Croydon highlights spring 2016 edition

Croydon Highlights

Spring 2016

CROYDON HIGH SCHOOL Old Farleigh Road, Selsdon, South Croydon, Surrey CR2 8YB Tel: 020 8260 7500 Fax: 020 8260 7461 E-mail: info2@cry.gdst.net

OLIVER! LEAVES AUDIENCES WANTING MORE!

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Welcome to the 2016 Spring Highlights

s we begin the second half of the school year, we are all happy to see the brighter mornings, light evenings and the various promises of spring. The Autumn term was absolutely packed with activity in all parts of the school and I hope you will enjoy reading about some of the girls’ many achievements in this issue of High-lights. Their successes include a gold medal for Y13’s Shakira at this year’s Biology Olympiad – a national competition organised by the Royal Society of Biology with over 700 students taking part. Y13’s Kirsty was awarded second prize in a competition run

by Cambridge’s Trinity College, for her essay which explored the similarities and differences between language acquisition in children and adults. Laura, in Y12, will appear in the latest Young Writers’ Teen Poets anthology Chasing Shadows – A Collection of Teen Poetry, with the publication of her poem “The Bath”.

We are very proud to report that all of our Year 13 girls have at least three offers from universities, excluding those who have applied for Medicine who have to wait until March! In fact, a third of all the girls have a full set of five offers, many of them from high quality Russell Group universities such as Durham, Bristol and Warwick.

Three of our girls also have Oxbridge offers. Well done to all of the girls; these offers reflect their hard work as well as the support of the staff in helping them prepare excellent applications.

If you live in the Selsdon area, do pop in to the Jubilee Café in the Selsdon Community Hall (below Sainsbury’s), where you will see a fantastic exhibition of selfportraits from different year groups in the Junior School and Senior schools. They will be on view until Monday 21st March. Enjoy a coffee and a piece of cake while you are there!

Thank you to the many alumnae who support us in so many ways; whether it is giving generously of their time and expertise attending specific events, or supporting us financially through our Annual Fund appeal. I know a good number have volunteered to be delegates at the Careers Conference on 2nd March. We have also been delighted to hear memories from our alumnae who started school here in 1966 or who moved here from Wellesley Road - do keep sending in your stories (ivylink@ cry.gdst.net).

We are always delighted to welcome visitors to the school and run regular Open Door events offering opportunities to see the school in action. There are some dates for your diary on the back page of this publication, so if you are interested in visiting us, or in getting involved with the school in any area, please do not hesitate to contact us via the ivylink@cry.gdst.net email address.

With best wishes Debbie Leonard, Head

CELEBRATING OUR VERY OWN

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NATIONAL DANCE CHAMPION

n Saturday October 31st, Croydon High Junior School’s Emily danced in the ISTD National Grand Finals at the Wintergardens in Blackpool. Emily, who is in Year 6, and her dance partner Thomas, competed against 77 couples in the Grand Final and were placed 1st in the Latin and 4th in the Ballroom events. The pair, who are taught by Clara Guzzadi at the Caterham Dance School, danced extremely well in their competitive programme and overcame strong competition.

They next set their sights on Champions of Tomorrow which took place 9th January 2016. They competed in the Waltz and Quickstep plus the Samba and Cha Cha and went on to win both events.

They now continue training to compete once more at the Junior Open British and WDC All European Championships in March 2016, again in Blackpool – a really exciting prospect.

Emily’s classmates are all very proud of her fantastic achievements. Strictly, here she comes?

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NEW GYMNASTIC EQUIPMENT

iss Newman wasted no time getting the girls on to our new gymnastic equipment. This is Reception designing their own group balance. The colourful soft equipment will be used by all of younger juniors and KS1 and is perfect for safely experimenting with risk taking, as the girls learn how to roll, jump and balance.

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DUNKING THAT DOESN’T TAKE THE BISCUIT

uccess for our junior girls who entered the national primary science competition, called ‘Dunking that doesn’t take the Biscuit,’ organised by CLEAPPS (the Association for Science Education). The girls researched and designed a healthy biscuit that would survive a long walk and that could be ‘dunked’ in a drink without falling apart.

Lilia was awarded first place in the Year 3/4 category, Zariya was awarded 2nd place in the Year 3/4 category and Florence was awarded 2nd place in the Year 5/6 category. The girls received their awards from representatives of CLEAPSS and the sponsors Scientific and Chemical Supplies.

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WRITE INSPIRED WORKSHOP

HS 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 process. 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!

CHS Senior Girls Mentor Junior Writers

CROYDON MUN

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A MODEL OF ORGANISATION AND INSPIRATION

n Saturday 12th December, Croydon High School held their first Model United Nations Conference attended by 180 delegates from 19 schools in the South-East. Although we have participated in MUNs for many years - and achieved considerable success, winning Best Delegation at the last conference hosted by Reigate Grammar – this was our first foray into running a conference and we are the first GDST School to host such a prestigious event.

Model UN (or MUN) enables students to learn about diplomacy, international relations and the United Nations. MUN involves and teaches valuable researching, public speaking, debating, and writing skills, in addition to developing critical thinking, teamwork, and leadership abilities.

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.

Croydon’s conference – or CROYMUN as it is known – welcomed delegates from a wide variety of schools, including sister schools Blackheath High, Bromley High and Streatham and Clapham High from the GDST family.

Highly topical debate topics 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. Ultimately the team from Latymer Upper was awarded Best Delegation. But, unlike many competitions, MUN really is one where participation is as rewarding as winning and all the teams went away feeling energised by the experience.

Croydon High’s Head of Politics, Jonathan Vickery has been running MUN at Croydon High for 20 years and 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. ”

SPORTING SUCCESS Congratulations to...

Warlingham’s new rugby ladies team, including Croydon High’s very own Emma U18, Jojo U15 and Jodie U15, were invited to train with their Harlequins counterparts prior to the women’s England versus Ireland match ra and Orrin a L , a li e m A Year 6 the London t a d ir th e y who cam Cross Countr s e m a G th u Yo

Y10 Flora and Freya selected to play and train for the Tier 1 Kent Hockey Team

Y10 Canice sele cted to train and play with Ir ish U16 Horizon Perform ance Golf Squad for 2016-17

Y10 Jemma, Y13 Alex, Y11 Nayna and Y13 Lauren through to the National Trampoline Finals

Y7 Olivia 3rd place Surrey Cross Country

Y6 Amelia 4th place at the British Modern Biathlon Championships

RECENT TRIPS BONN

MADRID

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OLIVER! LEAVES AUDIENCES WANTING MORE!

ull houses, on both nights in February, were treated to an outstanding production of Oliver! – Lionel Bart’s much loved adaptation of the Dickens’ novel, Oliver Twist.

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 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 great professionalism.

Whilst very much a team effort, there were some notable individual performances that had the audience on their feet in appreciation as the curtains fell. The two central characters of Oliver and the Artful Dodger were played superbly by Year 7 and 8 students, Freya and Megan respectively.

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, 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 in Year 12.

The demanding and iconic part of Fagin was delivered admirably by Year 13’s Drama Scholar, Lucie 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 in popular film culture and portraying them, especially by such young actors, is always a challenge. Alita 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, in Year 11, gave such a magnificent portrayal of the villain Bill Sykes and, at times, it was easy to forget we were watching a 16 year old schoolgirl on stage.

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 and 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. 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.

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EUROPEAN UNION DEBATE by Y12 Carlotta

uring a 6th form tutorial session in February, two guest speakers led a debate on whether or not the UK should leave the European Union.

Very good points were made on both sides by both speakers and were summarised by the Year 12 Economics class. This was a very relevant and interesting debate, as many of the 6th form students will be able to vote on the issue this summer. The Out Campaign was led by Rory Bloomfield, director of the Freedom Association who seemed very passionate in presenting the argument that the EU is holding back the UK from trading with bigger and better unions. “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 within the EU with 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. Andrew Lebrecht, senior civil servant and the UK’s former Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU, was the guest speaker for the In Campaign. His main points were that the EU is one of the biggest economies in the world and remaining within this body would have economic benefits for the UK. This membership also helps us to deal with and stay safe from threats, in an increasingly dangerous world due to the terrorist groups threatening the international security. Being a part of the EU lets the UK secure influence over rules and policies that will affect us. He summed up his argument perfectly: ‘’This is about the future of our country and the role we want to play in the world’.’ The students of CHS voted after this lecture and the results were that the In Campaign won with 57 votes to 23. We now wait to see what the country decides on 23rd June!

STEM BREAKFAST

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e welcomed a number of eminent professionals in STEM (Science Technology Engineering Maths) sectors on and they delivered a powerful and inspirational message to the girls who opted to join them for breakfast. The speakers, who included a number of CHS alumnae and also parents of current girls, had been invited to help the school to promote the diversity of employment opportunities available to young women within the STEM professions. Girls who have an interest in this area were invited to hear more about the training and the work the speakers are involved in and – importantly – to network with the guests afterwards. Mrs Gower, Head of Careers, said: “It is important for girls to gain networking experience and build up all the ‘soft skills’ that employers really value and which may give them the edge when it comes to interviews.” Mrs Leonard was delighted with the number of girls who opted to attend, saying: “It was great to see them all listening so attentively and then mixing with the speakers so readily, asking questions and starting to make contacts that could really impact on their future careers.”

THE IVY LINK CHRISTMAS REUNION

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t the end of the Autumn Term we were delighted to welcome back girls who left the Sixth Form in the summer, plus this year we were joined by the class of 2010!

Mulled wine, mince pies and a good catch up were the order of the occasion. For the class of 2015, it was a question of finding out about their first term out in the world and for the 2010s, discovering passed achievements and future plans. All the girls seem happy, and it was lovely to see them in such a familiar environment and obviously pleased to be back at school and with each other. Everyone is doing really well and it was touching to hear from several of the girls how much they miss their Croydon High family. We hope that they will remain in touch and continue to let us know how they are getting on. Once a Croydon High girl… always a Croydon High girl!

Ivy Link Dates for your Diary 2015-2016 Wednesday 2nd March 7.00pm - CHS Careers Convention Friday 4th March 7.00pm - PTA Quiz Night Thursday 10th March 1.30pm - Ivy Link Open Doors Thursday 10th March 7.00pm - CHS Chamber Music Festival Monday 21st & Tuesday 22nd March 7.00pm - Gym and Dance Show Saturday 16th April 1.30pm - Ivy Link Netball Challenge Thursday 5th May 2016 3.00pm - Ivy Link Tea Party (1964 and all years prior to this) Wednesday 18th May 7.00pm - CHS Summer Concert Wednesday 15th June 6.00pm - CHS Art Exhibition Friday 17th June 7.45am - CHS Golf Morning (venue tbc) Saturday 18th June 12.30pm - Ivy Link Summer Lunch Thursday 30th June 1.30pm - Ivy Link Open Doors Thursday 30th June & Friday 1st July 7.00pm - School Summer Production

For more details please contact Karen Roe on 020 8260 7531 or email ivylink@cry.gdst.net