At an exciting stage in Sydenham High School\u2019s history, we are delighted to welcome a
\nnew Head to lead the school community from September 2022. Living locally for many
\nyears, Antonia Geldeard said, \u201cI have heard lots of wonderful first-hand experiences of
\nthe school. What has always stood out for me has been the overriding commitment to
\nthe individual; the warm, supportive atmosphere, caring for each pupil and helping
\neach student to benefit from the wide range of co-curricular opportunities on offer;
\nthere is a real commitment to recognising each girl\u2019s own achievement and academic
\nsuccess, which particularly resonates with me.\u201d
\nMs Geldeard studied English Literature at Trinity College and Cambridge University,
\ngraduating with an MA, and later a PGCE in English and Drama. After early years
\nspent working as a television journalist she joined Alleyn\u2019s School. In 2017, Antonia
\nmoved to Trinity School, Croydon, to take up the role of Head of Sixth Form and then in
\n2019, she was promoted to Deputy Head.
\nFollowing 22 years in co-education and single sex environments, she brings with her a
\nwealth of experience. \u201cI can see the importance of nurturing strong, resilient, healthy
\nyoung women who have the confidence to speak with their own voice and a full range
\nof skills to be well prepared for their futures. Our classrooms must offer the space for
\ngirls to grow their interests, take the lead, share their academic discoveries, and
\nexplore new things without fear\u201d. Which perfectly aligns with the Sydenham High
\nmotto of \u2018Fear Nothing\u2019.
\nAfter visiting the school herself, Antonia observed that the pupils that she will be
\nleading were \u201chappy, confident, and curious \u2013 they were quick to ask me questions and
\nvolunteered all sorts of stories showing their utter engagement and joy in school life.
\nThis is a great testament to the ethos of the school and the atmosphere to which all the
\ncommunity contribute\u201d, something she hopes to further strengthen and build upon
\nduring her headship.
\nAntonia has extensive academic and pastoral experience, having held responsibility
\nfor Sixth Form, enrichment, EPQ, school admissions and marketing, university
\nadmissions and careers as well as holding the position of Deputy Safeguarding Lead
\nfor many years. She also has experience as a primary school governor. Keen to
\nmaintain the academic achievement and co-curricular experiences of pupils she
\nspeaks of her intention to \u201cadhere to Sydenham High\u2019s ethos\u201d, continuing, \u201cour girls
\nshould be ambitious in their endeavours, develop their higher order thinking skills and
\nbe confident to speak up, stand out, think creatively, and reach for opportunities.\u201d
\nAntonia has shared her vision for thoroughly preparing pupils for their futures,
\nwhatever pathway they may choose, fostering a depth of character, strong values, and
\na willingness to commit and give back to their community. \u201cI will continue the strong
\npartnerships with all aspects of the community; between the Prep and Senior School,
\nbetween pupils and staff, with parents, the local community, neighbouring schools,
\nalumnae and visiting experts.\u201d
\nAs Sydenham High celebrates its 135th anniversary, it seems that the future of the
\nschool is in good hands.
\nVisit Sydenham High School this autumn to discover more:
\nsydenhamhighschool.gdst.net<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At an exciting stage in Sydenham High School\u2019s history, we are delighted to welcome a new Head to lead the school community from September 2022. Living locally for many years, Antonia Geldeard said, \u201cI have heard lots of wonderful first-hand experiences of the school. What has always stood out for me has been the overriding […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1674,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"directory-category":[],"event_categories":[],"class_list":["post-1673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-07 02:32:33","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/bromley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/bromley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/bromley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/bromley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1673"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/bromley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1673\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1675,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/bromley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1673\/revisions\/1675"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/bromley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/bromley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/bromley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/bromley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1673"},{"taxonomy":"directory-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/bromley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/directory-category?post=1673"},{"taxonomy":"event_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/bromley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event_categories?post=1673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}