Nursery and Reception hosted their first Mother’s Day Stay and Play event on Thursday, and it was a truly heartwarming morning.

The children were absolutely thrilled to have their mums and grandmothers join them in class for some fun playtime and to look through their books. It was so touching to see the joy and smiles on all the faces.

The grown-ups were treated to a special performance, where the children sang two beautiful Mother’s Day songs and an Easter song, their voices filling the room with warmth. The girls also took a moment to share why they loved their mums so much, and the Nursery parents were delighted to receive a special surprise – a portrait that looked just like them!

Before heading home, each child gifted their mum a lovely Mother’s Day present, and everyone left with a delicious cupcake to enjoy.

We hope you all had a wonderful morning celebrating with your daughters and honouring the amazing mums and grandmothers that you are. Wishing you all a very happy Mother’s Day on Sunday!

Watch our reel of the event here!

In Year 1, we have been learning about plants. Our trip to Gatton Park gave us the opportunity to explore the grounds, putting our Science knowledge to the test. We took pipe cleaner bees from flower to flower, checking which ones contained pollen ready to be taken away.

We used all our senses during the activities. We picked lots of different plants and herbs to make scent “cocktails”. We made artists’ palettes using flowers, leaves and stems to create natural colour. We hunted for hidden secrets – finding objects that were smooth, rough, hard, soft, tickly and prickly! Under a widespread cedar tree, we held mirrors under our noses and took a walk in the treetops.

The staff at Gatton Park packed so many brilliant activities into our day, that many of us slept on the coach ride home!

Mrs Nikki Crossfield
Assistant Head (Pastoral and Outreach) of Junior School
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead

We have had the best week performing our Year 3 and 4 musical – Dragon Days. It was a show that really showcased a fantastic ensemble of our talented and enthusiastic girls and everyone shone, from mountain goat to oompah band player! We had yodelling, ancient prophecies, unlikely heroes and a misunderstood dragon woven together within themes of kindness and friendship. As usual this was a wonderful collaboration across the Junior School with our fabulous Props Club girls creating props and scenery and junior staff producing strong support with line learning, wardrobe, programmes and face painting! The girls had so much fun, and it was a delight to see their confidence grow and the pleasure they gained from taking part. Bravo Year 3 and 4!

“It felt really amazing doing it three times and I wish I could do it again.” Izzy, 3M
“I liked dancing in the circles in the song Snowfall.”Uma, 3M
“I really loved it and I am very happy that I now know how to yodel!” Marnie, 3B
“My favourite song was Dragon Days and I felt proud standing up in front of the parents.” Jaya, 3M
“I really liked it because it was a really big experience and I always wanted to do it like my sister.” Mesi, 3M
“I liked the show because everybody had a moment to shine.” India, 3B
“I really enjoyed learning how to say those funny words as the dragon.” Riya, 4AJ
“It was the funniest show I’ve ever been in.” Florence, 4DJ
“It was a really great experience to participate in and be a part of. It was great fun to be a cheeky boy!” Georgie, 4AJ

Mrs Claire Kirkby
Junior School Drama Teacher

Mrs Sarah Delany
Head of Junior School Music

Year 6 pupils had a great time at the 2025 Year Enterprise Challenge Awards Evening. Their enterprise projects were all completed to an extremely high standard

They have been working really hard over the past few months on their projects. They worked collaboratively with their team members to write a business plan, create a logo, formulate a pricing strategy, create branding and marketing content, build a website and some teams even incorporated an element of Artificial Intelligence into their projects.

On Thursday 20 March 2025, they set up their enterprise stalls to showcase their products and services and pitched their ideas to a panel of external judges.

The judges had a really hard time choosing winners but two top teams had to be picked.

The Gold winners were team ‘The Mini Plant Shop’ by Alexa G, Ellie P, Bella T, Maggie G and Arisa M.

The Silver award winners were team ‘M.E.N.D. ‘ by Delilah N, Sophia H, Ayman S, Ella A and Maya F-R.

The People’s Choice votes went to team ‘Plush Pals’ by Sanaa B, Judy L, India G, Amara S-R and Emiola J.

Congratulations to the winners and well done everyone!

It has been a busy and productive week in the department, with both the Year 10 and Year Lower Sixth 3D and Art mock exams taking place.

Year 10 3D pupils started the week of exams by completing their lighting projects, using techniques such as laser cutting, heat pressing, and sublimation printing. Working with materials like acrylic, wood, and fabric, they demonstrated both creativity and technical skill, producing a range of intricate and well-crafted designs.

Lower Sixth 12 Art pupils showcased a variety of impressive and highly individual work. From detailed acrylic portraiture and laser-cut 3D effects to experimental natural dye techniques and bold fluorescent colour palettes, with a high standard of creativity and originality.

The week concluded with Year 10 Art pupils sitting their 5-hour self-portrait exam, working in water-based oils. The results were thoughtful and expressive, showing a strong understanding of technique and composition and showcasing a very talented year of artists.

We are incredibly proud of all our students for their hard work and dedication throughout the week. Well done to everyone!

Ms Chloë Duncan
Art & Technician

On Tuesday 25 March, two Year 8 and two Year 9 pupils spent the day at Wilson’s School, competing in the UKMT Team Maths Challenge.

The team, Marina, Nina, Ana and Sam did themselves proud, losing only nine marks out of 116 in the first two rounds. They worked fantastically as a team in the Group round, and split to work in pairs during the Crossnumber.

The Shuttle round came next, the team were again working in pairs but sadly the time pressure got to them and they slipped down the leader board. However, they came back strong in the fast-paced Relay round.

Whilst we didn’t win, the girls really enjoyed working with pupils from different year groups, competing mathematically, and we had a great day.

Sam and Marina said, “The Team Maths Challenge was very fun. We got to know the Year 9s better and learn how to answer the questions using quicker methods from them. The questions required all our brain power and a lot of problem-solving skills. Even though the questions were quite challenging, they were really fun to answer as a team.”

Huge congratulations to all four pupils!

Miss Rosanna Seal
Head of Mathematics

This year, the theme was ‘Intelligence’. The entries were judged by Dr Victoria MacKenzie, an alumna of Brighton Girls’.

Victoria MacKenzie was a student at Brighton Girls’. She now lives in Scotland where she writes fiction, poetry and essays. Her debut novel, For Thy Great Pain have Mercy On My Little Pain (Bloomsbury 2023) explores the lives of the medieval mystics Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe. It won the Saltire First Book Award and was adapted for Radio 4. Her second novel, Each leaf, each curve of stem, is about the Victorian art critic John Ruskin and will be published by Bloomsbury next year.

Victoria commented:
It was such a pleasure to judge this year’s GDST Creative Writing Prize and to read the astonishingly imaginative and wonderfully varied entries. From poems to short stories, from philosophical musings to comic strips, every entry showed such creativity and empathy. There was humour, originality and insight as well as lively and lyrical uses of language. What a wonderful treasure trove of writing!

Read Arwa’s creative writing winning entry

Years 10 & 11 – Winner

Intelligence – Arwa, Croydon High School
This was a moving story of a tender relationship between the protagonist and grandmother, exploring the gap between generations and cultures with rich detail and empathy. A quiet but wonderfully mature story, beautifully told.

Arwa will receive a £100 book voucher.

Arwa was also recently awarded 2nd prize at the GDST STEM Writing Competition on her article, titled “Where’s ‘The Pill’ For Men? – The Gender Imbalance in Contraception”.

Well done Arwa! You are unstoppable.

In recognition of her exemplary academic performance and commitment, Chloé W was awarded a monetary prize towards the Classical languages Summer school at UCL, where she hopes to advance her knowledge of Latin. In addition, this summer school programme provides students with unique seminars to deepen their understanding of this ancient language and culture.

The GDST Pearson Award recognises exceptional talent and dedication, and Chloé’s success is a testament to her hard work, passion, and academic prowess. Her achievements highlight the high standards and commitment to excellence that Croydon High School encourages and nurtures among its students.

Congratulations, Chloé, on these remarkable achievements! Your commitment and passion are truly commendable, and we are proud to have you represent Croydon High School.

Chloé shares, “A huge thank you to all of the staff who helped me with this demanding application – I couldn’t have done this without you!”

Ms Whittingham, Head of Classics, adds ” Congratulations Chloé! Chloé is a role model in the Classics department, having studied Latin throughout the school and opted for Latin GCSE and now A Level. Chloé chose to study Greek GCSE off timetable in addition to her studies. Chloé has aspirations to read Classics at university and dedicated last summer to the UCL Summer School in Ancient Greek and will attend again this summer. Chloé enjoys the linguistic complexities of Latin and Greek, as well as having a passion for their cultural context.”

The Pearson and Silver Awards are offered to pupils to assist towards the cost of attending courses with a classical content, e.g. summer schools in Classical Greek or Latin at Bryanston, Durham or Repton Schools, University or King’s Colleges, London, or Lampeter (Univ. of Wales). The committee considered the following criteria when looking at the applications:

• Academic excellence in classical subjects
• Commitment to study a classical subject at university
• Contribution to school life
• Financial need
• Determination to overcome practical difficulties in studying classics at school where these are encountered

The applications were judged by Sarah Fryer, Head of Classics at Sheffield, Peter Maskell, Head of Classics at Putney and Charlie Nicholls, Head of Classics at Bromley.

Congratulations to our Waterpolo Team!

U18 Waterpolo Team finish 4th in the country and the National Cup Final

Josie wins big at Kent Swimming Championships!

Josie L (Year 10) delivers amazing results at the Kent Swimming Championships:

• 1st – 50 breaststroke
• 1st – 100m breaststroke
• 1st – 200m breaststroke
• 1st – 50m butterfly
• 2nd – 100m butterfly
• 3rd – 50m freestyle

Lucy and her Surrey U18 Tennis Squad become National Champions

Eleanor finished 1st place (Youth A/B girls) in the final round of
Chilly City Crits 2025

Nominations are now open for the GDST Alumna of the Year Awards 2025!

Do you know an inspiring alumna who deserves to be celebrated? This is your chance to recognise her achievements and contributions.

Nominate before 26 April 2025 and help us honour the incredible women who help make our community shine.

Nominate here

On Sunday, 6th April 2025, Senior and Junior school staff from Croydon High will be taking on the challenge of the Brighton Marathon. Their goal is to raise funds for the school’s 150 Anniversary nominated charity, UNICEF, which aims to provide education, healthcare, and emergency relief to children worldwide.

Together, our inspirational staff are aiming to commit to running at least 150 km, collectively, to celebrate our school’s 150th birthday this year!

With a mix of runners tackling either the 10k race or the Brighton Marathon (42 km), our staff team is coming together to make every step count for a great cause with the following staff having already committed to the challenge.

Marathon Runners: Mr Flower and Mrs Tooke
10k Runners: Mrs Cotton, Mrs Johnson, Ms Thomas, Ms Fenwick, Mrs Smith, Mr Coley, Ms James, Mrs Wood, Mr Taylor, Ms Yam, Mrs Murray and Mr Watson

As always, the power of our school community will make all the difference, and the staff would love to receive your support to help them reach their fundraising goal.

How you can help
Please consider supporting our team by donating to this worthy cause, which you can do through this page.

Donate today

Join us for refreshments, with a talk welcome from the Head, Ms Davies, and a personalised tour with our pupil ambassadors. There will also be the opportunity to speak to the Admissions Team.

Places are limited, so if you and your daughter would like to join us, please register for one of the dates below:

29 April 2025

20 May 2025

At Croydon High School our girls are confident, compassionate, engaged and ambitious – they are always ready to tell you why they love their school.

Visit our Junior School and take a look at our fantastic facilities, and learn about our school from teachers and pupils.

Our Junior School Open Morning will take place 9.15am – 11am and include a talk from the Junior Leadership Team and an opportunity to tour the site.

If you wish to come to this open morning, please register your place today.

Book your place today

Evie R in Year 5W will be crowned Warlingham May Queen on Saturday 10 May 2025. The purpose of the May Queen is to raise money for a local children’s charity. Evie has decided she would like to help other children with bereavement. Unfortunately, Evie has experienced this first-hand when she lost her best friend Lettie Pattison.

Evie would love to raise as much money as she can for her chosen local charity.

Donate today

Spring Sale until 16 March 2025

Get a extra 10% off when you use discount code CHS25