Heads Weekly Review - 2024 Issue 1

12 January2024 – Issue 1

HEAD’S REVIEW

Netball vs Brighton College

Head’s Introduction

It has been wonderful to see everyone back in School after the Christmas break. The last couple of days have been sunny and crisp, and in the last week we have seen pouring rain and a day of light snow, so we have enjoyed the whole range of weather conditions since we came back!

I am delighted that lots of university offers are coming in for Year 13, for many different courses, as well as for other routes, such as Degree Apprenticeships. Oxford made its offers this week, and I am thrilled for Ella, who has a place to study PPE, and also for Otti from last year who successfully applied this year. I look forward to hearing the outcomes of interviews at Cambridge and medical courses. Well done!

Congratulations to all those who took LAMDA exams – it is remarkable that every singe candidate passed with Distinction!

On the creative front, I am grateful to Mr Woodhouse and the English Department for taking some Sixth Formers on a residential trip last weekend. The aim of the trip was for the students and staff to respond creatively to their surroundings, and this was achieved, by all accounts – I look forward to reading the anthology of their writing.

This Week in Boarding...

Isle of Sheppey Trip – Sixth Form Creative Writing Residential

Despite the very cold playing conditions, I have enjoyed watching a variety of teams playing Netball. It is wonderful that so many students have the opportunity to represent the School, and there have been some brilliant fixtures.

Thank you to the Admissions Department for a very successful round of entrance testing last Saturday, and to all my colleagues for the Year 9 Parents’ Evening on Wednesday.

Good luck to Years 11 and 13, who have formal assessments next week, and to Years 10 and 12, who also have progress reviews.

I wish you all a lovely, restful weekend!

U15A Victory vs Brighton College

12 January2024 – Issue 1

HEAD’S REVIEW

Unsung heroes in the spotlight Each week, many wonderful things happen at Roedean, about which many in the school are perhaps unaware; this section of the weekly review is dedicated to ‘unsung heroes’, in order to draw our attention to these people and remind us that our community is special.

Harriet (Yr7) – for playing a key role in her local community – during the Christmas holidays, She volunteered for three days at Saltdean Primary, where she was reading with the Year 5s and also helping with their Forest School [Miss Orrells]

Unsung Staff hero in the spotlight Mrs Newman – for an enthralling Academic Lecture on 'The Assassination of JFK' – thank you so much! [Ms Ibanez-Barcelo]

Fashion Degree at Kingston for Carmen Congratulations to Carmen (Yr13), who has just received an unconditional offer to study BA (Hons) in Fashion at Kingston University.

This is one of the highest-ranking courses for fashion design in the UK, and number 1 in London, with very strong industry links.

The university is one of just 4 institutions worldwide to have been awarded badges of excellence by the business of fashion.

Former students have gone on to work for Burberry, Calvin Kline, Paul Smith, and Alexander McQueen, to name just a few.

'She was over the moon – she bounced up to me with a cheeky grin to tell me the news on the first day of term, and gave me her signature thumbs-up – it is brilliant!'

Ms Phillips

University Offers for Year 13 It is brilliant for Year 13 that they have received 106 offers of university places through UCAS already, well before the application deadline has arrived. The offers are for a wide range of courses, including Archaeology, Photography, Law, Marine Biology, and Liberal Arts and Sciences among others, at a diverse range of universities.

Particular congratulations go to Martha (Geography), Tilly (International Relations) and Skylah (Computer Science) who have already received 5 offers from their chosen universities!

Live on National TV in Montenegro

Ella

On Tuesday, Oxford University released their decisions and we are delighted to celebrate with Ella, one of our Sixth Form Brighthelm Scholars, who has just received an offer to study PPE (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics) and Ottavia, who left last year and reapplied; she has been offered a place to study Theology and Religion. Cambridge University will announce their decisions in a couple of weeks, and our bumper crop of students aspiring toward Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, and Dentistry are still undergoing interviews. We look forward to hearing the outcomes of all their applications soon.

Finally, a number of Year 13 students have also applied for courses at prestigious international universities in Hong Kong, Thailand, America, Holland, and others.

The offers have started coming in for these too and congratulations must go to Phoebe for her unconditional place to study Liberal Arts at Columbia University.

Dr Barrand made a surprise appearance on nation-wide live television in Montenegro over the holidays – while there interviewing exceptional students hoping to win HMC Scholarships to study at UK boarding schools, he was interviewed live for 20 minutes about education in the UK in general and about Roedean too!

Well done to all the Year 13 applicants and good luck to the year group with their upcoming assessments, and to those students who will complete their applications this month.

Phoebe

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If you have been inspired by our Year 13s’ ambitions and successes so far, look out for more information about our upcoming Higher Education Evening on 21st February!

Ms Boobis

12 January2024 – Issue 1

HEAD’S REVIEW

Distinctions Galore for LAMDA! Grade 4

Congratulations to all those who took LAMDA exams at the end of last term – the results have come in, and it is another clean sweep of distinctions! Well done – it is great that all of their hard work has been rewarded in this way.

Mrs Sellers

Grade 5

Grade 6

Astrid (Yr8)

Acting – with Distinction

Ashley (Yr10)

Acting – with Distinction

Jasmine (Yr10)

Acting – with Distinction

Emma (Yr11)

Musical Theatre – with Distinction

Blaize (Yr9)

Acting – with Distinction

Naisha (Yr11)

Acting – with Distinction

Bella (Yr8)

Verse and Prose – with Distinction

Izzy (Yr9)

Acting – with Distinction

Rida (Yr11)

Acting – with Distinction

Lennie (Yr10)

Acting – with Distinction

Emily (Yr13)

Lucy (Yr9)

Acting – with Distinction

Verse and Prose – with Distinction

Molly (Yr9)

Acting – with Distinction

Verse and Prose – with Distinction

Sonia (Yr10)

Musical Theatre – with Distinction

Greta (Yr8)

Verse and Prose – with Distinction

Zoe (Yr9)

Holly (Yr9)

Verse and Prose – with Distinction

Sorcha (Yr8)

Verse and Prose – with Distinction

Cassandra (Yr10) Verse and Prose – with Distinction Elsa (Yr8)

Isle of Sheppey Trip – Sixth Form Creative Writing Residential

Verse and Prose – with Distinction

Grade 7 Mia (Yr12)

Acting – with Distinction

Olivia (Yr11)

Acting – with Distinction

Tildy (Yr11)

Acting – with Distinction

Grade 8 Merla (Yr12)

Musical Theatre – with Distinction

A group of intrepid Sixth Form Literature students (and three nearly-as-intrepid teachers) made their way to the north Kent marshes, braving excoriating January winds and bracing temperatures, to embrace their literary creativity. Activities included writing in the pitch dark of the Sheppey night, writing by the heat of a roaring fire, and (mostly) avoiding falling into the surrounding swamplands. There were even some brave students who went running early on Saturday in chilly conditions, and others who had to be escorted back to their accommodation after exposure to a ghost story. Please do look out for the anthology of writing by attendees, which will very soon be available to read. Thanks to all students who attended for your commitment to the activities and to doing the housework!

Mr Woodhouse

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HEAD’S REVIEW

This Week in Boarding...

The weather may have been chilly this week, but the Houses felt warm and full of love as we welcomed back our boarders after the Christmas break. We have missed them over the Christmas period, but have loved hearing all about their adventures from over the holiday!

Girls from all Houses had a blast on the Brighton shopping trip last weekend, and managed to bag some of the January sale bargains.

In House 1, the boarders enjoyed their weekly game of Bingo this week and wrapped up warm to blow bubbles in the chilly January air.

House 2 girls were in hysterics on Monday night during a game of Telestations. Some of them did some incredibly accurate drawings and others definitely made the game a little more tricky… On Tuesday, the boarders were treated to pancakes, and many went back for seconds, and thirds!

In House 3, the girls welcomed their new 4-legged resident, Daisy, from cuddles in the Study after school, to taking her for walks on our beautiful school grounds. They also enjoyed baking some shortbread biscuits over the weekend, getting crafty, playing in the snow, and posh hot chocolates to warm up from the chilly weather.

House 4 also enjoyed some delicious hot chocolates with whipped cream and marshmallows.

What a treat! They got crafty and made vision boards whilst snacking on Nachos. The boarders also enjoyed having their weekly Pancake night back again after the Christmas break.

Keswick girls have been working hard, preparing for their upcoming mocks.

However, many of the girls were delighted by the magical sprinkling of snow we had this week – they put their books and pens down, and ran outside to enjoy it!

What a wonderful start to 2024 we have had in the boarding houses, and we are so excited to see what this year brings for us all.

Miss Roe

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12 January2024 – Issue 1

HEAD’S REVIEW

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12 January2024 – Issue 1

HEAD’S REVIEW

12 January2024 – Issue 1

Netball vs Brighton College U14D

U15A Victory

In our first fixture of the term, the U14D team played a very strong Brighton College team.

After only one lesson, the girls were excited to play their first netball fixture in over six months.

On Friday 5 January, the U15A team played their first block match against Brighton College. We started the match slightly behind Brighton, finishing the first quarter down 3-12.

The first half started slowly for the team, and they went down fifteen goals. The team worked incredibly hard after a slow quarter one through quarter two, and the defence and mid-court grew into the game, creating turnovers and miss-shots from the opposition.

As the quarters went past, we managed to narrow the gap by doing some excellent turnovers, followed by a goal. In the last quarter, we really stepped up to what Brighton had brought to the evening. With many, many interceptions, we were able to tie by the last minute. We kept possession as it was our centre pass, and, in the last few seconds, Gabby scored for us to be one goal up. Luckily, at that point, the whistle went!

Ruby was voted to be the team's captain at the beginning of the match,and she was also awarded Player of the Match by Brighton.

At half-time, the target was to sharpen up the play through the middle of the court and to retain possession better.

The second half of the match saw a very strong performance from the team, and their effort rates could not be questioned, with everyone giving 110%.

In quarter three, the team scored their sole goal of the game through Lola, but we still lost the quarter four goals to one.

At three quarter time, the team talk was short but simple. Win or draw the last quarter – the team believed, and gave their all, but the Brighton defence stood firm and ended up winning the quarter one-nil.

Overall, the scoreline ended up at 20-1, however the team played incredibly well and progressed throughout the match, which is all I could ask of them.

■ ■

Attacking POM: Ava Defensive POM: Lily

Mr Foggoa

U14B Battled Hard The U14Bs took to the court for their first fixture of the Netball season. Having Brighton College as our first opponents meant we would start the term knowing exactly what to work on to improve.

U15A

U15F Show Resolve The U15F Netball team had their first fixture of the term against Brighton College. After a few shifts in team selection, we had a good line-up, and were confident to get into the game as soon as possible and set a good intensity.

Brighton started better and it was tough going in the first quarter, the only positive being that we had a 100% conversion in attack. In the second and third quarter, Roedean pulled Brighton back and even beat them convincingly in one of the thirds.

Abbie, the Player of the Game, was everywhere on the court, and demonstrated quick and precise play through the court. Brighton came back at the end, as fitness levels faded and the match ended 25-9 – we were the highest scoring Roedean team on the day, with Audrey and Mary having good games too.

Mr Campleman

The first quarter was one-way traffic, with Brighton starting better, and it took a while for us to get into the match. In the second and third quarters, we came back slightly and were showing better signs of managing their shooters.

The final quarter showed that we need to get our fitness up if we want to sustain a high intensity throughout the match. The match ended 21-3 to Brighton, and the girls will look to bounce back against Christ's Hospital next weekend.

Mr Campleman

Miss Walsh

U15F

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12 January2024 – Issue 1

HEAD’S REVIEW

Netball vs Brighton College U15B

U15D

U16D's Strong Effort

The U15B team stepped on court again on Friday evening to take on Brighton College. We had a slow start and allowed them to take a 4-0 lead in the first quarter. After that, we came into the game and linked up well, being patient with the ball, which allowed us to win the second quarter 3-2.

For the first Saturday block of the term, the U15D were low on the ground due to illness – despite this, they went out with a mixed squad and put on a great relentless display of netball.

The U16D team put in a strong effort against Brighton College in our first match of the term.

It was a tough game, as Brighton College boasted a strong offence and some very fast players. However, the Roedean team worked well in every quarter, to communicate with each other and get lots of interceptions.

We continued to play some great netball and won the third quarter 2-1. This meant the score was 7-5 to Brighton going into the final 10 minutes. Unfortunately, we struggled to keep up our pace in the final quarter and let Brighton run away with the game, taking the win 12-6.

In the first quarter, we limited their chances at goal with some fantastic intercepts from Flo, Hannah, and Mimi, leaving the score after the first quarter at 2-1 to Brighton. Going into the second quarter, Brighton stepped up the pressure and managed to build their lead.

Despite this, we still demonstrated some lovely play, taking the ball through court from Blaize, Alice, and Rosa.

It was a good start to the season nonetheless – well done to the whole squad. Special mention goes to Megs, who was Opposition's Player, and Tiah who was named Coach's Player.

After half-time, the squad went out with a determined attitude, and Poppy and Peony remained calm in the D to get a few more goals at the end.

Brighton took the win, but it was great to see the squad, a combination of Year 10s and 9s coming together to play some great netball.

Miss Hammond

U16A

On Friday evening, our U16As took on Brighton College. It was a closely fought first quarter, with both sides flying out for fantastic intercepts, and it finished 4-4. We pushed hard in the second quarter, linking up well through court. Despite not playing for a month, the squad played effectively as a unit and backed each other up well. Unfortunately, from half-time, Brighton started to pull away and we let it slip away from us. However, for our first game of the season, there were lots of positives to take away and a couple of things to take back to training. The final score was 20-11 to Brighton. Well done to the whole squad, especially to Jasmine, who was named Opposition's Player, and Georgie, who was Coach’s Player. Keep up the hard work!

U15E

Congratulations to Hannah, who was named Opposition's Player, and Rosa who was Coach’s Player – a big well done goes to all who played!

Keep up the hard work.

Miss Hammond

Well done to all, for what is looking to be the start of a very exciting season.

Miss Donovan

A Fast-Paced Match for the U18Bs

However, after some movement in positions, Roedean and Brighton College each scored 2 in the second quarter, making for a more competitive game. Unfortunately, as the team grew tired, Brighton College secured the victory, and the game ended in a 20-5 loss for Roedean.

Miss Hammond

That said, there was some excellent play demonstrated by the team; Onose held strong in defence, piling on the pressure to Brighton College’s Goal Shooter; Elodie also did very well in Wing Attack, with some great interceptions, securing her being chosen as Player of the Match.

U15E

With only seven players, they all coped very well. As it was the first week back after a nice long Christmas break, their energy levels were surprisingly high.

It was a positive and insightful game, which highlighted the U18B’s areas of strength and areas we can work on in training. I look forward to taking the U18Bs to their next fixture and seeing the team progress in future games.

Player of the Match was awarded to Sophie who very much deserved it. She managed to turn the ball over at least every 2 minutes. Well played everyone!

Miss Walsh

Kelly played very strongly in Wing Attack, as a key player moving the ball up from the defence and into the D for the shooters, which resulted in her in being selected as Player of the Match.

Mimi also did an excellent job playing up a year group as our U16D Goalkeeper; and she managed to get lots of rebounds and pressured their shooters effectively.

It was the first match of the Spring Term for the U18Bs, with a strong team of 9 netballers ready to take on Brighton College. It was a tough start, with Brighton College pulling away quickly with some strong shooting and a fast offence.

On Saturday, the U15E team took to the netball court and played against Brighton College.

In the end, unfortunately, the game slipped away a little and the U16Ds lost 16-6, but it was a very helpful match to identify areas of improvement and begin working together as a team.

U15E

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Miss Donovan

HEAD’S REVIEW

12 January2024 – Issue 1

U12D Netball A Week of Derbys for the vs Burgess Hill U14As The U12D team won the first fixture of the term, in what was also, for some, their first ever Netball match.

Roedean took an early lead, but the teams were evenly matched and goals were difficult to come by in the second quarter. Roedean extended their lead to 5-2 in the third quarter, but Burgesss Hill fought back and the game ended a close 6-4.

The girls all played thier part, and stand out performances came from Dixie in defence, and Soraya, both for her accurate shooting and her movement in and around the D.

Mr Smethurst

The U14A Netball team had a tough game against Brighton College on Friday night; with two players unwell, Sophie and Matilda from the U13s subbed in to help the girls out, and it turns out Sophie managed to play almost a whole game with a broken finger! We started off well, keeping up with the opposition, even though both teams seemed rusty after the Christmas break. Amelie, Poppy, and Yan Yan had the job of running the centre court, all doing a really good job of putting lots of pressure on Brighton’s passing play. After the first half we were down by 7 goals and had a lot to do to try and close that gap. Maud and Lula played well against some strong shooters, alternating between GD and GK, and making plenty of turnovers. Matilda, Liv, and Sophie managed to link up well bearing in mind their limited training together, helping to keep limit the goal difference, but, in the end, we didn’t have enough to pull the game back and lost 19-31. Well done to Sophie for being voted MVP. After the Brighton game on Friday, the U14As, back to full strength, took on Brighton Girls in the Sussex Cup. The first quarter was a thrilling 2-2 battle, with both teams getting lots of turnover balls but struggling to find the net. The second quarter was more tense, with Brighton finding their rhythm quicker than we could, and going up by 4 goals in the first 5 minutes. However, with a few important turnovers from the defence of Maud and Lula, we were back to level pegging, and up by the end of the quarter. The second half saw the girls find their groove and put into action what they had been practising. Liv, Izzy, and Sophie’s shooting accuracy was high, and the centre-court players were holding it all together with their linking play. We finished as 36-17 winners and Yan Yan received Player of the Match.

U12A Netball vs Ark Alexandra Academy

Miss Kirby-Jones

On Monday 8 January, the U12A team played against Ark Alexandra Academy. The team were off to a very strong start, leading the first quarter 12-0.

After half time, we mixed up the positions, which allowed us to think and appreciate what others do on the court. The final score was 34-2, which was an excellent effort from Roedean, even when the players were out of position.

An extra well done goes to Maddie, who was voted Player of the Match.

Miss Walsh

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13 12October January2024 2023 – Issue 16

HEAD’S HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW REVIEW

Sport Stars of the Week Well done to this week's Sport Stars! The Team of the Week is the 1st VII Netball Team, for starting the season with a win and playing excellently.

Mr Campleman

Year 7 Mabel, for great performance in a cup Netball match

Year 8 Sophie, for her commitment and perseverance in Netball

U13 Netball Tournament Hosted by Lingfield Well done to the U13A team, who finished 4th at the Lingfield tournament. They braved the cold and played some great netball.

was 3-2 to them at half time. In the second half, they stepped up and unfortunately they pushed ahead, taking the win 6-3.

We faced Seaford first and, despite being 2 down at half-time, the team dug deep and won by 1 goal. Next, we played Grey Court, which helped build the team's confidence, and Roedean won 9-3.

In the 3rd and 4th play-offs, we played Lingfield A – the cold got to the team, and we didn’t do ourselves justice, letting them take the win.

The third game of the group stage was against Hurst – this was a closely-fought game, with some composed play in attack, and we secured a 6-3 win. Next we faced Royal Russell, which was our most challenging game.

We forced errors with good defensive pressure, but unfortunately struggled to transition the ball through court and Royal Russell took the win 7-3.

Year 9 Charmaine & Abbie, for their fantastic Netball performances in respective teams

Year 10

Overall, the squad should be very proud of themselves and the hard work they put in.

Coach's Player of the tournament goes to Chiara, for her strong options in attack and her versatility through court.

Miss Walsh

The final game of the group was against Lingfield B team. We started strongly, leading by 3 at half-time.

We sat back in the second half, which allowed Lingfield to come back into the game – nevertheless, we managed to retain the lead and won by 1. This meant we were through to the play-offs, coming second in our group.

We drew Woldingham in the semi final. They started strongly and went 3 nil up, but we responded in the latter stages of the first half to keep ourselves in contention – the score

We welcome contributions from all parts of the Roedean community.

If you have something you would like featured in the Head’s Weekly Review, please email: aws@roedean.co.uk

Charlize, for excellent performances in the Swimming Gala

Year 11 Georgie, for fantastic play in a new position in Netball

Year 12 & 13 Onose, for her excellent performance in Netball last week

Team of the Week – 1st XI Netball Team – for starting the season with a win and playing excellently.

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