20 April 2018 - Issue 1
Head’s Introduction
Sisters half a world away – Roedean South Africa’s visit
We have returned to Roedean for the summer term to be greeted by simply glorious weather. The School is looking beautiful, with wonderfully manicured lawns and beds planted with lovely spring flowers. I would like to thank the Grounds Staff for their efforts over the holidays, and the Estates Team, who have all worked so hard to make sure the School was ready for the start of term. I hope therefore that everyone at Roedean takes full advantage of opportunities to be outside, enjoying the weather and grounds - we are very lucky.
Seventeen years after Penelope, Millicent, and Dorothy Lawrence founded Roedean in 1885, their younger sister, Theresa, and her friend, Katherine Margaret Earle, set sail to the other side of the world to found a new school, to be known as Roedean South Africa. It opened on 26 January 1903 with just 22 day pupils and 3 boarders, ranging in ages from 5 to 15. Today, the school has 850 students on roll, of whom 51 visited Roedean in Brighton this week as part of a cultural and literary tour of England, along with four members of staff. They were greeted by the most wonderful day of sunshine, although, for those who are not accustomed to it, the wind was quite blustery in the morning!
I am pleased to hear that the trip to Naples was such a success, with a good balance between visiting the wonderful sights and eating pizza and gelato! Well done to Miss Cheesman and Mr Ebden who ran the Brighton Marathon last weekend - just finishing is a wonderful personal achievement, and both did so well.
In Chapel, students from the two schools, including Ellie, Sophia, and Isabella from Roedean, and Kago from Roedean SA read quotations from letters in the archive. Two of our visitors also read beautifully in Chapel: Chiara read a brief history of her school in South Africa, and it was very interesting to hear how similar our two schools are, despite the distance between them, such as sharing our unusual tradition of hand-shaking, and Razeena read one of her own beautiful poems, entitled ‘Don’t Hate Me’, which was an incredibly perceptive and powerful piece about not letting differences between people become obstacles.
This week started with two important events. The first was a visit from over fifty students and teachers from Roedean South Africa, who came to us on Tuesday as part of a cultural tour of England. Our girls gave them an incredibly warm welcome, and I was delighted to see how quickly our visitors settled in. The joint Chapel Service was a lovely occasion, and it was a privilege to share handshaking with them. I hope that this will be the start of a strong and renewed relationship between our two schools.
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
The Roedean Senior Singers performed one of the pieces they are singing at the Brighton Festival Fringe concert on 5 May, the Song of Fingal by Brahms, and our visitors treated us to a wonderful a cappella performance of an African prayer entitled Mahlo A Bona Ke Metso – not only was the performance beautiful, but it had a sense of rhythm which seemed to be in the girls’ blood. Click on this link to listen to an excerpt: https://vimeo.com/265409842 The day also included an English workshop focusing on creative writing, a tour of the School and boarding houses, and, after lots of photos, hugs, and follower requests on Instagram, the Roedean South Africa girls walked through our ‘secret’ tunnel to the beach. From there, negotiating their way past spray from the crashing waves at high tide, they walked to the marina in the glorious sunshine, before going into Brighton for some sight-seeing. In 1903, one of Roedean South Africa’s first pupils, Ilma E Marx, wrote, ‘I should like to come to England someday, and when I do I will come and see you all at the big Roedean School. I hope one day our school will be as big as yours.’ – we are delighted to have welcomed 51 of Ilma’s successors 115 years later, and we certainly hope that this will be one of many exchanges and visits in the coming years. RB
The holocaust talk on Tuesday by the survivor Dorit Oliver Wolff was attended by Years 8 and 9, along with many other students and staff. It was powerful and thought-provoking, and I have no doubt that hearing about her experiences will have had a profound impact on those who listened. A number of our musicians enjoyed an excellent conducting masterclass yesterday. To be able to direct and control an orchestra or choir is an incredible skill, and the girls had the chance to put their newly learned skills to the test conducting the school orchestra as they prepare for the Brighton Festival Fringe Concert in a few weeks’ time. It was great to be part of the staff-student netball tournament, organised brilliantly again by Mrs Pittingale. These were some of the first matches played on the new courts, and I was reminded how lucky we are to have such great sports fields in this beautiful location. The games were played with great spirit, and the camaraderie between the teams combining students and staff was excellent, even if some of our rather rusty skills might have held the girls back a little! Good luck to those who have GCSE speaking exams next week, good luck to those musicians playing in a recital at St Peter’s Church in Farmer this weekend, and to those going out on Duke of Edinburgh expeditions. I hope that you all have a great week.