Leadership Likes: Mr King
Mr King considers the importance of balance when it comes to instant or deferred gratification and realises that Croydon High pupils enjoy the best of both
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Find out what is happening at Croydon High this week.
Mr King considers the importance of balance when it comes to instant or deferred gratification and realises that Croydon High pupils enjoy the best of both
Read MoreMy resolution for this New Year is quite firmly to make no resolutions, promises or pledges as we start 2023. Not in January anyway. Instead, following a period where many of us may have indulged in good food, recreation time, travel or presents, I found myself thinking about the concept of delayed gratification.
Our pupils “landed” back into school life with mock exams, but also inspiring lessons, new clubs, practices, rehearsals and the prospect of visits from famous authors, trips to exciting places, and (joy of joys) on Monday, some of them will be watching a boy band in school! With so much on offer, delayed gratification is a tough concept to demonstrate at Croydon High School, I thought.
However, to take a different view, there are many instances where our pupils are expected to “wait” for their rewards, which can be a challenging concept as they grow up in a modern world where driving down waiting time is often a key performance indicator. I’m reminded of the hedgerow planted last year, whose impact will develop over the course of years. The Junior school bees are buzzing and, we hope, happy, but our younger pupils will have to wait a year before we will be enjoying any honey.
Other projects which take time to develop are not hard to find. I have always loved the collage of eyes peering out from the artwork which hangs outside my office. It was produced as a result of pupils submitting their own interpretation of a pair of eyes, inspired by what was the focal point of our interactions during mask-toting, covid times. As they worked on them individually at the time, pupils had no idea how their artistic efforts would combine with that of others to create something so striking and thought provoking.
The Astrogazers Club members have been patiently waiting for their opportunity to launch a space balloon; the moment edges ever nearer but as they tick off the days of the calendar they know the hours of preparation and planning will make lift-off even sweeter. Similarly, the Sports Tour to South Africa in October will be the highlight of some 30 or so pupils’ year, no doubt, but they will still have to earn it through training and fundraising efforts between now and then. In fact, there are a myriad of trips taking off which will have been on the “back burner” but are coming around soon. The cities of Naples, Bonn, Paris, Berlin, Madrid and Barcelona are also all due to welcome Croydon High School pupils over the coming months. Waiting through the covid years has certainly taught us to appreciate the many opportunities to travel, to interact and to collaborate that we perhaps took for granted before.
So it would seem, in the possibly bleak January times, that there are plenty of daily activities to occupy the pupils at school, and opportunities for delayed gratification too. And for those who like to do so…..only 346 days to go!
Mr King
Deputy Head (Pastoral)
This week’s Alumnae Spotlight looks at the fascinating career of Sarah Bolt (Black), Class of 1991
Read MoreSarah Bolt Class of 1991
Sarah has worked in the agricultural sector for over 25 years, having graduated with a BSc in Agriculture (University of London). Latterly she was heavily involved with engaging farmers to drive change on farms.
Sarah studied for an MSc in Animal Behaviour (University of Exeter) graduating in 2014. Her dissertation looked at the effects of social contact on the health and production of dairy calves. Her work was cited, amongst others, in the decision of a well-known supermarket to ban rearing calves in single pens, instead promoting the benefits of pair or group rearing on health and welfare.
In 2017, Sarah joined Kingshay who are specialists in providing independent and practical support to farmers throughout the UK. She is responsible principally for writing technical publications and dealing with technical queries. More recently, Sarah has started studying Holistic Management and hopes to become an accredited professional in due course to help enable farmers to regenerate their soils. Her role continues to build on her passion for motivating and inspiring change on farms for a profitable, sustainable future.
Sarah describes her proudest achievement as being a co-founder of “Women in Dairy”, designed to bring women working across the industry together to connect, share and inspire, through regional discussion groups for knowledge exchange, networking and promoting the dairy industry. Sarah sits on its steering committee, organising the annual conference (going into its 9th year), training facilitators, and driving the organisation forward.
Sarah is heavily involved in her community group, bringing together a quarterly newsletter and co-leading the eco-group, running events such as bat walks and bird box cleaning. In her spare time, Sarah is most likely to be found in the great outdoors, either gardening or walking the many footpaths of the southwest.
Inspired by farm holidays in Devon and Cornwall as a young child, Sarah told us she was adamant that she wanted a career in agriculture. She studied Geography, Biology & Chemistry at A level at Croydon High, which gave her an excellent all-round grounding for her future studies. Sarah suggests that her A-level Geography project looking at the effect of sheep grazing on chalk grassland was perhaps a little ahead of its time. Ecological surveying is only just making its way into farming practices.
Sarah is another representative of the diversity of passions of a Croydon High alumna!
Mrs Roe
Alumnae Relations Manager
On the last day of the Autumn term, the whole school enjoyed the highlight of the Christmas season at Croydon High: THE HOUSE TALENT SHOW!
There were a range of fabulous acts which included people from all year groups- pupils from every year got involved! The group acts from each House were particularly enjoyable for the school to watch. Seacole performed a unique song, Garrett delivered a Christmas sketch, and Evans put on an enthusiastic version of songs from the Nativity movie. The winners of the group acts were Curie, who wowed the crowd with a dance “mash-up”
Some highlights of the event were year 11 Maddy’s beautiful rendition of a Rihanna song, a magic skit from L6 Maddie, Ambreen and Talia and the fastest solving of a rubix cube that we have ever seen!! Some of our Lower 6th Drama Students choreographed a group dance for the whole school finale, (complete with guest dinosaurs!) which everyone really enjoyed and lifted the Christmas spirits before we broke up for the holidays!
The overall winners of the Talent Show were the Garrett band comprised of Sianna, Juliana and Vania from year 10, singing Alicia Keys. The Prefect Choice winner was also from Garrett – U6 Olivia singing Billie Eilish’s ‘No time to die’.
A huge well done to all performers as the end of term was so much fun! Congratulations to the winners, your performances were amazing. And it was fantastic to have a House Talent Show for the first time since 2019.
Jess and Talia, L6
Critically acclaimed author, journalist and TV presenter Candice Brathwaite will be visiting us next week!
Read MoreWe are looking forward to a visit from Candice Brathwaite next Friday 20th January 2023.
Candice Brathwaite is a critically acclaimed author, journalist and TV presenter whose first book made it onto The Sunday Times bestseller list. Candice will be discussing her first Young Adult novel Cuts Both Ways, which was published in August. You can also listen to Candice’s recent Raise Her Up podcast that was recorded earlier this term where she talks about her writing, self-belief, growth and the importance of male allyship.
We are looking forward to what promises to be an inspirational day.
Mrs Lee
Marketing & Communications Manager
As the Autumn term drew to a close, it was time for another Year 11 social event to celebrate all that had been achieved during the term. We gathered in the common room to play a range of games, including Guess Who?; an alternative version of Musical Chairs, which involved cards and not always sitting where one should(!); and the cereal box game, which was a real test of flexibility, focus and determination – it was hilarious to watch! Christmas tunes were, of course, sung along to and festive treats enjoyed. It will certainly go down as a social to remember!
Many thanks to the form captains and the tutors for their help in making sure the holidays got off to a flying start.
Mrs Tooke
Head of Year 11
We have received this letter from the Children's Hospital Pyjama Charity
Read MoreDear Sue,
Apologies that this letter is late, things were very chaotic before we left for the Christmas holidays and we have just returned to the office today.
I wanted to send a personal thank you, to you and your team for all your hard work supporting our charity again this year. It is so nice to be able to build relationships with local schools and have them support the charity on a regular basis. Without the kindness of people like you our charity would be nothing. We receive no government funding and rely solely on donations of pyjamas and financial donations from schools, community groups, local businesses and other charities.
It is exciting to hear of your creative ideas on ways to help raise funds and pyjama donations on our behalf, I hear the movie night went down well.
We truly appreciate your support. Thank you for believing in what we do and supporting our work.
Best Wishes
Charmaine Green
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Mrs Beck
Head of Community
With energy prices soaring to their highest point ever, the cost of heating our homes has become a growing concern for millions of people in the UK, some of whom face the difficult choice of heating or eating.
Shocking recent predictions have shown that 16.4 million individuals are now facing the effects of fuel poverty. With the chill of winter still affecting the UK, support from local communities is more important than ever.
To try and combat these issues, new ‘Warm Hub’ initiatives have been set up around the country this winter. These hubs are intended to be free accessible and friendly communal places where local people can spend time socialising with others, whilst keeping safe and warm. The addition of these warm hubs will hopefully help to reduce the cost of heating homes for those facing extreme fuel poverty in the coming months.
One such hub has been set up at Selhurst Park, home of Crystal Palace Football Club. The club and Palace for Life Foundation are working together to invite local seniors over the age of 65 to enjoy free hot meals and drinks every week.
Steve Parish – Crystal Palace Chairman – stated on behalf of the organisers, “We recognise that many in the community may be concerned about rising food and energy costs, but hopefully these sessions will provide guests the chance to switch their heating off for a few hours and enjoy a warm, friendly atmosphere, some hot food and the opportunity to socialise with others.”
Many church organisations, libraries and community groups are providing support to warm hubs, welcoming all members of the community, both young and old. If you live in Croydon, you can find out about warm hubs near you by visiting the website below.
Warm Spaces directory | Croydon Council
Suraya, Year 10
All girls in the Junior School from Years 2 to 6 took part in the Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge.
Read MoreThe Bebras Computing Challenge introduces computational thinking to students. It is organised in over 50 countries and designed to get students all over the world excited about computing.
Well done to Deniz from Year 3 and Arrietty from Year 4 for achieving the Best in School scores in their respective categories.
In addition, Anaisa, Samaira and Rohaab from Year 6 were among the top 10% achieving students in the UK Bebras Challenge and therefore they have been invited to take part in a new challenge which aims to help talented computational thinkers develop by challenging them to solve tasks with programmed solutions.
A huge well done to all the girls.
Mrs M Krishnamurthy
Enterprise Technology Teacher
A global phenomenon that has wowed audiences for decades, Jesus Christ Superstar is a timeless work set against the backdrop of an extraordinary series of events but seen through the eyes of Judas Iscariot.
The story, told entirely through song, explores the personal relationships, and struggles between Jesus, Judas, Mary Magdalene, his disciples, his followers, and the Roman Empire. The iconic 1970s rock score contains such well-known numbers as “Superstar,” “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” and “Gethsemane.”
Originally released as a concept album, the show opened on Broadway in 1971 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre. The original London production ran for over eight years. By the time it closed, after 3,358 performances, it had become the longest-running musical in West End history at that time.
Free tickets go on General Release Thursday 19 January at 4pm.
After a lovely and restful holiday and break, it’s been back to school with a bang.
Read MoreThe Upper Sixth are taking their Mocks and simultaneously battling interviews for University as well as Apprenticeships. The resolve, focus and determination has been nothing short of admirable. In addition, all students are now in a position of receiving most, if not all of their offers, and the final tranche will trickle through in the coming months. So on Wednesday of next week, we’ll be starting our discussions about Firm and Insurance options.
The Lower Sixth have handed in the very first draft of their Personal Statements and have had to make firm decisions about their future. In the coming weeks we’ll be launching the Oxbridge group and our year-round Pathways groups will capture, steer and guide every subject-based application alongside personalised input from me.
Simultaneously, I’m now making the rounds through the younger years of the Senior School and working with Ms Krause to deliver PSHE sessions that are career and future focussed. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and working with the enthusiastic Year 7s and I very much look forward to meeting the Year 8s next week.
This week also saw the GCSE Options Parents’ Evening for the Year 9s where discussions were had regarding GCSE choices. It was a pleasure to meet all of these students too and I look forward to guiding them through their choices alongside other Personal Progression Advisors and the Senior Leadership Team. Some students were decisive in their decision making, some prevaricating and some somewhere in between. However, each student should feel a great deal of comfort from the knowledge that they will be suitably supported through the first big decision that they will make of many in the years to come.
Finally, and as if traversing the whole school wasn’t quite enough, next week will see the launch of our Skill Up initiative which will get going with gusto after the February half-term. So watch this space!
It really has been all go in this department with plenty of excitement, discussions and planning for the wonderful future ahead.
Dr Lakha-Kassam
Head of Progression and Futures
This fortnight on Raise Her Up is activist, campaigner and educator, Laura Coryton. You may recognise her name as the woman we have to thank for the abolition of the tampon tax. Laura started a petition to address the issue of VAT on period products after discovering the gender imbalance in our taxation system which unfairly penalises women. She went on to deliver her petition of 200,000 signatures to Downing Street, and has since seen her campaign successfully culminate in the abolition of tax on period products. Since then, she has established her charity Sex Ed Matters, which delivers Relationship and Sex Education to schools, and has published a book, Speak Up!, to encourage young people to get involved in activism to make a fairer society.
Listen to the podcast HERE
Our School Minibus service offers an efficient and flexible option designed to help families with journeys to and from school. Minibus travel is offered to pupils in Year 3 and up.
The service is managed on our behalf by Vectare, a specialist school transport management company. All bookings for our school bus routes are made via our online booking system, which can be accessed at croydonhigh.vectare.co.uk.
The website allows you to book travel 24/7 from anywhere, meaning that if you need to leave early for work one morning or are running late and you would like one of our students to travel on a school bus as a one off, you can make a booking right up until the route is due to depart. Payment for the school bus service is made at the time of booking, so there is no need for pupils to carry cash.