Category: General

Wednesday morning saw the official launch of Black History Month at Sydenham High, with a fascinating assembly by Lolita Chakrabarti on the subject of Ira Aldridge.

As a RADA-qualified stage and screen actress and writer Lolita developed a passion for this previously forgotten actor and set about researching him for over 20 years. She produced a play about his life entitled Red Velvet, which premiered in 2012, and she explained that he should be considered one of the most important actors in British theatre’s history. The play won her the Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright at the 2012 Evening Standard Awards, Most Promising Playwright at the Critics Circle Awards and the AWA Award for Arts and Culture in 2013. Red Velvet was also nominated for an Olivier Award in 2013 and Adrian Lester was nominated for an Olivier in 2016 for his portrayal of Ira Aldridge. He said of the actor:

For Ira to have achieved so much at a time when society thought so little, is a testament to his tenacity and hard work.

As the UK’s first black Shakespearean actor he was honoured in 2017 with the unveiling of a blue plaque in Coventry, the city where he had been manager at Coventry Theatre after impressing the people of the city with his acting during a tour in 1828 aged just 21. The impression he made during his time there is credited with inspiring Coventry’s petition to Parliament for the abolition of slavery.

Lolita told us about his life story, from his humble beginnings in America in 1807 to his travels to the UK given the difficulties for him being a black actor during the time of slavery, and on to his many travels throughout Europe. She described his profound impact on reviewers as a phenomenal actor but explained that he was written out of history because of the hostile environment that he was performing in.

Outside of London, he played to crowded houses, but was boycotted by the West End stage. Undeterred by the hostility he faced, he became the first black actor to perform at Covent Garden, playing the role of Othello for two nights. Sadly he was hounded by a racist campaign and it is thought that the theatre reviewers were bribed to tarnish his reputation. He never performed at Covent Garden again and, in 1852, Aldridge and his family sailed for Europe.

After his death in Poland in 1867, he was given a state funeral – such was his standing in the community across Europe. Lolita also told us that he lived on Hamlet Road in Crystal Palace with his wife and children and that his youngest daughter, Amanda, gave elocution lessons to Paul Robeson in 1930 when he was preparing for his first appearance as Othello in London.

To find out more about this fascinating man please visit the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust’s online exhibition.

Our Political Awareness Club, led by year 13 Maddy Gowers, was delighted to host Ellie Reeves MP for Lewisham West and Penge at their first meeting of the year on Wednesday 3 October.

Ms Reeves described her journey to becoming elected in 2017, after a whirlwind campaign during the snap election, when her local seat became available after 25 years. Prior to becoming an MP, she qualified as an employment law barrister and had started a business from home offering employment rights advice to women and families, but had always been an active member of the Labour party. She explained that usually it is not so quick a route to becoming an MP and takes years of campaigning but now that she has her seat she is very keen to talk about women in politics and ensure that the profession is not off-putting.

The group heard about her observations from the last 18 months and her ideas for reform towards a more modern, family friendly parliament, from the old fashioned language and processes (such as the system for registering in voting lobbies, which she feels ought to be available electronically as an alternative) to the time that MPs are expected to sit, she explained that she is campaigning for change. Despite the leaps that have been made so far, she feels that much more can be done. An interesting topic was that of MPs who have children whilst in post and the fact that, currently, there is no formal arrangement for women who take time off when they have a baby, but merely an informal arrangement where MPs ‘pair’ with another member from the opposition who will abstain from voting in order to cancel each other out. Of course, this is not transparent and can break down but she feels that there will imminently be an official arrangement for ‘baby leave’ such as a proxy vote. The more women elected, the more likely change will happen.

Ms Reeves explained that she is currently on conference recess and is therefore able to meet with constituents from pensioners to school pupils to local businesses and how much she enjoys her job as it is so varied and rewarding, despite its challenges – especially in the current Brexit climate!

As an aspiring politician, it was amazing to be able to hear from a real life MP about what it’s like to work in the House of Commons and be able to participate in and handle the responsibility that comes with the representative democracy that we are a part of.

– Maddy Gowers, year 13

On Wednesday 4 July, the Senior School gathered with friends, families and staff to celebrate the achievements of our pupils this year. There were some amazing music, dance and drama performances and every year group was represented in the prizes across subjects and disciplines. The afternoon was a wonderful showcase of all the talent and dedication at Sydenham High School and we were delighted to have GB Gold medallist and conservationist, Crista Cullen MBE, with us as our key note speaker.

She spoke about her journey to her career in hockey and her life in Africa, as well as her passion for conservation through her charitable foundation Tofauti. She told us about the setbacks she had along the way to achieving her gold medal and how important it is to have a positive attitude in life:

If you have a good attitude, you can be taught. Whether that is in the classroom or on a sports field, it’s no different. If you feel that you want to excel at something it’s up to you to seek that guidance. You have two choices: you can either sit in a corner and think your dream is over or you can take the bull by the horns and ask what do I need to practice.

– Crista Cullen MBE

After the ceremony we enjoyed a wonderful afternoon tea in the sunshine, where Crista was kind enough to allow people to hold her gold medal! We very much hope to see our girls bringing back their own medals in the future.