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.
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Roedean girls pass first year university exams with flying colours!
20 April 2018 - Issue 1
Conducting Masterclass Yesterday’s conducting masterclass really was a wonderful experience. 7 students spent time with the renowned conductor, Rebecca Miller, during the day, thinking about what a conductor needs to do to get the best out of an orchestra. This was then followed by the opportunity to put what they had learnt into practice, conducting the School Orchestra playing Walton’s Crown Imperial March. Rebecca was absolutely brilliant and the girls loved working with and learning from her. Well done!
Congratulations to Yian, Pearl, Mavis, and Melanie who have successfully passed the Maths exam for the University of Sussex’s first year undergraduate geometry module. It included lots of 3D geometry with vectors, and demanded confident and detailed knowledge of a variety of theorems and proofs. The girls achieved higher marks than many of the university students, and Yian performed exceptionally to score a remarkable 90% on the paper. The girls have attended weekly lectures at the university, taken the mid-term test, and then sat the final exam, and we are very proud of their achievement. This is the 12th year that Roedean girls have chosen to take part in this course, and they have taken full advantage of this opportunity. Congratulations to them all! Here is an example of what they have had to get to grips with:
Let C be the conic whose points form the set of points P such that the sum of the distances of P from A and B is 10, where A = (3,0) and B = (-3,0). Express this relation in symbols, find the equation of C, and describe C.
DO
Musical distinction for sisters Scarlett and Frieda
Acting and singing for Venus Well done to Venus G (Yr10) who gave a stunning performance of one of her own songs, called Crystal Maze, along with 2 covers, at the Surrey Youth Show Case Awards at the Dorking Halls, on Friday 23 March. But the very next day, she was on stage playing Dolores in Sister Act (this is the part played by Whoopi Goldberg in the film) for the Biz Theatre School. Congratulations!
Congratulations to Scarlett J (Yr10) who was awarded a Distinction for her Grade 7 Piano exam, and Frieda J (Yr8) also achieved Grade 6 Flute with Distinction. Well done!
Sorcha at the Little Theatre Congratulations to Sorcha H (Yr12) who was Assistant Director at the Brighton Little Theatre’s junior production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream over the Easter break, but this was not all, because she also took part in a performance of the play, Coram Boy. “I always find the experience of directing very exciting and enjoyed the challenge of teaching children Shakespeare” Page 2
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
20 April 2018 - Issue 1
Roedean in Naples
However, the highlight of the trip for many of us was seeing our teachers’ faces when they realised 57 girls had just eaten some brandy cake in the hotel for dessert… until we realised it didn’t have any alcohol in it!
On the 23rd-28th March, 57 Roedean girls went to Italy. We all had an absolutely amazing time there, looking at the ruins of Herculaneum and Pompeii, shopping in Sorrento after dinner each night, walking for what seemed like hours up (and back down!) the Island of Capri, climbing Mount Vesuvius, and eating lots and lots of pizza! We even got to make and eat our own pizzas, which was brilliant.
For those of us learning Latin, it was great to visit the places we are studying, and we even managed to take photos of sources we can reference in our GCSE! It was an unforgettable experience and thank you to all of the teachers for accompanying us and making it happen! Alex K (Yr10)
Roedean’s All-Weather Pitch
This is some weaving by Jingxuan W (Yr12)
Roedean is delighted with the exceptional progress which is being made on its new flood-lit all-weather pitch on site. This fantastic facility will transform the sporting provision for the School. Watch the site grow and develop here: https://vimeo.com/265537157. We still need help to complete this project, which will provide an excellent sporting facility for Roedean girls for years to come. You can name your own bench at the pitch for just £12 a week. Please follow this link [LINK] or contact Mark Taylor, Director of Development, on mta@roedean.co.uk
Laura F (Yr12) with her drawing of Fran S (Yr12) Page 3
20 April 2018 - Issue 1
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
A snapshot of history from a holocaust survivor On Tuesday this week, Years 8 and 9, along with members of staff were treated to a fantastic talk from the Holocaust survivor, Dorit Oliver Wolff. Although at times the subject matter was hard to listen to, the manner in which it was delivered was awe-inspiring and struck a chord with all those who were fortunate to listen to her personal account of a catastrophic period of 20th century history. Dorit brought tears to the eyes of all there, recounting her tales of persecution and survival, and her hopes for the future. The engaging talk led on to an in-depth question and answer session with the audience, in which our girls excelled themselves with the depth and perception of the questions asked. The knowledge gained from Dorit and her fantastically thought-provoking and heartwrenching tale, will help our girls on their journey exploring key events that have tested humanity throughout history. We would like to thank Dorit and her husband Frank for giving up their valuable time to deliver what was a talk staff and students may well remember for the rest of their lives. ER
Guild of Entrepreneurs Reception, Thursday 3 May, 6 – 9 pm Roedean is delighted to be hosting Freemen of the Guild of Entrepreneurs at a reception event on Thursday 3 May and warmly invite parents to attend. This will provide the opportunity to network with both local and national entrepreneurs, and learn more about becoming involved with the Guild and its outreach work. The Roedean Guild of Entrepreneurs Partnership has enabled the students to have great exposure to the world of business, and to hear real life stories and learn from a highly skilled group of professionals via a series of lecture programmes and masterclasses. The Guild of Entrepreneurs in the City of London, is one of the newest of the traditional Livery companies in the City of London, and is made up of men and women who created successful
Keira
businesses. Members hail from diverse sectors and backgrounds, and one of the Guild’s key strengths is the work their members do in education and outreach projects. The success of both Roedean and the Guild is very much aligned, and we hope you will be able to join us for this exciting networking event. If you would like to attend, please RSVP to Grace Cather: glc@roedean.co.uk.
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Over the Easter holidays, all of the Art Scholars were set a project based around recycled fashion, reflecting one of the Rs from the School’s theme this year. This resulted in some lovely work, but the best was a beautiful hat made from entirely recyclable materials by Keira D (Yr8) - it really is an exceptional piece of work. SSN
20 April 2018 - Issue 1
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
51,000 metres for Rania and Isabella!
SCH and MEB at the Brighton Marathon, and Year 7 at a Marathon Water Station
Rania K and Isabella J (Yr7) attended a swimming camp in Spain over Easter, and they had a lovely time. It was a packed week of training, and the girls swam over 51,000 metres over the week, which is the same distance across the Channel from Dover to Calais!
Congratulations to Miss Cheesman and Mr Ebden who ran the Brighton Marathon last weekend. Mr Ebden ran an impressive time of 3 hours 45, and Miss Cheesman ran a new PB of 4 hours 39 in this, her sixth marathon. In doing so, she raised £380 for the Pitch Perfect Appeal. The conditions were excellent for distance running, and there was brilliant support along the way, particularly as the course passed Roedean. Well done to the Year 7 girls who worked tirelessly from 7:00am to 1:00pm at the Roedean/Brighton College water station on the route. They had a great day and took real pride in their very neatly set up table of cups! JC
Isabella: ‘I think swim camp was a really good experience for me. I got to learn loads of new drills, and got to improve in my transitions. But the thing I am most proud of is managing to swim just over 51,000m altogether.’
Poppy and Lola play for the Cougars The Brighton Cougars U14 match in Sheffield over the holidays included both Poppy T and Lola C (Yr8). The girls deserve particular congratulations because the U14 Girls’ team was the only Cougars team to qualify for the national league playoffs this year. Unfortunately, they drew the second seed, the Sheffield Hatters, away in the first round. It was a long way to go for a very tough (and noisy) match, but the girls will have learnt a great deal form the experience. It was great that all of the team-members got on the scoresheet, and they showed great spirit. Given that the Sheffield Hatters is a much bigger club, who may indeed be the eventual winners), the 78 - 39 loss was a very creditable result.
Cricket Four junior cricket matches vs Brighton College Prep
At this early point in the Cricket season, we had four matches against Brighton College Prep this week, and the girls played excellently, showing lots of promise for the matches coming up. The U13As lost by 23 runs, with BC Prep scoring 111 for 1 to Roedean’s 88 for 4. The Girl of the Game was Ella KM who batted excellently. The U13Bs also played well, but unfortunately lost by 23 runs. Both the U12 teams played brilliantly, and, amazingly, both lost by just 2 runs – these results will give them great confidence in the games to come, and we look forward to seeing what they can achieve over the season. ACA
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20 April 2018 - Issue 1
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Staff-Student Netball Yesterday saw the third annual Staff-Student Netball tournament with joint teams of students and staff playing together. It was great fun, and everyone involved enjoyed playing the inaugural matches on the new courts – thank you to Mrs Pittingale for organising and running the tournament, and to the PE staff who both played in and umpired all the matches. 17 girls and 26 members of staff played in five teams, each including at least 3 students and 4 members of staff. Congratulations to Team Orys, who were undefeated and won the tournament. There was a strong feeling of camaraderie in the teams; the girls were able to show off their excellent skills, running rings around some of the teachers, and there was plenty of advice from on court and from the spectators for those members of staff whose understanding of the game’s rules
was a little rusty! The PE department played well, demonstrating their silky skills and accurate passing, as well as their ability to turn their hand to any sport, regardless of their particular speciality. Other highlights include Dr Hobbs playing in his suit with a bib over the top, the Duracell-bunny that is Mrs Chandler dashing around the court, Mr Blond’s shooting, Mr Wilson’s quick feet and long passes, Miss Best’s command of the defensive D, Mr Chamberlain’s footwork, and Miss Boles seemingly taking photos while playing! It really was lovely to play on such a beautiful day, and there can be few schools in the country with sports facilities in such a beautiful location. Well done to everyone involved! RB
JJ WHAT’S COMING UP IN THE
WEEK AHEAD?
Mon 23 Apr
Swimming Gala vs Ardingly Prep, Burgess Hill & Roedean Moira House (H)
Tue 24 Apr
Year 10 GCSE Drama trip ‘Amadeus’ performance
Wed 25 Apr
U13 Rounders Tournament at Westbourne House (A) U12 & U13 Pairs Cricket Tournament at Bede’s (A) Year 12 Biology fieldtrip to Wakehurst Place
Bella’s Netball successes over the holidays Well done to Bella D (Yr7) who completed in the 2018 International Junior Netball Festival U12 Showdown Cup, and her team, 5Ways, placed 4th out of more than twenty teams. She was also awarded the Hands Trophy, which is the Umpires’ Spirit of the Game Award. The team had lots of fun playing against many different teams and even had a trip to Disneyland.
We welcome contributions from all parts of the Roedean community. If you have something you would like featured in the Headmaster’s Weekly Review, please email: marketing@roedean.co.uk Page 6
Thur 26 Apr
Young Enterprise Award Evening
Fri 27 Apr
Year 12 trip to Corpus Christi Cambridge Admissions Day
U12, U14 & U18 South East Tennis Tournament at Roedean Moira House
Dance Showcase Sat 28 Apr
U15 Tennis Aegon vs Bede’s (H) U14, U15 & Seniors Rounders vs Lancing College (A)
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