Croydon High, the £18,000 per year private girls’ school in Selsdon, has announced the appointment of Annabel Davies as its new headteacher, with effect from September 2022.
Davies is to replace Emma Pattison, the head since 2016, who is leaving to take up a senior position at Epsom College.
Davies has been working in Hong Kong and “has held leadership positions in international and UK-based schools throughout her career”, according to the Trustees of the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST), which runs Croydon High and made the appointment.
She was previously assistant principal at Surbiton High School, where according to GDST she, “became a strong advocate of the benefits of an all-girls’ education”.
Croydon High remains fiercely proud of its links to the women’s suffrage movement. Established in 1874, its first headmistress, Dorinda Neligan, became a militant suffragette upon retiring. “Croydon High retains the spirit of its first headmistress, with a deep-rooted sense of justice and equality of opportunity passed down through generations of Croydon High girls,” the school says.
Heading from Hong Kong: new CHS head Annabel Davies
In a statement issued this morning, GDST says of its new headteacher, “Her commitment to combining an academic focus with the essential skills that make girls ‘real world ready’ is one the reasons why the GDST Trustees felt that Annabel would be a perfect fit for Croydon High School.”
Davies says that she believes “a strong character, the ability to be creative, resourceful and resilient, and to display strong emotional intelligence are essential traits that need to be developed during a girl’s educational journey”.
And she said, “I am absolutely delighted to be taking up the Headship at Croydon High.
“It is a fantastic school and is at such an exciting stage in its development.
“I have already been so impressed with all aspects of the school and with those I have met so far, and I look forward to meeting the whole community and to building on the excellent work that is already being carried out by Emma Pattison and the staff.”
Pattison said, “My conversations with Annabel, combined with her impressive experience and her clear educational ethos which sits so well with the Croydon High philosophy, has made me entirely confident that I will leave the school in very safe hands.
“I am extremely proud to have been a part of Croydon High’s story and I firmly believe that the next chapter will be a very exciting one.”
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