Pupils have been spreading kindness in the LRC for Anti-Bullying Week (13-17 November).

The ‘Kindness Bingo’ aims to encourage kindness in and out of the classroom. Pupils can complete kind acts throughout the day and tick them off, or in the LRC. The pupils reflect on how it felt to be kind, and receive kindness.

Please read the wonderful poems below by some our pupils for Anti-Bullying Week:

Abi and Naomi
Year 7

Don’t bully.
It’s not right.
Just don’t.
There’s no need for a marauding fright.
You’re shooting peoples’ confidence away like dynamite…

Don’t bully.
It’s not healthy.
Just end it.
Your words are maiming others.
Just stop. Don’t cover up their wonders…

Don’t bully.
It’s not good.
Just stop.
Your anger diminishes joy
You need to learn, for you will destroy.

Don’t bully.
It’s not acceptable to.
Just quit it.
Your hatred bruises bodies
And it’s going to turn into a hobby…

I said stop.
Stop.
Bullying needs to come to an end.
Let’s work together, as a team, let’s all be friends.
So, reach out and just speak,
Because at last, it’s Anti-Bullying Week.

Mishika R
Year 7

Roses are red, rude words make me feel blue,
Why are you so mean, what have I even done to you?
What starts as a laugh,
Leads to a shove,
Your punches leave bruises,
And your cruel words leave scars,
You’re a bully,
A nobody,
Because you’re so insecure,
You will never beat me of that I am sure,
Next time you see me keep your words and hands to yourself,
I’m better than you,
What more can you do,
You have made me much stronger,
You matter no longer.

Evie T
Year 7

We hope the theme of kindness continues throughout the week and beyond.

Miss Rolle
Learning Resource & Innovation Hub Manager

^{Croydon High’s South Africa 2023 Netball and Hockey Tour squad}

Half term break saw 35 tourists head to South Africa for a netball and hockey tour. It all began with a morning meet at school on 17 October and a coach journey to Heathrow for an evening flight to Cape Town via Doha.

31 excited Year 11-Upper Sixth pupils and four staff arrived in Cape Town tired but excited for what lay ahead. A quick settling in to our hotel and we were off to a netball training session led by one of the top coaches in South Africa, who had recently been at the Netball World Cup 2023 Coaching Conference. A great start to the tour.

^{Ready for sun, safari and sport}

Training was in net courts, our first experience of Action Netball. Action Netball is played indoors, the courts are surrounded by netting to keep the ball in play at all times. The rules are similar to those of outdoor Netball, except that the nets become an integral part of the game. This was all very new for us all and added a lot of excitement to the training session and game we played later in the tour.

Ready, Steady, Action Netball

Next morning an early start saw us visit the Langa township which was a real eye-opener for many and brought home how fortunate we all are in comparison. The drumming session was fun and was followed by a tag rugby session with local school children. It was humbling to realise that some played in bare feet simply because they couldn’t afford footwear!

^{Playing tag rugby}

We were delighted to present the organiser and local children with lots of stationary and sport kit which we’ve heard has been used and all very well received.

^{Croydon High present the organisers and local children with their new kits and stationery}

Our first matches were played after this and although they were great games, the heat was something we would need to get used to as the temperature was up to 32 degrees!

^{Pupils playing Action Netball}

More matches the next day and new friendships were formed. Our opposition didn’t want us to leave and came on the coach to sing and teach us some Afrikaans!

A full day tour of the Cape Peninsular, including the Cape of Good Hope and the Penguin Colony was one of the highlights of the tour.

A cable car to the top of Table Mountain and more matches plus a hockey training session followed the next day, with a visit to the V&A Waterfront in the evening.

On Monday 23rd, we flew internally to Johannesburg to stay at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria. We were extremely fortunate to find the South African men’s hockey team staying in the same building as us, training and preparing to compete in the African Hockey Road to Paris 2024 Qualifier Finals. We are very pleased to add that they won the tournament and will be participating in next year’s Olympic Games. The team were kind enough to not only allow us to watch them training but also had photos taken with us and signed one of our tour t-shirts.

Matches here were particularly tough as the temperature reached 35 degrees and along with the higher altitude but everyone enjoyed the experience and played in some well contested games.

After each fixture, we all enjoyed post match functions with the opposition. It was lovely to chat and share stories with each other. It also gave us an opportunity to thank the hosts and present them with some gifts, which included the unique SA tour polo shirt designed by one of the tourists and was known as our ‘JJ’ top.

The trip ended with a well-earned rest at the wonderful Mabula Game Reserve where we had two early morning and two late afternoon Game drives, as well as time to relax around the pool! The tour finished with a little bit of shopping before flying from Johannesburg to Heathrow via Doha, arriving back at school mid afternoon on Sunday 29th October.

The tour was a tremendous success – the tourists experienced different styles of play and officiating in both hockey and netball; they made new friends and experienced a different culture. They also saw how some less fortunate live, work and play. The Game Reserve was undoubtedly a highlight and we were lucky enough to see lions, elephants, giraffe, buffalo, rhino, impala and warthog as well as other animals.

A massive thank you to go to all those who supported the various fundraising events prior to the trip. We would also like to thank both Jemca Toyota and Cinch who generously sponsored the tour. A special mention and thank you to The Winning Margin who worked so closely with the school in providing all the tour kit which has been admired by many. Congratulations also go to Jemima for her fabulous design of the ‘JJ’ top.

A wonderful tour which will be remembered for a long time. Special thanks to all the staff for all their hard work and organisation.

Mrs Sue Beck
Head of Community & PE Department

Our Year 10 GCSE Drama pupils performed ‘Othello’ at Rada Studio Theatre as part of the world famous Coram Shakespeare Schools Festival 2023. Their interpretation of the Shakespearean tragedy was a modern tale of warfare, love, jealousy, murder and grief. Using dramatic techniques such as ensemble work, multi-role, physical theatre and symbolism. We are incredibly proud of all their hard work in this wonderful production.

“The entire experience from the beginning was very fun. From auditions to rehearsals and piecing together a puzzle to produce the final outcome on Thursday night was amazing. As a company, we worked hard and it thoroughly paid off and thank you to everyone that made this and experience that we’ll never forget!”
Ava G

“I have enjoyed every single step of our journey into performing Othello. I have learnt countless skills such as teamwork and how to improve myself as an actor. If I had to choose one thing that I enjoyed most, it would probably be the whole process of putting the show together as it was amazing working with everyone and putting together a truly amazing performance.”
Vanessa B

“I have really enjoyed working with everyone as a cast to make Othello as great as we could. I have learnt many things like: how important it is to act even when you don’t have a line, to move downstage, to make entrances and exits as smooth as possible and how important it is to change how your character acts around other characters.”
Emily R

“Working on Othello has been an amazing journey and an unforgettable experience for me. From learning new abstract theatre techniques and expressing Shakespeare’s tragedy in a modern style to our first full rehearsal as a company and a great performance. It has given me a new confidence which helped me connect with my character and all the hard work we put in made our piece so unique and powerful.”
Poppy K

“I loved working on Othello as I gained so many new skills such as how to deepen my understanding of the character and how I can portray that on the stage. It also made me aware of things such as bringing my performance downstage and considering the proxemics to enhance the performance. Overall, I would definitely like to do this type of experience again as it helped me to gain more confidence and I loved working as one big team.”
Anjali B

Photos of dress rehearsal by Megan Blake Photography

Mrs Morgan-Collins
Head of Drama

Miss Phoebe Simmonds
Teacher of Drama & English

Adam Robinson is a writer, performer, theatre maker and workshop leader. He has over 10 years’ experience of running workshops for schools and art organisations. Some of his recent projects include: Belle & Mary (The Dukes Theatre, November 2021) and Smile Club (toured in 2020 and later turned into an audio series in 2022).

In the workshop we took part in a series of short and exciting tasks to generate some ideas, before going on to longer pieces of writing, which we were then encouraged to share with each other.

We then had an opportunity for questions at the end of the workshop. Adam said that “I first fell in love with ghost stories when I read the Point Horror series.” When asked what advice he has for pupils facing a creative writing task in an exam, he said; “When faced with any writing task, try to think of a clear beginning, a middle and an end which can help you to structure any kind of piece; also try to start with an intriguing first sentence. Writing in a distinct genre style can also help.”

The workshop gave me an opportunity to write something in a genre that I was not previously familiar with beforehand. I came away from the workshop inspired to try out writing/reading books from the ghost story genre, and explore other genres that are new to me.

Adam is heading to Canada this winter, to take up a month-long residency with his latest play: we wish him all the best!

Do you want to snuggle up with some ghost stories this Autumn? Adam recommends: A warning to the curious by M.R James and E. Nesbit.

Jorjah W 
Year 10

On Tuesday 14 November, girls in Year 8 and upwards studying French got the chance to watch a French play – Une leçon d’art. The play was about 5 students in an art lesson, without a teacher. One student has the key, but pretend they don’t to teach a mean boy a lesson. We thought it was very interactive and we all understood more than we thought we would, it was great! We all learnt the word ‘vortex’ in French, which is a cognate.

Emily I
Year 9

Year 6 students immersed themselves in the exploration of Buddhism during a visit to the Buddhist Centre in South Croydon. The day included mindfulness meditation, engaging discussions on The Buddha’s history and enlightenment, insights into Buddhist teachings and practices, and concluded with another serene meditation session.

Ms Nathanael
Year 6 Teacher
Science Co-ordinator

On Monday, I was lucky enough to be invited to the GDST school council event. Students from GDST schools across the country attended to discuss a range of topics which were relevant to all of us. The day started with insight into how the Trust’s Marketing team operates behind the scenes – with Steph Coyne and Sam Raybourne. We were given the opportunity to voice our perspective, as students, on how the GDST should promote their schools. We were then given time to network with guests and other students. Later in the afternoon, (after a great lunch and personalised biscuits!) a workshop was run to help us identify what type of individuals we are. During this, we were able to use an interactive psychometric testing tool which showed which of four coloured personalities we resonated with. I found out that I was a mix of red and blue, meaning that I am competitive and strong-willed – whilst also being a logical thinker.

Overall, this experience has helped me to gain a better understanding of my character and allowed me to connect with other students within the GDST family.

Gaji M
Upper Sixth

Dame Marion Roe, DBE, Class of 1954

Dame Marion Audrey Roe DBE became Member of Parliament for Broxbourne from 1983 until 2005. She was a junior environment minister in the 1980s and chaired the Health Select Committee and the Administration Committee during her 22 years in the House of Commons. She was also joint vice-chairman of the 1922 committee. Before entering Parliament, she served as a Bromley councillor and spent nine years on the Greater London Council. She was awarded the Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2004 Queen’s Birthday Honours List for her services to Parliament.

When Dame Marion stepped down from Parliament, she did not put her feet up or slow down but continued to help, support and make a difference daily in people’s lives. She established the Dame Marion Roe Young Citizen of the Year award, part of the annual Broxbourne Youth Awards celebrating the achievements of young people from the borough of Broxbourne. In 2010, she became chair of the trustees of the National Benevolent Fund for the Aged after the death of Winston Churchill (grandson of the former prime minister).

Dame Marion founded and launched the Roe Speaking Project, a mentoring and public speaking programme developed to help candidates overcome public speaking anxiety.

She is the Chairman of the National Council for Child Health and Wellbeing, a voluntary organisation she created, bringing together more than 50 professional groups focused on improving the health and welfare of children and young people across the UK. The NCCHW identifies current issues causing concern in the media or within Parliament and lobbies for positive improvements for children and young people’s health and welfare.

Dame Marion is Patron of the Hospices of Hope Charity. They started the Hospice Movement in Romania, Albania, Serbia and Moldova. Hospices of Hope is the only UK charity dedicated to supporting the development of palliative and end-of-life care in South and East Europe.

She is an Honorary Fellow of Capel Manor College who has helped thousands of school leavers and adults achieve their dream of working with animals, plants and the environment. As London’s only environmental college, they play a vital role in the green agenda for the capital, equipping the next generation of land-based sector workers with the skills and knowledge needed to help preserve and protect London’s wildlife, national parks and green spaces.

Dame Marion told us,

“When I was at Croydon High School, I never imagined for a moment that I would go into politics. I was already a member of the Young Conservatives but never thought I would get to a much higher level. When one was interested in something at school, they encouraged the ambition they gave support, which helped me enormously in later life. After I had my three children, I started a new career middle-aged, in politics. When I arrived in the House of Commons in 1983, there were only 23 women from all parties out of a total of 650 members, just 23 women! Croydon High taught me that it’s there; go and find it; you can make it… I think that it is important never to retire. One must keep the brain working and undertake roles that benefit others.”

What great advice and what a great role model. Thank you, Dame Marion.

Mrs Karen Roe
Alumnae Relations Manager

Dear All

Re: Harvest Donations 2023

Once again, we write to thank all those involved in donating food to us this year.

This ongoing support helps us provide food parcels to families who are struggling to make ends meet. They are often referred to us by Social Services, G. P’s, and other such professional support agencies.

If any of the girls would like to come and see where and how their donations are distributed, we would be happy to arrange this. (We could facilitate 2 pupils)

We always like to give feedback and so far, this year we have distributed over 2,550 parcels. Once again, a heartfelt thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Mary Russell-Redman
Community Support

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