity to meet with people of different ages with the same interests, and share our ideas. I looking forward to starting the Year 10 GCSE Art Course and developing my creative skills, and being able to explore all the different areas of art.

RHEA PATEL – YEAR 7

MAHEEN ALAM – YEAR 10As an art scholar and a GCSE artist, I have a strong love for anything arty and I feel as though this school allows me to carry out my passion to the

maximum. I’ve learnt so much over this year and I use these techniques and new skills a lot. The lessons are so enjoyable and, even though the lessons consist of quite a bit of work, they’re just like a break from the rest of my day. I’ve really enjoyed the topics we’ve covered in art this year- inside outside, textiles, surface exploration and lino printing.

Here are some eyes that I drew to help me with my lino portrait printing: I later went on to refine these in the style of one of the artists I researched.

JADA BRUNEY – YEAR 8 I’ve enjoyed our art lessons in year 8. I’ve learnt many things such as using acrylic on canvas, lino prints (with only a few casualties), how to express emotions in self portraits, photo realism, landscapes and colour mixing. I also learnt lots of new names of artists such as Chuck Thomas Close, Käthe Kollwitz, Tom Robb, JMW Turner and David Turner all of whom I’ve never heard of before. Observing their painting styles really helped me develop my own unique styles and ideas. Overall this academic year has been very productive for me.

the art scholars (Lauren Burns year 7, rhea patel year 7, Jada Bruney year 8, Blanche Brown year 9, Abigael Morris year 9, Lucie Barnes year 10, Maheen Alam year 10, Lucy Miller year 11, rhea Dillon year 12 & Georgia Syms year

13) have worked extremely hard this year attending open days and open evenings, entering competitions and attending extra-curricular clubs.

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BLANCHE BROWN – YEAR 9I have always enjoyed art! From an early age I can remember myself spending a lot of time in nursery at the colouring table, moulding clay to make pencil holders in year 2, firing up the hot glue gun in year 5 to make small Victorian rooms and now, year 9, spending much of my free time drawing, painting, collecting data and creating collages. For as long as I can remember, I have loved art!

As an art scholar, I have been able to take part in many art department activities. These range from painting scenery for ‘Alice in Wonderland’ to decorating the lecture theatre with murals. I enjoy taking part in competitions, the latest of which celebrates 140 years of the GDST.

I am really looking forward to beginning my GCSE art course and visiting Venice with the art department in the next academic year.

LUCY MILLER – YEAR 11Over the two years of the course I feel as though I have developed and improved as an artist, having been encouraged to explore and experiment with a range of new media and techniques.

This has boosted my confidence levels when developing my creative ideas, I now feel secure

with my choice of media and feel confident enough to try something different and develop my pieces making them more complex.

LUCIE BARNES – YEAR 10This year in art, I have enjoyed attending art club to try new skills in the subject and work on my sketchbook work. I have also learnt lots of new artistic techniques. Next year I hope to continue helping out in art clubs and learning new skills. My favourite part of art this year was print making and portraiture because I found that it was a stronger area for me. I hadn’t done much print making before so it was quite new and different for me but I enjoyed it.

RHEA DILLON – YEAR 12Throughout this school year I have found the step up from GCSE art to AS Level has significantly changed my perspective to how art can be interpreted and analysed. I’ve attended many exhibitions this year with my favourite being Rebecca Salter’s at the Beardsmore Gallery which greatly inspired my exam pieces. I also went to an A Level study day at the National Gallery working alongside the Seduced by Art exhibition. Overall this has been a very exciting year and I’m looking forward to my final year at CHS finishing my art A level and I am looking to carry on with my Art along with English at University.

GEORGIA SYMS – YEAR 13Overall, I can’t express how much art has been an influential part of my school journey, and

despite the pressures that come from any A2 subject, I wouldn’t have changed my choice. Through the A2 year, I have developed many skills in areas that previously I would not have delved into, including textiles and conceptual art, constantly increasing my confidence in the subject.

This interest has grown enough to have allowed me to be accepted on to the Foundation Degree course at the University of the Creative Arts, Canterbury, where I will continue to be inspired by the art world.

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World Book Day – Let’s Celebrate Books! On 7th March our girls celebrated World Book Day by participating in a range of

activities – a Book Quiz, an opportunity to enter the ‘Design a Bookmark’ competition,

cosy silent reading time in the LRC and, during lunch, some not-so-silent time playing

Scrabble, Dingbats, Pictionary and Articulate – all ‘fun’

ways of exercising the brain. The real delight of the day,

however, was in the morning, during form period, when

Mrs Abrams popped in to see the girls in their form rooms

listening, entranced, to their form tutor (or in some cases a

special visitor) reading from a favourite novel. We can truly

say “A book is proof that humans are capable of working

magic” (Carl Sagan). We experienced a little of that magic

on World Book Day.

(Bookmarks, left to right: Ros Hickman, Morayo Adeagbo, Nena Chen)

Book Club Magic The three Book Clubs which meet in the LRC have several

things in common; the members are fired up by books,

enjoy stimulating discussion, and love food! The CHS

Community Book Club enjoy a wonderful hour of Book

Chat, cake and coffee once a month on a Wednesday

morning. Our favourite book of the year is probably

Rachel Joyce’s The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.

The 6th form Books & Breakfast Clubbers manage to

arrive early enough on a Friday morning, twice a term, to

enjoy a healthy continental breakfast whilst contributing

to a lively book discussion. One of our most interesting

reads was Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange. Last

but not least, our Carnegie Shadowers met weekly during

most of the summer term to discuss the merits of the

books shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal Award, while

enjoying sweets ‘n treats. Sally Gardner’s dystopian

novel, Maggot Moon, is the worthy winner of the 2013

Carnegie Medal Award.

Amnesty International Members do us proud

The fifteen members of Amnesty International have been

particularly active this year. We have raised awareness

of the need to campaign for the rights of the powerless

and voiceless (for instance the ‘Write for Rights’ campaign

focusing on the plight of women in Afghanistan), we have

raised over £700 towards worthy causes (through our

Danceathon and the ‘Donate for a Donut’ campaign to

name just two fund-raising activities), and w’ve had Fun!

The highlight of the year was our participation in the

‘Dance Britain for Burma’ campaign. In September, Mrs

Abrams, Madame Orange and two of our intrepid Year

11 girls, Marie-Alice Berry and Temi Oyekan, took a train

to Birmingham to dance our way through a quarter

marathon (10 km). Amnesty International supported

LearnBurma founder, teacher Ben Hammond, as he

attempted the world’s first dance from John o’ Groats to

Land’s End to raise money for education, human rights

and development in Burma. Dance is used as a symbol

of the freedoms we enjoy but those in Burma can’t.

It was a wonderful experience to dance through the

streets of Birmingham with a small crowd of Ben’s

supporters, inspired by music from the mobile jukebox.

We made it to the finish line despite blisters, humbled

to have participated in an event which will help, in a

small way, to promote change in Burma. For all those

girls who weren’t able to join us, we held our own CHS

Danceathon in November.

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Jane McLoughlin, teacher turned writer, hails from

Minnesota though she has been living in England

for over 20 years; she still retains her delightful accent,

however! Jane enthralled our girls when she read from

her novel, At Yellow Lake, set in Wisconsin.

It’s a thrilling, fast-paced read, based on three teenagers

who stumble across each other on the shores of the lake,

taking refuge in a cabin. When they witness a crime they

realise the danger they are in.

Jane entertained the Year 9s with stories of the both the

highlights and heartbreaks of being a writer.

She loves the fun of writing and also, she admitted, the

opportunities to eat nice cakes at book launches and

use the writers’ toilet at the Edinburgh Book Festival! In

the Year 10 and 12 writing workshops Jane encouraged

the girls to use precise and exciting language choices to

bring their writing to life.

Her tips for budding writers? To be patient, to persevere

despite rejections, and to read widely. We were

privileged to have a real author with us for a whole day –

one who both inspired creativity and made us laugh.

I loved her enthusiasm and energy. She gave us good advice on descriptive writing. (Jemimah, Year 10)

She was very animated. She had a new approach to the teaching of descriptive writing. (Charlotte,Year 10)

She was really good. She had interesting things to say about writing and the ideas behind her book. (Abi, Year 9)

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Jane as she was very fun and animated and had a great sense of humour! I could really see her love and passion

for books and reading! (Simran, Year 9)

I was interested in her writing tips, for instance that you need to ‘get to know’ a character really well before you write about her. She is going to give me some professional advice about a piece I am writing. (Veronica, Year 12)

She was upbeat and fun (Julia, Year 10)

It was good fun. She was very enthusiastic. I liked the book readings – I would like to read the book. (Issy, Year 9)

Author Jane McLoughlin enthuses CHS Students

50

1. Act of Love, An – Alan Gibbons

2. Afterward – Rosamund Lupton

3. Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll

4. Alone on a Wide, Wide Sea – Michael Morpurgo

5. Amongst the Hidden – Margaret Peterson Haddix

6. Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour – Morgan Matson

7. Another Fine Mess – Tony Bonning

8. Awakening, The (The Vampire Diaries) – L. J. Smith

9. Bad Beginning, The (A Series of Unfortunate Events) – Lemony Snicket

10. Beautiful Creatures (series) – Kami Garcia

11. Before I Fall – Lauren Oliver

12. Before I Go to Sleep – S.J. Watson13. BFG, The – Roald Dahl

14. Big Mama Makes the World – Phyllis Root

15. Birdman – Mo Hader

16. Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks

17. Black Beauty - Anna Sewell

18. Book Thief, The – Markus Zusak

19. B oy in the Striped Pyjamas, The – John Boyne

20. Breadwinner, The (Series) – Deborah Ellis

21. Brief History of Slime, A! – Susan Gates

22. Broken Soup – Jenny Valentine

23. Butterfly Lion – Michael Morpurgo

24. Carrie’s War – Nina Bawden

140 Amazing Books to Read Before You Leave CHS!This is not a stuffy list of books you ‘should read’ but, rather, books which our Junior and Senior girls LOVE! Members of staff also added a few favourites.

51

25. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl

26. Charlotte’s Web – E.B. White

27. Chinese Cinderella – Adeline Yen Mah

28. City of Stars – Mary Hoffman

29. Color Purple – Alice Walker

30. Cookie – Jacqueline Wilson

31. Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon

32. David Copperfield – Charles Dickens

33. Demon’s Watch, The (Tales of Fayt) – Conrad Mason

34. Diary of Anne Frank – Anne Frank

35. Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The – Jeff Kinney

36. Divergent – Veronica Roth

37. Dork Diaries – Rachel Renee Russell

38. Duff, The: The Designated Ugly Fat Friend – Kody Keplinger

39. Eagle of the Ninth – Rosemary Sutcliff

40. Entangled – Cat Clarke

41. Eragon – Christopher Paolini

42. Escape from Furnace 1 – Alexander Gordon Smith

43. Evil Star – Anthony Horowitz

44. Fatherland – Robert Harris

45. Fault in our Stars, The – John Green

46. Flip – Martyn Bedford

47. Gangsta Granny – David Walliams

48. Gargoyle, The – Andrew Davidson

49. Glasshouses (Morganville Vampire series) – Rachel Cain

50. Gone (series) – Michael Grant

51. Goodnight Mr Tom – Michelle Magorian

52. Great Gatsby, The – F. Scott Fitzgerald

53. Gruffalo, The – Julia Donaldson

54. Guess How Much I Love You – Sam McBratney

55. Hacker – Malorie Blackman

56. Handmaid’s Tale, The – Margaret Atwood

57. Harry Potter (series) – J.K. Rowling

58. Help, The – Kathryn Stockett

59. Hobbit, The – J.R. R. Tolkien

60. Horrid Henry and the Secret Club – Francesca Simon

61. Hunger Games, The (series) – Suzanne Collins

62. Hush, Hush – Becca Fitzpatrick

63. I’d Tell You I Love You, but then I’d have to Kill You (Gallagher Girls series) – Ally Carter

64. Inkheart – Cornelia Funke

65. I, Spy? ( Sophie Green Mysteries) – Kate Johnson

66. Island of Adventure, The – Enid Blyton

67. Journey to the River Sea – Eva Ibbotson

68. Kensuke’s Kingdom – Michael Morpurgo

69. Kiss that Missed – David Melling

70. Kite Runner, The – Khaled Hosseini

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71. Looking for JJ – Anne Cassidy

72. Lily Alone – Jacqueline Wilson

73. Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The – C. S. Lewis

74. Little Princess, A – Frances Hodgson Burnett

75. Little Women – Louisa May Alcott

76. Lord of the Rings, The – J.R. R. Tolkien

77. Magician’s Nephew, The – C.S. Lewis

78. Magyk – Angie Sage

79. Malory Towers (series) – Enid Blyton

80. Matilda – Roald Dahl

81. Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life – James Patterson

82. Miss Manhattan (Summer Camp Secrets) – Melissa Morgan

83. Missing Me – Sophie McKenzie

84. Mist – Kathryn James

85. Molly Moon’s Incredible Book of Hypnotism – Georgia Byng

86. Monster Calls, A – Patrick Ness

87. Moon of Gomrath – Alan Garner

88. North Child – Edith Pattou

89. Noughts and Crosses (Trilogy) – Malorie Blackman

90. Numbers – Rachel Ward

91. Oranges in No Man’s Land – Elizabeth Laird

92. Pegasus and the Flame – Kate O’Hearn

93. Perfect Hamburger – Alexander McCall Smith

94. Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky

95. Peter Pan – J.M. Barrie

96. Pig Heart Boy – Malorie Blackman

97. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen

98. Private Peaceful – Michael Morpurgo

99. Promise, The: The Moving Story of a Family in the Holocaust – Eva Schloss

100. Railway Children – E. Nesbit

101. Rebecca – Daphne du Maurier

102. Recruit, The (Cherub Series) – Robert Muchamore

103. Room – Emma Donoghue

104. Saving Face – T.J. Dell

105. Scat – Carl Hiaasen

53

106. Sea of Stars, A – Kate Maryon

107. Secret Garden, The – Frances Hodgson Burnett

108. Secret History, The – Donna Tartt

109. Secret Life of Bees, The – Sue Monk Kidd

110. Secret Seven (series) – Enid Blyton

111. Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon

112. Shantaram – Gregory David Roberts

113. Shapeshifter (series) – Ali Sparkes

114. Shine – Kate Maryon

115. Skullduggery Pleasant – Derek Landy

116. Small Steps - Louis Sachar

117. Sophie’s Choice – William Styron

118. Squash the Spider! – Nick Ward

119. Starcrossed – Josephine Angelini

120. Stolen – Lucy Christopher

121. Stormbreaker (Alex Rider series) – Anthony Horowitz

122. Street Child – Berlie Doherty

123. Talented Mr Ripley – Patricia Highsmith

124. Tale of Desperaux, The – Kate DiCamillo

125. Tess of the d’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy

126. Thirteen Reasons Why – Jay Asher

127. Thirteen Treasures, The – Michelle Harrison

128. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee

129. Twilight – Stephanie Meyer

130. Uglies – Scott Westerfeld

131. Ugly – Constance Briscoe

132. Very Hungry Caterpillar, The – Eric Carle

133. Warm Bodies – Isaac Marion

134. War Horse – Michael Morpurgo

135. What Katy Did – Susan Coolidge

136. When You were Mine – Rebecca Serle

137. Where the Wild Things Are – Maurice Sendak

138. Witches, The – Roald Dahl

139. Wolf Brother – Michele Paver

140. Wonder – R. J. Palacio

54

The National Council of

Young Women (NCYW) is

an organisation that

aims to give young

women a voice.

They promote discussion of important issues

and want our views on what we believe to

be the major concerns of the younger

generation, what we think is holding

women back and preventing them from

fulfilling their potential. This year, Croydon

High became a member.

Eager to impress with our enthusiasm, we

hosted an inaugural seminar in February.

The focus? An issue close to Croydon:

‘Women in Trafficking’. Croydon is

one of the main entry ‘ports’ in the

UK for the victims of this modern-day

slavery and so raising awareness in

the area is particularly important. Girls from

Oasis Academy Coulsdon and our GDST sister-school in

Brighton joined us to discuss and learn about this horrific,

but increasingly widespread, phenomenon.

The seminar kicked off with an interactive session led by

Pauline Miller from local organisation Croydon Community

Against Trafficking (CCAT). Together we considered various

case-studies and appreciated the parallels between the

different victims – their naivety, their desire to escape a

difficult home life – and this was followed by a discussion

of the means by which traffickers prevented their victims

from escaping. A question that became central to our

debate was, of course, what can be done to stop this

happening. Needless to say, raising awareness is a crucial

step. However, Emily Chalke also presented us with different

ways of taking action: for example, purchasing a piece of

jewellery from international organisation NightLight, which

provides women trapped in the sex trade with a viable

means of alternative employment.

Without a doubt, the highlight of the afternoon was

hearing Sophie Hayes’ harrowing story of her experience

as a survivor of trafficking. Speaking in an intensely

personal manner, she communicated poignantly the

horrors of her ordeal and the suffering and degradation

she was forced to endure having been misled by a man

who had claimed he loved her. She has since rebuilt her

life, establishing the Sophie Hayes Foundation which works

relentlessly to raise awareness of trafficking in the UK.

Her most powerful message was that trafficking can

happen to anyone. Sophie was from a normal background;

she went to a good school; she had a stable family life;

she had a long-term boyfriend. Anyone

could become Sophie. Amy

Legister of Year 13, was one

of many who commented

how inspirational she found

Sophie’s story.

Croydon High was also delighted to

welcome a group of representatives

from the National Council of Women

who framed the seminar. Barbara

Maddison, speaking at the end of the

session, encouraged us to think about

how we can be involved in contributing

to debate on a wide variety of concerns.

There could be no doubt that we now

all felt strongly about bringing an end

to trafficking, but we shouldn’t let our

enthusiasm for causing change stop here.

We are the young women of the future.

We can do something.

Jessica Payn

The National Council of Women: OUR FIRST SEMINARBarbara Maddison from the National Council of Women

with Jessica Payn

55

Saturday mornings at Croydon High were full of

noise and activity during the Spring Term, as the school ran a ten week educational programme involving three primary schools from the borough of Croydon.

The programme, which was supported by the SHINE Trust ( Support and Help IN Education), involved staff and 6th form pupils working together to devise and run a programme of educational activities for twenty nine Year 5 pupils from three Croydon Schools.

Activities ranging from Forensic Science and Mandarin to Russian Code Breaking and 3D Design were amongst many others on offer and kept the children busy and stimulated. Despite the hard work involved in preparing for these sessions,

all agreed that seeing the enjoyment and the obvious benefit the children gained from participating made it more than worthwhile. Children from Applegarth in New Addington, All Saints in Upper Norwood and Broadmead in South Norwood all came together to work and discover how much fun learning can be ...even on a Saturday!

At the end of the ten weeks, parents and children were invited to come together for a celebration of all their efforts in a special awards ceremony. Everyone enjoyed watching the DVD that had been put together brilliantly by our ‘gappie,’ Maddie and then each child received a certificate in recognition of their hard work. The Heads of the participating schools joined us and it was obvious from their speeches how

much they had appreciated the opportunity and what benefits they had already noticed in the children’s attitude to learning.

Mrs Leonard closed the ceremony with an inspirational speech about how she believes, with hard work and determination; the children could go anywhere and achieve their dreams. This message went down very well with everyone – as did the delicious buffet provided and served by our excellent catering staff.

SHINE at Croydon HighJane elliott, Head at

All Saints said “the children really enjoyed the range

of experiences they had and confidently shared them with

the whole school in assembly.

I really saw their self-esteem grow as a result of them

trying new things and meeting new people. parents also loved the opportunities that this project gave their

children and were very supportive of it.”

Alex Lundie, Head at Broadmead agreed, saying, “I would say that the impact of the programme is much

wider than core skills; the children have all grown in confidence as learners to believe that they can succeed and excel, to

persevere if it doesn’t work out the first time and to see learning as a lifelong adventure.”

56

This creative writing prize can be on any subject or topic, either fictional or factual, based around the themes of ‘Celebration’, ‘Girls’, ‘Anniversary’, ‘Birthday’ or ‘Trust’. Although our entries were not amongst the eventual winners, we are extremely proud of the pieces that were chosen to represent the school.

extract from Anniversary (Senior entry) by Kate Shillabeer in Year 11 …There was one day in particular which tied Johnny Peters and Ben Forrester more than any other. The pair had been born on December 22nd 1935, three days before Christmas in one of the harshest winters Canada had ever faced. That year, frost stretched its spindly fingers across every surface; snow blasted under every door; howling wind rattled every window. Ten years later, winter was still persistent, but it had never been as tough as that of 1935.

December 22nd brought bustling streets and scurrying children, of whom Johnny and Ben were two, weaving through shoppers and groups of people so large they could only be families congregating for Christmas, huddled against the cold in a full spectrum of Smith and Jones and Phillips genes. Ben awoke that morning to the usual birthday fuss, but marched his way quickly through his mother’s hugs and his presents- a yoyo and a new coat- and sped over to Johnny’s.

As usual, Ben found his friend waiting on the front porch of his leaning wooden house, chin in hands and black hair an unruly mess. Johnny leapt up when he saw him hurtling up the path. They collided with a satisfying thump, landing in the crunching snow in a tangle of skinny limbs. “Surrender, dragon, or prepare to be destroyed!” Ben cried as he shook Johnny by the collar of his woollen vest. Johnny didn’t have to pause for a moment to pick up on the game. He let out an unearthly roar and squirmed from Ben’s grip. Just like that, he plucked Ben’s hat from his head and launched himself down his icy front path towards the street. Ben scrambled to his feet and bolted after his friend, shouting calls of impending doom to Johnny’s back…

extract from A Russian Conspiracy (Middle School entry) by Katya Pitt in Year 7 It was England, 1967. The rain was pouring down in the village of Harkingsbury, and Svetlana dashed across the village green. She was up the steps of the chapel, St. Martin’s Hark, in bounds. The newly-installed doors swung open before her. It was dark inside the chapel, with only a candle burning at the Alter. Swathes of an old, musty smell drifted around the arches, whilst the pipes of the old organ hung suspended in the gloom. Svetlana strained her eyes.

“Yelena!” she called. Then she spotted a figure sitting hunched in one of the front pews. It rose, and turned to face Svetlana.

“There you are, my naughty fish. I was wondering what had become of you”. She could tell Yelena was miserable. They were moving back to their homeland, for goodness’ sake. Shouldn’t the child be happy? Deep in her heart, though, Svetlana was just as unhappy. It had been her husband’s decision to move back to Russia. It was full of danger. Russia was dominated by the Sovetskii Soyuz (Soviet Union). Why on Earth should he want to go back?

extract from The Croydon High School Girls and the

Enormous Pumpkin

by Phoebe Marchand 5T

Then the judge said “Bridget, Holly and Florence from

Croydon High School, Bertha, Alex and Amy

from Sutton High School and Max,

Billy and Harry from Cumnor House

School please can you all step up on the stage with your

teachers.

After the judge had taken a long look at all of the vegetables he

announced the winners “The winners

of the Vegetable Award, 1963 is Croydon High

School!”

We were so happy, Holly was

screaming, Bridget was crying with happiness and Florence was jumping and

Mr Thrower fainted. After that we had

pumpkin with everything, pies, soups, kebabs.

And as they fairy tale goes they all

lived happily ever after!

THE GDST 140TH ANNIVERSARY CREATIVE WRITING PRIZE

CreativityCreativityCreativityCreativity

57

We were delighted to learn that Year 13’s Jessica payn was the winner of the Senior section of the prestigious GDSt-wide poetry competition, the Laurie Magnus.

The Laurie Magnus Poetry Prize was established in memory of

Laurie Magnus by his widow. Laurie Magnus was a GDST Council

member from 1907, and Chairman from 1929 until his death in 1933.

He also authored The Jubilee Book of the Girls’ Day School Trust

(1923). This year’s competition was judged by GDST’s Director of

People, Caroline Hoare, an English graduate and someone who is

passionate about poetry. Her is her review of Jess’s work;

“I loved the playful wit of this poem. The opening was immediately

engaging and the theme beautifully developed. A clever and

well-constructed take on Shakespeare’s sonnet.”

Marsupial Meditations Shall I compare thee to a kangaroo?

Thou art more lively and, for sure, more fun;

Thy winning wit a bubbling brew

Of aphorism, allegory and pun.

Marsupials just hop whilst thy mind vaults;

They lounge and frolic in the afternoon,

With mental power full of many faults

Whilst thy athletic mind oft makes me swoon!

Let me applaud thy iridescent brain

And scorn the senseless hopping of our friends,

Their fur appealing but their minds inane.

For such comparisons I make amends

By vowing ever to bestow my heart

On one from whom I’ll never be apart.

Adahna wins our 140thCreative Writing Competition in 140 words

the Accomplice by Adahna Ekoky Year 7Senor Alanzo swept in to the sleepy Spanish village of Saint Marie like the Pied Piper of Hamlyn, The ladies

swooned, the children skipped merrily behind and the men were intrigued. In preparation for his act,

Senor Alanzo presented his wine-red velvety cloak, in a rather dramatic fashion, to a blushing girl named

Bella. Adding to the drama and excitement, a local priest blessed Senor Alanzo before he began. He then

climbed up a ladder and balanced himself on a wire tightrope tied from one end of the gorge to another

as mesmerised villagers watched on, totally absorbed in the breath-taking act. They were blissfully unaware

this was merely a decoy; a decoy that would let someone destroy their village’s greatest asset. Senor Alanzo’s

accomplice had slipped silently into the Cabeza Bar and was simultaneously carrying out his devious deed.

toast or cereal in 140 words by Anjali Malik Year 8

Toast or cereal? The time is

7.14am school starts at twenty

past. I need to decide between

the crumbly, finely buttered

toast or crunchy cereal with

creamy, soft milk that tickles my

oesophagus.

The clock is ticking and sweat

trickles down my brow, this

decision is so intense.

Toast or cereal?

Why are these decisions always

so hard for me?

My stomach feels like it’s doing

acrobatics, my hand reaches

out for the bread to untie the

knot but then I have doubts,

could it be wiser to go for

cereal? My head turns to look

at the box of cereal propped

up against the steaming kettle.

Toast or cereal?

I just don’t know, time is not on

my side. I hurriedly flung open

the little cupboard door and

decide to grab a … BAGEL!

58

As I stare upon the night,

I notice in the clear sky,

One single star shining,

Rays full of light.

I have never thought how

beautiful,

A single star can be,

All alone in the sky,

Somehow it feels like me.

How are you still shining star?

When you’re all alone up there,

In the surrounding darkness,

Do you feel no despair?

Although no life is around you,

Your rays are full of light,

You give hope to us here

on Earth,

When we ask the question why.

Flash Fiction by Georgina Halliday 12SThe raucous bleep of the alarm clock punctured the stillness of the dark room, and as if she had been slapped in the face, the young woman bolted upright from her bed, tangled hair obscuring her face.

The small red clock on her bedside continued to shout angrily at her, and looking at it, she saw that it was barely 5am, and time to get up for work. She quelled the alarm with a tap and slid out of bed, rubbing her eyes.

She briefly considered clambering back into bed, calling in sick, and forgetting about the world for a while, but she knew deep down that she couldn’t. She needed this job, it was all she had. But something was wrong, different. She paused in the act of locating a hair tie and strained her ears for the usual drone of morning traffic.

But it wasn’t there. Elation already beginning to course through her, she grabbed her phone, squinted at the screen and saw a tiny digital ‘SUNDAY’ written in the corner of the display.

Haiku – 140 characters by Yaalarasi Baskaran 8WB

He has a blue box

He always lives by himself

His name is Doctor

He fights for all life

And now it is time to go

Goodbye blue box man

We’re all really sad

That you’re regenerating

The eleventh time

poly(propene) comic by Shakira Mahedeva Year 10

A Single Star by Taylor Sidney 10Di

59

Review: Twelfth Night

Those who think that Shakespeare is a lot of

old spoken rubbish should be confronted with cross-gartered yellow stockings.

Propeller, an all-male company used the conventions of the Elizabethan theatre throughout their malicious and hilarious production of Shakespeare’s comedy at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford. Twelfth Night shows the lives of twins Viola and Sebastian as they are separately washed up on

the shores of Illyria causing much confusion to the Illyrians.

The masks used throughout made the whole play a little more eerie and mysterious, almost as if ghosts and spirits were floating around. In many Shakespearean plays there is a twist.

Twelfth Night is hopefully to the audience a comedy full of shrieks and giggles of laughter but when Sir Toby plays a trick it also shows his rather large streak of cruelty to the unsuspecting victim. In this cruel act the audience is hushed into silence as

a funny tangle of knots becomes an act of torture. Twelfth Night is renowned for its love struck couples and hours of drunken tomfoolery.

While Macbeth is famous for its witchcraft and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for its dreams, Twelfth Night

is famous for its glorious phrases, such as “Some are born great, some achieve greatness and others have greatness thrust upon them”. Twelfth Night for me is pure greatness. So “if music be the food of love, play on!”

Emma James Year 8

Box Clever: Introduction to Shakespeare

During the Spring Term the Box Clever theatre company came to

CHS to perform Romeo and Juliet to Year 9 and Macbeth to Year 10.

Years 6 and 7 were treated to and imaginative and radical Introduction to Shakespeare. It was the ideal way

to explore Shakespeare, his life and works in a sixty-minute interactive workshop.

The session explored the historical and cultural background to his life and works, and covered excerpts from plays including Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night and Henry IV.

The girls were excited as some of them were called out to be dressed up or given props to participate in the scenes. The actors made Shakespeare funny, exciting and

full of life. The girls enjoyed this occasion because they were inspired and challenged by the event.

Box Clever also tied their production in well with the Year 7’s English as they had been studying A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The actors were impressed with the Shakespeare facts the girls knew and that they could name thirteen of his plays!

Jodie Bowen Y7

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CASTLES IN THE AIR FOR YEAR 7 A memorable Year 7 History project this year was ‘Blood and Stone’, an investigative look at the history of the British castle between 1000-1500AD. After an initial visit to Bodiam Castle in November last year, all Year 7 students went to work on their own projects on the British castle, investigating for themselves particular aspects of castle

construction and design which they found intriguing. As a result, we had a range of projects which looked at a diverse set of Castles across the United Kingdom, ranging from early medieval motte-and-bailey fortifications through the coastal defensive fortifications of the early Tudor period. The project not only tested our students’ History skills (many of which are directly applicable to GCSE History), but also tested their abilities to

construct a scale model from scratch of their particular castle. Every year, we find these models get more detailed and adventurous and this year appeared to be no different. First place and the Gold Award from the model went to Freya McEwan with her near perfect scale construction of Hever Castle, with the Silver and Bronze Awards going to Alice Male and Hannah Parsons respectively. In addition to these models, all the girls involved produced

a portfolio demonstrating all of the background research they completed in order to be able to build the model. Both Mr Divall and Mrs Murray were astounded by these portfolios and the sheer effort all the girls involved put in. Congratulations girls!

KATIE TOMSETT WINS BEST SPEAKER TROPHY

Our debating team of Roshni Fernando and Katie Tomsett have performed brilliantly throughout this year and in June took part in the final of the Croydon-Sutton U.N.A Schools’ Debating competition at Whitgift. The girls were up against a team from Sutton High, the first time the final has ever been contested by two Trust schools. Roshni and Katie had won debates against four other schools to reach this stage, and

were the first CHS team to do so since 2008. Roshni and Katie had to propose that This House believes the world order will be defined by natural forces and not human governments. Both girls put on their best performance of the competition so far, but were just pipped at the post by the very strong Sutton team. However, we did have the consolation that Katie was awarded the Best Speaker trophy

(which in fact is rather grander than the shield presented to the winning team!). Congratulations to our sister school Sutton High but especially to Roshni and Katie on a really outstanding campaign.

YEAR 12 DRAMA GIRLS CREATE EGGS-CITING DAY FOR LOCAL SCHOOL

The Head of local Greenvale Primary School called upon the expertise of our Year 12 Theatre Studies students in June in what turned out to be a really memorable event.

The pupils at Greenvale had arrived that morning to find three mysterious eggs under a gazebo in the school grounds. Enter the Scientists from London! Also know as, Rhian Elias, Aimee Evans, Olivia Hanson, Gabriella Forzani and Tanya Hill, in lab coats and safety glasses. The girls posed (brilliantly) as ‘egg specialists’, ably fielding probing questions from children in Reception all the way up to Year 6. Where have the eggs come from, how long had

they been there and what or who could have left them there? =The most entertaining question came from a Year 5 boy, asking if football club would still be on if the eggs weren’t able to be cleared from the field! “It was pretty exhausting thinking on our feet,” said Olivia. “I loved their reactions and the stories they were creating” said Gabbie. The exercise was dreamed up by staff at Greenvale who wanted to stretch the pupils’ creative writing skills

- and it seemed to work, with parents reporting that they had never seen their children so keen to do their homework! Our girls were so convincing, that one Greenvale pupil declared she wanted to be an egg specialist when she grows up – just like Rhian!!

SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR YEAR IN THE SENIOR SCHOOL

FREYA STRIKES GOLD!

SILVER FOR ALICE

BRONZE FOR HANNAH

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YEAR 8 HELP FOR HEROES – OPERATION SHOEBOX

OPERATION CAMP OUT It has become a tradition for the girls in Years 5, 6 and 7 to experience a CAMP OUT in the summer term. This fun activity was instigated by Mr Smith and continues to be lots of fun

and a chance for the girls to really bond and share some fantastic memories. And this year, it didn’t RAIN!!!Adahna Ekoku in Year 7 gave us her view on the event.On Thursday the 20st of June, Years 5, 6 and 7 all came to school ready for the Camp Out. Year 5 and 6 stuck to the guidelines and came in old clothes. However, Year 7 thought of it as an opportunity to show off their new clothes!After a hearty lunch we were all ready to start with a challenging card game which required teamwork.

Only after our second attempt did we succeed. We got a nice blast of air playing a ‘countries around the world’ game which was followed by a brilliant barbeque dinner (which included burgers!) After this was one of the highlights of the event! The sweet hunt! We all rushed around frantically searching high and low, with no hints from the teachers whatsoever. We then watched a film named Up and some people became a bit teary. After a succulent snack we were snuggled up in our camps and were thought to be worn out and ready

for bed. However, our teachers should have known better! As they were patrolling around eyeing us carefully, we were secretly waiting for them to go to bed as we had a lot to talk about! The teachers must have had a disturbed night of sleep, seeing as some people only decided to rest their eyes at 3:00am! We sleepily woke up in the morning, just about ready to complete our ICT tasks. A presentation was held and we headed off home ready to sleep straight away. Thanks to all those who worked so hard to make this such a happy activity.

WINTER FAIRDriving past the school on an ice cold Saturday in early December, any passers-by would have been greeted with a peculiar sight.

Gone were us girls weighed down with books as we scurried to our lessons and instead, towering above the school, stood a giant, inflatable Father Christmas. Bright red, and standing at over twelve feet tall, he certainly was difficult to miss. The occasion that had prompted such an appearance was the annual PTA Winter Fair- an opportunity for students,

parents and members of the public alike to browse numerous stalls, participate in a wide range of activities and be part of the CHS community, this event is certainly one of the highlights of our school calendar.

This year, of course, was no exception with the Parent’s Teacher Association creating an event that was bigger and better than ever. Events included a Santa’s grotto, two bouncy castles and a spectacular raffle (where the first prize was an iPad mini no less). The fun didn’t just stop there with a variety of fairground

games and tombolas running throughout the afternoon. The items on sale, courtesy of the many stall holders, included everything from candles, scarves and jewellery to home-made fudge, toys and Christmas decorations. If shopping had got one’s appetite going, then a trip to the food court was the answer where everything from Krispy Kreme doughnuts to hot soups and hot dogs were on sale to tingle everyone’s taste buds. If the cold air had left one wanting a steaming cup of something hot, then the mulled wine stand or Starbucks coffee stall was the place to be.

The highlight of the day however, was the two (incredibly cute) reindeers named Matti and Oslo, who were patted and fed to their hearts’ content.

Our huge thanks must be extended to the very many individuals who gave their time to make such a day possible, and, indeed, to the visitors themselves for helping the PTA to raise over £6000.

With rumours already circulating that discussions are taking place over a possible ice rink for next year, it seems that the 2013 PTA Winter Fair cannot come along fast enough.

We were simply overwhelmed with the response from the Year 8 girls and staff to our appeal for Shoeboxes containing ‘goodies’ to be sent to the troops in Afghanistan!

Some soldiers do not see any luxuries for quite some time and receiving these boxes makes them realise how much we value what they do. All the girls wrote short notes in their boxes and we

sent them off with our love and prayers for the troops safety and safe return. We were absolutely delighted later in the year to receive letters from the front line, thanking us for our efforts and it was clear that the boxes were very much appreciated.

The real highlight however, was when we heard from one soldier who was a Croydon High Old Girl! Imagine here surprise when she

opened up her shoe box to find it came from her old school.

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on 4th July 2013, Year 9 went on a much-anticipated trip to the

Harry potter Studios in Watford.

With wide eyes and poised cameras, we took a tour of the J and K studios, which included the Potions Classroom, the Knight bus, Privet Drive, and a scale model of Hogwarts.

We were given an insight into how the eight movies were put together, from design sketches to set pieces.

It was interesting to see how much thought and detail goes in to even five minutes of film.

Each costume was intricately sewn and aged; each set piece was perfect. We ambled over a section of Hogwarts Bridge and walked down Diagon Alley.

We all enjoyed this opportunity to look behind the big screen, and of course to experience a little of the wonderful world of Harry Potter.

A big thank you to Mme Orange, Mme Weston, Mrs Clarke, Miss MacDonald and Mrs Gower for taking us.

A Magical Trip to the Harry Potter Studios

Croydon High’s Maths Department is

triumphant! Every year girls across the school are given the opportunity to take part in various UKMT Maths Challenges and in 2013, as always, they have done the school proud.

The competitions (put on by the UKMT with the aim of advancing the education of young people in Mathematics) are complex as the girls are given only an hour to answer the paper with no calculator allowed.

In the Junior Mathematical Challenge (JMC), congratulations must go to the 32 girls in Year 7 and Year 8 who received certificates, two of which were gold. When considering that, of the 240,000 pupils who took part, only the top 6% were

rewarded gold certificates, it is possible to see just how well the girls did! In the Senior Mathematical Challenge (SMC), aimed at students in the Sixth Form, CHS is particularly proud of the 24 girls who were rewarded Bronze and Silver certificates.

Finally, following the results of the Intermediate Mathematical Challenge (IMC), congratulations must go to Caroline Ip, Philippa Baliman and Kira Pandya who won the ‘Best in Year’ certificates for Years 9, 10 and 11 respectively.

Further congratulations must also go to Kira Pandya and Philippa Baliman. As a result of their excellent scores in the IMC, they were invited to take part in the ‘Intermediate Mathematical Kangaroo’, where they were awarded

a Merit and a Participation certificate respectively. When considering that the paper is sat by pupils in over 30 countries, it is possible to see that Kira’s Merit result was no mean feat! Moreover, she did so well that she has been invited to attend the inaugural Mathematics Summer School for Girls at Balliol College, Oxford in August. Well done, Kira!

Finally Caroline Ip and Fariha Baba were invited to attend the Year 9 Mathematical Masterclass at the Royal Institution at the end of June whilst Katie Tomsett was invited to the Sixth Form equivalent in July.

CROYDON HIGH SCORES AGAIN IN THE UKMT MATHS CHALLENGES!

By Laura Baliman 9G

“It’s not our abilities that show us what we truly are, it is a our choices.”

Albus Dumbledore

This year has seen girls take on CREST Awards at Bronze, Silver

and Gold Levels.

The CREST Awards aim to develop creativity in science and the tasks undertaken by the girls have certainly done that. In Year 10, 19 girls worked on a Science in Sport project in which they had to use a range of analytical chemistry to develop a portable drugs testing kit that could be used to determine if an athlete had taken a banned substance.

Once their kits were complete, they had to be tested. Sixth Form girls took on the role of tester and, using the kits made by the year 10s had to test ‘urine’ samples from athletes to decide if they had cheated or not. Most kits proved to be workable and, with a little clarification to some of the instructions, could be used to accurately identify a drugs cheat.

In Year 12, eight girls are working towards their Silver Awards and one towards her Gold Award. These all involve research projects on a variety of topics, including various aspects of the brain, an insight into cancer and anti-wrinkle creams! These require a significant amount of work, including the use of a range of research techniques, and include discussions with external mentors. We are very grateful to Mr Peter Motteram and Dr Jennifer Keegan who have kindly given their time to support the girls.

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As we reach the end of this

academic year it is with real

sadness that we bid farewell to

a number of staff who are either

retiring or moving on to new

challenges. In the Junior School

Mrs Garrard, Mrs oatway and Mrs Cooper are all leaving after many

years of service to the school (a total

of 55 years’ service between them).

Mrs Garrard joined Croydon High in

1995 – or in Junior School language

approximately 6,570 sleeps ago!

Throughout those years she has

worked tirelessly with her Reception

classes and has made many other

contributions to the school such

as organising the Junior magazine,

putting up countless displays and

becoming a regular correspondent

with members of the Royal Family.

Her sense of humour is legendary

and for many, it is very hard to

imagine a Croydon High without

Mrs Garrard.

Mrs oatway has been a valued

teacher of Year 3 and, amongst

many other contributions, has instilled

a love of gardening in many girls

as a result of her club. She has also

been the art co-ordinator and has

had pupils successfully entering

competitions and having their work

displayed in London. According to

the Junior staff, in her twenty three

years at Croydon High, she has

inspired many less artistic members

of staff to approach Art lessons with

the same enthusiasm as she does.

Apparently, she has made painting

Holbein reproductions look easy!

Mrs Cooper has taught Year 1 very

successfully over the years and

along with numerous other services

to the school, as English co-ordinator,

she has invited many authors into

school to inspire the children in their

own writing. Her enthusiasm for this

subject particularly and her work

in maintaining and updating our

excellent library has undoubtedly

encouraged a real love of reading

and writing in many of her girls; a gift

that will always benefit them.

All three of them have given so much

to the school and generations of

Croydon High girls are very grateful

for their teaching and support as

they progressed through the Junior

School. The grounding that they have

given has equipped so many girls

for success in the Senior School and

beyond. We wish them well.

In the Senior School Madame orange, who joined the school in

1990, is retiring. Madame Orange has

also made a valuable contribution to

the school over the last 23 years as a

teacher of French, Head of Year and,

more recently, Head of French. She

has organised numerous trips, visits

and exchanges that have instilled a

love of French language and culture

in the many girls that have been

fortunate to be taught by her and

we are very grateful for her the huge

amount of work she has done over

the years.

Dr Wall is taking early retirement,

after a successful teaching career at

such schools as Trinity and

St. Dunstan’s College; he joined us at

the beginning of 2010 as Head

of Physics.

Mr Smith, teacher of ICT, moves on

to Tolworth Girls’ School to join a

larger department and broaden

his experience.

His leadership of various outdoor

activities such as the Duke of

Edinburgh Award and annual ski trips

has been greatly appreciated by the

girls and his instigation of Operation

Camp Out has added a valuable

additional element to our Year 5

to 7 programme.

HAPPY MEMORIES AND FOND FAREWELLS

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What has been your favourite moment of your time at Croydon High?

I would say that it was the events we ran to mark the International Year of Chemistry in 2011. Senior girls in Years 11-13 took part in a poster

presentation, where they researched different areas of chemistry. This was judged by a panel of experts in the world of chemistry. Following this was a series of seminars with post-graduate students and lecturers from universities such as Surrey and London. Being able to partake in independent research, meet real scientists and get everyone involved was a nice way to celebrate.

What challenges have you faced?

Helping students with their personal statements can be difficult at times,

as you want them to be the best they can be without having too much influence. However I have enjoyed being a sixth form tutor and will take that experience with me to my new job.

What will you miss the most?

There will be loads of things about Croydon High that I will miss. Seeing girls I have taught in the corridors still waving back at me and the community feel of Croydon High in general, there is genuine friendliness between the girls and the staff. I can honestly say that I enjoy coming to work every day.

What new experiences have you encountered?

I have been new to the CREST awards which I have thoroughly enjoyed introducing and also being a sixth form tutor, helping out with university applications by working together with the girls.

Both of these experiences I will carry with me to my new school.

And finally what advice would you give the girls?

RTQ2 (Read the question twice!)

Interview with Miss Egan-Smith

Miss egan-Smith joined the school in

2010 and has been a very successful

Head of Chemistry. She has set high

standards for the girls in the classroom

as well as organising numerous

activities that have inspired the girls

to regard Chemistry as a very real

career option. At a time when the

recruitment of girls into science has

proved a challenge nationwide she

has done so much to open up the

subject to all the girls here. She moves

on to the Royal Hospital School,

Ipswich as Deputy Head of Science

and I am sure that she will be very

successful in her new role.

Mr Feldman, Head of Economics

since 2011, has decided on a

change of career and we wish him

all the best for the future.

Our Chemistry technician, Mr Burke

has left us to return to his native

Ireland and take up a research post

– we thank him for his support.

Also, many thanks to Miss prior, who

has been teaching in the English

Department for the last two terms.

To all of them- every good wish for

the future.

Chairman of Governors, richard Crail retired at the end of this academic year and

his unswerving support and selfless commitment to the school will be greatly missed.

Mr Crail attended every school event, usually accompanied by his equally

dedicated wife Margaret and he did so with enthusiasm and seemingly with great

pleasure. He has given a huge amount to the school over his many years as a

Governor, and particularly in the last seven years as Chair. To mark his contribution

to the school’s history, the first Crail Award was made at this summer’s Lower

School Prizegiving.

This award, which will be made at three levels – bronze, silver and gold, will go to

girls who have shown outstanding commitment and service to the school, perfectly

reflecting the spirit of its namesake.

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What do you hope to do during your retirement? I have many plans; I’m going to have to sit down and prioritise them. My first plan is to walk the Saint-Jacques de Compostelle, which is a pilgrim route through Spain and France. I’ve already done three sections- not because I’m particularly Christian, but it’s a long distance walking path with a difference; there lots of people, it’s well sign-posted, and there’s good accommodation along the way. I’m going to start on the 20th of August and two months later - hopefully - I’ll arrive in Santiago de Compostela.

You meet lots of like-minded people on the walk so it’s always very interesting. Also not everyone speaks French so I get to practise a few different languages.

I’m really looking forward to it- I think I would find it hard to be here in September, with all my colleagues going back to school and hearing

all the news and not being a part of that. I’ve got to be elsewhere, I’ve got to be doing something.

So do you think you’ll miss Croydon High? Of course I will. I’ll miss all my smashing colleagues, the atmosphere in the staff room, and working with young people. Also the plays and concerts which are absolutely amazing. It’s going to be hard, but once I’ve walked the pilgrimage and made more plans I think it’ll be completely different- I’m excited.

Where are you originally from in France? I was born in Paris and grew up in the southern suburbs of Paris. It was quite a pleasant place to live. I had always wanted to live in Brittany and when I met my husband-to-be I had just moved there so my dream had come true! I didn’t stay there for very long before I moved to England to be with him. I abandoned my country and my family to come to England - but it was love!

Will you be spending more time with your family during your retirement? Yes, absolutely. My daughter lives in Berlin so I only get to see her a few times each year, for very short visits. That’s definitely one of the reasons why I’m retiring; to spend more time with her.

My son lives in Leeds and there again I’d like to see more of him and his wife - so I’m planning to reorganise my life!

Do you think you will learn another language? Certainly! I did a bit of Spanish, but forgot a lot of it because I didn’t keep it going, so I definitely want to work at that again next year. I’d love to do a language course of some kind in South America, then do some volunteering and possibly go to Machu Picchu!

What have your best memories been of CHS? That’s a difficult question as I have so many strong memories. One thing I am proud of was when we managed to get a team of about 60 girls and staff to run the Race for Life.

That for me was great. Another thing I’ll remember is the staff pantomime that we used to do every two or three years in the early days. It was quite tough; we had to have rehearsals before and after school and learn all our lines, but it was really good fun.

How do you think the school has changed in the time you’ve been here?

The school is smaller in size now; the intake has dropped a bit. The interior of the buildings looks amazing nowadays what with all the artwork around- I always feel that the school is a very vibrant place.

What did you do before you came to Croydon High? I’ve always been a teacher; in France and in England, and I worked in two English schools prior to coming to Croydon High. The majority of schools in France are mixed, so I taught in mixed schools there, and my first school in England was also mixed. The school I worked at before Croydon High was another all-girls school. I like teaching girls, but I have missed having boys around too now and again! It’s different. The school I went to was a huge lycée, which was obviously mixed, and there were eight forms in each year. I was there from year seven right till the end.

What made you want to study languages? I had a couple of very funny teachers. One of them was a tiny lady with a silly haircut, a bit like a coconut. I’ll never forget the day when, to describe what a screwdriver was, she reached into her bag and got a screwdriver out! We never did find out whether she always carried it or if it was just for the purpose of that lesson. But I’ve always liked languages.

My father wanted me to study Latin and Greek and teach those, but my heart was definitely with modern languages.

What do you hope your legacy will be at the school? Hopefully a love of languages, and also setting up the exchange program. I just hope that languages- and French in particular- will carry on. Girls are so lucky to be in this kind of environment and I hope all the girls really make use of the resources available to them here.

We wish Madame Orange the very best of luck for a happy retirement, although she will certainly be missed by all the girls and staff. Au revoir Madame, et Bonne chance!

Interview with Madame Orange, who is retiring this year by Katie Tomsett

How long have you worked at Croydon High? I realised last night it’s been twenty-three years! I don’t know

whether to be appalled or delighted!

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At Croydon High, we are lucky in that we get to know our classmates

and teachers on a personal level. The school community is often described as ‘close-knit’, but I feel that we don’t know much about some of the most important threads holding this community together. I’m talking, of course, about the office staff- those mysterious ladies who deal with all our crumpled cheques and permission slips, provide us with endless pads of paper and help us out when we’re not feeling great. So, I decided to find out a bit more about those “ladies in the office” and what they do to help keep the school running smoothly.

What is your job title and what does your job involve?

Mrs Roe: My job title is Reprographics and Ivy Link Alumnae Coordinator. Reprographics involves making programs, tickets and posters and my Ivy Link work involves keeping in touch with 8000 alumnae on the database and organising events - amongst many other things! I’ve been here nearly five years

Mrs Congram: I’m the Administration Assistant, and I deal with... well everything really! Stationery and stock orders, Reception, booking the hall, catering… everything!

Mrs Hurst: I’m Receptionist and School Administrator, which involves dealing with girls, parents and staff and helping them with their daily requests.

Ms Walker: My job title is Office Manager so I run the office and do the admin work for the senior leadership team and support work for teachers. I’ve been working here for three and a half years now.

What’s your favourite part of your job?

Mrs R: The Ivy Link- it’s wonderful hearing from all the old girls. Also, it’s great at reunions seeing old girls get together when they haven’t seen each other for years and years. Those are very happy occasions; very rewarding.”

Mrs C: The variety, I guess - I’ve been here since 1998- so quite a long time!”

Mrs H: The variety - and seeing the girls

and getting to know them, that’s a great part of my job. I love seeing them come in as Year 7s, when they’re all nervous, seeing them grow up into sixth formers, then seeing them come back and visit when they’re off at uni. It’s really lovely.”

I started here in 2001.

Where do you all live?

We all live locally and are all Croydon born and bred!

Do you have any children?

Mrs R: Two daughters, Emily and Holly. Emily’s just finished a year in America and is about to do her final year at Leeds, studying broadcast journalism. Holly is at Brighton Institute of Modern Music doing a degree in songwriting and artist development.

Mrs C: I have one daughter at Loughborough Uni studying Sociology- she absolutely loves it up there.

Mrs H: One son, William, who’s nearly 13.

Any pets?

Mrs R: Yes, a cat called Tobi. We thought she was a boy originally so had to change the spelling!

Mrs C: Two rabbits called Phoebe and Darcy. They live in my front room!

Mrs H: George, a cavalier King Charles spaniel and Bobo, a bichon frise who was a rescue dog. She’s only got only one ear; she came from a breeding farm, which is a really sad story.

Ms W: I have a dog called Luca, who’s a Bolognese. He’s six.

What was the last book you read?

Mrs R: A Good Light, written by a girl who went to Archbishop Tenison’s

Mrs C: 50 Shades of Grey - all three of them!

Ms W: Panic by Jeff Abbott, which is a thriller. I love thrillers.

What’s your favourite film?

Mrs R: The original Railway Children, because I have happy memories of going to see it at the cinema with my Dad. I must’ve been about eight.

Mrs C: I like action films, but my real favourite is Pretty Woman, just because it’s a fantasy - everyone would love that to happen to them. If only! It’s such a feel-good film.

Mrs H: Recently, I really enjoyed Life of

Pi, The Impossible and Les Mis - all brilliant and all so different.

Ms W: Probably Dirty Dancing.

Do you have any hobbies?

Mrs R: Photography, needlework and vintagey things and I spend far too much time looking on Pinterest!

Mrs H: I’m a DIY enthusiast, always doing work on my house. I also love gardening and being with my dogs.

Ms W: I like dog walking, and going to the gym - I’m a member at CHS so I go to a lot of the classes. I also like spending time with my nieces and nephews. I’ve got two nephews who are eight and three, and my niece is six months old. She’s gorgeous!

What is your favourite food?

Mrs C: I love Chinese food

Mrs H: I don’t have a favourite, but I don’t like fish. I’m into Nepalese cuisine at the moment, and I love the Gurkha Kitchen in Oxted.

What were your favourite subjects at school?

Ms W: English and French. After my CGSE’s I went to College and did a BTEC National in Travel and Tourism.

Mrs H: Drama, Art and English

Tell me an interesting fact about yourself?

Mrs R: I never made it to five foot!

Mrs H: I volunteer every week at a charity in South Croydon for disabled children called Waggy Tails. People take their dogs and the kids play with them. The children get a big confidence boost and make a lot of friends too.

Ms W: I once did a parachute jump. It was quite scary, to say the least!

Who’s your celebrity crush?

Mrs R: That would have to be Johnny Depp!

Mrs C: Rod Stewart- even though he’s old!

Mrs H: I like Johnny Depp too, he’s quite quirky and different.

Ms W: I’d probably say George Clooney.

What’s your favourite joke?

Ms W: What do you call a three legged donkey? (A wonky!)

Katie Tomsett finds out more about Life on the front line at Croydon High

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During the last academic year, I have been very privileged to be a part of the GO-ON programme.

We have been taught many interesting and diverse topics that we would not otherwise have had the opportunity to learn about. We studied topics that were relevant to current affairs such as the Israel and Palestine conflict, also women in classical literature and the topic of sleep.

Mr Feldman led a very interesting discussion on why some countries are rich and others are poor; I particularly enjoyed this as it was based on economics, which is not a subject available until

A level so it gave me an insight into what economics encompasses. Overall I have found GO-ON very informative and an exciting part of my extra-curricular activities. I would like to thank all of the teachers that gave up their free time to ensure that the GO-ON programme was such a success.

Hannah Marsden Y11

One of many interesting new initiatives at school is our school’s GO-ON (for girls

in years 10-13) and GO-BEYOND programme (years 6-9). Designed specifically

to stretch and inspire, these courses offer the girls an opportunity to learn about and

experience subjects not covered in the usual curriculum. Last year’s programme

included a trip to the London Coliseum to see Tosca and a debate about the impact of

The Beatles on pop music. The girls are introduced to the subjects and then encouraged

to go away to research, form their own opinions and present back to the group.

I think Go Beyond was a great success! We all

learned new and interesting things and shared our opinions and talents with the rest of the group.

My favourite Go Beyond session was the session about Russia. After being told some very interesting facts about Russia, we learned the alphabet and had to do a code cracking exercise

which was very amusing. After the session we were given our tasks, it was a very free exercise and we chose our groups and started to brainstorm ideas.

We decided that we would try to perform a Russian nursery rhyme, so we got practising. Caroline was playing the guitar and Fariha and I were singing and we even had a few harmonies!

We were amazed by the other peoples work, some people had created beautiful posters and others had created power points.

All of the students had tried their hardest and we definitely gained a lot more information and knowledge that day and throughout the course.

Thank you!

GO-ON

CARLOTTA MEYER GOES BEYOND

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Croydon High School, Old Farleigh Road, Selsdon, South Croydon CR2 8YB www.croydonhigh.gdst.net 020 8260 7500

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure accuracy throughout the magazine, we hope you will please forgive any minor errors.