This week, having said ‘au revoir’ to Year 6 on their residential and welcoming back Year 5 from Nettlecombe, I realised that this is actually the first time since I started at Croydon High in 2019 that we have been able to run our annual residential trips.

In Junior School, these trips are an important part of the learning experience we offer to our pupils. From immersing themselves in new cultures and trying new cuisines, to exploring fascinating museums and historically significant places, and pushing themselves out of their comfort zones. We run 3 residential trips in the Junior School, starting with Year 4 who go to Frylands for a 1 night stay. The focus for each of our residential trips is different and enables pupils to acquire skills and experiences in different areas, bringing learning to life. In Year 4, the focus is on outdoor and adventurous activities, such as high ropes and archery where resilience, courage and confidence are all required. In Year 5, the visit is linked to the study of rivers in Geography and in Year 6, the study of French culture.

I am sure we can all recall our first residential school trips; I can certainly recall mine! I can vividly remember the excitement of sharing a room with all of my friends and arguing over who would get to sleep on the top bunk! Then of course,  the whole class having to write 100 ways to get to sleep after our noisy dormitory woke the teacher in the middle of the night! I know our pupils would never dream of disturbing a teacher’s sleep!

Research shows that trips outside of the traditional classroom can allow children to develop a greater sense of independence. This is especially true for residential trips where children have to organise their own belongings, manage their time and take responsibility for ensuring they have everything they need. I spoke to some of our Year 5’s who shared first hand what their experience was like. For many of them, it was their first time staying away from home and I know that Mrs Bower, Mr Wilks and the rest of the team were incredibly proud of how well they coped throughout the week.

It is clear that the girls all took the opportunity to further develop key life skills; handling money, managing time, navigating the outdoors, and becoming more independent. As our school motto says….. “Every girl, every day.  Discover more.”

Last week, Year 5 went to Nettlecombe Court in Somerset. I was very excited and I am sure everyone else was too! After our 4 and a half drive, we finally reached our destination and we were greeted by two women who were named Analma and Grace. We were told who our roommates were for the week and to go up to our rooms. On our amazing week, we went rockpooling, went on a trek, had a campfire, did a riverwalk, we went on a train, we did orienteering, we went to Dunster castle and we went shopping in Dunster. I think we have learnt a lot about how to manage our money when we went shopping. We have also learnt how to keep time, and I think the most important is how to look after ourselves. On Thursday night, the teachers came round to see our rooms and pick which room was the tidiest, calmest and lots more categories. At the end of our mini adventure, everyone was very tired and we could not wait to tell our parents about all the fun we had during our week at Nettlecombe Court. Finally a massive thank you to Mr Wilks, Mrs Bower, Mrs Redmond and Miss Watkins for looking after us!

Zaynab K

Last week, Year 5 were very excited to go to somewhere called Nettlecombe Court in Somerset. We all got on the coach and everyone was tingling with excitement. The coach journey took around 4 hours and we finally reached Nettlecombe we got told our dorms and who we would be with and we took our suitcases up to the dormitories. After that we were ready to start our upcoming week in Nettlecombe. During Nettlecombe we did plenty of  incredible things such as orienteering, a campfire and rockpooling which was very interesting as we found lots of different creatures like crabs and limpets. We did mammal trapping which was extremely fun plus it didn’t harm the mammals it in fact helped them as we put food and a bed of hay for them. Finally we did something that I am sure everyone was excited about and that was going to Dunster. We did all sorts of things in Dunster. We went shopping, we visited Dunster Castle and we got ice creams as a treat for how good we had been. On the last night the teachers were doing prizes for things like the tidiest rooms, the calmest rooms, the room with the best teamwork. By the end of Nettlecombe every one was pretty tired but I think it’s safe to say that every single person in Year 5 thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Last of all I want to say a big thank you to all the teachers helping out. Thank you so much Mr Wilks, Mrs Bower, Miss Watkins and Mrs Redmond.

Poppy F

Miss Laura Threadgold

Deputy Head of Junior School

On Monday 13 June, the Year 6 – 12 athletics teams departed from school at 5.30am, whilst most of our friends were still fast asleep! We were all eager and excited for the day of athletics that we had ahead of us. After a 3.5 hour journey (mostly spent eating breakfast and chatting with our teammates) we arrived at The Harvey Hadden Stadium in Nottingham.

We were handed our numbers and athletics vests and we stepped off the coach, the fresh air of the morning enlivening us all! We set up a base; a perfect spot from where we could view the entirety of the track. As the competition got underway, we quickly realised that we definitely had the loudest supporters, with teachers from other schools even stating that ‘we had the best fanclub’!

Many of us were really pleased as we achieved personal bests or school records and all of us had performances to be proud of. We did brilliantly in all of the events, both track and field, with top 3 finishes in the majority of them. There were finals for the hurdles, 80m (for year 6), 100m, 200m, 300m (for the year 10 and above age group) and the 4x100m relays. Croydon High qualified for every final, which was a great achievement in itself.

The finals were incredibly exciting races to watch and our entire team gave their best. The results came next; we were so happy to hear that we were announced as overall GDST Athletics Champions 2022, with individual victories in the Year 6, 7 and 8 age groups, joint victory in Year 9 and a close second place finish, by two points, in Year 10+. Despite being a long day, the rally was an amazing experience and I look forward to competing again next year.

By Isy P 8F

We welcomed students and parents on Wednesday night to our Art & 3D Design exhibition 2022. As you entered the hall, you could hear joyful singing and playing from Amba, Olivia and Amy in Lower Sixth, whilst smelling the delicious canapés created by our catering team and the pop from a bottle or two of prosecco.

The stage was full of the incredible work our A level 3D Design students created, while the main body of the hall was filled with outstanding Art & 3D Design GCSE work. It really was like stepping into the Royal Academy summer show! We saw ceramics, textiles, printmaking, photography, wood, metal, glass, and plastics. Students created lights, installations, sculptures, chairs, tables, sun-catchers, paintings, drawings, and mixed media pieces. All of this was supported by their beautiful sketchbooks which document their journey through the course, it is where they experiment, make mistakes, take risks, record, and develop their ideas. Critical thinking is also very important at both GCSE and A levels; artists and designers inspire their work and learn how to articulate their opinions. In Upper Sixth, students write a 3000-word illustrative essay which supports their personal project.

We are incredibly proud of all our students and look forward to the new GCSE and A level students next year to start their journey. We would like to take this opportunity to wish our Upper Sixth all the very best. Sophie is going to study politics but promises to start a ceramics club at Warwick, Beth, Avani, and Erin are going on to study Design, and we are hoping they come back next year to tell our students all about it. They will all be greatly missed; the department is already a little quieter and a little tidier!

It was a very special evening, the first live exhibition at Croydon High for two years, and we look forward to many more.

Mrs Smith

Head of Art & 3D Design / Director of Teaching & Learning

On Wednesday, Year 9 pupils went to work with parents, guardians and family friends for Take Your Child to Work Day. This was a great opportunity for them to see what the world of work is like. Pupils went to varied workplaces, from magazine publishing to real estate. Here are some of their reflections on the day.

‘I would not mind doing the commute every day as it was quite simple and did not take too much time, although I would want to be able to work from home some days as this practice is becoming increasingly used, and would potentially be more convenient sometimes’ – Ellie

‘Outside of meetings [colleagues] sometimes spoke informally. Not all conversations were about work’ – Neriah

‘The environment was very nice the building was reasonably busy but everyone smiled and said good morning/afternoon’ – Amelia

‘Most people didn’t have a structured day they just take breaks when needed and go for lunch when they have finished what they are doing.’ – Bea

‘My perception of the working environment was that it was very productive and busy. I’m not sure yet if it would be the kind of work I would like to do; I would like to do something more exciting and creative.’ – Annette

Mrs Humphrey

Head of Progression & Futures

What did we have to do?

A few weeks ago, Year 5 did an Enterprise Technology Challenge, in which the judges selected the winning team from each class (Handy-bit from 5B and Bob-the-band bot from 5W). We had to programme a microbit so it had many features. Some examples of features are temperature, step-counter, light sensor and rock-paper-scissors. We also had to make a product that could hold the microbit. For our presentations, every team got a table, which was used for holding things like posters and logos. In the Senior School, all of our parents came to watch our presentations and see what we have done. Thank you Mrs Krishna for organising all of this!-

Anahira A, Y5

Our Experience:

I felt thrilled to be presenting in the Senior School in front of all our parents. It was incredible to actually take pride in what we had worked on for 6-7 weeks and be able to show our parents our calibre and perseverance. All of the groups did this project with great enthusiasm and zest. We owe a great thank you to Mrs Krishna, who has incessantly worked hard and supported us – she is a real pro at this!

Anaisa J, Y5

On Wednesday 22^nd June, Year 3 played in a String Concert to their parents in Holt Hall. Since the beginning of the year, Year 3 girls have been receiving weekly lessons on either the cello or the violin, funded by The Peggie Guillou String Scheme. The concert was a lovely way to end the year and celebrate the progress they have made on their chosen string instruments. We were honoured to hear two Lower Sixth girls, Amy M and Amba P, who opened the concert with a beautiful cello duet (‘The Godfather’ Theme). Amy and Amba both started learning the cello through the string scheme when they were in Year 3 and have now achieved Grade 8 – this will hopefully inspire some of the girls to continue with it! We heard ensemble pieces played by the cellos and violins together, as well as some solo violinists. The programme ended with ‘Tango’ and some audience participation! Congratulations to everyone involved and thank you to our cello teacher, Miss Nagioff, and violin teacher, Miss Martin, for inspiring the girls and teaching them so well.

Miss Delany

Head of Junior School Music

We ran Sustainable Journeys to school in May, where students were encouraged to take sustainable modes of transport for their journeys to and from school – by bike, bus or walking.  1,342 climate-friendly journeys were recorded across the senior school, and in a VERY close-run competition, Garret took first place, being awarded 250 Athena points. All Houses were awarded House points for their excellent commitment to this cause. I hope that lots of you are continuing to make sustainable choices when you can with your travel.

June saw lots of students and teachers sharing photos of their beautiful no-mow areas in gardens and local areas.  I was so encouraged to see lots of you leaving no-mow areas to establish which are encouraging wild flowers to grow, as well as planting an abundance of pollinator-friendly plants which will support our mini-beasts.  Swathes of pollinating insects have been lost over past decades, so anything we can do to provide habitats for these essential creatures is worthwhile!  Leaving grassy areas to strim at the end of the summer, or even just mowing once a month can help wild flower species to establish in lawns and support pollinators.

All students who submitted entries will receive 5 Athena House points.

Winning entries, gaining 100 Athena points:

Isabel S – Year 7

Anjali B – Year 8

Alice S – Year 9

Anjali P – Year 12

Runners up, winning 50 Athena points:

Holly I – Year 7

Jorjah W- Year 8

Ruby B – Year 9

Well done to all who took part in our summer term Climate competitions!

Mrs Howgego

Head of Chemistry

Last week the girls of Year 6 took the school by storm as they brought the music and magic of the famous “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” to the Holt Hall. Complete with Morris dancing, a rowdy funfair, comic spies, a motor bike, an enormous birthday cake, real toot sweets, incredible samba dance moves in a sea of purple and an almost flying car, the show was an energetic extravaganza. At least one audience member was heard to say it was like being in the west end….only not as expensive!

The girls sang and acted with great professionalism to delight us all. Miss Delany and Mrs Broyd were very proud of every one of them. Well done girls!

Mrs Broyd

Head of Junior Drama

Aspiring writer and Lower Sixth student Shriya started a journalistic initiative with a friend last year, which they have called the Croydon Chronicles. The articles they write cover a wide variety of topics that interest them and their peers and include articles written by friends and teaching staff.

Click here to read issue #4.