A message from Ms Davies 10 February 2023

To all in our Croydon High Community

This week has been indescribably difficult for everyone connected to Croydon High School. Nothing could have prepared us for the news we received and we have had no manual or guidelines to refer to as we try to work our way through.

At times like this, all we can do is rely on our inner resources and to support one another, recognising that each of our responses is determined by our individual circumstances.

For some of you, this may have been a difficult week because you never knew Mrs Pattison. You will have been aware of the sadness and shock and been moved by it because you could see how much it was affecting others. I know that you have played an important part in supporting us all. So thank you.

For others of course, who knew Mrs Pattison and perhaps Lettie too, your response is very different. Each of you has your own unique connection. You will be remembering conversations you had with her and things she did that affected you and your family. It is really important that you hold onto those memories and the lessons and the inspiration that Mrs Pattison gave to you.So many of you have expressed your feelings in messages to the school, or with thoughtful gifts or you have left flowers at the school gates with beautiful notes and cards. We will keep all these messages and presents safe and when the time is right we will pass them on to Mrs Pattison’s family.

As you are probably aware, I didn’t know Mrs Pattison very well or for very long, but I am so grateful for the fact that I too feel a strong connection to her. When I was applying for the post as Head here, I was living in Hong Kong as you may know. Mrs Pattison was so generous with her time; we had long conversations about the role and the school and my overwhelming memory of that time was the incredible love she had for Croydon High and her pride in all her pupils.

I have shared this story with a number of staff and pupils this week but it will always make me smile. We had dinner together last summer and when I arrived to meet her at the restaurant she burst out laughing and said that I was wearing the same dress she had bought the day before! We then laughed together at the idea that we may have both worn the same outfit and wondered what that said about us. Over many conversations we shared, she gave me so much good advice and I knew that she wanted to remain in touch with me and to continue to give me whatever support she could as I took on my new role.

And she did; she always wanted to know about what was happening here at Croydon High. She was so delighted to hear the news of our excellent rating in the ISI Inspection – and I knew how much it meant to her to have the school she had dedicated so much energy and time to, to be recognised for how truly excellent it is in every way..

Mrs Pattison believed that Croydon High was unique and I have also and very quickly learned that to be true. In 2024, Croydon High will celebrate its 150th anniversary. Over those years, twelve strong women have been Heads of this school starting with our very own Miss Neligan, whose portrait hangs here in the Senior Hall. Each of them brought something different to the role, each of them led in different times with different priorities and different challenges. Miss Neligan herself was a suffragette; a woman who was ahead of her time in the way she fought for women’s rights and the right to a standard of education for girls that was equal to that of their brothers.

Miss Adams was Head during the Second World War and oversaw the evacuation of the school and all its pupils to Wales. Miss Cameron was Head when the school moved from its original site in Wellesley Road, Croydon out here to Selsdon in 1966 – I understand it was the day of the World Cup Final – the last time it was won by England and the removal men were none too keen to work that day!

Every one of those women left their mark on Croydon High and changed it. Over the last few days I have been thinking a lot about Mrs Pattison’s legacy to our school. Under her guidance, pupil numbers rose, A Level and GCSE results improved, and we had investment in our school facilities and a development of our academic and co-curricular programmes making sure that these reflect the modern forward thinking school that we are. Mrs Pattison led the school through COVID, doing absolutely everything she could to ensure that pupils and staff were supported and connected through that most challenging time.

These are all impressive achievements but for me, Mrs Pattison’s legacy will always be her pupils and her staff. She led this school with warmth, compassion and humanity. She believed in treating people fairly, in supporting them and encouraging them to aspire, to work hard and to dream big. Just like Dorinda Neligan and all the other Heads that came before her, Mrs Pattison believed that nothing should hold a girl back, not society, not her sex but most importantly not herself.

I see these traits all around me in the pupils and staff, in the way they treat one another and the way they believe in one another and I believe that this is Mrs Pattison’s greatest legacy. As the 13th Head of Croydon High, I am committed to preserving it throughout my time here as your Head.

It has been a very difficult week and so, as we prepare for a half-term break I hope that you and your daughters take some time to relax and to do the things that make you happy. I am sure all of us will continue to think about the tragic events of last week and will experience a range of emotions, including sadness and anger. That is natural.

In time, we will find the right way to honour Mrs Pattison and Lettie’s memory. So many many people want to be involved in that and we will make sure we give them that opportunity.It is very important. And of course, if you have any ideas on this, please do tell us.

Our school motto May her Character and Talents Inspire Others could have been written especially for Mrs Pattison and for Lettie and I know that I will spend some time over the next week, reflecting on how best I can do this myself and also how I can enable our school to appropriately honour their memories, in a way that would have made her proud.

And please know, as we head into half term, that I am very proud of this whole school community. How lucky am I to be Head of our wonderful school.

With my best wishes

Annabel Davies