CHS the magazine 2016

The Magazine Croydon High School 2016

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CONTENTS TITLE................................................... Page No. Interview with Mrs Leonard................................... 2 Interview with Mrs Bradshaw................................ 4 Nursery................................................................... 6 Reception............................................................... 8 Year 1.....................................................................10 Year 2.....................................................................12 Year 3.....................................................................14 Year 4.....................................................................16 Year 5.....................................................................18 Year 6.....................................................................20 Junior Art...............................................................23 Junior Music..........................................................24 Junior Sport...........................................................25 Junior Careers......................................................26 Junior Drama........................................................28 House Reports.......................................................30 Fashion Show........................................................32 Amnesty International..........................................34 Model UN Conference.........................................36 Sporting Highlights...............................................38 Gym and Dance..................................................40 Edinburgh Festival................................................41 Oliver!.....................................................................42 Art...........................................................................44 Creative Writing....................................................46 English....................................................................50 Geography...........................................................52 RS............................................................................53 Classics..................................................................54 French Trip.............................................................55 German Exchange..............................................56 Madrid Trip............................................................57 Music.....................................................................58 Careers..................................................................59 Maths.....................................................................60 Science..................................................................61 Booktopia..............................................................63 Foreign Trips..........................................................64 Referendum..........................................................65 Goodbyes.............................................................66

Letter from our Editors This last year has seen a plethora of academic and extracurricular successes and opportunities at Croydon High, from trips to Greece and a whole school production of Oliver! to several girls being selected to play a range of sports for their county.

As a result, it was a nothing short of a challenge to sort through these achievements to select what would feature in the magazine.

While it was not possible to include everything, hopefully this final product will capture our pride in the school and everything that it has accomplished this year.

The Magazine would never have come together without the tireless efforts of Mrs Cook, Ms Forshaw and Mrs Roe, whose diligent proof reading, picture-collating, patience and commitment has guided the editorial committee throughout the process.

A highlight of working on this magazine has been watching the enthusiasm on girls’ faces as they recalled events that they had taken part in throughout the year. And so we must say a huge congratulation to all the staff and pupils who have worked to make this year so successful.

All the best for the next year, and let’s keep it up, especially as we now enter a new chapter of the school’s history as we say a sad farewell to Mrs Leonard and welcome her successor, Mrs Pattison!

Elise Vigilance. Olivia Ricketts, Alita Butcher, Isla Francis and Laura Baliman

Cover Story The stunning image we have chosen for our front cover this year is the work of Year 13 Fine Art student Maheen Alam. Here is what she has to say about her inspiration.

“This year you could say I’ve been exploring the theme of feminism through both my coursework project and my exam title.

With my coursework project, I decided to portray the effect of the male gaze and female sexualisation. Using sculpture, I tried to put across pieces that show areas of the female form that are objectified. I then produced a series of prints in which I showed the subject (whose body I sculpted) hiding away those areas using wet drapery. This was influenced by our trip to Florence.

Our exam title ‘Truth, Fantasy or Fiction’ got me exploring the truth behind my sitter and how best to portray this in my paintings. I coupled this approach with showing the strength of females – in vast contrast to their sexualisation. I looked at artists that used vivid colours to put across power and strength. I chose my Aunt as my subject as I saw her as a powerful woman in my life. Having been through many hardships, which I recorded from her on many occasions, I tried to include those key areas that showed her strength in my painting.

Throughout A2 Level Art I’ve really enjoyed working with colour and this has pushed me beyond my comfort zone. Sculpture has been one of my main focuses and it has also been a challenge from which I have gained a lot of new experiences.”

CROYDO N H I GH

Since 1874 W H O L E S C H O O L

CROYDO N H I GH

A fond Farewell to Mrs Leonard D

ebbie Leonard joined Croydon High School as Head in May 2010, coming from Nottingham High GDST where she was Deputy Head. She will take up the post of head teacher of The Grange School in Cheshire in September. Alita Butcher-Wallis and Isla Francis interviewed her on the eve of her departure.

You have been at CHS for six years. Can you identify six highlights from those years?

Only six…? Now that will be difficult! Obviously the 140th Celebration has got to be one but there have been so many individual moments which I will always remember as highlights.

At the end of the day, the more I reflect on my time here and having worked now in five different schools, what I really love about Croydon High is the atmosphere in the school. We all ‘rub along’ well together, teachers and pupils, and there isn’t that sense of hierarchy that you get in some schools. I think I’m really going to miss that.

This school is very much a team effort and, although I lead, I see my job as facilitating others. The annual National Council of Young Women sixth form conferences are a great example of this. I have always been impressed with our sixth formers, but I knew there was so much more that they could do. Seeing them leading these conferences, tackling difficult and often sensitive issues, has been amazing.

Other areas that have grown in success are Debating and Model UN and our Junior school sport has improved immensely.

What I think I’ve done is looked at what we’ve got already and tried to make sure that we do it better, to add value and create different opportunities. I’m delighted that girls are benefitting from being more in touch with our alumnae. You can’t buy these experiences. It’s about seizing an opportunity, building your network and working with people you know.

Since 1874

WHOLE SCHOOL

We came into the Senior School at the same time as you became Head, so we’ve been through the years with you; what advice would you give to those of us who will still be here?

Believe in yourself! I’ve hopefully communicated that to every individual in the school. And yes, you’ll have problems because we all have problems. But grab every opportunity and tell people how good you are, because if you don’t the next person will and they will use that to their advantage. So I’m constantly talking pupils up, but in a way that’s not arrogant. You don’t get any arrogance at this school. It’s all about being positive! You’re the driver, so drive! If you fail your A levels tomorrow, will I be sitting there giving you a hard time? No, I’ll say, “Right what are we going to do about it? There’s always a solution. It might be a different tack but there’s always a way. So step back, stop feeling sorry for yourself, and let’s look at what we’re going to do about it!”

We’ve talked a lot about your considerable impact on the school, but do you feel that you’ve changed as a result of being here?

Have I changed? I’m not sure I have. I’m still the same person.

One thing I have realised is the importance of strong people skills. I’m probably more overtly aware of that than I’ve ever been. I think I’ve become more aware of my impact on people.

So if you were to sum up, what do you think is your legacy?

“We are Croydon High”– it’s that positivity that we are one.

People now say “We are Croydon High” proudly and the ivy leaf is an identity that we associate with. I think I’ve probably given back that identity. I’m sure also some of my so called ‘northern’ values will stay. Resilience is one, positivity and seizing opportunities are others. I hope they will be my legacy because I genuinely believe in the power of all these traits.

We thank Mrs Leonard for all that she has done for Croydon High School and for her inspiring leadership over the last six years and wish her every success in her new headship.

So, if you had to say one thing you’ll miss most would it be the school’s atmosphere?

Yes, its ethos, its atmosphere. I’m going to miss that because I’m not sure whether you can replicate that. It’s not something that just happens. I’m happy here because I have good staff, who are realists and who will go to the ‘nth degree’ for the students. And there’s genuine warmth here; teachers really believe in what they’re doing and in their pupils. All the staff have worked closely with me; we have a professional dialogue that means we have developed together. We all want the best and we aspire to do the best by each other What have been your biggest challenges?

My biggest challenges come from external factors. I don’t like the 11+. Too many children are losing Years 5 and 6 because of excessive tutoring to get them into competitive schools. I understand why - but that’s not healthy! Parents are creating anxieties, teaching children to pass a test, but not improving their education or academic ability. That’s not going to stand them in good stead in the future. I think they should be enjoying Year 6 and not feeling under all this pressure. I’ve worked in different parts of the country, but this is the worst area for this because of the level of competition from grammar schools.

During your time here, you’ve made a lot of changes. What has been the most significant?

I think I have brought positivity back to the school. When I arrived it was very negative, for lots of reasons. Everyone talked about Croydon High as though it belonged to somebody else but, actually, Croydon High is the people who make up the community. I think I started to get people to appreciate that we are lucky. I started to articulate the strengths of the school; I got people to believe in it. You have to have a positive outlook; you’ve got to seize opportunities. I think I’m a motivator. I find subtle ways of influencing an outlook, whether it is of individuals or of a group.

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CROYDO N H I GH

Since 1874 J U N I O R S C H O O L

CROYDO N H I GH

Since 1874 J U N I O R S C H O O L

Junior School Head, Sophie Bradshaw, reflects on the year and how we are preparing our girls for their futures When our Year 6 finally consent for their leavers hoodies to be removed and washed and they prepare to arrive at school ‘across the car park’, we as a Junior School reflect on how well we have prepared them for the future.

At our end of term Prize Giving I asked parents the question: what does prepared look like?

Do we mean they are prepared for the curriculum? Do we mean are they prepared for independent learning? If we do mean those things then I am confident we have succeeded.

Our Year 6 leave as confident learners who take ownership of their own progress.

But for me, being prepared for life beyond Junior School is more than that. I hope we have taught them how to fail, how to overcome disappointment, how to fall out and make up with friends. Most importantly I hope we have taught them not to try to be perfect. In my childhood Mary Poppins was watched so many times in our house that the video had lines running through it. I loved it. To this day I secretly wish I too could tidy my bedroom by snapping my fingers! But reflecting on the film as an adult, parent and teacher I am unsure of how useful it is to teach children that their role models are ‘practically perfect in every way”. Therefore I hope that as Year 6 leave us, they have learnt that we do not expect or even desire perfection from them. I hope they have learnt that no great thinker, no great entrepreneur, no great scientist, no great athlete ever achieved greatness by avoiding mistakes.

highlighting to parents and girls the opportunities available.

This year we plan to make Mathematics our careers focus as we answer the question teenagers everywhere ask when revising… “What is the point of algebra?”!

Developing the plan for our careers project made me realise that, in actual fact, everything we offer at Croydon High, from Nursery up, is designed to help shape girls’ futures. Attributes such as confidence and resilience, together with skills in presentation and reasoning, will be as important to them as academic qualifications and we focus on finding ways to develop these skills in even the youngest pupils. We strive to encourage aspiration, to build awareness and to help girls grow up in an atmosphere where they believe anything is possible.

This year has been packed with opportunities for all of us, to develop and to excel and learn new and exciting things. I am proud of all we have achieved as a school and want to take this opportunity to thank the staff who have worked so hard to create such an inspirational environment and our magnificent girls who make it all worthwhile.

This year we have gone a step further in their preparations and girls in Junior School have been involved in a unique careers project, preparing them for the world beyond Senior School. Our Opening Doors to her Future project aimed to share with girls the huge scope of available careers to them. On top of that we also made engineering a particular focus, challenging gender stereotypes and

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Since 1874 J U N I O R S C H O O L

Nursery CROYDO N H I GH

CROYDO N H I GH

Since 1874 J U N I O R S C H O O L

In Nursery, we read the book ‘The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch’ and, over a fortnight, did activities based on the book and overlapped it between two topics – ‘Healthy Living’ and ‘Transportation’.

They then role-played the story by transporting the sandwiches they made from one end of the washing line to the other.

Linked to this learning, the girls also did a floating and sinking experiment using boats and other objects.

The girls made sandwiches (which they enjoyed eating after the activity!) and thought about healthy food to add to the picnic basket.

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Minibeasts

Since 1874 J U N I O R S C H O O L

Reception CROYDO N H I GH

The summer topic on ‘Growing’ saw all the girls discuss what plants needed to grow, and to identify and label the different parts of a plant.

CROYDO N H I GH

Since 1874 J U N I O R S C H O O L

The girls enjoyed exploring the grounds searching for minibeasts on a hunt, as well as identifying and discussing their habitats.

They took this one step further by creating their very own woodlice habitat with the sand tray lid in our Early Years garden.

Construction was used in the form of shape and hammer boards, playdough, peg boards and mosaic tiles, to represent a wide range of minibeasts.

They were able to put this into practice when they each planted a broad bean and watered it, observing how it grew over time.

G R O W I N G The girls enjoyed looking back at baby photos of themselves and thinking about how they have grown and changed over time as well as the similarities and differences. They used their baby photos to sketch a portrait in charcoal.

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Since 1874 J U N I O R S C H O O L

Year 1 CROYDO N H I GH

CROYDO N H I GH

Tiptoeing tiger In the green grass watching Going to pounce on his prey Eating his lovely lunch Roaring loudly in the jungle

By Lauren Huntley Moves from tree to tree Off to play with his friends Nosey monkey Keeping his bananas safe Eating as much as he can Yelling yellow monkey

By Breanna Jacob-David

Giant giraffe Irritating long neck Rough skin Amazing ears that stay up Frightful legs that kill tigers Freckly skin Eating green leaves from a tree

By Aleena Bennett

Munching on the bananas On the tree tops Naughty noisy monkey Keeping his banana hidden Eyes watching everywhere Yelling monkey

By Elena Gohill Tickling tiger In the green grass hunting Getting food of raw red meat Enormous roar Rapidly running to get his prey

By Chloe Albutt

Africa Gigantic giraffe Incredibly tall Rough skin Astonishing bright colours Frightful legs Friendly face Eating from tall trees

By Zadie Chandler

Munching on ripe bananas On the tree tops Naughty little monkey Keen to play Every monkey watching Yells loudly to his friends

By Mariyah Hameed Lonely lion In the quiet jungle he sleeps On the long green grass Next to a sneaky slithering snake

By Elsie Heath-Pampin

10

Munching their bananas On the tree tops Noisy monkeys Keeping his banana close Enormous eyes Yellow fuzzy fur

By Alisha Ambalike

Munching on bananas On the tree top Naughty monkey Keeping close to his friends Eyes watching Yelling loudly

By Oyinlola Dawodu

Marvellous monkey On the tree top Naughty nosey monkey Keeping his banana safe Eating them all up Yelling furry monkey

By Hannah Jesudasan Munching on his lunch On the tree tops Noisy monkey Keeping his banana close Eyes watching Yellow fuzzy fur

By Laura Johnson Munching on bananas On top of the trees Noisy shouting Keeping his banana hidden Eyes watching Yellow fuzzy fur

By Leonie Page Gigantic giraffe Incredible and tall Rapidly running through rustling leaves Annoying giraffe Floppy fluffy ears Feeding his babies Eats leaves from tall trees

By Ahaana Parulekar Roy

Mean monkey On the tree tops Naughty and noisy Keeping his banana safe Eyes watching the creatures Yellow and furry

By Eshana Nihalani Large lion In the big jungle On the deep green grass Next to a long slithering snake

By Holly Maconachie Loud, fierce roar In the swaying grass On the watch for prey Night time hunting

By Amaya Kang Giant neck In the African savannah Racing in the wind A long tongue Fuzzy fur Friendly Ears as soft as silk

By Ishanvi Naidu

Since 1874 J U N I O R S C H O O L

Lonely lion living In the jungle and sleeping On the deep green grass Next to a sneaky slithering snake

By Luna Corry Giant giraffe Incredibly long Rapidly running A long neck Feeding their tall babies Floppy fluffy ears Eating the highest leaves

By Presha Vyas Tiptoeing tiger In the green grass Grizzling and growling Ears listening Running rapidly

By Josie Lawn

Large, long teeth In the grass On the prowl for food Next to the Acacia tree

By Nicole Wong Hing Cheung

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Since 1874 J U N I O R S C H O O L

Year 2 CROYDO N H I GH

CROYDO N H I GH

The Great Fire of London

1666 I feel scared

The Great Fire of London

The Great Fire

The flames are burning Houses falling down

I see flames leaping in the sky

The fire has begun

Everyone is escaping

Fire crackling

Sparks jumping around

Flames have spread

People are feeling worried

People shouting

People screaming and running

When will it stop?

Fire in the sky

I can hear people shouting

Escape!

Sparks are bouncing

Screaming and shouting

So frightening!

Houses falling

London is burning,

I am terrified!

How many people are rushing around?

Rats scurrying

Sewage everywhere

Everywhere is burnt

What to do?

Fire raging

The fire is spreading!

The smell of smoke

People are jumping onto boats

Rats are everywhere

The fire is rising!

What hopes now?

London has changed forever!

People screaming

Sonam Maharaj

Anya Mehta

Everyone escaping to get a boat

The Great Fire of London

The Great Fire

The fire spread quickly and fast

People escaping

I felt terrified!

How did it start?

Fire raging I felt petrified!

People screaming

Fire crackling

Everywhere burning

Sparks flying

Everyone panicking

Houses destroyed.

Sparks flying in the air

Water squirting

The fire crackling

People fleeing!

Petrifying!

Fitnet Quaquah The Great Fire People rushing Everyone is screaming Throwing buckets of water Glowing fire, orange and red

Reena Murphy at The Great Fire of London

Sparks everywhere

People throwing buckets of water

People dashing

Pulling down houses Screeching, hiding

What year do you think it was?

Fire destroying homes I was terrified!

Lots left homeless

People throwing buckets of water

Everything destroyed

So scared!

People were hiding I heard splashing

Sharanika Kalaichelvan When the Great Fire Began

Pulling down houses

People screaming

Fire crackling

The fire crackling

Everyone scared

Terrifying!

I saw boats

Frightening sparks

When will the fire end?

Collecting water

People were hiding

Londoner’s hiding

Smelly rats everywhere

Pulling down houses

I am anxious!

Rats everywhere!

Anjali Bahel

The fire raging

Do you know why?

Water splashing

Poppy Somers

Rats running Sparks flying everywhere Houses being knocked down Everyone hiding Worried!

People collecting water Houses burnt What’s next?

Malaika Macfoy

12

People escaping on boats

Look! People hiding Rats running in all directions.

Look! The fire is spreading Destroying the buildings People throwing water

The Fire

Flames flying

It never happened again

Artists who were alive in 1666 painted pictures of the fire afterwards, so we know what it would have looked like if we’d been there too.

Fleeing people Crackling flames Hiding animals Anxious neighbours Sparks on the floor Hurrying people Houses destroyed Six people dead Panicking, everyone screeching What will happen next?

Lydia Suggett

Fire, Fire!

I was scared Houses burning People running everywhere

When houses were rebuilt, a lot of them were made in bricks instead of wood, and they weren’t built so close together.

Sir Christopher Wren designed a monument to remember the Great Fire of London, which still stands today.

People dying

The Great Fire

The Great Fire

London is changing

People screaming

Fire raging

Panic panic!

Pulling down houses

People escaping

People dashing

Panicking, shouting, rushing

I felt petrified!

I heard the fire crackling

Fire raging

How did it start?

I want to go home!

Fire destroying

Fire crackling

Ava Goveia

Sparks everywhere

Sparks flying

It was terrifying!

Houses destroyed.

Londoners hiding

Water squirting

When will this fire end?

People fleeing!

Lexie Salako

Reena Murphy

When I saw the Fire Fire smoking right up into the air Burning all the houses down

People are worried Where is it coming from?

People whose homes had burned down lived in tents in the fields around London while buildings were rebuilt.

Fire spreading

The Fire I can hear people shouting

I can smell smoke

Charulata Raval

Fire!

Leila Idiculla

We know what happened during the fire because people back then wrote about it in letters and newspapers – for instance, Samuel Pepys wrote about it in his diary.

How many survived?

The Fire

Panic!

Screaming for help

I was terrified

I woke up in the morning and saw flames

The River Thames is busy

In 1666, lots of people had houses made from wood and straw which burned easily. Houses were also built very close together.

To fight fires during this time, people would have used leather buckets, metal hooks and water squirts.

Screaming

People screeching

Before the fire began, there had been a drought in London that lasted for 10 months, so the city was very dry.

Fire raging

Ava White

Smoke rising

The fire began in a bakery in Pudding Lane.

Sparks flying

Sparks flying

Fire raging

Spreading

The Great Fire of London happened between 2nd and the 5th September 1666.

Everyone was escaping

Fire destroying houses

Fire crackling

Panic panic!

The fire has started

How am I going to survive?

Would you have liked to be in London in 1666?

People throwing water

The Great Fire of London

Since 1874 J U N I O R S C H O O L

I felt terrified!

The Great Fire

People throwing water

The fire spread throughout London

Sparks flying, fire spreading

I was so scared!

Houses falling, people escaping

I could smell the smoke from far away

Anxious!

Splashing on the houses

Fire raging

Homes falling to the ground

When will it end?

The fire has stopped…London has changed forever.

Anusheh Kidwai

Amariah During

Do you think we will survive? Water in leather buckets

Fire spreading in the wind Lots of houses pulled down Sparks flying everywhere

Delina Silvera

1666 Fire of London As I came out of my house I saw People throwing buckets of water I was petrified!

There were scared animals People screaming Fire spreading How was it spreading so fast?

Illuminating Pulling down houses I smelt the smoke People escaping I was panicking Fire oh fire!

Lots of boats Dirty streets Fire crackling Sparks flying Fire destroying houses Burnt bakery.

Emma Farquharson

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Since 1874 J U N I O R S C H O O L

Year 3 CROYDO N H I GH

CROYDO N H I GH

With his wire-rimmed glasses perched on top of his long, crooked nose, Captain Marryet looked every inch the old ancient sailor with his wiry bushy beard. He had once been a brave, famous sailor. Now he was too old to sail but he still kept a small rickety sailing boat. He lived in the Outer Hebrides, in a towering tall castle on an island that was facing a steep hill; only Captain Marryet lived on this island. He was sad, lonely and miserable because his wife had died and his children were adults and did not see him anymore.

Captain Marryet would go out in his little, unstable rowing boat every so often to catch fish to eat. When he was not fishing, he painted the many colourful flowers that he kept in the castle and gazed out of the highest window as the weather changed the landscape below. He was a curious man and he wanted to have an adventure.

~ Penelope Pelling ~ The Odd Old Man The extraordinarily, peculiar odd old man had a dark and gloomy presence. I was suspicious of his unusual glare. I suspected that his shady menacing look meant that he was up to strange and vicious things. I am usually very quick to spot strange things.

This exceptional individual was interesting and suspicious. I was dumbfounded.

In the middle of the forest was a stream and in it was a spiky monster! He was looking for the golden heart so that he could turn back into a normal person again. I heard a loud thumping sound; it was the spikey monster again. I went home to get supplies so I could go closer to the savage beast. I returned to the forest to search for the wild beast but he was gone. I wondered where he went.

I searched high and eventually I finally found him, he was in a strange cave! I moved closer but then he suddenly disappeared.

~ Annabella Torpis ~

The Sounds in the Evening

The Monster on the Wall

Emily was inspired to write this poem after studying the poetry of Eleanor Farjeon

The classroom was silent; everybody was focused on their work.

On the old, damp wall stood a picture of a green slimy grinning monster. He had a mouth full of razor sharp teeth that were yellow and mouldy. But I was shocked when he winked his staring, blood red eye at me.

The calming sounds in the cool evening, Go all through the gentle house, The click of the ticking clock And the pick of the scrambling mouse.

The thumping footsteps of chattering people, Beneath the very top floor.

Captain Marryet… the introduction to a story

The swishing skirts of my caring mother,

Dear Diary,

That brush by the hinge of the door.

I was amazed that I had been chosen to escort Ernest Shackleton to the bitter cold Antarctica; I felt like bursting, tears of happiness were rolling down my cheeks. My wife almost fainted and my children were jumping up with joy. I simply could not wait to get going.

The meowing of my precious cats,

The Endurance was made up of sandwiched pieces of solid oak and it had a sharp pointed bow so that it would be strong enough to break through the ice. Antarctica was beautiful; I had never seen anything like it before. I saw sharp ice-bergs in the frozen sea as huge as a giant and the ice was white and smooth like a freshly ironed sheet. The bitter coldness made me feel as if I had been bitten by a thousand bees and my fingers felt numb.

The voice of the wind was like the howls of people singing. I heard seals splashing in the water searching for prey and the crunching of snow from the feet of penguins .In the Weddell Sea the boat became stuck in a jigsaw of pack ice, we crashed and banged and finally stopped. We tried to dig it out for hours and hours, everybody was groaning and whining and our hands were numb. I felt sad and nervous and suddenly filled with disappointment that our expedition had failed.

~ Mishka Chitra ~ The Exquisite Wood

Since 1874 J U N I O R S C H O O L

As quick as a flash, he sprinted out of the painting. I ran after him and he leapt out of the window and stopped at the swings. I didn’t know what to say. Wow, a monster!

He stared at me and then burst into floods of tears. I was mesmerised when he did this. But before I could say anything, he was gone!

~ Mia Warren ~ Blossom in a vase

That seem just by my resting ear, The hooting of wide awake owls,

by Seanna Patel

That can never seem near.

The queer little noises that no-one explains…

Till the glowing moon through the window slats, Of my pink window-blind rains, And the world of my deep, sleepy eyes, And my soft ears melt like powdery steam, As I find my favourite pillow The heart of my soothing dream.

~ Emily Bacchus ~ King Penguin

by Zariya Bennett

Fantastic Mr Fox by Samantha Moon

In an enchanted forest I smelt the scent of exquisite, green grass.

I saw a gold castle glimmering in the azure sky. Deep down in the enchanted forest, red poppies glimmered in the sunlight. Silver rocks were surrounded by sparkling blue water. Above my head I could hear birds humming gently in the trees. Suddenly, I saw marble columns and sparkling towers reaching into the sky. As I reached the golden throne with multi-coloured gems I met the Queen I bowed down before her.

~ Emily BacchusKumar ~

Sunflowers

by Amira Gill

Landscape in France

by Roma Rajasekeran

The Enchanted Forest Ambitiously I step into the enchanted forest. I see a beautiful blue bird singing her sweetest melody. The autumn leaves look like gold falling from heaven. A winding path leads me to a turquoise lake and as the wind blows I smell the scent of fresh lavender.

An emerald green castle stands proudly, shimmering in the sunshine and sparkling like a thousand sapphires. It is the most beautiful thing that I have ever set my eyes upon.

My curiosity leads into this magical castle. A diamond chandelier hangs reflecting colours of the rainbow. The cold marble floor glistens in the light. Every room is filled with beauty.

Bunce

by Olivia Maconichie 14

Proudly, a statue of Mother Nature stands. I step closer. Suddenly the statue blinks her eyes.

I leap back in shock.

~ Diya Jain ~ 15

Since 1874 J U N I O R S C H O O L

Year 4 CROYDO N H I GH

CROYDO N H I GH

Poetry inspired by ‘Oranges in No Man’s Land’ Battered cars , No blue skies No sunny beaches in no man’s land.

Shattered glass all over the dirty floor.

The street is empty.

No people walking Smoke drifting about houses The smell of dead bodeis No colour in the city anymore When will this war end?

Ellie Rowland BANG! The booms Thundering everywhere.

The city sang a sweet Song before the war.

The rooms look like a Balloon of bombs had hit them And exploded everywhere.

A tall, twisted spine of wire Spikes up form the ground Where once a pipe was.

BOOM! Another explosion thundered, thankfully not on me.

I pray that one day the war will end and not tear my city apart.

Isabella Torpis I stood Staring out, Out of the window.

The city, the disfigured city.

Bang!

Another bomb.

“My eyes!,” I whispered, “My eyes!”

I see black, just black.

I can’t see!

Rose Callcott 16

Boom!

Ka

The shadow of death Laughs with joy…

I will never break free, My life is doomed.

Death is near to me.

Assaulted buildings weep and moan.

The walls, They are closing in on me.

I watch in despair as many lives Die. Help!

Life or death.

Mishti Busa

Maddie Hunter

Gunshots This is my city Scruffy and solitary My hands are shaking and my heart is Breaking…

BANG! Frantically, My heart beats in my ears.

Here comes another one…

CRASH! This city has been split apart by anger and disagreement.

The menacing shadow Of death is coming for me.

When will this end…?

Amelia Godden Misty sky and children in alarm Shooting guns and exploding bombs Ruined buildings, shells hammering down pounding houses People screaming, loud as lions, Quivering fire, burning things down Unwashed people, piles of rubble BOOM, BANG, CRASH! Another house has been taken down And depressed people complaining.

Louise RIley

se

Abhishree Va

fer yra Ja

War

Emily Hayden de Carbonnieres

Lexi Reeve

Since 1874 J U N I O R S C H O O L

Zahra Khan

Eonie Meyer

Meg

Bridg

es

Millie Bowen

The Tudors

What My City Looks Like

Black mangled holes surrounded me

My city is cloaked with grit,

My house turned into a cripple

Me just standing there,

Deafening bombs exploding all around

Watching everything happen.

I felt hit by hopelessness…

The only smell is smoke and fire.

Fire shattering buildings apart

Monstrous noises deafening my ears

Ferocious gunmen, destroying our city.

Screeching and shouting, buildings are crippled.

Bursting fog slowly swept through the city

Watching my most precious things

My fragile home, shattered before me.

break and disappear.

Sophia Hage

Death’s coming soon!

People screaming in terror, bombs exploding,

War erupted around me

Running screaming children, houses burning.

Exploding bombs, a deafening sound.

People evacuating their once beloved city

Crash! Buildings tumbling down

Crippled buildings, billowing black smoke

Demolished streets, rotting away

Deadly dark black smoke rising, wrecked building

Shocked people fleeing, dodging the mangled holes

Buildings demolished like they were bits of paper

Crippled buildings burning away, fragile things disappearing

Shattered homes, hopeless people,

Evil swirled around me

Empty city, deserted streets…

Smell of danger, shadow of death.

Anousha Nihalani

Aiyana Wimalasuriya

Emilia Hirschmann

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Year 5 CROYDO N H I GH

CROYDO N H I GH

Since 1874 J U N I O R S C H O O L

Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris, who was better known as Le Corbusier was a Swiss-French architect, designer, urban planner, writer and one of the pioneers of what is now called modern architecture.

Houses in the style of Le Corbusier

River survey

Working together

A bootful of river water!

Listening to instructions

Working in the classroom

Team photograph

Setting mammal traps

Nettlecombe 2016 Scrumptious!

Beating the carpet

Nettlecombe Court Pond dipping

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Team games

Queuing for breakfast

Orienteering

Yummy ice creams!

Waiting for the steam train

Looking in the rock pools

Work force at Dunster!

Working in the kitchen

Our lovely field mouse

Singing round the camp fire

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Year 6 CROYDO N H I GH

CROYDO N H I GH

I really enjoyed researching Anne Frank and learning about the awful concentration camps. It was interesting to find out how people lived and how Anne Frank survived until she got to the concentration camp. I couldn’t believe her family and more people lived in a special apartment behind a bookcase in a flat for so long.

Even though the camps were horrible and cruel, I found it interesting to know what life was like living in there. We are lucky to have not lived in that period of time.

Madeleine

I really enjoyed doing the WW2 Scrapbook.

My favourite topic was evacuation. I enjoyed finding out information and I enjoyed decorating the page, I also enjoyed learning about the blitz it was very interesting but scary as well!

I enjoyed learning about WW2 as it made me think about how far we have come in recent society, when I started learning about WW2 I didn’t even know what the Blitz was now I know loads of information about WW2. I loved learning about the treaty of Versailles and rationing. This has been a wonderful experience for me.

It was a good way of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and understanding how children felt, in those times and makes us feel grateful.

Amba I really enjoyed making my World War Two scrapbook as we were allowed to work on our alone more. Also as we got it for homework because it was so fun I spent a lot more time doing work at home.

I think it also showed us how world war two was and how bad it was for some people. My favourite part of the world war two scrapbooks was when I chose to do extra on the channel island as I did when I was in Guernsey, so we went out to see some ww2 sights and watched very good videos.

Amelia M Our World War 2 project was the most exciting project I have ever done. The war is much more emotional than I thought it would be and it very moving for the people who lived during it. You cannot comprehend what it would be like so the soldiers. The section I enjoyed the most was D-Day and the Blitz. I enjoyed the D-Day and the Blitz the most because it was very gory.

Jessica I really enjoyed doing parts of my scrapbook. My favourite topics were evacuation and World War 1.

Treya My favourite topic was evacuation because it is interesting learning about how children our age felt then.

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Eleanor Q

I really enjoyed doing my scrapbook because I learnt a lot about what it was like. My favourite part was making my cover and learning and presenting the Battle of Britain.

Amy

WW2 was an amazing topic as it was interesting to know how they had to cope in those days and it made me realise that lots of people had sacrificed their lives for us.

My favourite topic was evacuation because it was fun to learn about how children my age, older and even younger coped in the war.

Yasmin I really enjoyed making my World War Two scrapbook as we were allowed to work on our alone more. Also as we got it for homework because it was so fun I spent a lot more time doing work at home. I think it also showed us how world war two was and how bad it was for some people. My favourite part of the world war two scrapbooks was when I chose to do extra on the channel island as I did when I was in Guernsey, so we went out to see some ww2 sights and watched very good videos.

Amelia M

Abigail I really enjoyed doing the bit on ARP Wardens. I was amazed by how many people joined the force.

I liked reading all the memories of the people who helped their country though at home. They put out fires and helped people in danger. I think they deserve to be remembered

Since 1874 J U N I O R S C H O O L

My favourite WW2 Year 6 memory is when we studied evacuation. I was fascinated that children were evacuated so quickly! We wrote an evacuees letter to their parents in our English class. This is my favourite memory because there were so many evacuees and so little space for them. Evacuation is an exciting but for some a devastating experience and in my case, I would not want to be evacuated!

Lara

My Favourite part of making our WW2 Scrapbook was when we did our section on Croydon High. It was very fun and interesting as we even got to go into the school Archives to find a lot of information out. The objects and all of the History was fascinating as it wasn’t something you read off the internet, it was real things from the time. What also got me interested was when I saw all the documents, and considering their age, they were VERY new!

Anjali My favourite part in the scrapbook was about CHS being evacuated because it was our school and I have found it interesting.

Doing the WW2 Scrap Books was brilliant, we learned so much but in such a fun way. It taught us to be more independent and how to concentrate through a long period, having to work hard throughout.

We never got bored ever, as each week would be a completely different subject of WW2. My favourite being the CHS evacuees as we got to go down to the archives and be proper historians, wearing professional white gloves, and got to actually see what was going on in our school over 70 years ago (Amazing) and put it as one of the main pages in our book, relating WW2 to our school!

One part I really enjoyed was the Evacuation chapter I think other people enjoyed it to. I interviewed my Grandpa as he had been evacuated and I enjoyed hearing some of his stories and I found out some really cool things. Finding out about how the children had to cope with all the different problems like moving away without some of your family sometimes really made me think.

I really enjoyed learning about World War 2. It was a very bad time in history and lots of lives were gone. I also liked doing a scrapbook all about World War 2. But the best thing was that we got a specific section in the war that we had to do instead of going home and thinking about what section you’re going to put. Not long we also had a World War 2 day. I thought it was really fun especially when we all wore costumes. It was amazing!

India

Eloise

Francesca

Vanessa

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World War 2 Scrapbooks 1939-1945

Making my WW2 scrapbook has been great fun and I have learnt lots of facts along the way. Everyone worked very hard on their scrapbook and as a result everyone has created a beautiful book full of interesting facts and pictures.

Aviniya

I enjoyed compiling my scrapbook as it was a huge opportunity to learn more and it was lots of fun. One particular reason I loved learning about Adolf Hitler this is because his background was very different from what he became.

Senaya I thoroughly enjoyed working on the scrapbook.

Although it was hard work, it was worth it because of all the knowledge you gained on the subject. My personal favourite topic was Guernica, because I did so much research to understand why Pablo Picasso felt such an urge to draw such a significant painting. I also enjoyed it because it was such a personal topic. After the scrapbook I felt as if all those hours were worth it to understand how terrible WW2 was.

Emily

Amelia F

Jessica I think that doing our scrapbooks made us realise more about WW2 and its effects. My favourite page in mine is VE Day because I included some medals on that page which I liked to research about. I liked the fact that it was an independent activity and that there were no limits to how we presented it. I really enjoyed researching and showing all the pages.

Zoe

I thoroughly enjoyed researching and creating my WW2 scrapbook. I especially like the fact that we are able to keep them forever and look back on them in years to come.

My favourite section was the battle of Britain and memorabilia (only I did this this section because I wanted to put in some objects from my Grandfathers time in the RAF).

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It has been a great year for the Junior School in showcasing both

class and individual Art work. Class competitions were held to select a self-portrait from each year, from Nursery all the way to Year 6. This work was selected to display in our local Jubilee Cafe,

Learning about WWII was extremely interesting. I never knew how much there was to learn about, I really enjoyed learning about Anne Frank, the Nazis and concentration camps. Making the scrapbooks really encouraged us to think about these horrible times of war.

Our World War 2 project was the most exciting project I have ever done. The war is much more emotional than I thought it would be and it very moving for the people who lived during it. You cannot comprehend what it would be like so the soldiers. The section I enjoyed the most was D-Day and the Blitz. I enjoyed the D-Day and the Blitz the most because it was very gory.

Junior Art

CR OYDON HIGH

Selsdon in February. Parents were invited to a private viewing of self-portraits created by their daughter.

When I did my scrapbook, the thing I enjoyed most was the first task, because you have all these amazing ideas in your head and you can’t wait to get them out. I had to research the treaty of Versailles and it was really exciting when you got home because you were bustling with ideas.

Juno

The Junior School held an Art Gallery for a day in March which allowed each girl to work on a single piece of work which was framed and mounted for the event and parents were allowed to purchase the work. This was a very successful event with over 120 frames being sold.

I worked really hard on my WW2 Scrapbook, and in the end the results were amazing. My favourite thing in the scrapbook was evacuation. This is because my Grandad got evacuated and he told me everything about it. It’s helpful getting information from a primary source. But all of my scrapbook was a huge highlight of Year 6.

Katherina My highlight for World War Two is when we did Anne Frank’s diary because it was inspiring to see what someone’s life was like in the war. It must have been hard hiding away for a long time. Imagine being cold, hungry and feeling alone. Anne Frank died at the age of fifteen and many decades later we manage to find her diary with all her secrets.

Anne Frank’s diary was invented when her dad bought her a red and white front cover of an autograph book.

Instead of thinking inside the box, she decided to use it as a diary instead. She is a great role model to all of us and if it wasn’t for her we would not know as much as we would about what it was like to be Jewish in World War Two(1939-1945)

Isobel

Finally, In the summer term the Junior School were invited to take part in the GCSE and A-Level Art and 3D Design Exhibition in the Senior School. Again this was a wonderful event, which again allowed each class from Nursery up to Year 6 to be selected to take part in a single piece of art work under the theme ‘Past, Present and Future’. The work ranged from baby sketches, portraits using ICT, famous buildings inspired by the architect Zaha Hadid and sketches from Tudor History.

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CROYDO N H I GH

Since 1874 J U N I O R S C H O O L

Sweet Music in the Juniors

Croydon High Junior Sports Stars

Music has filled the Junior school throughout the year, with girls singing and playing together on many occasions and always with great enthusiasm. Here are just some of the highlights.

Watching the girls compete and enjoy sport this year in the Junior School has been a real joy.

Miss Newman has been extremely proud of all the girls who have taken part in fixtures and in their lessons.

HELPING ROYAL MARSDEN CELEBRATE A LIFE AND SPREADING FESTIVE CHEER IN CROYDON

Croydon in the London Youth Games Cross Country event, as a team they came 4th overall, with Amelia finishing 2nd

The Junior School choir were once again the invited guests of the Royal Marsden Hospital’s ‘Celebrate a Life’ Carol service on 15th December. They were accompanied by Epsom Ewell Silver Band in a beautiful performance of Away in a Manger and led the singing throughout the service, needing no encouragement to join in with an impromptu but rousing chorus of ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’ at the end. We had many complimentary comments on the girls’ singing and, as always, they were a credit to the school in their singing and presentation.

Our U9 Gymnasts competed in the Surrey Schools competition, looked beautiful in their leotards and delivered some strong performances. A special mention for Leonie Meyer for her very strong floor routine.

Our U11 Hockey Team playing Old Palace at home and winning 12-0.

Our annual pilgrimage to Croydon’s Whitgift Centre to sing carols to the shoppers was also a highlight, providing plenty of ‘aah!’ moments for parents and shoppers alike and raising funds for our adopted charity The Lily Foundation.

Spring Melodies Our Spring Concert in the Junior School featured the Music Department’s usual eclectic mix of classical and pop, jazz and contemporary, musicals and anthems. Popular melodies by Elgar, Beethoven and Harold Arlen needed no introduction and were much enjoyed by the audience. The new Percussion Ensemble played a piece, Street Song (‘Gassenhauer’), by the composer of Carmina Burana which has featured in films and television, including Terence Malick’s movie Badlands.

In March 2016, the former Master of the Queen’s Music, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, one of the most important British composers of the last fifty years, died. His work included some very challenging music, string quartets, concertos and ten symphonies, but he could also write simple, affecting pieces in the style of the Scottish folk music which surrounded him in his home in the Orkneys, such as Farewell to Stromness, a lament for a town threatened with destruction by uranium mining. The Junior String Quartet performed this beautifully.

Sydney Carter was a very different composer but his work has embedded itself in our musical consciousness; Julian of Norwich is possibly one of his less well-known songs, using the famous words of the medieval mystic (‘All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well’) which have also inspired T S Eliot amongst others. Our Junior Choir delivered it with aplomb and ended the evening with the haunting and uplifting For the Beauty of the Earth composed by John Rutter.

An evening to remember.

Orchestra Workshop In June, 30 of our musicians joined with 25 girls from local schools for our annual Orchestra Workshop. This full day’s activity brought together talented young musicians who learned, played, sang, chatted and ate together and judging by the smiles and laughs, thoroughly enjoyed making music! The day ended with in an informal concert to parents, where the girls performed Jupiter from Holst’s Planet Suite. It was out of this world!

A most enjoyable day.

They are all superstars – and here are just some of the highlights of their sporting year We are the Croydon Schools Swimming Champions 2016!

Breaking 3 records and winning 4 individual events to take the shield home again for another year.

Our U11 Netballers experienced a new sport, High 5 netball, which is essentially is 5-a-side game.

The girls took to it like fish to water. We entered two teams in the Croydon Schools Qualifiers and both teams made the finals. Croydon Lightning won 5 matches out of 5 and Croydon Dragons won 4 matches and drew 1.

U11 netballers battled hard for a 2-1 victory against Gresham in the Croydon Schools League, despite having a depleted team. The A and B team (minus those in Oliver!) competed against Cumnor House. Both teams played beautiful games of netball with the A team winning 7-2 and the B team winning 4-1.

The U9 netballers played at Caterham School’s Tournament winning a total of 4 matches out of 7. The girls were absolutely brilliant, learned a lot and showed great determination in every game we played. We came 4th overall – so a very good performance.

Our swimming team competed in the Croydon Schools Heats. Girls competed in every event, including 25m Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Frontcrawl. All the girls performed fabulously and as a result we were named Best overall girls’ school.

In our first swimming gala of the year, no less than 38 girls competed against Old Palace and there was not one event where we didn’t win! Amazing achievement with the final result 147-80… a ‘splashtastic’ victory!

Lauren Baldwin and Amelia Middleton took part in the National Biathlon Championships in Birmingham. Lauren finished 19th in the U10s and Amelia came 4th in the U11s, narrowly missing out on a bronze medal.

Our U8 girls had their first ever hockey experience! A first match against Royal Russell who had been playing hockey for a full term was always going to be a tough ask and we finished the first half 4-0 down. But the girls really took the half time talk on board and in the second half matched Royal Russell in possession and goals. Miss Newman said “I have never been so proud of a team!”

Amelia Middleton, Orrin Blair and Lara Bowen competed for

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Bringing Careers to the Classroom During her opening speech at the GDST Annual Conference in 2015, GDST Chief Executive Helen Fraser spoke about the importance of educating our girls about career choices from the age of 4.

This coincided with some work Year 6 were doing on trigonometry.

Mrs Bradshaw and the class had been discussing what the real life applications of their work would be and one of the suggestions was architecture. The class were all clear on what an architect did and how trigonometry would come into their role.

However, when questioned a little further about who else might be involved in a building project, Mrs Bradshaw found the limit to their careers knowledge. Strangely enough, structural engineer, electrical engineer, quantity surveyor, building surveyor, interior designer and planning consultant were not familiar terms to them!

So, with this spark, we began a concerted effort to educate our girls on the wonderful variety of careers that will be on offer to them.

An exciting programme of events throughout the spring and summer terms, saw girls of all ages engaged and enthused by the idea of careers. In a totally age-appropriate way, the girls thought about what they enjoyed and what they were good at and matched these ideas with possible future careers. A variety of visitors, including parents, friends, and alumnae came in to school to talk about their own careers, broadening the girls’ understanding and helping to raise their aspirations. Suddenly they wanted to be engineers, scientists, sculptors and authors, as well as the usual doctors, vets and teachers!

• W e partnered with two publishers, the people behind My Mummy is an Engineer and the ‘Tara Binns’ series, which both aim to introduce young girls to different careers and to represent women in careers dominated by men.

• O ur younger girls loved dressing up and role playing careers and everyone enjoyed Engineering her Future week with themed activities focusing solely on the many strands of Engineering and addressing the well-publicised lack of women in this hugely varied and rewarding field of work.

• Y ears 1, 2 and 3 spent an amazing day at Kidzania, a city built to scale for children, complete with buildings, paved streets, greenery and vehicles. They all experienced different careers, for example in the Renault Engineering Pit Lane where they took on the role of a pit lane engineer, or the aviation academy where they learnt to take off and land an aeroplane. Some girls took on the challenge of repairing the Air Conditioning system, which involved them climbing through pipes and problem solving.

• In our Junior Young Leaders Conference, run by colleagues from GDST, Year 5 and 6 girls developed careers apps designed to make girls more aware of opportunities in engineering. They designed leaflets, wrote articles and delivered a presentation developing their communication, team work and presentation skills as they learned.

CR OYDON HIGH

Since 1874 J U N I O R S C H O O L

#ICouldBeAnEngineer – Saturday 7th May On Saturday 7th May approximately 80 girls from Years 4, 5 and 6 attended our #ICouldBeAnEngineer day – all accompanied by a parent and ready to take part in four ‘hands on’ engineering activities.

The day was set in the context that the girls had been deserted on an island and needed to use specialist skills to survive!

Electrical Engineering – to build a circuit to summon help Structural Engineering – to build a bridge to reach a food source (using marshmallows and spaghetti!)

Mechanical Engineering – to transport water from a well by building a working pulley system Chemical Engineering – to filter water to clean the water supply We were also delighted to welcome a number of eminent speakers who ran ‘hot seat’ sessions talking to the girls and answering questions about their work.

These included alumnae Aimee -Jane Davies: Structures Manager and Civil Engineer • Ann Muggeridge: Professor of Petroleum Engineering at Imperial College London • Shirin Yoosoofsah: Chartered Structural Engineer • Dr Suze Kundu: Materials Chemist and Science Communicator and (husband of alumna) Mr Jon Male – Architect Our key note speaker was Professor Tim Broyd (pictured below), a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and currently Vice-President of the Institute of Civil Engineers. Professor Broyd talked to the parents about how to encourage girls to be open to the possibilities of a future in Engineering.

A truly inspirational day, enjoyed and appreciated by all – judging by the many thank you messages we received Dear Mrs Bradshaw, Thank you for organising engineering day. I had a lovely time and now know lots of facts I didn’t know before. Thank you to all the Teachers who gave their Saturday afternoon to come and help at the Engineering day. I particularly enjoyed doing the Chemical Engineering Challenge. I have shown my sister some of the things we did.

From Anousha Year 4 At a time when many parents and children are “caught in the headlights” of SATS and the media talks of “teaching to the test”, I look back on Saturday’s inspiring “#ICouldBeAnEngineer” day, and know why Croydon High has been the right choice.

From a parent

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Junior Drama

The Magical Christmas Jigsaw This year’s KS2 Christmas presentation was the story of five modern-day children who buy a jigsaw from a stall at a Christmas market and discover it is far from being an ordinary child’s toy. The box is a magical jigsaw, transporting them back in time to experience various aspects of the Nativity story. Subsequent events lead them, with the audience, towards a deeper understanding of the real meaning of Christmas.

The box contained six large pieces, which were projected as images at the rear of the stage. Huge backdrops of characters from the story introduced various scenes in which every girl had their moment to shine.

CROYDO N H I GH

Year 5 Greek Workshop Four short plays ,written by Geraldine McCaughrean , were presented by Year 5 in a workshop at the end of the summer term. Each class presented two plays, with special permission and a good luck message from the author.

5L performed the story of greedy King Midas in “Wish-a Wish” and the story of Theseus’ battle against the minotaur in “The Beast in the Basement”.

5M entertained the audience with the story of the first married couple in Greek mythology,Pandora and Epimetheus and their infamous box containing all the ills of the world. They also presented the judgement of Paris in “The Golden Apple”.

Devised movement was used to present the different ills of the world in the Pandora story and one of the undoubted highlights of the evening, was the scene of combat between Theseus ( Shenai Lewis) and the Minotaur (Phoebe Richardson) developed completely by the girls themselves. It was a superb evening’s entertainment, showcasing some of the wonderful talent we have in Year 5 promising great things to come from them in the future.

Off by Heart Competition 2016

Year 6 gave voice to the opening Christmas market where the five children, (Tara Paulpillai, Hannah Karpal, Jessica Wells, Sienna Mehta and Mahi Parekh) found the magical jigsaw. The toy seller was the Gold Angel who guided them through their adventures.

Our sixteen finalists for the ‘2016 Off by Heart Competition’ were selected by their teachers and peers, during in-form competition in which every girl in KS2 had to learn and perform a poem to their class. Poems chosen from a short-list of six, varied in style, period and complexity and winners chosen from each form attended a short masterclass preparing them for the rigours of the final.

In the course of their travels, they met a variety of coloured angels and dancing stars delightfully portrayed by Year 3. The shepherds were played by 5L and the chorus of angels who heralded the birth of Jesus were girls from 5M. 4M were transformed into a regiment of fierce-looking soldiers terrorising the Nazarenes of 4T. Joseph and Mary met the innkeeper’s family and were led to the traditional stable room and in the court of a terrifying King Herod (Yasmin Idiculla) Year 6 girls sang as courtiers and stately three kings searched for the Messiah. It was a truly magical evening for the audience too and one that left them feeling that the spirit of Christmas was truly alive amongst Croydon High Juniors in 2015.

Our adjudicators were Mrs Webb, Head of Drama in the Senior School and Mrs Louise Johnson, an experienced actress and LAMDA teacher who coaches senior girls for acting exams. The standard of performance and confidence was outstanding and adjudicators gave very positive feedback to all the competitors.

LAMDA LAMDA (the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) is a prestigious organisation and we are proud that so many of the girls in the Junior School choose to take part in its programme of graded examinations. The confidence and presentation skills acquired as the girls develop are invaluable. In the spring term, Year 5 and 6 girls took their Grade 1 and 2 examinations in the Speaking of Verse and Prose. Forty girls took examinations and all were awarded Merit or Distinction.

In the summer term, Year 3 began their exam training by learning and performing one of six poems and holding a confident conversation with the examiner about a book they had read. Year 4 worked as a group to perform a selection of poems and prose.

Each of the girls had solo lines as well as others in unison and various groups. All the girls worked very hard and I am sure their final results will reflect their great enthusiasm and effort.

Robin and the Sherwood Hoodies At the end of the spring term, Years 3 and 4 entertained parents and friends with their hilarious musical version of the story of Robin Hood, “Robin and the Sherwood Hoodies” by Craig Hawes.

Comments from the girls themselves record their memories of the show. Many recall the impact of the amazing “Squisher”; a machine involving enormous rollers, created by the ever-inventive Mrs Garrard in her Chamber of Scenery!

Robin Hood was a fantastic show. It was my favourite show ever. Aiyana Wimalasuriya Robin Hood took very hard work, but it paid off in the end. Zahra Khan There were lots of silly jokes. The highlight of the play was when the Sherriff went through the Squisher. He came out bored stiff. It was an amazing show. Tara Khan The scariest bit for me was probably when everyone was in the dungeon and I had to sing my solo as Robin Hood. Madeleine Hunter My most embarrassing part was when we were marching and my skirt fell down and I had to pull it up quick. Tallulah Baker In Scene 8, everyone had to get on the stage and it was very crowded. But it was worth it. We got a massive round of applause. Milly Charvet I had so much fun being in our play. I was the head dungeon master. Temilola Dawodu The saddest part was when the show ended. Amelia Godden I will remember this still when I am 100! Emilia Hirschmann

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Whilst the judges withdrew to make their decisions, a group of eight girls from Year 4 entertained the audience with a short piece of choric speech entitled, “The Smile”. This was followed by two sixth-formers Jessica Martin and Imogen Broyd presenting pieces to demonstrate how performance skills can be developed and enjoyed at school up to LAMDA Grade 8 level.

The overall winner of the “Off By Heart” Competition 2016 was Zahra Kahn in 4T with her performance of “Entering a Castle” by Brian Moses. The runners –up were: Emily Bacchus (Year 3 Sophia Hage (Year 4) Sophia Jegham (Year 5) Juno Dickinson ( Year 6).

The evening, with its wide variety of poems and stunning performances proved to be a most enjoyable celebration of poetry at Croydon High.

Year 6 perform Aladdin The Year 6 production is one of the most eagerly awaited events of the school calendar and this year group’s dazzling production of Disney’s “Aladdin” certainly didn’t disappoint.

Their amazing energy and enthusiasm surpassed expectations and at least equalled that seen by this author in the West End version of the show. Croydon High may not have the technical wizardry or enormous budget of the professional theatre, but the girls certainly conjured up a good night’s entertainment. Their obvious delight in this show gave a quality that can only be the envy of the professional producer.

Many actors took several roles, with lightning costume changes requiring challenging levels of personal organisation. It was to their great credit that small groups of dancers rehearsed themselves in various corners of the school during the run-up to the show. This year’s Year 6 really took possession of the show and made it their very own!

Our specially written prologue introduced themes of the show and made reference to particular elements of Croydon High life. This showcased the talents of even more girls, who delivered this with great confidence and style. The music, with its haunting Arabian style, was enhanced with splendid original drumming from the twinkling sticks of Juno Dickinson. We also had fabulous musical support from the Year 5 choir, making the evening an absolute feast of musical theatre and definitely one of the highlights of the Croydon High Junior School year.

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CROYDO N H I GH

Curie

Since 1874

SENIOR SCHOOL

ELIOT Looking back on this year, which has been another great one for Eliot, I’d just like to say how proud of everyone I am. Notably this year, Eliot has been awarded the most commendations throughout the school and received the fewest detentions; let’s try and make this trend last girls!

Curie have helped lead two campaigns this year – Padilcious and Amnesty International’s Write for Right campaigns.

With the Padilcious campaign, the Curie girls came joint first alongside (Seacole?) for the most number of pads collected, contributing to the 2600 pads that Croydon High collected for women refugees in Calais!

For the Write for Rights campaign Curie girls wrote letters and designed posters to help campaign for the release of Phoye Phoye Aung – a political prisoner from Myanmar who campaigned against a new law which restricted academic freedom. We are proud to say that we were part of the 394,000 letters that helped grant Phoye Phoye’s release in April 2016.

In the new House Sing-Off competition Curie were placed second, thanks to their great rendition of High School Musical’s ‘We’re all in this together.’ Despite Curie not winning sports day this year, it must be said that we, by far, had the best march and cheer and creating our own little ‘Curie garden’ filled with blue daffodils.

SEACOLE

Eliot also excelled in some competitions claiming first place in the Year 7 Harvest Box competition, as well as proving the sporting prowess of the house by coming joint top in the Junior School House Tournaments, showing how lucky we are to have such a strong Junior School contingent! Also big congratulations go to the Year 9 Eliot girls who won their round of the Spelling Bee in great style. Other memorable moments this year have definitely been the creation of both the Eliot Choir and the Eliot Orchestra which debuted at CHS’ Got Talent this yea. Congratulations to everyone involved; it was fantastic!

As always lots of thanks need to go to Mr Vickery as our Head of House, and we’d also like to thank Lydia and Eve, last year’s House Captains for the wonderful job they’ve done. Sarah and I have very big boots to fill, and we are both looking forward to another year of Eliot magic.

Abigail Coskun

GARRETT Over the year Seacole has accomplished many PROUD achievements. Our new Dragon logo was designed by Seyi Ogunbusola in Year 11 and we have used to represent ourselves over the year, calling ourselves “The Dragons”. In December, we won CHS Has got Talent, with our fabulous dancers from the junior school , Jess Hunter and Emily Leaves and with Olivia Murphy and Annabelle Plummer coming third with their singing. We’ve had multiple successful competitions, from interhouse photography to board games, to collecting pads for the Free the Children charity. Seacole girls have worked hard and given their all. The House united in a sea of yellow for sports day, with vigorous chanting powering on our athletes to success. We were thrilled with winning the Sports Day cup especially as it came the day after the official recognition of Mary Seacole through the unveiling of her statue outside St Thomas’ hospital.

Her qualities of valour, caring, skill and service underpin all that we do.

This year, under the leadership of Miss Austen, the team spirit, enthusiasm and competitive elements of Garrett house have boomed. Our winning streak started off with the group act in the annual Christmas talent show where we performed a nativity play written and directed by Lucy Wingrove and Elise Blease of year 11. The cast included lots of girls from the sixth form and year 11, and a special appearance from a few of our teachers! This performance united Garrett and motivated us to work as a team.

We also won the year 7, 8 and 9 board games competition and more recently the year 8s won on Enterprise Day when they designed a fantastic charity music festival.

In the spring term, we came first in the inaugural Sing- Off competition where the house united to sing Jess Glynn’s ‘Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself’ mixed with a take from ‘Whip Nae Nae’. This was a great competition for Garrett and we were not afraid to sing and dance together in front of the rest of the school.

World Book Day also showed Garrett’s willingness to compete, when Jodie Bowen dressed up as the Grim Reaper and Elizabeth Tree as a zombie. Together they gained us more house points.

Finally, our recent success in Sports Day cannot go un-mentioned. Although we did not win, our team spirit was evident and a special mention must go to our year 10 athletes including Rheanna Thomas-Grant, Flora and Freya McEwan, and Renee Brown who broke the school record for relay, and Jemma Denman who did well in sprinting and long jump.

House Captain, Nicola Coulthwaite

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n two consecutive nights last November, our sixth formers and 40 Whitgift boys presented the famous Fashion Show with ‘Night

at the Movies’ themed catwalks raising a considerable £4,476 for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the Lily Foundation.

We chose to support the Lily Foundation after an inspirational talk from old girl Alison Maguire, their research director, which outlined the exceptional and necessary work that the foundation does both in furthering the scientific research into mitochondrial diseases and in supporting families with children who suffer from those diseases.

Whitgift chose to honour Charlie Hutton by giving half the proceeds to the RNLI who provide 24 hour lifeboat search and rescue service around the UK and Ireland.

The evenings comprised spectacular catwalks ranging from Bollywood meets Hollywood, to Broadway; an emotional piano piece from Ambrose Regan and multiple dance items such as the Bollywood dance. Now, as the year 12s eagerly begin to plan we can look forward to next year’s show.

Supporting Charity is always in Fashion at CHS ~ almost £11,000 raised this year Of course, the annual Sixth Form Fashion Show is hugely anticipated, high profile and an extremely effective way of raising funds for charity. But it is just one of many activities and events that took place over the school year, in all parts of the school, to support new and established causes.

It is woven into the fabric of our community that we go out of our way to ‘give back’ and this year, the school community as a whole raised an outstanding £10,924.57 for charity. This included around £1000 for both the BBC’s Children in Need and Sports Relief and an outstanding £1,497 for Free the Children – a new charity for our school introduced by Head of English, Mrs Edmonds and now very firmly in the hearts of the girls who spearheaded the fundraising. More details of this inspirational campaign can be found later in The Magazine.

Our Junior School worked tirelessly for a variety of causes over the year, including surviving a Technology Free Weekend (staff and girls) for You Can Africa and carol singing at The Royal Marsden and in The Whitgift Centre.

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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL – STAND UP FOR HUMAN RIGHTS!

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Our Annual Conference was again organised by the Senior Prefect team on behalf of the National Council of Young Women. It is a day to celebrate women, but also to raise awareness of the many gender based issues still facing our society. This year’s conference addressed Rape Culture, Sexual Violence and the issue of consent, and was the fourth annual conference we have run in association with the National Council of Young Women. Past topics include FGM, Trafficking and Domestic Violence.

CHS Amnesty International Youth has had quite a year. The group, ably chaired by Kaneila Denton (year 11), chose the theme STAND UP FOR HUMAN RIGHTS; in Kaneila’s words, our AI group wanted to create more awareness of human rights in our school community.

We thought we would focus especially on the rights of women, as we are an all girls’ school. We wanted to show that our actions can have a great impact on people especially if they know that a community on the other side of the world is supporting them.

Dan Jones, who joined Amnesty International in 1961, helped to launch the campaign during an assembly in the autumn, inspiring the girls with stories of how small things, like sending cards of support can make a big difference.

We came in the Top Three nationally for our Human Rights campaign. Girls attended workshops on the issue of forced marriage and heard talks by Dr Gina Heathcote from SOAS, on issues which affect women’s human rights in particular, and Kate Allen, Director of AIUK on her visit to a women’s refugee centre in Burkina Faso. She shared how overwhelmed the young women were to receive the cards of support which thousands of young people (including CHS) sent them over the Christmas period.

Jasmine Hirani wrote: It was amazing to meet new people who are passionate about Amnesty.

Abida Latif adds: The Performance workshop on Forced Marriage was super fun! And I got my booklet signed by Sonali Shah and Simon Rix – it was sooo epic and cool.

Kaneila unable to go because of looming exams, responded: To say I feel ‘Proud’ is an understatement! Being in the Top Three has motivated us and inspired us to do more campaigning to raise awareness of human rights.

One of the most well –supported events was a Human Rights Market held on Human Rights Day with an amazing variety of stalls and events. The most popular was Hula Hoop for Human Rights; Bethany Williams and Sophie Gurl, both in Year 7, went off with the prizes for ‘hooping’ for more than 30 minutes! The event was a real reminder of the importance of standing up for human rights, and a joyful sign that, whatever, else, our girls really care.

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Many congratulations to all who were involved in putting on this very impressive event and especially to Marketing Prefect Ysabel Cruickshank in Year 13 who put such a lot of work into making sure that all who attended were challenged to think and reappraise their values and attitudes.

Women of the Future Women of the Future Ambassadors Programme In April, four Sixth Form girls were lucky enough to attend a conference and networking event at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. The Women of the Future event is aimed to inspire and engage the next generation of female talent, to ensure the issues of today are not the issues of tomorrow.

The girls were joined by over 120 students and heard speeches from the likes of Jules Chappell OBE, Sir Simon McDonald, Pinky Lilani CBE and Dr Jena Meinecke a Junior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford who taught the girls that “a positive attitude solves everything”. The inspiring speeches left the girls in high spirits and ready for the networking that followed. They were particularly interested in Karen Pierce, a British diplomat who spoke to the girls about her time as Ambassador to Afghanistan and how the massacres in Rwanda sparked her desire for change. Overall, it was an incredible evening that has only made all four of the girls more ambitious, and confident that they can follow in the footsteps of the women they met.

Women of the Future Programme with the US Ambassador

Other activities filled the academic year – our Quiz4Rights which pitted staff against girls (the latter emerged victorious!), our Amnesty Treasure hunt which had a human rights theme and our Hand of Friendship event (making bracelets), specifically geared toward supporting young girls in Burkina Faso who are forced into marriage with much older men.

The highlight of the year was when five Amnesty members: Abida Latif, Caitlin Perry, Analisa Carrozzo, Shermya Modupe and Jasmine Hirani represented CHS at the AI Youth Awards Ceremony at the Human Rights Action Centre in London, hosted by broadcaster Sonali Shah, with celebrities such as Simon Rix of the Kaiser Chiefs.

We welcomed over 150 Sixth Formers to listen to a number of speakers, including representatives of Women against Rape, Survivors UK and Rape Crisis. One particularly important aspect of the debate, given the audience’s age, was obviously the situation for students at University. The event was truly inspirational with very high calibre speakers taking the delegates through this difficult, distressing, but very important subject. The maturity of the CHS Sixth Form girls and the delegates from other schools belied their tender years, and they were a credit to their schools. We often talk about education in its “broadest sense” and this was a prime example of how, given the willingness to engage with difficult issues, schools can begin to make a real difference to the world around them.

In June, four girls from the Year 12 were invited to their second Women of the Future Event and heard a speech from the US Ambassador, Matthew Barzun, at the AVIVA Building in London, where they were joined by over 50 girls from across the capital. Barzun got his audience to explore their concerns and hopes for the US, which centred on girls’ passionate frustration about the lack of gun control in the US. Another highlight was hearing Barzun’s perception of the US Primaries and the influence the media have on the Presidential election. However, ultimately the final exercise on the times the US has been helpful in world affairs interested everyone the most and all were fully engaged in a powerful debate over whether a ‘Hands on’ or ‘Hands off’ approach was most effective.

‘You Are Not Alone’ (A ‘photographic’ message sent to the women we supported during our Human Rights campaign)

“The event was very engaging as it taught us how the US works and the problems it is facing now, but more importantly how they will strive to improve in the future.” Alita Butcher Wallis “As a prospective Politics undergraduate the event was very exciting for me as Barzun gave us his personal account of how the US political system works- which I felt very privileged to hear.” Olivia Ricketts

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EU Referendum Debate

CROYDON HIGH MODEL UN CONFERENCE

Carlotta Meyer, Hiya Varma

Guest speakers Rory Broomfield, the Director of the Freedom Association a free market style think tank, and Andrew Lebrecht, the former UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU institutions in Brussels, led a debate with sixth form students on whether or not the UK should leave the European Union. The very good points made by both speakers, were summarised by the Year 12 Economics class.

The out campaign was advocated by Rory Broomfield, passionately presenting the argument that the EU is holding back the UK from trading opportunities: “It is often said by opponents that the EU is the top table; however, the top table is no longer the European Union” Rory also argued that the UK did not have enough control over issues such as defence as the rules are made by the EU with the interests of other countries at heart. Rory was also concerned that the UK was spending too much money on the EU, and believed that this could be better spent on improving facilities in the UK.

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n the 12th December, Croydon High hosted its first ever Model United Nations conference. This academic year has been incredibly successful for the MUN team and CROYMUN was equally as impressive as all of the other conferences that have taken place throughout the year.

CROYMUN had six committees: Development, Ecosoc, Health, Human Rights, Political and Women’s, as well as having a Security Council.

All of these committees, made up of lots of young people from different schools, had to create and debate clauses brought forward by attendees to create resolutions to solve two different topics. CROYMUN was attended by 180 delegates from 19 schools in the South-East, including sister schools Blackheath High, Bromley High and Streatham and Clapham High from the GDST. Model UN enables students to learn about diplomacy, international relations and the United Nations. It involves and teaches valuable researching, public speaking, debating, and writing skills, in addition to developing critical thinking, teamwork, and leadership. Regular MUN conferences are held all over the world. Participants, known as delegates,

are placed in committees and assigned countries that they then represent. They are presented with their assignments in advance, along with a topic or topics that their committee will discuss. Delegates conduct research before conferences and formulate positions that they will then debate with their fellow delegates in the committee, staying true to the actual position of the member they represent. Debate topics for our day ranged from the question of mandatory quotas and the integration of refugees, to the financing of international terrorism and the air strikes and ground invasion of Iraq and Syria, as well as FGM and HIV. A quote to summarise the event comes from Mr. Vickery, Croydon High’s Head of Politics, who was understandably delighted with the first CROYMUN conference: “Full credit to the girls here for running such an impressive day. In true Croydon High style, they rose to the challenge and delivered over and above all our expectations. I am extremely proud of them and looking forward to next year’s event and to introducing more schools to the very real benefits MUN can deliver. It was truly inspirational to see so many well informed and passionate young people debating and discussing the real issues of the day.”

Andrew was the guest speaker for the In Campaign. A central point was that the EU is one of the biggest economies in the world and remaining within this body will have economic benefits for the UK. He argued membership also helps us to deal with and stay safe from terrorist threats in an increasingly dangerous world. Being a part of the EU lets the UK secure influence over rules and policies that will affect us. “This is about the future of our country and the role we want to play in the world.’’

Sixth form students voted after the debate: the Remain campaign won by 57 votes to 23. The result of our debate which took place in the autumn did not reflect the country’s vote in June!

SENIOR DEBATING FINAL The 2015-16 Senior Debating Final took place in March; the programme of three debates, contested by teams from Years 10-13, revealed a standard of speaking that was the highest we have seen for several years. We were delighted to welcome back as judges two former colleagues, Gill Sharpe who retired as head of English in 2000, and Laila Simpson who left us only last year.

They had a difficult time deciding between six very evenly matched teams, but finally came down in favour of Ellen Lennox and Shakira Mahadeva, who proposed the motion ‘This House believes that Rhodes must fall.’ This was a very fitting end to Ellen and Shakira’s debating career at Croydon High, which has seen a series of successes since Year 9.

A really enjoyable occasion, and well done to all six teams.

GDST debating competition On the 5th July, four teams comprising of eight girls in years 10 and 12 travelled to Senate House to take part in the first GDST debating competition. The day was run using the British Parliamentary style of debate, something very new to all our debaters. None the less, the girls argued admirably in their teams across a range of topics, from distribution of international aid, to the legalisation of euthanasia.

The debates were even more challenging as the girls only received the topics 15 minutes before the start of each debate, and therefore only had their prior knowledge to rely on during the day.

The girls achieved some excellent results and even won some of the preliminary rounds, but unfortunately did not proceed to the finals, which were won by Wimbledon High. A great deal was learnt from the day and we will hopefully be debating in this style more often in the future!

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Sporting Highlights of the year

Hockey Year Report – Sophie Haden-Scott This academic year has seen many girls participate in Hockey whether it is in PE lessons, clubs or matches. It is great to see that so many Croydon High girls are willing to overcome the challenge of acquiring a gum shield, shin pads, socks and a stick as well as making their way to the hockey pitch for matches. There have been some outstanding achievements for CHS Hockey this year, such as the U16 team becoming runners up in Surrey and the U14s being runners up in the Trust Rally. As well as outstanding team efforts, at an individual level Flora and Freya McEwan have been chosen for the Kent Hockey squad. Of course, none of this would be possible without the outstanding support of our coach Mrs Beck.

Without her Hockey would not be the same, our training sessions, matches and tournaments would not be as exciting; I think it is safe to say the Hockey teams at Croydon High are like a family due to her.

Netball – Alex Edwards This year has been another successful year for our Netball teams across the school. A new addition to the netball structure this year was the introduction of central venue tournaments due to the Croydon Schools’ tournament no longer being played. This gave the girls more practice in the tournament environment which help their game plan when it came to Trust and Surrey.

The U14 and U15 teams took part in the PGL Netball weekend where the standard was high and the girls also participated in other team building activities which obviously worked as our U14 team were runners up and the U15 won the tournament.

The U14 team finished third in their National Schools’ qualifiers group where they played very well against some top schools.

Further success came from Trust competitions. The U15 team finished an impressive fourth overall and the U18 team finished in 17th place which is an improvement on last year! There has also been great improvement in the skills and fitness of our junior teams. The U10 teams have played extremely well, regularly winning games against Royal Russell and Old Palace.

The U11 have also been very successful, being placed 11th out of 20 in the Trust tournament but dominating the Croydon League and winning overall.

In the Surrey Schools tournament the U15 team finished second in the qualifiers and the U16 team finished fourth, just missing out on a finals spot but have played well in friendlies over the year, beating schools such as Hayes and Sydenham High. The U15s played some of their best netball and finished a well-deserved fourth in the Surrey finals.

The Netball success also continues outside school where a number of girls have been playing for the Surrey county team with Flora, Seyi, Marney and Rheanna having been selected for next year’s season with possible regional selection too.

Well done girls!

The year 7s formed new and exciting teams which have been effective throughout the year. They have had many successful games including against Haberdashers, Coloma, Old Palace and Bromley High to name a few. Miss Dixon and the U12A team represented Croydon at the London Youth Games where they finished an incredible second.

The season finished off with the annual Croydon High vs Whitgift’s Rugby 1st team charity match, supporting the RNLI and Free the Children. With lots of pressure on the CHS team to continue the winning streak against the boys it was expected to be an interesting match, especially as the boys had had many training sessions with a coach of their own.

Condover Hall was an exciting weekend of Netball for our U12 and U13 teams. The U12B team, feeding off their A team’s success, finished winners of the plate final and the U13s finished third in a weekend of highly competitive Netball.

The boys provided strong competition, showing us their skill, speed and power which they had transferred from the rugby pitch onto the netball court. The girls were obviously able to match this and came out victorious with a 14-7 win.

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Gymnastics – Shakira Mahadeva

Swimming – Blanche Brown

This has been a very successful year for all Gymnastics teams.

The Surrey Tumbling in October was an excellent start to the season - first of all for the U15 team who despite facing a very high standard in their competition, finished in third place. And also for the U19s who beat rivals Guildford and Putney to win first place for the third year running! Another set of excellent performances was seen at the Surrey Schools’ Floor and Vault competitions. Across all age groups, the teams have been working hard to improve their routines and this was evident in our results. Both the U19 team and the U15 team improved on last year, each team finishing in third place. Our successes continued at the Trust Rally in March where we always face stiff competition. The O14s continued their streak with another third place. And special congratulations go to Vanessa Beal in year 9 who scored the highest on vault and Gaby Light in year 13 the highest on floor out of the entire competition.

I am incredibly proud of all of the girls who have taken part in swimming events this year. The number of girls involving themselves in swimming is fantastic and all show great enjoyment of the sport and enthusiasm to do well. In lessons, girls become ever more confident in their strokes and all have improved hugely throughout the year. In terms of our competitive spirit, we certainly give plenty of schools a run for their money! The Junior girls are hungry for success at every gala and their confidence in swimming really shines through in their poolside spirit and support for their team mates. The Senior school swimmers approach galas with a cool and collected attitude but when it comes to close finishes we are all on our feet cheering ourselves hoarse!

Our final competition of the season was the Novice Gymnastics Competition. We have seen vast improvements across all our junior squads this year and the competition was an excellent opportunity for them to showcase this with all the gymnasts entered performing really well. It was an individual competition and so in particular, well done to Tamia MeggieGraham who achieved bronze in the basic competition and Georgia Whittaker who achieved bronze in the intermediate competition.

The Juniors have had a great year with a tremendous number of wins, PBs and medals having been won. The Junior teams won galas against schools including Bromley High, Royal Russell (twice) and Old Palace, which we won by a mile – 14780. At the Trust Rally in October two girls reached the finals and in the Junior Croydon Schools – 19 girls reached the finals!

The May visit to the European Swimming Championships provided a chance for our young swimmers to watch top professionals in their element which truly inspired the girls to ‘swim to win’. On the coach home one girl told Mrs Newman “I am going to win races like those swimmers”. In all, a great year for our Juniors who can move on to be very successful swimmers in the future.

The Seniors have also been impressive this year. We have competed very well across the year groups in galas where we won against Bromley and only just missed out on a win against Woldingham – there were only five points difference.

Croydon High U12 and U13s did very well in in the Croydon Schools gaining second place overall – an outstanding performance. Well done to Senior squad members Jojo Baker and Halina Wieckowska who both qualified for the Trust Rally finals – a fantastic achievement.

But of course, this year the gymnastics season did not end with our last competition as in March we had the Gym and Dance show. As well as some great audition pieces and performances from years 4-9, we saw four group routines from the gym squads – all choreographed and taught by Gaby Light, our Gym and Dance captain. The girls had been practising these since the beginning of the year and all their hard work definitely shone through on the evenings.

Meanwhile an equally successful season was had by our Trampolining team – Nayna Patel, Alex Edwards, Lauren Giles and Jemma Denman – who won the Croydon Schools’ Trampolining competition. They also came first in the London and then the regional round of the national competition.

This meant they had qualified for the national finals. As is expected at a national level, they faced tough competition but all four girls performed exceptionally well and came in fifth – an incredible achievement.

Examples of swimming excellence extend to our fantastic effort raising money for Sports Relief. Girls across all year groups swam superbly that week, a collective 2,750 lengths – this translates to 68,750m. According to an internet search, the width of the channel at one point is about 34,000m wide.

So between us you could say we swam across the English Channel and back!

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The Gym and Dance display in their own words

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Croydon High Drama Queens reach new heights at Edinburgh Festival

I was backstage for the Gym and Dance display; it was great to help organise the acts in order to have such a successful show. My favourite act was definitely the senior gym squad as both their routines stunned the audience. They performed them so effortlessly to the point that the backstage crew were all very jealous!

Erin Rochester, Yr11

Beginning rehearsals two weeks before opening night, Olivia, Sophie and I were a little worried at how our performance was going to go. After making many decisions about our dance, including what music to use, over a group chat we finally arranged a time to choreograph the dance. Being organised sixth formers we turned up to our first rehearsal without a change of clothes; trying to do the splits in a suit was certainly interesting. After four rehearsals we were ready to take to the stage. Thankfully all went smoothly and each of us enjoyed participating and performing, showing our peers what we love to do.

Lauren Kite, 12E The Gym and Dance display showcased the outstanding commitment and talent of those involved in providing a fantastic array of performances. There was a huge selection ranging from junior to senior gym squad, year group dances and even a little throw back to everyone’s favourite – High School Musical. Thank you to all those who treated their sweet tooth during the interval as all the money raised will go towards the CHS Netball and Hockey tour to South Africa in October 2016! Amazing Gym Captain, Gabby Light created some amazing pieces and gave supported to all those involved, even though she was unable to perform due to injury. The PE department created a great show that was enjoyed by those participating and those watching.

Sophie Haden-Scott, 12E

The CHS Drama Queens ‘stormed’ Edinburgh Festival in August with their production of “Jason and the Argonauts”

by Kerry Frampton.

“This was a really exciting opportunity for the girls to perform in front of a real audience,” said Mrs. Webb. “They have worked incredibly hard, some of them taking time during their GCSE period to make this a success.”

Eleven girls from Years 11-13 were involved in the production and they also took in some of the performances and atmosphere at this, one of Europe’s longest-established comedy and arts festivals.

The whole trip was a great success for all involved and appreciative audiences, including some members of staff who made the trip north to support the girls, were hugely impressed by the girls’ talents and professionalism.

As always, our girls also acted as perfect ambassadors for their school and we are tremendously proud of them.

A huge thank you to Mrs Webb for all she does to inspire our Drama Queens and to Mrs Gower who accompanied the group with such enthusiasm.

The Gym and Dance show was so much fun to be a part of as I could dance around with my friends and we were allowed create our own little routines as a part of our Frozen dance. I liked this because I love the film, especially Olaf. We had a lot of freedom. I got to choose to do a round off flick which was really exciting! It was an extra special experience because the audience were very nice and all my teachers and parents were very proud as well.

I was really inspired by Gabby because she helped a lot with the gymnastic routines and they looked amazing. I really hope that maybe one day I can help out and create my own gymnastic routines for the Gym and Dance show.

Leonie Meyer, Yr 4

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ull houses, on Friday 5th and Saturday 6th February, were treated to an outstanding production of Oliver! – Lionel Bart’s much loved adaptation of Dickens’ novel, Oliver Twist.

There were equally strong performances from Emma James in Year 11 and Rose Gower in Year 13, who took the parts of the insidious undertaker and his wife, capturing their avaricious natures perfectly but also allowing the black humour of their situation to come through, to the audience’s great enjoyment.

Familiar songs and characters were brought to life by a cast of over 100 girls ranging in age from 9 to 18, all of whom displayed talent, energy and enthusiasm in abundance. The atmosphere on-stage, backstage and in the audience was simply buzzing.

The workhouse children and Fagin’s gang, including a good number of the younger girls from years 5 and 6, sang and danced their way through some complicated numbers with a professionalism that would not have been out of place on the West End stage.

Credit must be given to Georgia Weaver in Year 13, who multitasked admirably, taking the roles of the hideous undertaker’s assistant, Noah and then appearing later as the sweet voiced strawberry seller in the beautiful Bloomsbury scene, as well as giving her all to the Oom Pah Pah scene! Jessica Martin and Imogen Broyd, both in Year 13, gave very dignified and measured performances as Oliver’s saviours, Mr Brownlow and his housekeeper, Mrs Bedwin. Katie Harris, also in Year 13, was a very believable Bet and Carlotta Meyer (Year 12) carried off the role of Old Sally perfectly – and even managed not to giggle in her death scene! The demanding and iconic part of Fagin was delivered admirably by Year 13’s Drama Scholar, Lucie Stranack who drew us all in to his den of iniquity whilst acting and singing with great aplomb.

The characters of Nancy and the nefarious Bill Sykes are among the most memorable and portraying them, especially by such young actors, is always a challenge and sometimes (it has to be said) a little too much to ask. Not so in this production; Alita Butcher-Wallis in Year 12 brought so much pathos, strength and warmth to the role of Nancy and her acting and vocal performances were simply outstanding.

Morayo Adeagbo, in Year 11, gave such a magnificent portrayal of the villain Bill Sykes that, at times, it was easy to forget we were watching a 16 year old schoolgirl on stage.

Both girls should be congratulated on their performances which were of the highest standard.

No production comes together without an enormous amount of hard work behind the scenes and the Oliver crew were excellent in every respect. From lighting and sound to artwork and set design, everything was top quality and largely produced by the girls themselves, with expert guidance from the Art department and the invaluable Alan Bishop, whose vast experience in all-things theatrical was much in evidence.

And finally, huge congratulations are also in order for the director and producer, Head of Drama at Croydon High, Emma Webb, whose infectious enthusiasm, talent and professionalism so clearly inspired the girls to raise their performance levels and most importantly, to enjoy every moment.

Whilst very much a team effort, there were some notable individual performances that had the audience on their feet in appreciation as the curtain fell. The two central characters of Oliver and the Artful Dodger were played superbly by year 7 and 8 students, Freya Marstin and Megan Webber respectively. Freya captured Oliver’s plaintiff manner perfectly, especially in her beautiful vocal rendition of the poignant Where is Love? In contrast, Megan’s swagger and confidence shone through in her characterisation of Dodger and it was a joy to see her interaction with Freya and the older members of the cast. The part of the Beadle, Mr Bumble, made famous by the legendary Harry Secombe in the film production, was portrayed by Year 11’s Charlotte Clapperton, who displayed excellent poise, true comic timing and gave a wholly believable portrayal of the bumptious official, with his ‘love interest’ – the alluring Widow Corney, played effortlessly

by Sophie Haden-Scott in Year 12.

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Musical Director Marcus Suranyi too, led a band made up largely of pupils and the standard of music overall was a huge credit to his efforts. As always, it is the team work that makes the difference and this was clearly a very happy and well led team. Congratulations to all those involved for a memorable production.

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“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”

Edgar Degas The Summer Art & 3D Design Private View was a fabulous evening celebrating not only the year 11 GCSE & year 13 A level pieces of work but also work created by up and coming artists in the Junior School. The proceedings started with Olivia and Annabel from year 9 singing and playing the guitar which was absolutely beautiful, whilst the girls, their parents, siblings and grandparents all viewed the work. The work on display was truly exciting and pieces ranged from lights, tables, jewellery, architecture, chairs, sculptures, paintings, textiles, ceramics and glass work. The girls have worked so hard over the last two years and should be congratulated on such a successful show.

Olivia Ricketts interviewed Janet Duyt our Art Technician, who joined CHS in January 2006 • Favourite piece of art? Norham Castle, by Joseph Mallord William Turner.

• Favourite type of art? Paintings.

• Favourite piece of artwork by a CHS girl? Joyce by Rhea Dillon.

• What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever been asked to buy? Sliced bread.

• Have there been any disasters in the Art or 3D department? Quite a few I’m afraid! Mainly broken ceramics.

• What is the best part of your job? Seeing the exhibition when it’s up and finished.

• What is the hardest part of your job? Putting up and taking down the exhibition.

Favourite: • • • • • • • • •

Song – Can’t pick one, would have to be something by Joni Mitchell!

Colour – blues to purples Food – Indian Art material – Paint (I used to dream about eating blue) Artist – Andrew Wyeth TV Show – Modern Family Animal – Horse City – London Art Gallery – White Cube, Southwark

Jan has just had a novel dedicated to her, Sometimes a River Song by her sister-in-law, Avril Joy. The Costa short story winner in 2012, Avril visited CHS in 2014 to deliver a writing workshop.

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Creative writing Fiona Sobolewski Bravo Y10 ~ extract from The Falling Woman (writing in role as a victim of the 9/11terrorist atrocity): “They’re Falling!”

The words are hard to make out. The woman is frantically screaming again and again, an animalistic panic in the action, her senses overtaken by a primordial instinct. Her guttural screams echo in my mind long after she stops, her words swallowed by sobs. Tentatively, I walk towards the window, stepping over the woman now lying on the floor, silent sobs shaking her body. I push past people forcing myself into the cracks between bodies to get a closer look. At first I don’t see it and then I don’t understand, but as realisation dawns on me, an inhumane noise escapes my mouth. She was right; they are falling. People falling like autumn leaves, their fancy work suits fluttering in the wind, creating a blurry yet graceful image.

The situation turns us into strangers, the desperation we face creating barriers between friends and colleagues. I look around, no longer recognising the faces I have seen for years, indescribable fear turning them into strangers. We stand so closely packed, barely able to breathe, bodies pressed against me pushing me into the quickly warming glass and yet the solitude of the moment is overwhelming, everyone seeming to be trapped in their own personal hell. I have a sudden urge to pray, to ask God for an impossible miracle, but I laugh at the absurdity of such a useless thought and wonder if perhaps the Devil would offer me a better deal.

I imagine my body falling, gracefully the wind wrapping itself around me as I hurtle towards the ground. The sound I would make as I hit the floor the crush of bones as they splinter from the impact.

The stains of blood on the pavement, my white shirt stained crimson, my eyes glassy and void of life.

Will they find my body I wonder? Or will I turn into another statistic, a missing face on a poster, nothing more than a name? My heart is wrenched knowing that it will be you who will suffer the most but I know I won’t survive and the least I can do is die on my own terms.

Rhea Patel Y10 ~ extract from descriptive writing, The Wedding: The DJ steals the audience’s attention by switching on the blinding bone spotlight that highlights the groom’s fear-filled eyes. He enthusiastically introduces the newlyweds with his widely stretched smile as he struggles to comb his nimble fingers through his gunky greased hair. He turns on the pink music.

I fear the music will be embarrassing and raucous. My arms grow goose bumps with that dreadful thought. It grates.

The first note is strong and loud but the groom is weak and shaking. He takes a deep breath and preens himself as a large screen is slowly lowered down beside him. The bride’s eyes water with joy but her makeup remains stainless like a doll, whilst a tall and lanky photographer pushes past the guests as he tries to snap flattering angles of her tight and prickling and stiff costume. He fails when he accidentally stumbles over an old woman’s foot. The bride flashes a scowl with her beady black eyes for a split second but washes her anger down as she laps her champagne to return to her innocent emotional state.

Safiyyah Lane Y10 ~ extract from story inspired by The Secret River

by Kate Grenville: The trees stood tall and proud on the other side of the Hawkesbury as vertical bars of sunlight illuminated the wayward flowers that sprang from the long, swaying grass on the river bank. The ground, moist and alive, permeated the air with the sweet scent of nature’s musk - fresh, green, and light.

Father described sailing on the Hawkesbury as flying over water, dancing over the white crested waves, clearing a path through the wind-whipped water. It was freedom to him, to sail on the Hawkesbury and leave his duties of the land behind. He said the water called to him like a lover and whispered sweet nothings in his ears, but as I sailed towards what I knew to be Thornhill’s Point, the bitter winds arose to push the still waters to choppy.

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Jennifer Cairns. Y10 ~ extract from descriptive writing: Gazing at the cold stone is almost like gazing at her again. I can, for a moment, run my fingers through her soft tendrils of red hair; run my hands gently against her face and graze her full pale lips with my own. Even her angelic laugh flows though the wind. None of these thoughts are particularly sad to me, just a mere bittersweet pang. But, she is dead. I must remember that.

Though, as I look around me I see life. In the uppermost corner of the stone, I catch a glimpse of tiny pieces of wood and on closer inspection I realise a tiny bird’s nest sits upon the boulder, housing two chicks, too young to open their eyes. Crouching down, leaving them undisturbed, I look upon the scales of a reptile gliding through the tall grass. A cat-like eye gapes back at me before darting into the undergrowth. The resting-place of the dead is also shared by the living and they exist together.

Making my way back to the gate is far easier now. Roots, that originally intended to trip me, now flatten. Tree branches bend to let me pass. Thorns are no longer claws, but fingers touching gently. The wind sighs and clears the decaying leaves as I scuff my boots along the ground. Softly, reverently, I close the gate behind me.

Katya Pitt Y10 ~ extract from a gothic narrative: A dank, dark smell floats through the gloom, wrapping itself around the damp boughs and trailing against the undergrowth. Overhead, heavy branches shift to reveal a stagnant light, not bearing sufficient strength to reach the swollen ground. A deathly hush presides over the wood which muffles any sound of life and causes even the birds to fall silent, as if in grief at this morbid and deformed landscape. Indeed, the loudest sound is the growth of the ancient trees. An eerie cold has settled over the bottom-most growth. Encasing the ferns in icy layers, it drifts along the bark to leave behind a frosty memory, painful to the touch.

In the deepest part of this twisted realm grows a tree whose ancestors were as perverted as itself; its needles are nearly black – coated with a fungus which pulls the life out of its host – and its roots are an image of the branches above, but even more cankerous because they dwell within the corrupted soil. A break in the monotony of the forest presents itself amidst the crooked, rotting wood: something pale, white, shining in the all-swallowing dark. However, this white is neither gleaming nor goodly. It is sickly and damp, as if all life and sweetness had been drained from it.

This is the colour which presides over the face of a man, lying as if already dead, at the mercy of his evil surroundings. His features are too gaunt, the nose too hawkish, the lips twisted in such a snarl as to warn of his ungodly mind. The eyes that rove listlessly over the area in which he lies are shallow, flat, and bear the unusual – yet terrifying – colour of palest blue. Looking into these eyes makes one believe in all the old gods, with their stories of anger and hubris, who flung innocent mortals down into the entrance of the underworld.

Dina Motashaw, Year 7 ~ The Sad Ballad of Ria and Lia In the lonely town of Lowood, There lived a young girl called Ria. And in the flat across her road, Used to be her best friend, Lia. In the lonely town of Lowood, Ria couldn’t think of that day.

By the seaside in the winter, She wished they’d never gone astray.

In the lonely town of Lowood, As waves danced through rocks so rough, The girls argued and fought a lot, Each competing to be most tough.

In the lonely town of Lowood, Ria pushed Lia off the sea-wall.

“Help me!” Lia cried as she drowned, While Ria witnessed the great fall.

In the lonely town of Lowood, Since then, she regrets what she’s done.

Now she sits in her flat alone Missing her best friend’s laugh and fun.

In the lonely town of Lowood, Years after the sad deed was done.

Ria walked down that seaside wall, Knowing that no-one ever won.

In the lonely town of Lowood, Ria got into that same sea.

And, as she drowned herself, she said, “Lia I’m sorry! Punish me.”

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This remarkable poem by Caitlin in Year 8 encompasses our belief that a true education means more than just achieving a string of outstanding exam results. If, as Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Being happy is not a goal, it is a by-product of a life well-lived”, then our girls, through their own affirmative actions, are well on the way to happy lives.

Where women lead affirmative action Emmeline Pankhurst would be happy, That she is not history’s footnote, Dr. Hatoon al-Fasssi continues the journey, Now Saudi women have the vote.

Happiness works at many levels, Bringing with it such satisfaction, So now let’s look at other eras, Where a woman led affirmative action.

Women around the world arise in elation, This December saw great progress, Be proud of our sisters fighting for their rights, Over 20 women elected to congress.

Rosa Parks fought inequality, Bringing hope to black America, “The mother of the freedom movement” Spurred a boycott in her area.

Happiness works at many levels, Bringing with it such satisfaction, So now let’s look at other countries, Where women lead affirmative action.

“Treat me like a human being, End the evil of segregation.”

Inspiring entire communities to act, Harmony through demonstration.

We hear so much of “Poor Africa” Now optimism is rising to the fore, Yasmin Belo-Osagie and Afua-Asei, Provide female entrepreneurs esprit de corps.

Happiness works at many levels, Bringing with it such satisfaction, So now let’s look at another era, Where a woman led affirmative action.

Through finance, knowledge and networking, Helping African women build their business, Creating opportunities for working relationships, 1,000 women-led start-ups bear powerful witness.

Unhappy with the situation, Where poor would die in the street, Mother Teresa founded the charity, To help the unloved, unwanted and beat.

Happiness works at many levels, Bringing with it such satisfaction, So now let’s look at other countries Where women lead affirmative action.

In Calcutta’s poor communities, Where happiness is a commodity not often found, This small Albanian missionary, Brought a change that was most profound.

“The power of the powerless” Does a Nobel peace prize bring happiness?

Not if you are Aung San Suu Kyi 15 years alone in emptiness

Happiness works at many levels, Bringing with it such satisfaction, So now let’s look at our school’s inspirers, These women led affirmative action.

Yet peaceful resistance in the face of oppression, Led to joy in November’s election, Myanmar’s people happy and free, Power has passed through the people’s insurrection

Marie Curie’s scientific findings, Helped those who were terminally ill, Mary Seacole worked courageously Nursing all, through her goodwill.

Happiness works at many levels, Bringing with it such satisfaction, So now let’s look at other countries, Where women lead affirmative action.

Health and happiness work together, And women, once more, are leading the charge, By improving one we can better the other, In this Cori Bargmann’s name looms large.

A leading scientist on genes and behaviour, Working to improve humanity’s health, Whilst winning awards, it’s not for the money, Happiness for her is science over wealth.

Elizabeth Garrett created a medical school for women, Educating those who couldn’t before, George Eliot wrote books of the century, Giving joy to all with stories to adore.

Happiness works at many levels, Bringing with it such satisfaction, For me it’s the stories of my heroes, Those women who led affirmative action.

“Being happy is not a goal, It is a by product of a life well lived,” As said by Eleanor Roosevelt, A sentiment I hope my poem has revived.

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Free the Children ~ Sophie Haden-Scott, 12E Free the Children was started by a 12-year-old Craig Kielburger. With help from his older brother Marc, and his team, he set out to free children and their families from poverty and exploitation. From here this unique Canadian charity developed into operating worldwide and the charity now pursues collaborative action both domestically and internationally.

Free the Children strives to educate and empower young people through its programmes such as WE Schools, WE Day and Adopt a Village. Adopt a Village provides sustainable support for community development in five ways: education, clean water & sanitation, health, agriculture & food security and alternative income & livelihood. Croydon High sixth formers have become involved in the charity for the first time this year.

We Bake for Change ~ Caroline Ip, 12Z ‘WE BAKE FOR CHANGE’ was one of our first campaigns this year for Free the Children. We were really inspired by the charity’s ‘Year of Empowerment’, and wanted to raise money in order to enable women in other countries to have sustainable ways to produce an income.

We thought this was a campaign the sixth form would love and feel passionate about, and of course eating cake was a bonus!

Every Friday, we sold handmade cakes, pastries or brownies to the sixth form. Each week had a theme in order to make the campaign a bit more special, and our favourites were the ‘French Fancies’ week with salted caramel éclairs and the Halloween-themed cake week. The enthusiasm from the sixth form and staff really made the campaign a success, and we were able to raise money and awareness for this fantastic cause.

Padalicious ~ Ambreen Khan, 12Z The idea for this campaign came to me when I heard many stories of women refugees who do not have access to sanitary towels; I heard about women who had arrived on the shores of Greece and had to use grass as a substitute for sanitary pads. Unfortunately, many people overlook this and don’t see it as a major concern for those woman who are fleeing from the destruction in their countries.

The idea started off as something small that I wanted to get a few family friends to help out with; however, the ‘Free the Children’ group then came up with the idea to call the campaign ‘Padilcious’ and to get the school involved. Over 1000 sanitary towels were donated. As a group, we hope to keep our ‘Padilicious’ campaign going to help more women who don’t have access to sanitary towels.

WE day ~ Olivia Ricketts, 12G WE Day was the icing on the cake of an enjoyable year of fundraising for a charity that now means a lot to me, and all the girls involved. The WE Day celebration was a very exciting event for the whole group, not only because we were given front row seats, but because it was celebration of the successful year we had. The highlight of our day was DNCE’s surprise performance and Rita Ora sharing her thought provoking experience of being a refugee in England.

Rita acted as an inspiration for everyone in the room and is a wonderful ambassador for change. The day left me thinking that no matter how little the change I make, whether it be changing the mindset of others or raising more money to help protect refugees, change is vital and every little helps.

My, ‘We are Silent’, campaign was the final fundraising event of this school year, and a great send off for the Free the Children family we have created. Cherise and I raised just under £100 in only one day, which has spurred us all on and encouraged us to continue fundraising next year.

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By Caitlin Perry, Year 8

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OUR VIBRANT ENGLISH DEPARTMENT BBC School Report Six year 10 girls participated in the BBC School Report competition as part of English enrichment. Each girl had to research two potential news stories, and then write, edit and submit their articles to the competition site. Hundreds of schools around the country participated throughout the day in the hope of being named best School Report. We were delighted by the quality of submissions and particularly the focus and maturity demonstrated by the girls.

Year 12 English Literature: Visit to the Institute of Education In November, A level English Literature students visited the Institute of Education for a masterclass with examiners and lecturers, and to hear Poet Laureate Dame Carol Ann Duffy read from her collection Feminine Gospels. We enjoyed sessions on: tackling aspects of the new A level specification; issues of identity, context and form in three texts from the 1980s, and a third session on post-2000 texts. Our very own Isla Francis bravely went on stage to participate in a group reading of Sudha Bhuchar’s Child of the Divide which prompted a discussion of the notion of character isolation and fractured identity.

Duffy shared a number of her most famous poems and then answered questions about her inspiration and craft. It was an enjoyable day that helped us consider the range of perspectives that we can take when analysing set texts. It was also a wonderful opportunity for us to experience a day in the life of an undergraduate.

Laura Baliman

Journalism Masterclass A level English Language and Literature and English Literature students, girls undertaking the Young Reporter scheme and selected year 11 girls were invited to enjoy a breakfast journalism master class led by experienced freelance journalist and media consultant Guy Clapperton.

Mr Clapperton explored the many types of journalism on offer and explained the skills that are necessary to be successful

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The success continued with Sharada taking the Commended award for Best Feature, swiftly followed by Rebecca Willans who took home the Commended award for Best Interview, followed

by Jodie again, who scooped the prize for Best Interview.

CHS Senior Girls Mentor Junior Writers

Year 8 English Trip to the Globe Year 8 were fortunate to attend a wonderful production of Twelfth Night at The Globe on London’s Southbank. The contemporary production played out the drama with modern songs and dance routines to give a very current twist. Some terrific audience participation at the start was combined with a highly comical portrait of the gender confusion between Viola and Sebastian. Our girls particularly loved the highly amusing portrait of Malvolio and his cross-gartered yellow stockings which had the audience roaring with laughter.

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first category of Breaking News by winning all three classes with Sharada Patel – Commended; Jodie Bowen Highly Commended; and Hannah Parsons winning the overall category.

in the profession. He shared anecdotes and tips and helped the girls to build a picture of a typical day in the life of a professional journalist. The Year 13 Language and Literature students then enjoyed a seminar session to support their coursework writing.

In February, CHS Sixth Form girls were treated to a morning session of creative thinking and mentoring in the Junior School. Year 5 and 6 girls shared their writing and discussed their creative processes. In return, they received feedback and tips for developing their ideas and improving their work.

All girls agreed that the experience was positive, enjoyable and mutually beneficial. Senior girls particularly enjoyed using the piece of string to represent everything from a snail to a unibrow!

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Then Andrew Parkes announced that our very own Jodie Bowen had scooped the overall title of Best Reporter 2016 years 10/11.

An amazing seven awards for the girls who left the ceremony with gift cards, certificates of commendation and hoodies to celebrate and reward their success.

CHS sweep the board at Young Reporter awards Continuing our winning streak of the last two years, Croydon High girls carried off a l host of prizes at the NEWSQUEST Young Reporter awards ceremony. The scheme, which runs across all London and fringe boroughs, challenged over 500 participants this year, aged between 14-18, to source real public interest stories, write and develop their articles, upload and publish to an audience of 1.4 million readers. This amazing work experience encourages skills that are translatable in school, at university and in the future professional life of our girls.

Launching the ceremony, Group Managing Editor Andrew Parkes said the candidates this year offered “the best standard we have ever had”. Croydon High were thrilled to sweep the

English and History Ypres Battlefields Trip The English and History departments organised a visit to Ypres in June. It was a day of many highlights. One was visiting the Hyde Park Corner memorial in Ypres to look for year 8 Mollie Oakes’ relative; Private Frank Hudston, whose name is on the memorial.

Frances Hardinge: prize winning author visits CHS In February prize winning author Frances Hardinge came to CHS. She talked to the whole senior school in assembly and held workshops for the year 7 classes throughout the day. In the workshop Frances helped the girls to create characters.

She had a giant pad of paper and a marker pen which she used to write down questions such as: where do they come from? what’s their most vivid memory? what do they want most but what stands in their way?

After discussion, Frances left the girls to use these questions to create their own characters and then read out their descriptions. These were later followed up in English lessons.

At lunch and break she sold and signed some of her novels such as Cuckoo Song and The Lie Tree, which won the 2015 Costa Book of the Year.

Katie Scarrott, 7Ko

Another was the advanced dressing station at Essex Farm – made famous by the poet John McCrae, who wrote In Flanders Fields and triggered the poppy as the symbol of remembrance. Among the graves was also the burial site of Valentine Strudwick, one of the youngest people to die in the war at just age 15. It really hit home at this point that these boys were barely older than us.

A further highlight was visiting Langemarck, the German war graves cemetery. The difference between the bright, proud Commonwealth memorials and the sorrowful German ones was truly staggering. It demonstrates better than anything else the divide between the Commonwealth and Germany, and showed how brutally the Germans were forced to bury their dead – a mass grave of 25,000. And yet, amongst the slates were a few poppies, really creating a feeling of new alliances and remembrance.

Seeing the mass of white as we entered Tyne Cot (the largest commonwealth cemetery in the world) was truly staggering.

We laid a wreath there as a school; then our guide, Steve, found an unknown RAF lieutenant’s grave for me to commemorate.

The trip was thoroughly important for me – I learnt a lot about WWI from our guide; he was passionate about his subject which made it much more interesting. The poetry almost transports you back into the situation, but to see what it was really like was a feeling unequalled by any learning you can do in a classroom.

By Hannah Parsons (year 10)

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Croydon High Remembers 100th Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme ~ 1st July 2016

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t was an early start for our Year 5 and 6 girls and our Year 12 History students as they gathered together on the school sports field to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of the Somme. Led by Head of History Mr Dival, the girls marched from the Junior School out on to the field, holding aloft flags of all the nations who sent soldiers to the battlegrounds.

The sound of officers’ whistles rang out at 7.28am precisely; the exact time mines were detonated along the 14 mile front line and the girls lowered their flags. Parents and teachers had gathered to observe the marking of this significant date and all stood in silence, as Year 10’s Katya Pitt played a perfect rendition of The Last Post on her trumpet. Then, with one accord, the girls turned and marched back in to school. It was such a poignant moment allowing us to pay our respects to the 20,000 men who were killed on the first day of the battle including men from the local Royal East Surrey Regiment. To mark the occasion, special commemorative badges reflecting the design of the’ East Surreys’ regimental badge had been produced and were given to the girls – they wore them with pride.

Everyone then adjourned to the Junior School to enjoy a WW1 style breakfast of mugs of tea, bacon sandwiches and porridge!

Geography Geography in recent years has been voted one of the most enjoyable and employer friendly degrees to read at University. CHS girls enjoy Geography as a unique subject that looks at both the physical and social structures of the world in the past, present and future. They have travelled widely to investigate geographical theories further, from the local, Selsdon to further afield, Shoreditch, Thurrock and the south coast.

In March, Sixth Form Geography students went on a trip to Rottingdean to explore whether groynes affected longshore drift movement along the coast. They enjoyed investigating along the beach, but the highlight of their day was definitely the fish and chips at lunch. However, ultimately the trip was vital to create a Mann Whitney U test and other data that they used in their AS fieldwork.

Year 9 went on an exciting Geography trip to the Crystal, on the Royal Victoria Dock in East London, which contains a permanent exhibition about sustainable development. Here they learnt that urbanisation and sustainable living can make huge changes to areas, and also how to save more energy in the future.

They also enjoyed the annual English, Geography and LRC visit to the British Library, not only seeing the amazing building but also experiencing workshops on map making and creative writing.

Cheese Referendum – At our October Open Day the entire school and guests were invited by the Geography department to vote in CHS’s very own referendum on cheese. Inspired by the EU Referendum itself, the result ended in Cheddar beating Halloumi to be the best cheese.

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Miss Moore, Head of RS, has given two inspiring assemblies this year. One was on the Buddhist symbol of the lotus flower which begins growing from at the bottom of a muddy, murky pool, and slowly emerges towards the surface – eventually bursting out of the water as a beautiful, unstained, flower. The flower appears to be fragile and delicate; however, it is flexible and strong because of its roots. Ultimately, the flower symbolises that a person can be born and grow in very challenging circumstances yet still develop into a strong human being who can achieve anything.

To most of the girls, the flower was a reminder to persevere and stay determined. Miss Moore felt the lotus flower was symbolic of the “exceptional strong young women [at CHS] who are going to go out and make an impact on the world”. Year 8 RS students found this assembly particularly inspiring and enjoyed the whole school coming together and making their own origami flowers. By the end of the assembly the room was not only filled with lotus flowers but a very positive atmosphere, with many tutor groups putting the lotus flowers up in their form rooms to ensure the message lived on.

In June, the whole school sat down for assembly with the horrific news of the recent Orlando shooting, the deadliest incident of violence against LGBT people in U.S. history, fresh in their minds. Miss Moore explored the theory that love is love and has no labels. Her powerful speech engaged every girl. The CHS students became a human flag of solidarity as they reflected on the importance of spreading love, writing on a slip of coloured paper a powerful message to show how they felt.

One girl wrote: “This is not a solo event or new brand of hatred. The events in Orlando are a result of a culmination of ignorance, intolerance and inaction. Now is the time to acknowledge this and act for the better”. Another simply wrote: “Fairness matters because we are all equal”.

The powerful statements from all the girls showed the extent to which we had been affected by the incident and our commitment to show support and compassion. This assembly will have a lasting impact on the girls, with CHS firmly stating that love conquers all.

RS Trip to Chigwell In the spring Year 12 & 13 Philosophy and Ethics students journeyed to Chigwell to enjoy a lecture on Ethics. Initially challenged by the ‘trolley’ thought experiment, they discussed whether it was morally permissible to change the course of the trolley, destined to kill five workmen, to a track that would only kill one workman.

Many agreed that this was reasonable as it would cause less grief and fewer lives would be lost. However, when the prospect of changing the course of the trolley with a lever changed to that of pushing a man in front of the speeding trolley, many disagreed and said this was unjust, even though this would save the five workmen.

They learnt that moral issues are easier to tackle when one is physically separated, perhaps something we should remember when judging the moral values of other cultures.

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French Play In March a group of Year 9 and Year 11 students, accompanied by Mr Laudon and Mrs Webb took a four hour plane journey to Greece and were greeted by warm sun!

In Athens we visited Mrs. Webb’s favourite place, the Theatre of Dionysus. It could seat 17,000 people and also has a beautifully made director’s seat. We then rode by tram down to the magnificent Acropolis, seeing a glimpse of the Temple of Zeus on the way.

The Acropolis stood high and was absolutely gorgeous to look at. It had large columns that were detailed and grand. It was certainly a good introduction to Greece. We then visited a flea market and the Acropolis museum where there are gaps left for the Elgin Marbles which currently reside in the British Museum.

The next day was a drama workshop that was fun all round.

The group learnt about masks and how they were used in the ancient times. We then had a chance to make our own masks and sculpt them on our friends’ faces! It wasn’t necessarily the tidiest of jobs…

Then followed a three hour coach journey to Delphi which is in the mountains and has extravagant views. Delphi is where the oracle lived and was known as the centre of the world in ancient times.

We then transferred south to a lovely beach town called Tolo.

This was our base to explore the citadel of Mycenae and the Temple of Epidauros with its ancient healing centre. We also enjoyed a beautiful evening meal in a taverna as the sun melted into the sea.

Our trip was amazing and showed us how lives were in the past and how the ancient world has influenced modern day lifestyles. I have only mentioned a few of the many sites that we visited and they were some of the most gorgeous architectural sites I have ever seen.

Connie Upchurch 9D

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n May Years 8, 9, 10 and Sixth Form saw an entertaining French production. This story was about a babysitter and the events that occurred when her ex-boyfriend mysteriously appeared at the house, with hilarious and mischievous consequences! This was a great opportunity for us to test our knowledge and understanding of the language.

By the end of the show we were confident in understanding the plot. The acting was very good as they used exaggerated

expressions and gestures, which enabled us to easily understand the action.

We are very thankful to Madame Paris for arranging this show as we all thoroughly enjoyed it. Also, thank you to the wonderful actors who made this experience memorable. We hope that we will have the opportunity to see a play like this again.

By Y8 Caitlin Perry, Aashna Keswani & Diya Davé

Year 8 French Exchange to Besançon I

n January, 13 French students from Besançon arrived at CHS as part of the traditional year 8 exchange programme. In order to find each other, they had a piece of string which matched their partners’ one. After a few ‘get to know each other’ games, they all went home already chatting away.

Our students came back very happy with their visit, having had a great experience.

Aashna: I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of having a French exchange because even though I did not know her very well, Claire was so kind and thoughtful.

My parents loved having her too because they managed to learn a little bit of French! It was wonderful and Claire felt like the sister I never had.

The students enjoyed a quiz evening mixing French and English, working with their partners and making huge efforts to communicate and translate. Loads of activities were organised which delighted our French guests such as trips to London and Brighton, Les Lumières, markets, shopping and bowling.

Later in March some of our year 8s went to Besançon, hosted by Le College Saint Joseph. Our students really enjoyed all the activities offered but also appreciated the differences between the French school system and the English one. They were jealous that the French students did not have to wear a uniform! Some of the activities that the girls enjoyed were: • Discovery tour of a French school, including a Biology lesson • Besançon visit – market and shopping with a speaking challenge

Elizabeth: I thought the French Exchange was very enjoyable. At first, it had been a bit awkward since I don’t think either of us knew what to say but once we had got over that it was really fun and I found myself not really wanting her to leave.

Alice: Lea and I got on really well and we enjoyed each other’s company.

We had a great weekend away with friends and Lea got to visit lots of nice shops Eleanor: I have really enjoyed having Margaux to stay and we have had so much fun. We are in touch via email, text, snap chat and Instagram, also my mum has Margaux’s mum’s email and they are in touch!!

Aditi: The French Exchange was so much fun!

I found it a really good way of practising my French and it was really exciting to meet all the French girls (who were really nice).

• Chocolatier Le Criollo visit and tasting • Visit to the ‘Citadelle’ and zoo in Besançon • A boat trip around the city on the river Doubs

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2015/16 German exchange In September, German exchange students arrived and were greeted by enthusiastic year 10 girls.

As well as getting a taste of an English school, and being fascinated by it, they enjoyed a plethora of interesting activities and London attractions such as: the Maritime Museum, the Queen’s House and Royal Observatory and St Paul’s.

After a fabulous week the girls were sad to see their partners leave.

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Madrid trip In February, a group of year 13s went to Madrid. They were immersed in Spanish culture, experiencing landmarks such as the Almudena Cathedral, Royal Palace, El Rastro market and more.

When they weren’t exploring the city, they were going shopping, eating churros and seeing Concussed at the cinema. It was a splendid trip to one of Europe’s most beautiful cities.

As the return leg, Year 10 students travelled to Bonn in February spending the weekend with host families and experiencing German school as well as visiting Cologne.

The highlight of the trip was the Haribo shop where an excessive number of sweets were purchased. Big thanks to Frau K for arranging the exchange; a great time was had by all.

Student Conference Year 12 students took part in a conference at Whitgift on the historical development of the German language. Members of the Cambridge Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages discussed the work they had been doing on the ‘Kaiserchronik Project’, which aims to make this 12th century German text more available to students and scholars worldwide.

We explored the changes in the language through different periods by looking at manuscripts and translations, and even attempted to translate some of these texts ourselves! It was a thoroughly fascinating afternoon, and it certainly helped us understand more about the way the German language we are learning today has been shaped. Caroline Ip

GDST MFL FESTIVAL In March, year 8 and 10 girls travelled to Putney High School in order to compete in the GDST MFL Festival. Year 8 competed in a general knowledge competition focusing on French, German and Spanish cultures. Year 10 participated in a poetry recital for their chosen language.

Anika Patel came second with her recital of a poem by Goethe. The girls really enjoyed the occasion, and it was a great networking opportunity as they met fellow linguists from other GDST schools.

ADVENT-URES IN GERMAN FOR YEAR 4 Led by Head of German, Frau Kolankiewicz, with Mr Haidar and A level students in supporting roles, year 4 girls and visitors from Greenvale Primary, came together to learn more about the German traditions surrounding Advent, creating Christmas angels and learning some German vocabulary. After enjoying squash and sampling lebkuchen (Christmas cookies) girls joined together to sing carols in German (Stille Nacht and O Tannenbaum) accompanied by Mr Suranyi on piano.

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Careers Convention M

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Our annual carol service took place at All Saints Church, Sanderstead and featured all of the school choirs as well as readings from representatives of each year in the school as well as Mrs Leonard and Mr Spiro, Chairman of the Governors.

The evening began with a procession led by the Chamber Choir and a beautiful solo from Emma Scarborough. The quality of singing was extremely high and certainly helped to make this a wonderful way to start the Christmas season.

Christmas concert In December, the main hall was the venue for the Christmas Concert. Proceedings began with lively performances from the Junior Wind Band, displaying the high level of accomplishment of our lower school musicians.

Year 7 soloist Eloise Bowen then provided a festive atmosphere, singing the first verse of ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ a cappella. Seasonal favourites followed from the Year 7 and 8 Chorus, and Mr Cox’s Wind Ensemble, before the Senior Choir sang a medley of songs from Les Miserables with a sensitive solo of ‘On My Own’ from Charlotte Clapperton.

Following the interval, the Symphony Orchestra accompanied audience singing with descants from the Senior Choir. The Middle School Choir gave fun interpretations of several Disney tunes and the Chamber Choir an a capella performance of Matyas Sieber’s Three Hungarian Folk Songs and then Winter Wonderland, featuring a beautiful soaring solo from Elizabeth Lovering. The Year 7 and 8 Chorus concluded the evening accompanied by CHUG (the newly formed Croydon High Ukulele Group). The music was interspersed with seasonal poems read by girls from across the school.

With 92 delegates, 20 of whom were alumnae and over 300 girls, parents and friends, our 2016 Careers Convention was Croydon High’s largest ever. The selection of areas covered by the delegates was wide-ranging, almost an A-Z of careers from the Armed Forces to Veterinary Science. Some of the many companies represented at the convention included Price Waterhouse Coopers, Deloittes, EY, HSBC and Rolls Royce. The career areas covered were vast and included: engineering, healthcare, science, the police, law, journalism and fashion, to name just a few.

Some universities were present such as Oxford and King’s College London, along with gap year providers, so there was something to suit everybody.

The commitment and enthusiasm of the delegates was clear and some had queues of prospective employees throughout the evening and were still imparting their advice well after the event had officially ended.

Mrs. Gower, Croydon High’s Head of Careers said that she was very proud, but not surprised to hear that the delegates were

glowing in their praise of the students, commenting on how eloquent our girls were and most certainly equipped with the skills, talents and qualities to ensure that they will be highly successful professional women.

Overall, the Careers Convention was a huge success; girls turned out in huge numbers, arriving early, eager to sample as many careers as they could. Mrs. Gower has already started collecting ideas for the next Convention in 2018, and we hope that all those who attended this year will return in two years.

The Chamber Music Festival The Chamber Music Festival this year was, as usual, incredible! Although I was too ill to take part, (us temperamental singers...) I loved watching and helping organise as stage manager – a challenging role especially when you are trying to corral six cellos backstage! Rehearsals for this particular concert are always a lot of fun, especially given that we generally run them ourselves; more than a few girls dissolved in laughter at awful jokes about wind players. The standard is always really high, and this year it was great that we had year 7s taking part – it can be a really scary thing to be playing on stage with everyone able to hear if you make a mistake!

For me one of the highlights was helping to rehearse a group who proved the age old phenomenon that perfectly smart people can no longer count to three when they pick up an instrument... Anyhow, on the night it turned out wonderfully and even with a pounding headache I greatly enjoyed listening to everyone play, especially Riana Patel, Jennifer Cairns and Jessica Man who have great chemistry as a group of performers and who really did deserve to get their names added to that big, snazzy trophy for their performance of an aria from The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart. A big thank you has to go to Mr Suranyi from everyone involved for making the evening possible! Abigail Coskun, 12Z

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MATH EMATICS Year 7 had a feast of invention and imagination in a Mathematical Scavenger Hunt in the LRC organised by Mrs Abrams at the end of the summer term.

Girls had to answer questions which challenged their information literacy skills. The answers led to clues which revealed the name of a special horse with (supposedly) arithmetical skills!

Everything was Maths-based, including the displays. The range of questions had the girls running from bookshelf to laptop to periodical stand to display board. In one task girls were asked to convert the world’s largest fine ($300) for an overdue library book (checked out from Kewanee Public Library, Illinois in 1955 and returned 47 years later) from dollars to pounds.

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Biology Field Trip At the end of June, year 12 biologists took a trip to Box Hill to examine species in an area from an old-horse racing pathway to the woodlands of the Mickleham Downs.

We collected data on factors such as humidity, soil depth, temperature, species richness and species evenness, which was then used to prove whether succession, a gradual change in environment, was occurring within the abandoned horse racing pathway.

We also investigated the ecology of the river Tynebourne, measuring the velocity at different points, and counting and identifying animals. This led us to investigate the effect of velocity on a number of organisms.

Another asked for the name (also a mathematical symbol) of the hero of a book by Yann Martel (Pi). The highlight was measuring the volume of a tower ‘built’ of discarded/ damaged books; girls were allowed a minute. And the name of the horse? Clever Hans. In the late 1800s his owner claimed, and apparently demonstrated, that Hans was able to perform mathematical calculations.

Fun was had by all. In the words of Tolstoy, true pleasure lies not in the discovery of the truth, but in the search for it.

UKMT TEAM MATHS CHALLENGE In March, Seyi Ogunyemi, Sewa Sangowawa, Aditi Rammohan and Sivakami Thillainathan from Years 8 and 9 competed in the annual Junior UKMT Team Maths Challenge held at Trinity School. They participated in four fun and challenging rounds pitted against 32 other local schools. Firstly, there was the group round of maths puzzles, then the shuttle round where the team had to work accurately as each question depended on a previous answer; speed was also needed as bonus points were up for grabs for completing the chain within the six minutes given.

The third round was the cross number round which involved one pair being given the ‘across’ clues and the other the ‘down’ clues; by sharing answers through a teacher it was possible to complete the cross number. The final round was the most energetic as the teams literally raced to complete as many questions as possible. It was an enjoyable and challenging day and the team worked very well together.

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lso in March, the Maths department held a Maths Challenge afternoon for Year 9. The entire year group came together for a morning of enrichment with a variety of mathematical puzzles.

The girls were divided into teams of four and collaborated to solve various problems. Included was a treasure hunt activity where one answer linked to the next question and a relay race where two answers allowed the team to progress to the next questions. Finally, we completed the afternoon with a Hexominoes (different arrangements of six squares) activity. We enthusiastically participated in the interesting challenges; thank you to the sixth formers who came to help (given that it must have been rather scary to have a group of year 9s run at them excitedly).

In July, year 12 science students went to the Royal Society Summer Exhibition.

The annual exhibition comprised 22 exhibits, showcasing the cutting edge scientific research being carried out across the UK. From killer fungi, to diamonds, to billions of years old comets, this event was an inspiration for many of us to go and carry out some research of our own. One of the more popular exhibits allowed us to hold a comet in our hands and take away a postcard that smelt as if it was several billion years old. We were also encouraged to take part in competitions and try and involve ourselves more in the world of science.

The ‘Giving stem cells a good (nano) kicking’ exhibit gave us a small packet of plasticine we could model into any cell and submit into a competition.

The majority of the exhibits were interactive, allowing us to have a taste of what practical uses the research to lead to. Some had a chance to take part in and view robotic surgery and use a hands free screen to view 3D images just like a surgeon would during an operation. An exhibit entitled ‘What happened at the Big Bang?’ allowed us to create our own model universe using simulated cosmic microwave patterns. Another let us watch someone create a cloud within a bottle with a pump and some surgical fluid.

The team that won were: Kaviarashi Baskaran, Olivia Murphy, Kate Ferguson and Maya Appiagyei-Yousef – congratulations!

There were several talks, one of which was,‘your lying brain – can you believe what you see?’ This explored how much different parts of our brain interact and if we can in fact trust the information our brains have interpreted. Hiya Varma

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The Physics Department certainly likes to Tweet and that’s not surprising given all the exciting things they get up to! Here is just a flavour of what’s been happening in and out of the classroom this year…

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he Learning Resource Centre has been abuzz with activities, and ablaze with ideas this year. National Poetry Day brought in a crowd to listen to readings of favourite poems on the theme of light, watch Dr Chapman demonstrate what happens when light passes through a prism, participate in a collaborative acrostic poem, and enjoy celebratory cake.

February brought visiting author Frances Hardinge, in her trademark black hat; she gave an inspiring assembly and ran creative writing workshops for our Year 7s.

In March the LRC hosted a week of lunchtime activities in celebration of World Book Day including Book Pictionary, Literary Snowballs, Word Games and – a real highlight – designing Hedgehogs out of discarded books. Many girls had dressed as their ‘Favourite Book Character’ to raise money for Free the Children.

May yielded another wonderful author, Sufiya Ahmed, author of award winning novel Secrets of the Henna Girl which tackles the complex practice of forced marriage. Her workshops, which included a ‘mock wedding’, both educated and entertained our girls.

The LRC is the venue for the week-to-week reading projects, book club meetings and research lessons. For example, in the autumn year 7s engaged in ‘blind book dating’. Books were wrapped in brown paper; identities were revealed only after the book had been read. Pupils commented on their very varied ‘dating’ experiences!

Year 8s filled in Book Passports while reading their way across seven continents and year 9s created their own book-based blogs. In the spring 7s enjoyed a Lucky Dip, picking a novel out of a ‘hat’ at random (Harry Potter style!), selecting another book by the same author and comparing the two. The 8s and 9s were particularly enthused by their ‘Writer in a Box’ project: imagine discovering an old box in the attic, revealing the life of a famous writer…we had some intriguing creations ranging from John Green to George Orwell.

Pupils have shared the joy of reading in various book clubs this year. 6th formers meet twice termly on a Monday morning for breakfast and book talk at the ‘crack of dawn’ (8.15am!) A favourite choice was Nathan Filer’s The Shock of the Fall about a young boy’s descent into mental illness – a 2013 Costa first novel award winner.

The Year 11s, who enjoyed Margaret Atwood’s A Handmaid’s Tale, are good at sharing their love of stories; they hosted two special meetings. One was for their Year 5 book club ‘sisters’ from the junior school who enjoyed snacks n chat, story-time, and Literary Snowballs – a quiz game which involves aiming, and firing, paper snowballs at the opposite team!

The second was for a group of Year 5 book enthusiasts from Greenvale Primary. Jamilla Richmond, 11F, writes: They began with readings from their favourite childhood books and after a quick discussion about the most popular genres, moved onto game of Literary Snowballs. The group then wrote a collaborative adventure, in which both year 5 and 11 engaged their imagination to come up with bizarre, and hilarious, stories.

Fourteen year 8 & 9 Carnegie Club members met weekly in the LRC during the summer term to debate which of eight shortlisted books would win the prestigious Carnegie and Amnesty Honour Awards. Mr Divall provided background to Robin Talley’s Lies We Tell Ourselves, a novel set in 1959 Virginia in the midst of the American Civil Rights movement and Ms MacDonald popped in to talk about the painting Fire Colour One by French artist Yves Klein which Jenny Valentine uses as the title for her novel. Amy McKay, coordinator of the Carnegie Medal Awards met with us ‘virtually’ via Skype.

She left the girls with some wise words: Read widely, beyond your comfort zone – and enjoy the experience.

Last but not least, the CHS Community Book Group, which meets monthly in the LRC, has enjoyed a reading feast. Favourites were Clive James’ anthology of poetry, Sentenced to Life and Kent Haruf’s Our Souls at Night, an unusual love story.

We can’t forget the Banana Club which meets weekly in the LRC and challenges the girls with ‘wordy’ and ‘witty’ games – Bananagrams, Scrabble, Articulate and Dingbats – games which could drive one Bananas!

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Booktopia in the LRC!

PHYSICS

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SKI TRIP TO AUSTRIA

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Larissa Kennedy in Year 13 is a Girl Guiding advocate and has been an active member of our debating society during her years at Croydon High. Here is an extract of the blog she produced for the Girl Guides Association following the historic referendum in June 2016.

by Year 8 Rhianna Patel and Kiara Patel A group of Year 8 and 9 girls went on a ski trip to Austria in March and had an amazing time! We spent four hours a day for five days skiing on the crystal beautiful ivory slopes and enjoyed every minute. There were three groups ranging from beginners to experienced.

We are one week on from the EU referendum and no clearer about what the future for young people looks like outside Europe.

One thing’s for certain – Brexit doesn’t reflect the views of the majority of young people. There was a huge generational divide on the issue, with an overwhelming majority of young people wanting to remain in the EU and a similar majority of over 65s wanting to leave. And when only 36% of 18 to 24 year olds voted – compared to 83% of those aged 65 and over – the vote swung against us.

Throughout the week we all had a chance to go on a blue slope and even a red one. The top group even tried out the more difficult black slope! When we weren’t skiing, we were pre-occupied with shopping, bowling, pizza evenings and even a disco. Overall it was brilliant time and we hope to go again next year.

This is especially sad, given that my peers and I will be living with the consequences of this decision for an average of 69 years.

Getting the facts

Thank you to Miss Kermani, Mr Suryani and especially Miss Kolankiewicz!

It’s clear from the results that not enough of us turned out to make our voices heard. But I feel like we have been let down by both Remain and Leave camps. With badly organised campaigns alongside the constant bashing of young people, it’s no wonder we may have felt conflicted or even unable to make an informed decision.

The first big issue was the statistics. There were a million and one flying about – often contradictory ones from the both campaigns – but barely any of them seemed relevant to me or the pressures I, and many other young people, face.

FLORENCE 2016

by Lauren Burns, Year 10, GCSE Art

On the last day before October half-term, the GCSE Art & 3D students and our teachers set off from school just after 3am en route to Florence for a long weekend of art appreciation and sketching. The trip was crammed with visits to iconic galleries and museums, such as the Uffizi where we admired Botticelli, the Convent of San Marco adorned with Fra Angelico’s frescos, and the Accademia where we saw Michelangelo’s original statue of ‘David’.

Besides the art and architecture, every day we got the opportunity to sample fresh Italian food and pasta from the market and to marvel at the beauty of Florence, in particular the spectacular view over the city from the top of Brunelleschi’s Duomo. The trip was a huge success, and we were able to not just study the magnificent Renaissance paintings, sculptures, architecture, fashion and jewellery, but to get a real feel for the beautiful city of Florence and its gorgeous food. Arriving back at school on the Monday evening, we were all exhausted but luckily had the rest of the half term to look forward to.

‘I really liked the trip up to the top of the Duomo, because the view was fantastic and I liked the Boboli Gardens.

Also the ice cream was AMAZING!’ ‘I really enjoyed seeing Michelangelo’s ‘David at the Academia gallery, and I liked that we had lots of time to draw or paint. Climbing the Duomo was definitely a highlight. The view from the top was amazing and I really enjoyed it.’

‘Because of all the drawing we did, I think that I have improved my observational skills. Also, I am glad that there were lots of sculptures to draw because I have only really studied drawings or paintings by artists before.’

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I did care about how leaving the EU would affect employment prospects and house prices – but I also cared about whether or not it would mean higher phone bills when I’m on holiday!

The EU just passed a law to get rid of roaming charges as of June 2017. I’m about to be a broke student, and cheaper phone bills would have made a real difference to me (plus, no more running from one Starbucks to the next for free Wi-Fi when you’re abroad!)

Neither hip nor groovy

preference to men speaking. Had I stepped into an alternate reality where the voices of women and ethnic minorities were irrelevant?

There is no excuse, media hotshots. We had enough female MPs speaking out for you to donate more than a measly 9% of your coverage to them. Needless to say, I felt underrepresented – because white, middle-aged men don’t exactly scream out relatable to me.

What happens now?

The second thing that bugged me was the narrative around young people. I’m an 18-year-old black girl, so I was either being patronised by the media, told that young people don’t care (please stop referring to my friends and I as ‘apathetic’ and ‘uninterested’) or bombarded with information that wasn’t helpful.

Whatever your opinion on the referendum, this outcome demonstrates one thing – we need to do more to engage young people. There are too many barriers stopping us, in particular girls and young women, from feeling connected to politics.

Alongside this, I was trying to take my A Levels. I mean, they wonder why voter turnout among young people is low when it’s smack-bang in the middle of exam season!

Our Girlguiding Chief Executive Julie Bentley has signed this statement calling on politicians and policy makers to ensure young people are engaged in determining the future of the country.

Attempts to connect with young voters, such as the #votin campaign, just came across as condescending. If that was the best attempt to appeal to young people, we’re doomed.

Plus, the website’s lack of information was an insult to the intelligence of young people. It just exposed the patronising assumption that because we’re young we have short attention spans, which is very unfair.

No representation Even when I did reserve some time outside revision to research the referendum, I got fed up listening to David Cameron, Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage battle it out. At one point 91% of national newspaper coverage on the referendum gave

Over the next few months, it is paramount that decisionmakers involve young people in setting out the vision for the UK going forward. Politicians also must become less critical of young people and more relatable, and diverse if they want true democracy.

One positive thing that’s come out of the referendum is #the75percent hashtag. Young people on Twitter and Tumblr have been using it to highlight their opinions around the result.

It’s powerful to see, and shows that we truly care about our country and our future. Let’s start involving young people’s voices today – it’s time to modernise the way we do politics to make it accessible for everyone.

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Goodbye and Thank you Ros Troop started at CHS in 1997, teaching part-time initially in KS1. In 2005 she became a Year 5 Class teacher teaching 4 ½ days a week.

Eight years later, after working with 6 different year group partners (including Mrs Bradshaw) she eventually moved to teach Year 2, and enjoyed a magical year with the KS1 team.

She has been on many residential school trips, such as Hindleap Warren, Amersham and Nettlecombe.

Mrs Troop has always been incredibly conscientious and her class management is excellent. Her attention to detail is second to none and her classroom displays are wonderful.

She’s a great organiser and has been instrumental in raising awareness of the hardships of children in African schools, and has led a great deal of fund raising on their behalf.

Thank you, Mrs Troop, for being such a great role model as a teacher – and for being such a good colleague and friend.

We wish you and your husband all the very best for a long, healthy, prosperous and happy future.

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MR Divall Having been taught by Mr Divall for the past five years, Olivia Ricketts reflects with him on his time at CHS and look towards his future.

What is it that you’ll remember most about CHS? Being a teacher, you get a real sense of time passing, which you can get in no other job. You see the girls you teach grow into young women and it’s a really impressive thing to see. Even though, it makes me feel old seeing them grow up!

The thing that strikes me about CHS is that all the girls are so full of ideas and dreams, and are so confident and ambitious. I have also realised over the years that no one ever really leaves CHS as it feels like a family. When old girls come back to visit, it feels like they never really left as they always have a home at CHS. What has been a highlight of your time here?

I had a lesson with my Year 12 students where I taught them about the American Tea Party. There was a very elaborate celebration with tea and cakes – and it made for a fantastic lesson! The girls were hilariously funny to watch as they got so engaged in a topic that was not the most interesting part of the course. However, seeing the girls enjoying learning a subject that I love was very satisfying to see, as a teacher.

So, what is your favourite period of history to teach?

Anything American! Although I love it all and I’ve always believed that learning history should be compulsory, as it’s so important because it teaches you who you are.

Catherine Lovering has worked as a class teacher across a range of year groups in KS1 and KS2 for the last six years.

Due to family commitments, she is now reducing her work load. We wish you luck at Wimbledon High.

Easily, a passion and love for my subject. When my students are old and have children I hope they tell their kids about a teacher they had called Mr Divall who made them eager to learn- that is when I will know I have done my job well. I live by a phrase that has always stuck with me: “Never lose that passion.” I think whatever job you do, you should have passion; if you don’t then you’re doing the wrong job.

Thank you, Mrs Lovering, for being such a supportive colleague and friend.

And finally, after an incredible few years here, tell us about what lies ahead?

She is extremely adaptable and amenable, and her wonderful musical ability has richly enhanced the school, particularly our KS1/KS2 musical and dramatic productions.

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r. Laura Dorgan, who retired in 2015, joined Croydon High in January 1981 from Queen Mary College, London where she was undertaking a post-doctoral fellowship. In her long and illustrious career here she taught Chemistry and Physics and held various responsibility posts including: Sixth Form Co-ordinator, Integrated Studies Co-ordinator and acting Head of Chemistry. Over the years, she influenced and motivated numerous girls with her inspirational teaching and commitment to pastoral care and extracurricular activities.

A leading vocalist in staff choirs and pantomimes, she also accompanied many music tours, and shared her creative skills in needlework club.

Her colleague and former Head of Chemistry, Brian McVicar, writes:

Laura was already a long-established member of staff when I arrived at CHS in 1987. Although I had already been teaching for 11 years, the academic teaching environment of CHS was, at first, something of a challenge and Laura was a great source of advice. When I later was appointed Head of Department, Laura became an invaluable “sounding board” for new (and occasionally wacky) ideas and projects. She was always keen on moving the teaching of Chemistry forward and had impressive experience to draw upon to do so. She contributed enormously to the continuous renewal of our schemes of work and practicals.

Laura’s classes were invariably well organised and she always put across chemical ideas with apparent ease and good humour. She was an excellent practical worker herself and went to some lengths to ensure that student practicals and her own demonstrations were impeccable. We were quite competitive, she and I, about the efficiency of the legendary “fountain” experiments. (Ammonia and hydrogen chloride gases, for example, are so soluble in water that they will generate a fountain in an appropriate apparatus). I never came out on top on that one.

Laura was an inspiration to me as a teacher. I have no idea how she did it AND had two children as well…

Jennifer Smart is just one of Dr Dorgan’s many grateful students: Dr Dorgan first taught me Physics in year 7 but it was through needlework club that I really got to know her. I joined in year 7 and went back year after year, even though it was only meant for years 7 and 8! By year 11, I was helping to run it. It was great fun and we’d have some good chats! I still have all of the things I made and some great memories of Dr Dorgan, right from when I was a shy year 7 to when I came back after my A2 exams to say goodbye.

I was lucky to be taught Chemistry by Dr Dorgan at A level, and I’ve no doubt that one of the main reasons I began to love the subject so much, and have ended up studying Chemistry at Sussex, was because of the excellent teaching I received. Dr Dorgan was always happy to help me if I didn’t understand something, and I’m sure she will be greatly missed. I always remember Mr Barker saying if you were ever in a situation where you didn’t know what to do, ask yourself ‘what would Dr Dorgan do’!

Dr Dorgan has been such an inspiration to me I wish her all the best in her retirement.

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What do you believe your legacy will be?

In the new school year, I will start at Claremont School, as Assistant Head Teacher, where I will overlook all the teaching and learning.

I’m a believer that you’re constantly learning, even as a teacher, and my new role will allow me to impart that same love I have for History across all subjects. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say that the role of becoming a head teacher doesn’t lie at the back of my mind.

And thoughts from some of the girls: “You could hear him all the way from K Block. His voice would always wake you up on a Monday morning.”

“I don’t think I have ever had a teacher so enthusiastic and in love with his subject as Mr Divall.”

“There are no words to describe Mr Divall, from his creative analogies, that made no sense half of the time, to his ICT failures; it’s inevitable that every pupil will miss him.”

“He tried to make us believe that A3 mind maps would solve everything!”

“I will miss how he understood the students’ point of view and always wanted us to succeed.”

At the end of the summer term, we also said farewell to the following members of staff in the Senior school.

We thank them for their contribution to life at Croydon High and wish them well in the future.

Jon Sawers Croydon High’s “IT” Man

Veerman Sajadah Computer Science Teacher

Wedding Belles Congratulations from us all to the following teachers who ‘tied the knot’ over the summer.

Miss Macdonald became Mrs Palmer

Miss Brown became Mrs Wragg

Miss Newman became Mrs Moon

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Welcome to Lexicon Designs.

Graphic design, web design, video and logos.

In creating, the only hard part is to begin.

HEARD ON THE CORRIDOR I’ve got a bone to pick with you about you being a vegan.

Q: Why do you eat fish? A: They swim.

Q: What is sweet salt? A: Sugar!

What’s the difference between the Euros and the World Cup? Is Jamaica in Africa?

Have you been to Nigeria Falls?

Kings Cross St Pancreas.

Croydon High School, Old Farleigh Road, Selsdon, South Croydon CR2 8YB ďżź www.croydonhigh.gdst.net 020 8260 7500 Whilst every effort has been made to ensure accuracy throughout the magazine, we hope you will forgive any minor errors.