In one way or another, every week I meet pupils, teachers, and parents who are united in a desire for strong academic progress and ultimately, excellent outcomes. A crucial part of ensuring that progress and outcomes are maximised is the feedback that pupils receive on the work they complete in class, and at home. It is right to acknowledge that pupils spend a lot of time completing their work, and parents spend a similar amount of time ensuring that work is done! Recognising this, teachers devote significant amounts of their time to preparing feedback in the hope that it will mean that the next piece of work pupils produce demonstrates improvement (whatever that means for the subject and age range). It is perhaps unsurprising, then, that all parties are prone to frustration when progress or outcomes do not improve as expected.

One of the things we notice, repeatedly, is that pupils do not actively seek to close any gaps in their knowledge, skills or understanding as identified in the feedback they receive. Consequently, teachers end up providing the same feedback which means that progress—especially in outcome terms—can falter. One of the ways we have sought to overcome this is to provide pupils with one of the most precious commodities we have: time.

Our Austin’s Butterfly initiative—named after a famous educational study of one pupil’s progress in drawing a butterfly in light of the feedback they were given—seeks to provide pupils with the time and space in lessons or through PREP (our name for homework) to respond, directly, to teacher feedback by redrafting a section of their work. The main aim of what teachers are trying to do in this process—to paraphrase the thinking of Professor Dylan Wiliam—is not to improve a particular piece of work, though there will be times when this happens, and necessarily so. Instead, they are trying to improve the pupil themselves in a way which will lead to stronger outcomes for them in the future. It will also give them an ability to access these stronger outcomes with increasing independence and confidence across their learning.

Against this backdrop, this term we have begun scrutinising our marking and feedback policy to ensure its impact is maximised: importantly, marking and feedback are connected but not the same. Our adapted approach will be underpinned by three main principles:

 Feedback will be:

Meaningful: feedback should serve a single purpose, advancing progress and outcomes in subsequent work. Different forms of feedback will be appropriate in different situations, and the teacher should judge this.

 Manageable: feedback should be delivered in the ways which are most efficient for pupils and teachers. It is up to departments to devise an effective, achievable programme of marking, which balance the needs of pupils and teachers.

Motivating: feedback should help motivate pupils to progress in future work. This doesn’t mean only writing in-depth or positive comments. Pupils should be expected to check their work before they hand it in and should be taught the success criteria for a task (in an age-appropriate way).

As indicated above, you will notice over the coming term that we will actively diversify the feedback provided to pupils beyond written teacher comments to include the following range of approaches which will provide a strong ‘recipe for future action’ (to quote Prof. Wiliam, again).

Types of feedback will include:

• Instant feedback – at the point of teaching.
• Verbal feedback – in the lesson and face-to-face.
• Whole-class feedback – having read pupils’ work, the teacher will give verbal or written feedback on common mistakes, misconceptions, and areas for improvement as well as strengths. These notes should inform a taught Austin’s Butterfly activity.
• Austin’s Butterfly- based on whole-class and/or personalised feedback. This involves an activity that enables pupils to act on their feedback and achieve/know how to meet the targets set.
• Summative feedback – tasks planned to give teachers definitive feedback about whether a pupil has securely mastered taught material.

Underpinned by the principles and processes above, our teachers will still be providing the same excellent feedback which enables pupils to hone their knowledge, skills and understanding. However, it will be done with much more variety and with an emphasis on future action in the service of improving the pupil, rather than a particular piece of work. Why? Because we want to induct every one of our pupils into the guild of understanding in each subject that will serve them well during their time at school, and long after it.

Dr P Purvis
Deputy Head (Academic)

Charlotte Clapperton Class of 2018

We were delighted to hear that Charlotte has recently started her master’s degree in Voice and Opera Performance at the Royal College of Music, studying with Dinah Harris and Bryan Evans. This follows four years at the Royal Academy of Music, where she gained a First-Class Honours in Voice and Operatic Studies, a massive achievement as it is so rare that a school leaver is invited onto this highly competitive course. Charlotte studied with renowned mezzo-soprano Catherine Wyn-Rogers, and repertoire coach Matthew Fletcher. Charlotte is a Lennox Hannay Musical Trust Scholar and Countess of Munster Musical Trust Scholar, both associated with the Royal College of Music.

Charlotte notably won The GDST Young Musician of the Year award in her final year at Croydon High, where she showcased her considerable vocal talents. She is also a keen actress and was nominated for the Michael Caine Award for the best young actress at the Leatherhead Festival 2018 and received the award for the best-devised piece. At Croydon High, she performed in many shows, including as The Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and as the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz.

Charlotte is a keen choral singer, having performed in a vocal sextet with Stephen Isserlis at Wigmore Hall and as a guest singer in John Rutter’s Feel the Spirit at the Royal Albert Hall. Last summer, she performed at the Oundle International Festival with Texan pianist Mark Rogers; they chose to programme their recital based on the theme “Poets of the British Isles”. She has just finished performing the role of Public Opinion in Orpheus in the Underworld and, in March, will be performing the roles of Maman, La Tasse Chinoise and La Libellule’ in Ravel’s L’enfant et Les Sortileges.

Charlotte told us, “Croydon High gave me a huge amount of support as I prepared for conservatoires. It was my singing teacher who told me I could pursue this as a career and helped me through the rigorous audition process. I also hugely appreciated the opportunities to participate in musicals, plays and recitals – they helped me grow as a performer and instilled the confidence you need to be a professional singer. Mrs Webb and Mr Suranyi, in particular, were amazing during my application process, giving me advice, preparing me for auditions and essentially making sure I had the confidence in myself to go ahead and do it” She went on to say, “In the near future I would like to go on to an opera course at the Conservatoire following my postgrad, then (fingers crossed!) onto a young artists programme at a top opera house – perhaps the Royal Opera, or Opera Wien.”

Mr Suranyi, Croydon High’s Director of Music said “Charlie has always had a genuine passion for music, in particular, opera and choral performance. Throughout her school career, she was a dominant figure in the music department as an ensemble player, director and vocal soloist. She gave a memorable performance of the Domine Deus from Vivaldi’s Gloria. She also led the school orchestra as well as being active in the local music scene where she played the role of Madame Larina in Eugene Onegin alongside professional performers.” Assistant Head Mrs Webb, and former Head of Drama added “Charlie will be remembered for her incredible contribution to school musical productions: a terrifying Miss Hannigan in Annie, an intimidating Mr Bumble in Oliver!, superb comic timing as the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz and finally gave a jaw-dropping vocal performance as The Narrator in Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

Charlotte’s beautiful voice will never be forgotten here at Croydon High; we will follow her journey with great interest.

Mrs Roe
Alumnae Relations Manager

Ms Gilmour enjoyed breakfast with Year 11 in the upper dining room, before conducting an informal assembly with the group that will be her first Lower Sixth. They had a chance to ask her questions about what she will bring to Sixth Form and what she feels is different about the step up to A levels and more independent learning. After assembly, Ms Gilmour met the current Lower Sixth for a relaxed chat in the Sixth Form common room, where she was able to answer more questions from them about her own career path and her outlook.

We look forward to welcoming Ms Gilmour back to Croydon High on 9 February where she will be involved in Year 11’s Sixth Form Conference – an exciting next step on their journey.

Mrs F Cook
Director of Philanthropy and External Relations

On Friday morning our VIP guest, author, broadcaster and journalist, Candice Brathwaite certainly captured the hearts and minds of her audience as she spoke to Years 8 and up at a very special assembly.

There will be more about her full visit, including an uplifting session she gave to Year 10, in next week’s NewsLinks, but it was wonderful to hear from such a fascinating and inspiring woman.

Queues at her book signing at break showed the impact she had made, with many pupils and staff members determined to secure a signed copy of her latest book Cuts Both Ways or her previous non-fiction, Sista Sister.

For those who requested a signed book plate but have yet to order, ParentPay has been re-opened and the books can be ordered up until the end of the day on Monday 23 January.

Look out for the full write up for this very special event in next week’s NewsLinks!

Fran Cook
Director of Philanthropy and External Relations

We are pleased to see some familiar faces which proves how much the girls enjoy the session and of course the end products.

Each week, we endeavour to teach new skills and allow each pupil to take part in the organising, food preparation, and method. There are lots of new words to be learnt. It always surprises us with the unfamiliarity of words like; tupperware, knead, blend, colander, ingredients, dice, beat and batter.

There is always a lot of mathematical words used as pupils read the ingredients, often double the amounts, and weigh out items.

We always encourage the girls to try new things. We organise our recipes each week to reflect the calendar or rotate from savoury and sweet.

Our menu this term has included chocolate brownies, cheese and spinach muffins and Chinese pancakes.

Mrs Nathanael and Mrs D’Aranjo
Junior School Teachers

They are currently the biggest boyband on TikTok with over 2.5 million followers – some of these fans were in our audience! The band discussed mental health and focused on Online Safety, Cyber Bullying and where/how to seek help. It was then followed by a Q&A session and autographs. There was a lot of enthusiasm and excitement during this session and it was lovely to see the students enjoy the music and appreciate the important message ahead of mental health week starting on the 6th February.

Mrs M Murray
Head of Year 9

‘Your girls are just amazing…’

‘You can tell they really love their school’

‘Thank you for such an inspiring Open Event’

This was just some of the feedback we received from families who attended our latest Open Doors event. These regular sessions enable families who are considering Croydon High for their daughters, to hear from Ms Davies about her vision for the school and then to have a tour from one of our school ambassadors. This week it was the turn of our Year 8 ambassador team and they truly excelled. Their knowledge of the school, their enthusiasm and their friendly welcoming personalities were much remarked upon. Seeing the school on a regular day is a wonderful way of appreciating the positive atmosphere as pupils and staff go about their everyday work.

Thank you to all those Year 8 Ambassadors who represented themselves and their school so impressively. (Pictured are Emma, Harriet and Leyla)

Mrs F Cook
Director of Philanthropy and External Relations

This week Early Years opened their doors to welcome our Nursery and Reception parents in to fully explore the newly refurbished classrooms in our, ‘Stay and Play’ sessions. There was a real buzz around the classrooms with parents, carers, and siblings in attendance. It was wonderful to see the girls take part in their morning routines so confidently and then settle to an activity with their adults. Reception parents were highly impressed with the work on show in the ‘book look’, there is lots to be proud of and celebrate.

We look forward to running similar sessions again in the summer term.

Mrs A D’Aranjo
Reception Class 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.

The show is sold out! If you would like to go on a waiting list for returns please email productions@cry.gdst.net

As empty seats are a disappointment and we do understand that circumstances can change, we would ask you to return (up to an hour before the show starts) any unused tickets as there will be a waiting list. Please return to: productions@cry.gdst.net

The English Literature group spent last Wednesday evening in London, watching a modern adaptation of the classic Shakespeare play ‘Othello’, as well as ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ on the 18th of January. Nina, one of the students from the class, found Othello ‘atmospheric and tense’, and ‘really liked the lighting and sound that was used to communicate the story’. Isabella, another English Lit student, found that ‘Streetcar’ was ‘a fantastic performance which gripped me all the way through’, and was ‘one of the best plays I have been to see’.

Taken from the Almeida’s website:

“How pretty the sky is! I ought to go there on a rocket that never comes down.”

On a street in New Orleans, in the blistering summer heat, a sister spirals.

Following her “spellbinding” (Financial Times) production of Summer and Smoke, Almeida Associate Director Rebecca Frecknall takes on another Tennessee Williams masterpiece.

When Blanche unexpectedly visits her estranged sister Stella, she brings with her a past that will threaten their future. As Stella’s husband Stanley stalks closer to the truth, Blanche’s fragile world begins to fracture. Reality and illusion collide and a violent conflict changes their lives forever.

Lydia Wilson (The Duchess of Malfi) returns to the Almeida to play Blanche, with the BAFTA-winning Paul Mescal (Normal People) as Stanley, and Anjana Vasan (We Are Lady Parts) as Stella.

The performance was truly impressive: the space was dark and intimate and highly imaginative staging was employed, adding to the intensity of the play and its themes. Paul Mescal was menacingly convincing as Stanley; the audience were left reeling from the closing scene in particular, where both Blanche and her sister Stella’s distress were palpable.

This experience will be incredibly useful in shaping our study of the play, later in the year.

The Lower Sixth chemistry class was also busy, delivering a fascinating presentation on ‘The chemicals in war’, ‘The chemical composition of a shotgun bullet’, and ‘When medicine becomes drugs’, which went into detail about the opioid epidemic and heroin addiction (if interested, watch ‘Dopesick’ on Disneyplus), and on Monday morning, Dr Lakha-Kassam presented an empowering assembly about Women in the Workplace, and how the fight for equality in the office is yet to be won. As well as all of this, during PE the Sixth Form had a self defence lesson, in which we learnt how to protect ourselves, should we ever be attacked.

Tabitha P
Lower Sixth
and
Ms A Cotton
Head of English

They started with a “physical” warm-up where they came into close contact with their partner in order to get them used to physical contact.

The session began with blocking and the importance of stance and body awareness. They then moved on to the most effective methods of slapping and tried these on each other – albeit pretending their partner’s hands were an attacker’s face!

They tried out some releases from a rear strangle/choke and rear body grabs. We discussed being grabbed by the hair and the best releases from this.

After these, they moved on to knee strikes from a frontal attack. They learnt the importance of an effective knee strike on an attacker.

The session concluded with “park attack” where they had to cross an area which may or may not have a danger element to it. They all took turns at being victims and potential attackers.

It was a valuable afternoon for Lower Sixth and a massive thank you to Mrs Greenwood for taking the session.

Mrs S Beck
Teacher of PE

It is incredibly exciting that the telescope can be used by the students at Astrogazers to observe many objects within our solar system and beyond.

The night sky is constantly changing, depending on the time of year and the time of night. You could try stargazing at different times in the year to spot seasonal constellations. Orion is one of the most famous constellations and it is very easy to spot in the night sky this winter.

Happy stargazing!

Mrs A Karteepan
Head of Physics

This week saw the launch of the ‘Skill Up’ and ‘Future Thursdays’ project which will begin immediately after the February half-term. Students should sign up via SOCs to meet their minimum attendance requirement over the half-term period.

This whole school initiative is intended to assist students in their personal growth and development beyond the classroom. This year’s project is a trial and so is the slightly more truncated version of the fuller project which we will aim to implement next year.

It will inspire a healthy house competition as attendance is linked to house points and if a whole house meets their minimum attendance, there are bonus house points up from grabs.

Dr Lakha-Kassam

Head of Progression and Futures