During the visit to see the residents of Selsdon Centre for the Retired, the girls wowed the crowd with their singing and actions to our Christmas Nativity, ‘A Miracle in Town’. The song that everyone enjoyed, and one of our favourites is, ‘Razzle and a Dazzle’. We look forward to visiting again in the spring as this is always an important trip for us to spread lots of Christmas cheer and support our local community.

Mrs Amanda-Jane D’Aranjo
Reception Class Teacher
Early Years Leader

We are so proud of all the Early Years girls who performed so well this week in our production, ‘A Miracle in Town’. They were able to take direction, learn songs and dances and act out the miracle of Christmas. We enjoyed, ‘Such a Perfect Moment’ with two solo performances sung by, Zainab and Ruby. Nursery took centre stage with two songs, the animals sung, ‘Down in the Stable’ and there was a chorus of angels singing, ‘The Angel’s song’. We hope we gave everyone a ‘Razzle and a Dazzle’ and got them into the Christmas spirit. Well done to them all, we wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.

Mrs Amanda-Jane D’Aranjo
Reception Class Teacher
Early Years Leader

Years 1 and 2 have been enthusiastically rehearsing for weeks for their Nativity show, “The Angel Who Nearly Missed It All”. The production features a heavenly host of angels, a charming group of farmyard animals, hardworking shepherds and their sheep, and a comical set of Wise Men and their clever camels. The Late Angel is forever missing deadlines and forgetting her angelic accessories, but by the end she arrives on time for the most important event of them all… Well done to all of the Year 1 and 2 pupils and staff for such an enjoyable show!

Mrs Sarah Newslands
Year 2 Class Teacher

I believe that this theatre trip was truly amazing. The actors performed excellently . In addition, the stage and props were spectacular. The production was inspiring, and it encouraged Year 5 and 6 to consider their careers and futures. I think the meaning of this show is that we can be and do anything, as long as we believe in ourselves. It also teaches us resilience and determination. For example, the Suffragettes – who were included in this production – stood up and fought against the law. They desperately wanted women to have the right to vote. The Suffragettes battled protests and suffered many months in prison but still got their way! They never gave up. As they campaigned on, women are now allowed to vote. This has aided many generations, including you. This show nurtures you to have big aspirations which is one of our school values.

Also, Rosa Parks had the courage to blatantly contradict the police just because she was tired of being forced by white people. She risked it all to give black people a chance! This show tells us to find your voice and always stand up for your beliefs.

Finally, I believe that “Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World” is a brilliant, unforgettable production. I am sure that many students think this too.

Judy L
5M

On Tuesday 5 December, our Year 6 Choir was invited to sing in the Celebrate a Life Carol Service at The Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton. As well as joining in with several congregational carols, accompanied by the Epsom & Ewell Silver Band, they also sang a song on their own ‘Calypso Carol’ and Arya was given the important task of assisting Reverend Lisa Rainier to switch on the Christmas tree lights! We are extremely proud of the pupils in the Year 6 Choir for singing so beautifully and making such a valuable contribution to this very special event.

You can watch Tuesday’s carol service here.

Miss Sarah Delany
Head of Junior School Music

Senior school classicists were treated to a spectacular reenactment of the myth of The Judgement of Paris by the Junior School Classics Club. We were particularly impressed by the fluency, memorisation and emotion of the Latin pronounciation. The costumes were authentic; particularly the gowns and garlands; but most of all we enjoyed the sheer joy and engagement with this timeless story that asks us to meditate on which of power, success or love is the most important force in our lives.

Alice C and Nancy B
Lower Sixth

Preparations for Croydon High School’s very own ‘Strictly’ competition were under way first thing on Monday morning when the Year 3 & 4 girls were thrilled to perform a dress rehearsal to a very appreciative and supportive audience of parents and grandparents. The Junior School subsequently buzzed with excitement as the time grew closer for all eight Key Stage 2 classes to take to the dance floor after lunch to try to impress the panel of judges.

^{The judges – Mr Farid, Mrs Head, Miss Pendleton and Mrs Crossfield}

The judges were individually introduced to raptuous applause, the lights were dimmed and the show began. Each class had worked very hard in their PE lessons since half term to create their own unique dance. Individual ideas, group work and fantastic team spirit combined to ensure that the judges were dazzled by every performance and Miss Pendleton, the head judge, was delighted to be able to feedback positively to each class before the panel revealed the scores. Top scorers in Lower Key Stage Two were 4AJ, whilst 6M pipped the other classes in Upper Key Stage Two to head the leader board.

It was the turn of the Year 5 and Year 6 classes to perform their dances to family members at the end of an exciting afternoon, after which 6M were presented with a large glitter ball for achieving the highest score of the day, bringing Croydon High Strictly 2023 to a close.

A huge thank you must go to Mr Johnston whose expertise with the lights and music completely transformed the Holt Hall and to the panel of judges whose insightful comments were both thorough and motivating, ensuring that all girls’ efforts were fully recognised.

Mrs Alison Botham 
Head of Junior School PE

On Monday 4 December, we organised a special celebration and prize giving event for the Year 4 pupils from Park Hill School who have been visiting us for a Micro:bit Programming Course in the Junior School with Mrs Krishnamurthy and our fantastic Year 6 Digital Leaders.

Well done to the Park Hill pupils for being such enthusiastic learners and delivering their final presentations with confidence. We have enjoyed having them over and look forward to working on future projects with Park Hill as part of our ‘Ivy Reach’ initiative.

Mrs Maya Krishnamurthy
Head of Junior School Enterprise Technology

Junior Doctor Club is co-curricular club, unique to Croydon High School. The programme has been designed by Mrs Kugathas, to give pupils a taste of what medical school is like. In the last few weeks we have performed two types of stitching and surgery.

Firstly, we did sutured oranges, as they replicate the texture of human skin. We used curved needles (often used of for making hats) to simulated what is used in operations.

We then performed keyhole surgery which required extreme precision. We made the “bodies” out of cardboard boxes and added holes for light, the tongs and our phones to replicate the camera and screen used for keyhole surgery. We did the polo mint challenge to test our dexterity. In this challenge, we tied string around the polo mints (with the tongs).

We found both challenges very hard, but fun.

Emily, Ahaana, Lorelei, Emilie, Alisha, Milly, Emma and Livia
Junior Doctor Club members

The UK Space Design Competition is a multidisciplinary space-themed competition designed to be a simulation of life in industry! The UKSDC gives pupils a taste of the vast potential offered by future study of STEAM subjects.

Pupils from multiple schools are combined to form an engineering company and take on the task of designing a crewed space settlement within our solar system. Teams are given a list of requirements for a space settlement and are tasked with coming up with a detailed design which they present to a panel of judges from industry, academia, and business.

Croydon High School were partnered with few other schools to form the company, Kepler Automation, and won the highly competitive Regional Heat! The judges were particularly impressed and raised 3 strong points, one of which stated, “thorough consideration of medical uses”. This contribution was made by our very own student, Isla M (Lower Sixth). We are incredibly proud of the contributions Isla M made and how well she answered the panels questions.

Winning teams take part in the national final; a residential competition weekend hosted by Imperial College London. This gives pupils a chance to distinguish themselves as exceptional within the fields of science, engineering, teamwork, and project management. A select group of winners are then invited to go from there to the International Space Settlement Design Competition (ISSDC) at a NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre.

Our pupils are looking forward to participating in the Nationals in March 2024 at Imperial College London.

Mrs Karteepan
Head of Physics

Hear what our students had to say about the competition.

“It was a truly unique and exciting experience – our team contained members who had not only won the regionals previously but had competed in Nationals and in the International competition at NASA too. It was intense and it was hard work – nearly 12 hours to be precise – but the outcome was absolutely rewarding.”
Isla M
Lower Sixth

“The UKSDC was an enriching experience and I got to meet so many different people. Finding out the interdisciplinary nature of space physics and how applicable it is to so many aspects of life gave me a new appreciation for it and I’m so grateful that I got this opportunity. I’m looking forward to hopefully being victorious in our next adventure at Nationals.”
Isabella W
Upper Sixth

“I loved attending the UKSDC competition on Saturday and I enjoyed being able to work with other schools and learn from their knowledge of internationals last year. It was a long day starting at 9am and ending at 9pm, however I am grateful for the experience that I have gained from the day. I am very excited and can’t wait to compete at nationals.”
Eloane R
Lower Sixth

“The UKSDC was an unforgettable experience, and it was truly amazing to be able to cooperate with such a large team whilst also getting an insight as to what a design project may be like in the real world of work. I learnt the value of teamwork, compromise and effective communication and am looking forward to going to Nationals.”
Safa
Upper Sixth

“The UKSDC was a fun and enjoyable experience where we learned to work together as a team with multiple schools. Although winning the regionals was a fantastic achievement and a great surprise, I enjoyed working as a team with different people who share similar interests. It was a 12 hour long competition, however time flew by and we were already about to present our companies to the judges. The process didn’t seem that long, but in the end we had completed quite a bit of work and we greatly appreciated the delicious pizza at the very end. I can’t wait to take part in the nationals with the rest of our team, I am sure it will be a thrilling experience!”
Aashka P
Lower Sixth

Who am I?

Ghana
The foundation of spice and gold
Heritage of rich, savoury foods eaten by hand
All those years ago
When my Greatgrandfather was King of Mampong…?
Atakora Ameniampong I
All the troubles faced by my ancestors
Is like a long root stretching down from family to family gradually flowing into my blood
But who am I?

Ghana
A lifestyle of music, dance and jubilation
The first Black African country to achieve independence from colonial rule.
The glorious coat of many colours
Referred to as the Gold Coast, or the Land of Gold
But all the evidence
Left by past residence
Is it really in the presence
To answer, who am I?

I am Faith Bonsu-Amoako
No not Fay Bonsa-Amako
And definitely not Fait Bon Suh-Omaha Koa
But Faith Bonsu-Amoako
Just a normal girl of a rich heritage
I may not be English,
But I am Black-British
And I think I’ve answered the question,
Who Am I?

Faith B-A
Year 7

Daisy Collingridge, Class of 2009

After leaving Croydon High, Daisy went on to Loughborough University for an Art Foundation Diploma; she then took a BA diploma in fashion design womenswear at Central St Martins.

Daisy is an artist whose multi-disciplinary work investigates the human form as the central theme. Her ‘flesh suits’ or Squishies investigate the human form and are an exploration of fabric, form and flesh, straddling sculpture, theatre and art. Her exaggerated bodily forms provoke questions about the body and its potential; each piece has its own personality. Their colour exaggerates the warmth and softness of flesh, elements which signify a living thing. There is a desire to touch. Fabric offers skin-like qualities that traditional sculpting materials do not have. Unlike marble or ceramic, they will not last forever, just like skin. The medium is more approachable and laced with meaning, given that we all encounter fabric on a daily basis. At the core of the work is a celebration of the human form, this complex body that we all exist in for a time.

Daisy says, “I like the idea of bringing something to life; there is magic in animation. The transition of the suits from fleshy bodies on the floor to being worn and full of life is my favourite part of the whole process. There is something comforting and liberating about wearing the suits; on the one hand, your own identity is masked, so there is this freedom to take on another identity, and you are also wearing a hug.”

Daisy has exhibited at numerous exhibitions and residences since 2018, and most recently, her first solo exhibition, ‘Splanchnic’, at TJ Boulting in London, which our Head of Art & 3D Design and Director of Teaching & Learning, Mrs Smith, was delighted to view. She told us this about the exhibition: “I loved being able to see these beautiful textile/sculptures close up; they are so tactile from the huge scale pieces to the intricate human forms, and being able to climb inside the large head enabled you to view the exhibition from a whole new angle. Everything was handmade, from the dying of the fabrics to the wall textiles and sculptures; it was a really fantastic immersive experience.”

We caught up with Daisy recently for a Q&A session:

What aspects of Croydon High School did you enjoy and find most rewarding?

The art department at Croydon High was amazing. We were given formal art history knowledge and practical skills, but crucially, we received encouragement to be free and explore. The art department was so well kitted out (better than some universities), and it was all there ready for us to use. I still adopt the techniques I learned in the extracurricular Life Drawing classes Croydon High provided. Studying art (at AS and A-level) is one of the best ways to prepare for university education, as art relies a lot more on self-motivated work than any other subject at that level (in my opinion). I guess I found the freedom to direct my own learning the most rewarding.

What did you aspire to whilst at school?

I think I aspired to be an athlete for most of my school years. But generally, I am a pretty ambitious and driven person, so I guess I aspired to be the best that I could be.

How did Croydon High School empower you for your future?

I enjoyed school; I know that’s not everyone’s experience, especially for many people who now work in the arts. The breadth of opportunities outside the classroom (sports, drama, singing and Duke of Edinburgh) gave me a variety of skills and experiences that shaped me as a person and gave me the tools to be adaptable in a career which requires a variety of skill sets. The education at Croydon High gave me a strong work ethic. I always had faith that working hard would pay off. On reflection, that may be a little flawed as a mantra for life, but I still believe a good work ethic is a valuable trait to have.

What has been your proudest moment?

My recent solo exhibition in London has been a long-term goal of mine, so I am pretty proud to have made that a reality. It’s been a culmination of many years of work, so it feels amazing to finally reach that milestone.

What are your hopes for the future?

I hope I can stay healthy so that I can continue being a full-time artist and expand my practice into more public-facing sculpture. This would mean learning some structural engineering and fabrication techniques, which sounds fun. I would also like to rescue another cat (or two).

What would you say to your 15-year-old self?

Relish being at school where the opportunity for learning is everywhere; it is amazing how quickly you miss learning new things. Believe in chasing dreams. Know and understand that it is difficult sometimes and do your best to ignore people when they say you should get a proper job. If money is your goal, follow another dream!

Thank you, Daisy, we look forward to following your exciting career and wish you all the very best.

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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