10th November 2017 - Issue 8
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW Head’s Introduction Speech Day last weekend was a wonderful event, and I was delighted to award so many prizes to the Senior girls and see so many faces from last year too. At Roedean, we are constantly telling the students that it’s okay to make mistakes as long as you learn from them, so it was really pleasing to hear Clemency Burton-Hill reiterate this; I am sure that the girls will have taken a great deal from her speech.
‘Vulnerability is okay’ – Speech Day with Clemency Speech Day last Saturday was a wonderful event, with our Guest Speaker, Clemency Burton-Hill, where the senior part of the school celebrated the girls’ successes and achievements from last academic year. The girls in Years 10 to 13 and the parents of the Prize Winners enjoyed the event a great deal, including the fantastic music – the String Orchestra opened and closed the proceedings, and the musicians also accompanied the two choirs. The music was extremely challenging, including Libertango, by Astor Piazzolla, and Las Amarillas, by Stephen Hatfield, but it was performed with impressive timing and musicality, under the expert direction of Miss Fewkes and Ms Bartlette. As ever, it was lovely to welcome back those who left Roedean last year, many of whom have started their university courses or Gap Years. Although some are abroad or had too far to travel to take part, nearly three quarters of last year’s Year 13 were able to return, and it was great to see them. Grace R gave a lovely Leaver’s Review, reflecting on her time at Roedean and how her time at School had prepared her for the next stage of her life. Congratulations to Maggie EB (Yr13) and Rosie J (Yr11) who also reviewed the year from their peers’ perspective, and did so eloquently and confidently.
Clemency Burton-Hill is an established broadcaster and writer, and she drew on her experiences in her speech. As a talented violinist, she congratulated the girls on the wonderful music, but she also commented about how impressed she was with the number of Roedean girls going on to read Sciences and Engineering at university. She spoke in a most engaging way, and a lot of what she said resounded with the girls in the audience, and, I am sure, reassured many of them. Clemency encouraged the girls to take some chances and not to be afraid of leaving themselves a little vulnerable at times; she spoke about how taking risks is a valuable learning experience, and one which can often be avoided by girls who are keen to be right and do things correctly. She also told the girls that, in a world where it is now normal to have a number of different professions in one career, it is okay not to know exactly where you are heading at any given point; Clemency used her own career as an example of this, having spent a decade as a television actress, still playing music to a very high level, presenting Breakfast on BBC Radio 3, and just completing her third novel.
Discovery Day this week was a great success, and I am grateful to the very many members of the school community who played their part in making it run so smoothly. Congratulations in particular to the Admissions Department – to have over 130 prospective girls on site and busy at the same time is a huge logistical challenge! We have marked Remembrance Day with two beautiful services in our Chapel today, and again I would like to thank our musicians for singing beautifully and Anamika for playing the Last Post so well. I am also pleased that some of the girls were able to share in the service with the Blind Veterans UK yesterday, and that Maggie, Ohi, and Maria will represent the School by laying a wreath at the Rottingdean War Memorial on Sunday. Good luck to Year 11 for your Trial Exams next week. I wish you all a lovely weekend and good luck for next week. She spoke very well from the platform, and she was also very happy to have photographs taken with the Prize Winners. Following this, Lucy B, Zarbanu M, and Sorcha H (Yr12) had the chance to interview her, and they found her to be very candid, and again, very reassuring.