Leadership Likes: Mrs Webb
This week, Mrs Webb comments on the many benefits of our annual Sixth Form Fashion Show.
Read MoreWeekly News
Find out what is happening at Croydon High this week.
This week, Mrs Webb comments on the many benefits of our annual Sixth Form Fashion Show.
Read MoreSo much more than a Fashion Show!
The Croydon High Sixth Form Charity Fashion Show is a staple of the school calendar and has been for many, many years. In fact, a recent visitor to the school, who was touring the Junior School but came for a whistle-stop visit to the Seniors, noticed the catwalk was up in the Hall and coyly remarked that, as a former pupil at Croydon High herself, she had met her husband to be at the Sixth Form Fashion Show!
Managed and masterminded by our inspiring Head Girl Team (Yasmin, Eleanor, Varjitha and Amelia), the Fashion Show is an outstanding example of the energy and enthusiasm our pupils bring to everything they do. The originality and creativity of each catwalk, each dance routine and every musical contribution is testament to their determination to deliver a highly entertaining and enterprising event to our community.
It is also a glorious opportunity for us to celebrate the diversity of culture within our school community. Highlights of the event are always the breathtakingly beautiful Bollywood and Afghan dances, the culture catwalk and, this year especially, Aaravi and Gaji’s Indian classical fusion dance. It is so uplifting to see pupils representing some of our different cultures, leading and teaching their peers about the complexities and the significance of these traditional dances. The Whitgift boys deserve a special mention for their involvement here; they looked magnificent!
And at the forefront of all this is our pupils’ understanding of the opportunity they have to affect positive change. Eloise and Jess, our Charity Prefects, spoke eloquently about the outstanding work of Great Ormond Street Hospital and SmartWorks, the charities which will benefit from our Fashion Show this year. GOSH is an organisation that provides such wonderful support and one that has a personal connection with a family in the school, which always makes the fundraising feel so much more personal. SmartWorks, a local charity which offers practical support to women entering the workplace, was introduced to our school at last year’s National Council for Young Women’s Conference, created and delivered by our Conference and Womens’ prefects, Amy and Sofia, which clearly captured the hearts of our pupils. Having spoken to our sixth formers, their understanding of these charities’ impact and their desire to support them drives their determination to make the event the outstanding success it has always been.
It also leaves a legacy for our younger pupils. Hearing various corridor conversations this week from pupils in Years 10 and 11 about “when we run the fashion show, our theme could be….” and “wouldn’t it be brilliant to have a teacher’s catwalk” demonstrates how inspiring our sixth form pupils are to the lower years, something they often forget as they make the journey upstairs to the Sixth Form common room.
Our sixth formers were quick to share with me their reflections on the event this week, and are maturely analysing the outcomes. From running large scale rehearsals with their peers, organising and managing the boundless energy of the boys from Whitgift, running the backstage area, designing and operating lighting and sound and liaising with a host of teachers in support of the event, these are all unique opportunities to gain valuable management experience and to hone the essential skills they are developing throughout their time in Sixth Form.
And as always, our staff come out in force in support of the efforts of our pupils. Mrs Beck (and Mr Beck!) running front-of-house, Mr Mooney advising on technical issues, the site team building the stage and all those supervising backstage, co-ordinated by Mrs Gower, remind us of how our community always comes together at these times.
Many of our sixth formers commented on how the stress experienced in the lead up to the event, was overshadowed by the thrill of the outcome! As someone who loves “the smell of the greasepaint and the roar of the crowd” myself, I can relate! When each night the performers had in excess of 200 audience members cheering, whooping and clapping them from the opening bars of music to the closing party dance of the finale, it certainly makes it all worthwhile!
Mrs Webb
Assistant Head (co-curricular)
Class of 1992’s Kirsty Walker is UCL’s new Vice-President (External Engagement). This followed a successful and wide-ranging career in political communications and journalism, including spending nearly 13 years as a political correspondent based in Westminster.
During her reporting career, she covered many world-changing events and travelled with successive British Prime Ministers reporting from places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, the White House and the Kremlin. Kirsty is an experienced broadcaster and has appeared as a political commentator on BBC, ITV, Sky and LBC.
After leaving journalism, she worked for Westminster-based communications agency iNHouse Communications before joining the civil service as Head of Strategy and Communications and then Secretariat Director for the Social Mobility Commission alongside former chair the Rt Hon Alan Milburn. She joined UCL in June 2018 to lead media relations and develop the university’s senior political engagement strategy, including setting up a new public affairs team in 2021.
Kirsty’s mother told us, “I think her achievements are a huge credit to the rounded and excellent education she received at Croydon High School.”
We were delighted to welcome Kirsty back to Croydon High several years ago to speak to our Sixth Form students. She gave a fascinating insight into the world behind the television reports and the newspaper articles.
Mrs Roe
Alumnae Relations Manager
This week in assembly, we gathered to celebrate the 150th birthday of the GDST.
Read MoreThis morning we gathered together across the junior and senior school to mark the 150th birthday of the GDST. During our assembly we had inspiring talks from Ms Davies, Mrs Raja and our CEO, Cheryl Giovannoni, who explained that the GDST was first established to offer education to girls, whose ‘education’ at that point amounted to developing the skills that would make them a good wife, such as how to make a doily or look after their husbands!
We heard stories of inspirational women from both inside and outside of the GDST and considered how grateful we feel for the opportunities our own education now offers, where our girls can learn without limits and become the change makers the world is waiting for. At Croydon High we are proud to be part of this powerful network that has always championed equality and opportunity and look towards our own 150th birthday in 2024.
Mrs Lee
Marketing & Communications Manager
Croydon High pupils promoted positive messages during Anti-Bullying Week.
Read MoreThis week Croydon High has been celebrating Anti – Bullying week by promoting the theme of ‘Reach Out.’ Pupils have spent time in PSHE lessons reflecting on the significance of this message, along with understanding the effects and impact of bullying. Many pupils have created fantastic presentations on this topic, including poetry, songwriting and drama pieces. We hope pupils across all year groups have enjoyed promoting this positive message and will continue to reach out to others in the future.
Miss Krause
Head of PSHE
Junior School welcomed Illustrator William Grill to assembly this week.
Read MoreOur junior pupils were very pleased to welcome William Grill for an assembly and Y3 and Y4 workshops. William is a Bristol based author and illustrator whose main interest lies in narrative illustration and publishing. He draws most of his inspiration from the natural world. His first book Shackleton’s Journey won the 2015 Kate Greenaway award and is Year 3’s book study in English. His second book, The Wolves of Currumpaw won the 2016 Bologna Ragazzi prize for non-fiction.
William guided our pupils to develop charcoal line sketches of huskies, people and polar landscapes representative of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s epic Endurance expedition.
‘We expressed our feelings through charcoal’ – Tegan Y3
‘The best part of the day was drawing the husky dogs which would have gone on the Endurance ship’ – Deniz Y3
‘I was really inspired by Will as I want to be an artist when I am older’ – Audrey Y4
‘A book is not just what you read but also what you see’ – Suhani Y5
‘A picture is worth a thousand words!’ Lotti Y5
‘His work shows his love of art, it was inspirational’ – Rosie Y5
For further information about William’s work: https://williamgrill.co.uk/
Mrs Bower
Year 5 Class Teacher
This exciting programme brought together five outstanding experts who took students on a journey through the astonishing world of Biology. They were taken on tour of the causes, effects, and treatments of Huntington’s Disease, learned the amazing science behind gene technology and discovered how to stop a heart attack! Students also received tips on exam and revision techniques.
Mrs James
Teacher of Biology & STEM Universities Coordinator
On Tuesday, 15th November, a Mock Trial was conducted by the people attending the co-curricular club, Mock Trial Society. Over the course of the last half term, we have put together a trial with witnesses, lawyers and magistrates. We were given an outline of the case, and the defence and prosecution began questioning. Each witness was questioned and had to memorise their statement to really get into the spirit of being in a court trial setting. The solicitors and lawyers did their best in order to prove to the magistrate (similar to a jury but for low-level cases). On the day, a lawyer came online to speak with us about how to get into Law and how Law is a good fit for certain types of people. The final verdict of our case was guilty; however, the case that ours was modelled after found the defendant innocent. All in all, it was a great time, and it taught us how a Magistrates’ Court operates and how the English justice system works.
by Ava H-K, Farrah and Tilly C
This week has been about excitement, reality and a little bit of shock….in a good way!
Read MoreRather wonderfully, our UCAS applications have been going in and offers have been received with regularity providing reassurance, happiness and comfort to our Upper Sixth students. Just as excitingly, the Oxbridge and Medical Interview invitations have begun to arrive this week too. Upper Sixth students have had opportunities to prepare for these in the last academic year, and we’ve been busy setting up interview opportunities since the beginning of this year. Now that the stakes are higher, student feelings around the interview process have papably sifted. Suddenly it isn’t such a distant event that can be greeted with an air of nonchalance and the luxury of time; it’s real, it’s soon, and it matters.
Michelle Obama says it best, “there is no magic to achievement. It’s really about hard work, choices and persistence.” I’m pleased to say that the Lower Sixth students seem to be walking down that path. Lower Sixth students were given a bit of shock this week with hard deadlines and tools for decision making around their future. I’ve seen them working away in the Sixth Form Suite researching and discussing their future options with an air of excitement mixed with trepidation, ensuring that they are fully informed of the choices that lie ahead. They’ve also been meeting me this half of term and walking away armed with plans to help them take the next important steps in the story of their future.
The Year 11s were not spared shock this week either when learning about the realities of the world of work. Confronted with recent real life examples, they were shocked to discover that the fight for women in the workplace is not yet complete. Over the past few years, it has often surprised me that there appears to be a belief amongst members of the younger generation that gender equality is largely sorted and that there is not much work left to be done, therefore coasting is now an option. It is not. It is clear that accepting less is not an option, and it starts with academic performance and engagement at school. They have been set the challenge of putting their best foot forward over the coming fortnight with a skills task that will be both testing and insightful, and I look forward to seeing the results.
Dr Lakha-Kassam
Head of Progression and Futures
Season 2 Episode #6 (The Yorkshire Shepherdess) –Emmy Award-winning investigative journalist and GDST alumna Ramita Navai has reported from conflict zones including Syria, Afghanistan and Iran. She joins us to share insights into her undercover work, her book about the constraints of everyday life in Iran, City of Lies, her experiences as a female reporter – and why she would still recommend her profession to budding journalists.
Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast.
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.