In 140 years, a lot of things can happen. In 140 years in this country there have been two world wars, five changes of monarch, the sinking of the Titanic, the emancipation of women and for some, the life changing formation of One Direction! For Croydon High School, there is no exception. Since being founded in 1874, the school has experienced many changes including 11 changes of Head Mistress, a change of location of the school site and many advancements of the school.
In 140 years, Croydon High School has come so far. Year after year, exceptional results have been produced, as well as bright young women ready to start their journeys into the big wide world. Croydon High has also produced some women who have gone on to do remarkable things such as Susan Ma, who is now in business with Lord Alan Sugar after competing on ‘The Apprentice’ in 2011. Another inspirational Croydon High alumna is Chantal Henderson. Chantal was the head of financial planning for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
However, one of the most famous names that Croydon High School has ever produced is the extraordinary Jacqueline du Pré. Jacqueline is famous for being an extremely talented cellist who took the world by storm with her incredible skill. As well as Croydon High alumnae showing the world that women are just as strong and talented as men, Croydon High itself has been involved in doing some amazing things. There have been countless charity events for different charities including Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research in memory of Nicole Favre, Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Tadworth Children’s Trust to name a few. Every year there are musical and theatrical productions put on involving all girls to such a high standard that is leaves many of the audience astonished by how much talent an individual can possess.
In celebration of the 140th birthday of Croydon High School, a spectacular show is being put on at Fairfield Halls on Wednesday 26th November. It is set to be a wonderful evening full of drama, music and light hearted entertainment performed by all girls from Years 3 to 13.
I spoke to Mrs Webb, Head of Drama at Croydon High, about the event. Mrs Webb commented, “I feel honoured to able to put on such an event at Fairfield Halls. It has been wonderful to see the girls individually flourish and come together as a community. They have used their initiative to come up with dances of their own and have shown outstanding dedication to the school.”
Lucie Stranack, who is involved in both the drama and music events of the night agreed. “Being in the 140th is an amazing experience! There is so much to get involved in and the vibe is really great! It’s an experience that I’ll never forget.”
Throughout the night, the audience will be taken back in time on a journey throughout the years to see what Croydon High was really like back when it all began in 1874. To make sure all the historical information given throughout the evening is correct, members of staff and friends of the school have been going into the archives to find out what school life was like for the girls. Imogen Broyd, who is taking part in the evening’s event, said, “I’m finding it really interesting to find out how the school started. When we’re rehearsing in Drama, we find out lots of interesting things about what it was like being girl at Croydon High”.
The evening promises to be an experience that both the girls and audience will never forget. So much time and hard work has been put into each individual section of the evening that we can’t wait to perform to a fully sold-out audience of approximately 900 people!
Katie Harris
