11 January 2019 - Issue 1
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Head’s Introduction I would like to start by wishing you all a very happy new year. At the end of last term, my hope for you all was that you would enjoy time with family and loved ones over the break, however, being back at school over the last week feels very much as if the school community is a treasured family too, who have been overjoyed to be reunited. In chapel and assemblies this week, we have reflected on the Roman god Janus, for whom January is named, and the opportunity the new year affords to look back on the past year and forward into the year ahead. We have reached the conclusion that it seems that ‘goals’, rather than ‘resolutions’, are the way to make progress out of our best intentions. All week, our year 12 students have been working towards their academic goals in their in-class tests. Next week, these tests continue, and Year 13 are into their trial examinations, alongside Year 11 completing theirs. It has been great to see the industriousness and dedication of these students, especially over in the Sixth Form Centre, and I wish them the best of luck in this process.
The Roedean Academy also continued this week, with pupils beginning their chosen courses of lessons in Humanities, Arts and Sciences, as well as their selected masterclasses and seminars. The visitors and Roedean girls alike really enjoyed the opportunity to explore ideas that they would not necessarily normally talk about. The teachers were very impressed with how engaged, interested and perceptive the pupils were in response to the new topics. Everyone involved is excited about next week, and exploring their topics in greater depth following this week’s solid foundations. The temperature may have dropped a little this week, but it certainly feels like Spring at Roedean, with news from the farm of several lambs on the way! The lambs are due in March and the ewes will be treated with the utmost care and attentiveness by our dedicated farm prefects until the big day comes. And we are celebrating another new arrival this week, with the birth of Dr Barrand’s new daughter Eve. Congratulations! It has very quickly become business as usual at Roedean, full of life, laughter and intellectual pursuits. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
Roedean Academy challenges 50 students After its launch at the very end of last term, the Roedean Academy has its first sessions this week. This programme of academic enrichment was attended by nearly 50 students from Years 10 and 11 at Roedean, Blatchington Mill School, Longhill High School, and Peacehaven Community School. For the first hour, the students chose between three core strands, in the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities, designed to develop existing skills working on material which is beyond that required at GCSE level - these elements last for 3 weeks. Some explored the writings of the Brontës and the Gothic, others worked in groups to tackle complex mathematical and statistical problems, and a third group discussed Mary Queen of Scots, particularly pertinent with the recent première of the film.
In the second hour, the students were able to choose elements of pure academic enrichment, to do something completely different, just for the love of indulging their curiosity. In this first week, the students chose to learn some Portuguese with Dr John Hobbs, our Deputy Head Academic, or to explore the problems and pitfalls associated with sustainability with Mr James Sheriff, Head of Geography, or to attend an interactive talk led by Professor Peter Thomas from Sussex University on Black Holes. The Academy will run for 8 weeks, and will provide the 50 participants with a wonderful opportunity to work with like-minded students from the Brighton area, to push themselves outside their academic comfort zones, and maybe even to spark a deep and lasting passion.