16 November 2018 - Issue 10
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Head’s Introduction
Roedean in South Africa
This week has seen poignant Remembrance Services across the country, remembering the suffering and sacrifice of those who gave their lives in conflicts around the world. Even though we are 100 years from the end of the First World War, our commitment to ensuring a shared vision of a peaceful and united future needs to be as strong as ever. In a world that changes so quickly, the act of remembering and reflecting on our past conflicts and the devastation that they cause is an ever more vital duty for us all, so that we look forward with a sense of responsibility, and form our views about our place in the world and our relationship with others with genuine humanity and insight.
It really was wonderful last week for 16 girls and 4 members of staff to spend time at our sister school in South Africa. We quickly discovered how similar the girls are in their outlook and warmth, we found that we share quirky traditions, the grounds are beautiful, but in a different way from the beauty of ours, with secret pathways and dense foliage, and both schools have a strong sense of social responsibility.
Our ambassadorial team have also just returned from South Africa, where we were delighted to meet our sister school and to work with them on developing partnerships and links for the future. In so many ways, Roedean is now making links and connections with other schools, other people and other countries, to build an outward-looking perspective that is so vital to the future. We were also given a remarkable insights into the political history of the country, the legacy of apartheid, the vast division of wealth and opportunity, and the fragility of wildlife. We will work on developing a partnership that not only links our schools, but supports the development of a better understanding of these issues. This week has also seen GCSE Trial examinations for Year 11, an Olympic Gold Medallist running a Hockey masterclass for Roedean and visiting schools, many external girls sitting for Sixth Form Scholarships, a week-long focus on kindness and anti-bullying, our Year 13 Senior Team dinner to talk informally with our incredible students, and the Lancing-Roedean Oxbridge Forum and Dinner – I am constantly impressed by the breadth and diversity of activities going on at Roedean, and very grateful to all the girls and staff for their commitment and dedication to them. Well done! Well done to Year 11 for getting through this week’s exams, and I hope that they will have highlighted areas of focus for the coming weeks and months before May. Good luck to the Music Department and all our musicians for the Literally Music Gala Concert next week – I am sure it will be wonderful. I wish you all a lovely weekend, and I hope that you all have a great week.
The whole school Assembly we took part in was a joyous occasion: they loved the lip-synced video of Sister Sledge’s ‘We are Family’ we showed, prepared by Flo, Rosie, and Sophia, and their choir’s performance of a song from the Lion King was exceptional – have a watch by following this link: https://vimeo.com/301225957. Also brilliant was seeing the entire school join together in the singing of their school song, every girl with her arms around her peers and swaying, and sung with great gusto and joy. Our two schools clearly have a great deal in common, the girls felt like they were meeting long-lost friends, and we now have the firmest of foundations on which to build a whole range of exciting and challenging joint projects and exchanges – it really will be a brilliant partnership! RB