Croydon High School held its first ‘We Won’t Rest’ sleepover to raise awareness for Nightwatch, a local charity dedicated to caring for the homeless.

Around 60 girls, dressed in colourful onesies, took part in the event and came prepared to spend the night, sleeping on the floor in the school hall.

Temperatures outside on on Friday (January 20) were near to freezing but inside spirits were high. The girls gathered together preparing leaflets, a play and a floor-sized piece of artwork, all illustrating the desperation felt by those who are destitute and often overlooked or ignored by society.

The evening was opened by Councillor Wayne Trakas-Lawlor, Mayor of Croydon, who said: “I was very impressed by the students’ creative and resourceful response to highlighting the issue of homelessness. I congratulate the school on ensuring that the students understand the social needs of others less fortunate than themselves.”

Since September 2015, Croydon High School has committed to WE, a charitable organisation that invites participants to raise money in support of local and global projects. When the school decided to organise the We Won’t Rest campaign it was natural to support Nightwatch, a small local charity.

A representative from Nightwatch, Tony Packwood, spoke to the girls about the problems facing those people who are homeless. He highlighted the fact that homelessness didn’t just mean sleeping rough on the streets, but also applied to those who were sofa hopping or sleeping in hostels.

Two sixth-form students, Amelia De Lima and Tulsi Patel, planned the event, which took four months of hard work, including trawling their way through a 16-page risk assessment report.

Amelia said: The idea was to experience homelessness as well as raise awareness and money for such a deserving charity. Workshops highlighted the problems of homelessness and made the girls reflect how privileged they are.”

The event was well structured and the two sixth-formers’ dedication certainly paid off. Tulsi said: “After a stressful start, the event ended on a more relaxing note as the students really got the chance to meet people in other years. The girls were so enthusiastic and supportive and I'm really grateful for them, as the evening would not have taken place without them.

“The art group made a really beautiful, thoughtful poster, which will hopefully be put up in a classroom or in the school halls to further advertise homelessness and to highlight our successful event.”

After an action-packed evening and before the girls bedded down for a night in the cold school hall, they played a game of pass the parcel with some inspirational quotes and a sweet between each layer, followed by a family film.

Donna Edmonds, head of English at Croydon High and an ambassador for the charity, said: “I am immensely proud of all that Tulsi and Amelia and all the WE girls at CHS have achieved. Devising, organising and launching an event like this with 60 girls involved is no mean feat. To have raised £650.00 for Nightwatch is amazing.

“Even better has been the generous donation of the CEO of GDST Cheryl Giovannoni who has pledged to match the amount raised. We are overwhelmed by this generosity. £1300 will be an amazing asset to the work of Nightwatch. We will continue with our year of action at the WE group CHS”.