Ms Davies gave an opening speech sharing the success of Astrogazers and mentioned Croydon High’s commitment to developing STEAM opportunities.

Family and friends of Astrogazers, Croydon High staff, professionals from universities, institutions, and industry as well as Mayor Jason Perry were in attendance too!

Professor Cathryn Mitchell, Dr Robert Watson, and Clare Cambridge from University of Bath came and it was wonderful to hear their reflections on Mission Aspiration.

On behalf of Astrogazers and Croydon High, I am excited to reveal that Croydon High will be the first school in the UK to launch a satellite into space as part of Mission Pegasus. We are very grateful for The Artemis Clinic for donating money towards Astrogazers Mission Pegasus.

I personally want to thank everyone who attended the event and especially to the girls at Astrogazers in making the event a huge success! A lot of hard work and extra hours went into preparing for the event and they all did a fantastic job.

The recorded event can be viewed on Astrogazers YouTube channel.

Read what our school community had to say

My favourite thing about the event was being able to show off what we have done/are doing in our past and future missions, as it was so exciting to showcase all of the hard work we had put into our weather balloon launch. I loved the presentation – especially when we explained all of the complex steps to a successful launch as a high school club! It was just incredible to see all of our efforts over the past months summed up into one absolutely amazing evening. Everyone was so impressed!
Arvika M
Year 9, Astrogazers

Personally, I am thrilled at how the event went and that we were able to see others experience the journey we went on. It was a beautiful evening with people from all aspects of life, coming along to listen to our story.
Isla M
Lower Sixth, Astrogazers

Entering the Croydon High School Senior Hall atmospherically lit and a buzz with positive and insightful conversation made for a truly spectacular evening. Hearing the Astrogazers speak with sincerity and passion of their story and next mission, I believe, excited and motivated us all. Something that stood out from the evening was the demonstration and discussion of the importance of essential skills – noting not just the teamwork of the students, though how the displays, coordination and central speech of the evening were led by them as well!”
Ms J Greaves
Teacher of 3D Design, Astrogazers

The Astrogazers’ Evening was a truly fantastic event. The girls had worked extremely hard towards preparing for it and were extremely grateful to be given the opportunity to share their experience and findings with parents, members of the public and universities.

Also, the reception was an excellent venue for us to reveal on the goal which we are working towards, launching a Cube Satellite as part of Mission Pegasus. We received a very positive response from parents and university professors, sensing the commitment and pride that our students have towards achieving this goal.

I look forward to working with Astrogazers in the upcoming years into ensuring our initial dream of launching a satellite soon becomes reality!
Mr B Kazi
Teacher of Mathematics, Astrogazers

At first when my daughter Aashka informed me about joining the Astrogazers Club, I thought it to be a normal club where girls will learn more about astroscience and future possibilities. Even while they were working on Mission Aspiration I was not aware of its grandeur. Only when they went to Bath University, 1st attempt failed and in no time went for a second successful weather balloon launch; I realised its beauty.

With this experience the girls not only increased their knowledge about astroscience but also learnt hard work, team work, dedication and commitment. I am extremely impressed and proud of all the girls. I am grateful to Ms Karteepan, Croydon High school and University of Bath for having faith in the girls and giving them this beautiful opportunity.

I wish them all the very best for Mission Pegasus.
ShiIpa Patel
Parent of Aashka P Assistant Flight Director at Astrogazers

Read what our guests had to say

It was an immense privilege to share the celebration evening with all of the people involved in making Mission Aspiration a success. To quote the chief executive of the UK Space Agency: “Space is a team sport”, and achieving such successes is only possible when you can draw together a really dedicated team. When you put your heart into your work, and are all pulling in the same direction, dreams really do come true. It was amazing to see such talented young scientists already actively working on their practical skills development. The UK’s future space capability is looking very bright indeed.
Professor Gemma Attrill
Dstl Space Systems Programme

I was really inspired by my visit to Croydon High School Astrogazers Club. I joined an evening celebrating their Mission Aspiration project, which involved launching two weather balloons 32,000 metres into space and successfully retrieving images of the Earth. The Astrogazers collaborated with the University of Bath for the project and their next endeavour, Mission Pegasus, will involve launching a satellite into low Earth orbit.

Physics teacher Mrs Arabi Karteepan, who recently won the Royal Astronomical Society’s Secondary and Further Education Award for the project, spoke passionately about her childhood dream of going into space and I eagerly look forward to their next mission.
Jason Perry
Executive Mayor of Croydon

I was very impressed by the enthusiasm, team spirit, inspiration and achievements of all the students and staff. It was remarkable how well they all worked together to achieve the successful balloon flight, and learned valuable life lessons along the way. It was a great demonstration that despite the occasional setback, we must never give up, and we can achieve great things. This is something we at UCL-MSSL have sometimes had to face too, with real space missions like Cluster II, where all 4 spacecraft are still working in space after over 23 years but the first attempt blew up on the first Ariane 5 in 1996, and Rosalind Franklin now planned for launch in 2028, this led on from Beagle 2 which so nearly worked on Mars in 2003.
Professor Andrew Coates
Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London

The enthusiasm and dedication of students and teachers was infectious and has clearly led to a great achievement. I was especially impressed by the way the project developed skills in mission design, engineering and data analysis which gives an excellent introduction to what space projects need.
Professor Keith Ryden
Surrey Space Centre

During the Mission Aspiration Astrogazers evening, it was incredible to learn of the remarkable journey accomplished in developing this ground-breaking, real-world project created by Mrs Karteepan. It was particularly striking to hear from the outstanding students that were truly and visibly inspired through designing and launching a high altitude balloon to touch the edge of space. I’m excited to follow along with Mission Pegasus as the Astrogazers club reach higher and farther to design a satellite payload to launch to space.
Vinita Marwaha Madill
Founder of Rocket Women, Mission Control Space Services

I was very impressed with the passion and professionalism as the Astrogazer girls showed their journey to achieve ‘Mission Aspiration’. Their push for success over any failures, was inspiring and that resilience, that going the extra mile, is exactly what we look for in Industry. Congratulations to the whole team for a fantastic evening and I wish I had a teacher like Mrs Karteepan when I was at my GDST school, many years ago!
Vanessa Viney
Innovations Manager at Airbus

Astrogazers are truly an inspirational group to all women globally. Their passion, motivation and enthusiasm towards space science and pushing the boundaries of research through their inquisitive minds makes Spirent proud to be sponsors and partners of the group. With the balloon launch proving a huge success, we can’t wait to see what they can achieve with Mission Pegasus. The sky really isn’t the limit with these girls – and I doubt the ionosphere will be either!
Chrissie Hillyer
Spirent

As attendees of Croydon High School’s Astrogazers event, we were truly impressed by the incredible achievement of the girls. Their passion for science and engineering shone brightly, led by their visionary teacher, Mrs Karteepan. The Astrogazers project not only highlights the students’ remarkable talents, but also underlines the importance of nurturing curiosity and exploration in education. Congratulations to the Astrogazers of Croydon High School for their outstanding accomplishment and for inspiring us all with their passion for science and engineering.
Rachel Wiffen and Helen Forrest
Innoval Technology

Congratulations to Mrs Karteepan and all the Astrogazers Team at Croydon High School for Girls on the remarkable achievement of launching a weather balloon to the edge of space! The pictures you took from the balloon are breathtaking. It’s truly inspiring to see Mrs Karteepan’s dedication and passion for physics ignite the curiosity and creativity of her students. As your old A-level Physics teacher, I am incredibly proud to have been a small part of your journey and am honoured by your kind words in your speech. You were a truly excellent student, and it is gratifying to see you become such an inspirational Head of Physics. I could clearly see the passion you have instilled into your students throughout the celebration evening and was impressed by their enthusiastic, articulate, and entertaining presentation. I wish you and the Astrogazers every success in your next endeavour!
Mr Lusby
Mrs Karteepan’s A Level Physics teacher

Mrs Arabi Karteepan
Head of Physics, Director of Astrogazers

Dr. Kevin Stannard, Director of Education and Innovation at the GDST, delivered an engaging presentation that illuminated the transformative impact of girls’ education. One notable highlight was the compelling data surrounding girls’ confidence, particularly in co-ed schools versus GDST girls.

Key findings from the presentation included:

• At age 9, 35% of girls feel negatively about the future, compared to 20% of boys, and only 5% of GDST girls.
• At age 9, 37% of girls avoid certain activities or subjects because of their gender, versus 31% of boys, but only 6% of GDST girls.

These results underscore the profound benefits of a girls-only environment for nurturing girls’ confidence and self-esteem.

Furthermore, we’re pleased to inform you that the event was recorded, and we will share the recording with you once it’s ready. Additionally, we invite you to explore our new ‘Why choose girls-only?’ page summarising why we believe a girls-only education is best for your daughter, along with a link to the GDST Girls’ Futures Report for further reading.

We hope you find this information beneficial and empowering. Our commitment to providing an enriching and supportive environment for your daughters remains our priority.

Huge thanks to our Upper Sixth pupils, Juanita and Sophia, for their outstanding speeches and contributions, to Dr Kevin Stannard for his time and expertise and to Miss Howie and Ms Davies for their invaluable contributions to the panel discussion.

Mrs Katy Lee
Marketing and Communications Manager

This year’s World Book Day was in memory of Mrs Karen Abrams, a former member of staff who suddenly passed away in September 2023. Having run many book clubs in the past, Mrs Abrams loved a dress-up occasion and we know she would have revelled in getting involved for World Book Day. So in her honour and spirit, we were pleased for the whole school to take part and fundraise for a charity close to Mrs Abrams heart, Positive Action in Housing.

A packed programme for World Book Day

A packed programme for World Book Day 2024 in the LRC provided something for everyone – from a Fan Fiction Competition (Celebrating a favourite book by writing your own fan fiction) to Design a Front Cover Competition (Design a new front cover for a favourite book). We had some great creative entries for both competitions, and hope to see some future writers and artists.

Our annual World Book Day quiz was popular. We had 7 teams and 30 participants. The winners will be announced during the assembly next Monday morning.

Teachers and pupils came for their photo in our selfie spot. Many of the costumes were amazing! How many characters from books can you identify?

Thank you to everyone involved. It was a great day with lots of fun and laughter!

Miss Rolle
Learning Resource & Innovation Hub Manager

For those wanting an individual challenge and with it being an Olympic year and Paris being the host city. The challenge was to cover the distance between Croydon High and the Stade de France Olympic Stadium (350 km).

Thank you and congratulations to everyone who participated last month and hopefully you will continue to move more in March.

A special mention to:

Maggie Smith – at 79 years young, a huge fan of Fit Feb with Croydon High. She started clocking up the kilometres from day 1 and didn’t look back. With some additional help from ‘Borrow my doggy’, Maggie clocked up 105.6km – many congratulations Maggie.

Two pupils from 2C – India B and Florence S and families who had a busy month, regularly emailed Fit Feb ensuring their distances counted and were added to the Inter-House Competition.

Mr Taylor in the Senior office succeeded in the individual challenge – between Croydon High and the Stade de France, the Olympic Stadium (350 km) by accumulating an impressive 393.60km.

Fit Feb 2024 Results

Congratulations to Evans, who were led superbly by Mr Leonard (Head of House).

Mrs Sue Beck
Teacher of PE and Head of Community

On Thursday 22 and Thursday 29 February, musicians from Year 5 and Year 6 took part in an after-school Informal Concert to parents and staff in Holt Hall. Everyone performed exceptionally well, demonstrating a high level of musical skills and talent. We had a wonderful mix in the programme of varying styles and pieces on a range of instruments, including harp, piano, violin, cello, guitar, flute, clarinet, oboe and vocal. Playing in the concert was a valuable experience for all the musicians involved, helping them to overcome nerves and build their confidence at performing in front of a supportive and encouraging audience. During her assembly this week, Miss Pendleton introduced the Junior pupils to one of our new school values ‘Proud’ – We celebrate all successes no matter how big or small, knowing that we all have a part to play in supporting each other. This seems very fitting because we feel extremely proud of all the pupils who have played in our recent after-school concert recitals this term, including our Year 3 and 4 pupils a few weeks ago. It has been lovely to see how each girl has felt proud of not just her own achievements but proud of her peers as well. Congratulations to everyone who took part and thank you for working extremely hard with your instrumental and vocal teachers on your pieces in preparation for the concerts!

Some quotes from our Year 5 pupils about their experience of playing in the concert:

Judy – “It was great listening to many aspiring musicians playing in the concert!”

Maggie – “I thoroughly enjoyed hearing everyone’s pieces and I am very proud of myself!”

Ella – “It was really fun and it’s nice to have an audience once in a while!”

Ellie – “It was great fun and gave me something to look forward to. I enjoyed listening to everybody play!”

Delilah – “I found it very satisfying to practice a piece for a really long time and to perform it in front of an audience very well. I also enjoyed listening to everybody play their wonderful pieces!”

Sarena – “It was my first time playing in front of an audience and it was a great experience!”

Ishya – “I was really proud of myself doing this great experience and I think everybody’s piece was great!”

Oviya – “I loved expressing myself through my instrument!”

Arisa – “At first before the concert I felt really nervous but when I started playing my piece, I started to enjoy it and I loosened up!”

Sophia – “I liked hearing all the different types of musical instruments and how they were played!”

Maya – “I was really nervous but in the end it was great fun and I would do it again!

Miss Sarah Delany
Head of Junior School Music

On 20 February, twelve Year 9s took part in the SATRO STEMfest 2024 – an all-day STEM conference. During the day, the pupils were challenged by real-life scenarios, binary coding puzzles, programming robots, AI tasks and building electrical circuits. They also visited company stands as part of a mini careers fair.

“At each station, we got the opportunity to take part in some fun, hands-on activities related to a STEM job. For example, at the stand about making forklifts automatic, we got the chance to use a mini remote control forklift, and we got to make mosquitos out of Lego to model how to stop them from transmitting diseases.”
Emily I and Livia W

Mrs Sari Leppala
Teacher of Chemistry
Innovation & Enrichment Lead (Science)

On Sunday 25 February, the Royal Academy of Music welcomed nearly 90 GDST students from 20 different schools. Each school nominated some of their most talented musicians for the second GDST Sing! day. It provided an excellent opportunity for girls from various regions to unite for a day of collaboration and performance in a splendid choir setting. Throughout the day, participants learned new pieces and revisited familiar ones under the guidance of the esteemed choral director and presenter, Tori Longdon, known for her work coaching choirs for the coronation of King Charles III.

The centrepiece of the event was the stirring cantata ‘The Girl from Aleppo,’ which recounts the remarkable true story of Nujeen Mustafa, a courageous teenager born with cerebral palsy. Her daunting journey from war-torn Syria to Germany in a wheelchair serves as a poignant testament to resilience, determination, and hope, shedding light on one of the pressing humanitarian crises of our era, the Syrian refugee crisis.

During the concert, composer Cecilia McDowall and lyricist Kevin Crossley-Holland shared insights into the creation of this remarkable work. The event featured exceptional individual performances, culminating in a magnificent rendition of ‘Seasons of Love’ from the musical Rent by the combined voices of the GDST students.

Overall, the event was a resounding success, offering an inspiring and empowering experience for all participants to sing alongside the finest voices within the GDST community.

Mr Marcus Suryani
Director of Music

On 2-3 March, Isla, Aashka, Safa, Isabella and Eloane attended the UKSDC national finals. We learned so much from attending the competition and had experience working alongside other schools to create our final 40 slide presentation. The whole competition was 24 hours of solid working, research and collaborating so by the end we were all running off of energy drinks. The UKSDC allowed us to work on a project proposal which was to create a space elevator which linked the lunar surface to a space settlement we had to design named Arial. Isla in year 12 ran and got voted for Head of Humans which was an amazing accomplishment for her as well as the judges saying that they specifically liked the Health precautions flow chart done by Isla and Aashka. Despite not winning we created lots of memories from having to completely restart our design to squeezing everyone into a lift. Overall, this experience was so fun and enriching to us as we gained real life experience, and we can’t wait to compete again next year.

Eloane R
Lower Sixth

Private Peaceful is a novel by British author Michael Morpurgo recounting the life of Private Tommo Peaceful, a young First World War soldier awaiting the firing squad at dawn. During the night, he looks back at his short but joyful life, from growing up in rural Devon to the battles and injustices of war on the front line.

The play is being performed by the Young Oxted Players at the Barn Theatre in Oxted from 14-16th March.

Book your tickets today

JOIN US!

Has your child always wanted to be on stage?

Would he/she like to join our Workshop and take part in our annual musical?

Kenley Holiday Workshop is a local group of 50 or so young people aged 9-18 who spend a fortnight of their summer holiday preparing and presenting a show at the Barn Theatre, Oxted, under the expert guidance of a talented directing team.
KHW has something really special!

On stage you see a group of youngsters, having a great time presenting a really good show. But it is much more than that. We are a community, a family, with the performers supported by a large unseen team, from the talented Directors to the big group of backstage workers, led by our superb Stage Manager, together with many parents helping in so many ways.
The children gain confidence, learn new skills, make lasting friendships and above all, have fun!

The show for 2024 is the magnificent “BEAUTY AND THE BEAST”

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Audition date is: Sunday 14 April
Rehearsal dates are: Saturday 3 to Tuesday 13 August
Performance dates are: Wednesday 14 to Saturday 17 August
(Everyone must be available for the whole of the rehearsal period)

Rehearsals will be at St Francis’ Catholic Primary School in Whyteleafe, with the second week based at the Barn Theatre, Oxted.
If you would like some more information, please contact: sallydallosso@googlemail.com
^{(Bursaries are available for those in financial need)}

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