Heads Weekly Review - Spring Issue 8

HEAD ’ S

WEEKLY REVIEW

Head’s Introduction

There have been a number of events and activities connected to World Book Day this week, including some wonderful literary-themed costumes for our charity non-uniform day yesterday. We were also very proud to welcome back a former member of staff, now established author, Chikodili Emelumadu, who spoke to Year 10 about her rollercoaster ride to get where she is now as a writer. Even this week’s House competition has a book theme, and the students’ creative representations of books in the form of decorated cakes was impressive – well done to House 2 who won this competition overall.

Earlier in the week, Roedean hosted 29 other teams for the SISNA U12 and U13 Netball tournament, and we are very pleased to have come third in both age-groups – these are surely the foundations these teams need for success in years to come. Congratulations to Miss Hammond and the PE Department for running such a complex day so smoothly.

I hope that the assessments for Years 13 and 11 are going well – they certainly appear to be in good spirits, which is a good sign for the summer. The end of this week has also seen Sixth Form Taster Days for Year 10 students, giving them a sense of Sixth Formstyle teaching, and they have also had talks about university courses and applications.

This is the time when the selection process for our new Perfect team begins, and those hoping to hold these leadership roles presented their ideas to half of the school body in hustings yesterday. The voting will begin on Monday. I wish them all well, and thank you to Dr Hannan for overseeing this.

We are all looking forward to our annual International Women’s Day festival next week – it is remarkable that the students have the opportunity to hear five talks from 21 excellent speakers, and I am sure that the experience will be both enlightening and inspiring.

Thank you all in advance for the part you will be playing tomorrow on Open Day, when we are welcoming families who are visiting Roedean to consider joining the School over the next few years –the success of this day really is a joint endeavour.

I wish you all a great weekend, and good luck for next week.

B R A C E 3 March 2023 – Issue 8

Carmen's Amazing Dyed Material Dress...

O R

I # E M Q U I T Y

Unsung heroes in the spotlight

Each week, many wonderful things happen at Roedean, about which many in the school are perhaps unaware; this section of the weekly review is dedicated to ‘unsung heroes’, in order to draw our attention to these people and remind us that our community is special.

Miss Marek – for making Tuesday morning swimming club so much fun – I've never seen so many girls wanting to wake up at 6am to be in the pool by 6:50! [Miss Wakeling]

Teatime Recitals

Evening Recital – 10th February 2023

Amazing Physics Olympiad Results

Year 11 results:

Congratulations to Year 12 and 11 students for participating in the recent online Physics Olympiad – the results have been published, and they have performed brilliantly!

Year 12 results:

Teatime Recital – 23rd

February 2023

Dates for your Physics diaries:

■ the Year 12 written Physics Olympiad will be on Thursday 9 March

■ students in Years 7-10 have the opportunity to complete the online Junior Physics Olympiad on Thursday 4 May

Well done!

Derin Cil and Amelia Poole –for once again running the popup bookshop so successfully. You were brilliant! [Miss Bailey]

Dorothy (Yr11) – for achieving a Bronze award in the UK Linguistics Olympiad (Advanced) – this is the first time that Dorothy has entered the competition and it is a fantastic achievement. [Miss Ibanez and Miss de Jesus]

Mr Foster

Reflection on the Earthquake in Turkey and Syria

Türkiye was struck by two devastating earthquakes on 6 February, with thousands of aftershocks that are still happening to this day. This earthquake is a natural disaster which affected the lives of over 13.5 million people in 10 provinces and our neighbouring country, Syria. Although much help was received from the Turkish government and from all around the world, due to the magnitude of the earthquake and the amount of destruction it caused, people are still struggling to find food, shelter, and water.

The first earthquake struck at 4.17 am (local time) and everyone was caught unprepared with their first instinct being to call for help. Some rushed out of their apartments covered in dust unable to see and some had to sit and wait for what lasted like an eternity. People screamed and cried as they helplessly tried to rescue their loved ones beneath tonnes of concrete. When help finally arrived, it was too late for some. All around the country, people sat in front of their screens helplessly watching the news and feeling guilty and anxious for not being able to go there and help. The rescuers spent sleepless nights in the dark and snow trying to find and rescue as many people as they can.

Now, almost a month after the earthquake people are still looking for shelters with many are living in tents and containers. Volunteers all across Türkiye and the world are coming together to help the survivors, and try to support people in one of the most devastating tragedies ever recorded in the country.

On a more personal note, my friends and family were hugely affected by this earthquake, and are trying very hard to help those living in the areas of destruction. We as a country will recover from this earthquake, but it is important not to forget the loss of over 45 thousand lives, and this figure is expected to rise to over 100 thousand. Please remember that Türkiye still needs your help and that this year is going to be very difficult for the people affected by the earthquake, physically and mentally.

If you would like to donate there are many sites including, British Red Cross, AHBAP (Türkiye nongovernmental aid organisation), AFAD (Türkiye disaster and management control), and more. At Roedean, a group of studetns in Year 12 will be holding a charity bake sale to raise funds – please support this if you can.

Carmen's Amazing Dyed Material Dress...

Wow – this dress has literally grown before my eyes this week! From all of Carmen's planning in her sketchbook, which is a work of art in itself, every time I have visited the Art Department this week, her dress has taken even more shape, and become even more impressive! Well done, Carmen – amazing!

Dr Barrand

Sport Stars of the Week

Well done to these week's Sport Stars!

[Miss Kirby-Jones]

Year 7

Naomi, for her fabulous Netball performance

Year 8

Zlata and Gabriella, for great engagement in PE this term

Year 9

Nathania and Lucia, for excellent commitment to Netball

Year 10

Finya, for brilliant Sport Science effort and a great start to swimming at Roedean

Year 11

Ellie, for her efforts in Badminton and Table Tennis

Year 12

Ruby, for great Netball and Cricket progress

Year 13

Cherry, for brilliant effort in Table Tennis lessons

Derin (Yr10)

IWD2023

We are all looking forward to hearing from amazing speakers next Wednesday for International Women's Day – empowering, enlightening, and inspiring!

Dr Merihan Alhafnawi Gqibelo Dandala

Lindi Dlamini

Dr Naomi Falcone OR Lesley Fitton OBE

Shermara Fletcher

Gillian Foulger Professor Dr Suzie Imber

Dr Laura James Monica Lakhanpaul Professor

Charlie Martin

Sophie Montagne Professor Jane Ridley

Hannah Rudd Pamela Silver Professor

Lila Turner MA

Victoria Usher Hilary Wood

Shahin Bekhradnia

Mairi Cunningham

Kelly Chan OR

'Dress as Your Favourite Character' World Book Day

Well done to all those who really went to town with their amazing book-inspired outfits – there were so many brilliant and inventive interpretations!

All the money raised from the donations will go to Rockinghorse, the local charity which support sick children.

Ms Shillito and Mrs Bailey

Roedean at the Southern School Book Awards

The Roedean SSBA Book Club attended the Southern School Book Awards at Hurst last Friday evening. The awards shortlist five young adult authors, and the winner is voted for by students from schools across the South. Megan, Evie, Rida, Anna, Martha, Agatha, and Millie have spent the last 5 months reading each of the short-listed books, before voting for their favourite.

All five shortlisted authors attended the awards, and each gave a talk about the inspiration behind their books. Local artist and past Children’s Laureate, Chris Riddell, was also in attendance. He entertained the audience throughout the awards by live drawing the action on the stage.

The winner of the award was Caroline O’Donoghue for her book ‘All our Hidden Gifts’, and this was also the top choice of the Roedean SSBA Book Club!

After the awards each student received a voucher to purchase one of the shortlisted books from a pop-up bookshop. The students then had an opportunity to meet the authors and get their new booked signed, which included receiving some signed artwork from Chris Riddell!

Mrs Bailey

Sussex Classical Reading Competition 2023

On Tuesday 28 February, over 45 girls took part in the Sussex Classical Reading Competition, which saw pupils from different year groups perform a range of different readings to a substantial audience in the Theatre. The readings ranged from a courtroom drama scene for Year 7, to a story depicting a heroic duel for Year 10, to an excerpt from the tragedy Oedipus the King for Year 12.

All of the girls who participated prepared exceptional performances and impressed, both through the quality of their delivery and their approach to the physical aspects of their performance, with some groups even bringing props to bring the reading to life.

The competition was attended by over 45 pupils from three local schools: Ardingly, Hurst, and Willingdon Community School, making over 90 participants in total. It was fantastic for the girls to meet pupils from other schools, and to enjoy their similarly lively and accomplished performances of the different readings. Here are the names of those who won their category or were highly commended:

Winners

■ Dot (Yr10)

■ Clara (Yr10)

■ Aishy (Yr10)

■ Eva (Yr10)

■ Orla (Yr10)

■ Izzy (Yr10)

Highly Commended

■ Aya (Yr7)

■ Saffron (Yr7)

■ Marcheline (Yr7)

■ Georgia (Yr7)

■ Grace (Yr12)

Well done to everyone who was involved!

Mr Barber

House ‘Cake Decorate Off’

As part of the programme of weekly House events this year, this week saw the highlyanticipated Roedean decorating version of the Great British Bake Off – and it had all of the tension, drama, and competitive edge! The judges were making decisions in four categories, and it was not an easy job –congratulations to everyone who took part!

Best use of House team colour: House 4 – for their all black, red, and white 101 Dalmations-themed cakes, and terrifyingly realistic Cruella de Vil cake!

Structural creativity: House 1 – for their excellent representation of a dragon’s face made out of cupcakes!

Best representation of book: House 3 – for their Alice in Wonderlandthemed cake, with hand-made fondant roses and 'eat me' cake-commands!

Originality:

House 2 – for the wonderful storytelling, which came form different elements of the Tiger (the main cake) Who Came 2 (in cupcakes) to Tea (a teapot)!

Overall:

House 2 – for their lovely story-telling through their design and concept!

Special mention goes to House 1, for dying their own white fondant green, and Alma, who made her own rainbow cake to complement those provided.

Well done to everyone involved – another triumph!

Miss Hart

Year 9 Enterprise Day

On Friday last week, the whole of Year 9 took part in The Melting Pot Enterprise Challenge.

This was an opportunity for the students to work in groups on a variety of challenges based around designing a new product made from chocolate. Throughout the day, they had to use a range of skills from across the curriculum, such as creative writing, Art & Design, and Maths, to help present their business ideas. The day ended with the students pitching their concept to a panel of judges.

Well done to the winning team, Café Chocaholic. The day was an enjoyable one, with all the students putting in lots of energy to their ideas, and coming up with amazing products and packaging. It was a fun, frantic, fantastic day, where students threw themselves into the finance, product, technology, advertisement, and management of the project.

Well done to everyone involved, and I am grateful to all my colleagues who supported the day!

Mr Low

This Week in Boarding...

It has been yet another fun-filled week this week in boarding! The mornings and evenings have been getting lighter, and there are signs that spring is on the way – which is definitely putting a spring in our step.

Girls across all Houses enjoyed an array of activities. From pom-pom making, celebrating international polar bear day, cinnamon rolls, cookies and pitta pizzas, to an origami workshop, unicorn cupcakes, bingo, and suncatchers.

House 3 and 4 girls enjoyed a trip to Ninja Arena in Eastbourne over the weekend and they had an absolute blast.

Lawrence House celebrated St David's Day, and some of the girls did an amazing job today dressing up as teachers for World Book Day!

We're excited to see what next week has in store for our lovely boarders...

Miss Roe

This week, our Year 12 CAP Community Cooking group, led by Ms Hills, enjoyed a visit to Off The Fence.

The purpose of this visit was to find out more about the work of Off The Fence and, specifically, project Antifreeze. It is through this project that the tasty treats they bake every Wednesday afternoon, such as cakes, cookies, and biscuits, are distributed.

Project Antifreeze provides food, hot drinks, sleeping bags, and hygiene items to the homeless, and our CAP students are proud to support this work. Their visit on Wednesday afternoon, was very informative and allowed them to find out a little bit about food distribution and the destination point of their sweet treats each week.

The group were all awarded a medal from the founder of Off The Fence, and they came away with a greater insight into what really happens on the streets and the work being done to support the homeless.

Many thanks to Ms Hills and Mr Wilson for organising the visit and accompanying the students.

Miss Kelsey

CAP Community Cooking Samba at St Mark's

This week, CAP Music joined St Mark's Year 2 children to teach them some Samba drumming, in preparation for the Brighton Festival Children's Parade.

Queena and Portia immediately captured their imaginations by taking to the stage and teaching them the names of some of the Brazillian instruments and then a quick Samba dance. They all took part with enthusiasm and lots of energy!

Following this, they all had a little rest whilst watching all the CAP Musicians perform a Samba drumming routine, kindly taught to them by Roedean's new Drum teacher, Mr Chambers. Abi then directed them into small groups led by Alissandra, Maria, Lyris, Ines, Eni, Portia, Emilky, and Queena, to learn rhythms on the different instruments.

They rotated until they were ready to put it together at the end of the session. The CAP Musicians were incredibly impressed with how involved and well-behaved the Year 2s were. I was also very proud of how organised, kind, and enthusiastic the CAP Musicians were with them. They all made excellent teachers!

Everyone is already looking forward to the next session in a few weeks' time.

Ms Bartlette

AUTHOR TALK

WORLD BOOK DAY

Chikodili Emelumadu

Former staff member, Chikodili Emelumadu, came to Roedean to discuss her new book ‘Dazzling’. She spoke to the students about her journey as a writer, and the inspiration behind her stories.

She then ran a question and answer session on creative writing, and provided invaluable advice to any budding authors in the audience!

Book Sale

The Book Nook supplied the stock for a pop-up bookshop in the library on World book day. The shop was a roaring success, and it was lovely to see students excitedly discussing books, and giving recommendations to each other. A big thank you to all the Reading Reps who helped out!

AUTHOR TALK

Ravena Guron

Year 7 got the chance to hear a talk by new writing star, Ravena Guron.

Ravena’s first book ‘This Book Kills’ is fast becoming a huge success and is the bestselling YA thriller of 2023 so far.

Ravena talked to Year 7 about her writing process and what inspired her to write crime fiction. She also talked about her life as an Entertainment Lawyer for ITV, much to the fascination of the audience!

Ravena talked passionately about not putting yourself in a box and only pursuing one passion, instead realising that you can be successful at multiple things if you are willing to work for it. The Year 7s listened intently and asked lots of interesting questions at the end of the talk.

Gold Medal for Florence!

Over half term, Florence (Yr7) competed in two dance festivals, and we are delighted that she did really well – she was awarded medals for her lyrical solo and character dances, as well as a gold medal for her group dance!

Congratulations!

Miss Abaza

Sussex Cup

U12A Sussex Cup Semi Final vs Warden Park

On Monday, the U12s took on Warden Park in the Sussex Cup Semi Final. This had been a long-awaited match, and the girls were raring to go. One of the team's focuses has been working on their first quarter, as this has been our weakness across the term. We struggled with this again, quickly going 7-0 down. The team's response was good, drawing the second quarter 5-5, and 6-11 down at half time. WP battled through the second half of the match, with the U12s being blocked out of the game and struggling to attack.

Andrea, Sorcha, and Naomi managed to get an outstanding amount of turnovers against the tall WP shooters, but we struggled to get the ball out from the back of the court. The final whistle blew and the score was 21-12 to WP. It was an unfortunate loss for the U12s who were simply outplayed on Monday, but there are some positives to take away. A huge well done goes to Naomi for stepping up at the last minute to play, and for getting Coaches' Player of the Match for her fantastic interceptions at the back.

Miss Bamford

U13s into the Final of the Sussex Cup!

On Monday, we took on Warden Park in the Semi-Final of the Sussex Cup. We went straight up after some excellent turnovers from our defence and were leading 6-3 after the first quarter. We continued to push on with some patient play from our attack, resetting the ball until our shooters felt comfortable.

The girls played with high intensity throughout and maintained it to see the win over the line 23-16. It was a fantastic performance to see us into the finals on Wednesday 22 March.

Congratulations to Lula who received Oppositions' Player!

Miss Hammond

Year 7&8 Sussex Cross Country Superstar Gymnasts

What a fantastic turn out at Gymnastics this week – well done!

The Year 7&8 Cross Country team had their final and biggest race of the season at Christ’s Hospital on Tuesday. Rosa, Elise, Lili, and Bella were running a 2.5km loop amongst 200 other runners, and Lucy ran 3.1km.

It was a fast and flat but undulating course, and the girls ran really well. Well done to all runners, especially Bella and Rosa who were running their first senior competitive race.

Miss Wright

Miss Kirby-Jones

Seniors

Netball vs Lancing

U14C

A combined team of U16C and 2nd VII players played a tight and competitive match at Lancing College, and they came out on top by just two points.

The first quarter was decisive, with Roedean edging it 6-3; it was the result of some accurate shooting by Flo, excellent defence from Alice and Mbali, and creative approach play from Tallulah. Roedean slowed a little in the second quarter, which ended 1-1, but switched on again to win the third quarter 3-2, which came just in time, as Lancing won the final quarter 4-2 and looked like staging a comeback.

The final score of 12-10 was about right, given the balance of the game – it was end to end and competitive throughout. Well done!

Mr Smethurst

U15C – 21-3 Victory

Despite a later than expected start, U15C were raring to go, following a solid warm up in the bitterly cold Roedean wind at the bottom courts.

The sun broke through the clouds as Lancing arrived, and the scene was set for a netball showdown. From start to finish, Roedean dominated in each quarter. Having established a strong start to the game, with excellent shooting from Dot and Aarushi, we settled into the match and were able to play in a variety of positions and formations.

Martha had some excellent goals in the following few quarters, and the flurry of successful goals continued. Becca was playing centre for the first time and took to the position like a duck to water. I will certainly be encouraging this position for Becca in future games.

Lastly, IB, Erin, and Tilly were equally outstanding in a combination of defensive and attacking roles. They read the game well and helped to contribute to the flow of the game.

Overall, it was a really positive game, with a great sporting attitude throughout. Most impressively, the team also awarded the Lancing shooter a Sportsperson’s Players' Player for their sportspersonship.

Well done!

Miss Marek

The U14C had another strong performance on Saturday, this time against Lancing.

After an extended warm up due to the late arrival of the opposition, the team were ready and raring to go. With a few changes in personnel this week, it meant some pupils playing in different positions. After the first quarter we were 6- 0 up and then 14-2 up at half time. With some versatility in the third quarter, seeing shooters becoming defenders and players moving positions, we had a more challenging third quarter.

The final quarter saw us come back strongly, and the final score was 21-5. Players of the Game were Peony for her accurate shooting (and defending) and Darcy for her control of the centre court.

Miss Kirby-Jones

U15B Netballers Leave it Late

The U15B were buoyed for the match against Lancing, looking to get a win ahead of their final match of the term. The delayed match did start and both teams looked to get an advantage early. Lancing took the lead with a very tall shooter sinking them in every time. 3 down in the first quarter meant we needed to get into the game and work on our mid court defence, to stop the GS getting the ball.

A tight second quarter meant Lancing were still 3 ahead, but hadn't gained more. The third quarter saw both teams scoring a lot more with the quarter ending 11-8 to Lancing.

The final quarter saw Roedean needing to pull off a flawless performance, and, boy, did they do just that. Everyone was pulling their weight and throwing themselves around the court.

Roedean surged to a 17-14 win, improving their 3 losing deficit to winning by 3 – it was an incredible final third. Special mention goes to Bella, the final piece the the U15B puzzle!

Mr Campleman

U15A – 26-8 Win

The U15As faced Lancing on Saturday afternoon.

After an hour long warm up in the cold... the team were itching to get started. In the first quarter, the score settled at 5-1 up to Roedean, with the team quick to capitalise on Lancing's errors. The defence smashed the second quarter, denying Lancing any goals: 11-1 at HT.

With Lancing not stepping off the gas, we drew the third quarter: 14-4. I took a rogue choice to make some changes as we went into the final quarter, trying to even out the scoreline a little, putting Jasmine in to shoot, Clara at C, and Tildy in defence. Bizarrely, this was our strongest quarter, with Jasmine failing to miss a shot... Awkward!

The final whistle went, and we were 26-8 up. Congratulations to the team for another slick performance and for their excellent sportmanship throughout. Tildy was awarded Girl of the Game, and it has to be Jasmine who walked away with Coach's Player! One more game to go for the team – get me the tissues!

Miss Bamford

U18B

The U18B Netball team played a tough match against Lancing College on Saturday afternoon last weekend. The team talk before the first quarter set the team up for success and we went into the match with a positive outlook.

With defence working extremely hard to intercept passes and maintain possession, attack could quickly receive the ball in our goal third, and GA and GS were on a great shooting streak. Despite a strong fight back from the Lancing team in the second and third quarters, the Roedean team were still able to keep a lead in the score throughout the remainder of the match, thanks to the continued great efforts from all centre court, defence and attack players.

The final whistle blew and a cheer sounded from the Roedean team as we knew we had won the match 17-10. Well done to all the girls in the team, and well done for maintaining high spirits throughout the game. Congratulations to Emma who won ‘Player of the Match’!

Mr Borsoi

U14D Victory

'The U14Ds were an absolutely bundle of joy. They were fast and swift with amazing agility. We played a quick-paced game, making the ball travel quickly from player to player in rapid, strong, sharp passes. This made it hard for Lancing College to defend our attacks, thus allowing us to take a 2 goal lead in the first quarter. Alice, Maggie, and Nathania made it hard for Lancing to get the ball into the D, by using their solid defensive tactics. Elisabeth and Poppy worked together to defend and transfer the ball to the shooters effortlessly. With precise shooting from Lucia, Claire, and Chloe, the U14Ds snatched the win 22-4. Extremely well done to everyone for playing fantastically. Special mention to Lucia who received Girl of the Game, and Chloe and Nathania who received Coaches’ Players.'

Nathania and Chloe

The U18As had a competitive match against Lancing College on the weekend. Both teams were evenly matched, and it was a close game.

Katie and Phoebe did a great job of getting the ball to Millie and Lizzie, and we were matching their goals with our own. In Defence, Lila, Sylva, and Erin, were up against some fast Lancing attacking players, but were still making turnovers. However, Lancing were putting up a good zone defence against us, making it hard to move the ball through the mid-court. We were doing well though by the end of the first quarter, and the score was 6-6, all tied.

Lancing then picked up the pace and we found it difficult to match their speed down the court. They were making turnovers in our attack and they took the lead 16-10. Maria did a great job as WD in the second quarter, really sticking on their player and putting the pressure on. In the third quarter, we started to bring it back. Pearl gave us the boost we needed, zipping around the court, always offering an option and making great interceptions also. Erin was amazing at GA, and she plays well in any position! Her movement is lovely and she gets her shots in, even though it's not her first choice position.

Lila and Sylva were forcing rebounds and we were starting to turn the ball over again. We actually drew in this quarter, which was a brilliant turn-around. The last quarter was close again, and we were looking great, with the defence putting pressure on, and we were moving the ball beautifully down court. Izzy was offering some lovely forward options, Millie was holding her player, allowing Lizzie to tuck in behind, and Pearl to feed the overhead in. We won the last quarter and, if the game had been 5 minutes longer, I think we would have bought it back. Well done to Lizzie for POM. Coaches' Player goes to Maria, for sticking tight to their player and offering great options down the court.

U12C Netball – Narrow Loss to Lingfield

The U12C looked to Lingfield for a rejuvenated performance. The match started slowly, with the first quarter only containing three points, both defences working very hard. In the second quarter, Lingfield leapt into action and scored 3 more to take a 5-1 lead. In the third quarter, Roedean managed to put some movements together and score a few of their own, leaving the gap at 4 to track back in the final quarter. The final quarter saw Roedean get within 2 points, but Lingfield finished off strongly again, winning the match 9-5. There is some work to be done on shooting in the week to come, as we were missing a start shooter in Chloe for this match.

Mr Campleman

Jasmine's Horse Riding

Congratulations to Jasmine (Yr9), who has recently moved up her jumping height.

She was invited to do national level training over the half term with British Showjumping performance manager Di Lampard, and had a meeting with British Showjumping’s Chief Executive, with a view to be in the potential selection pool for the U14 Children on Horses European Nations' Cup.

Jasmine and her horse as a combination are currently 9th in the Children on Horses national league table, and in 7th place as a young rider.

Miss Marek

Sports Team of the Week

Well done to the U14D Netballers for being the School's team of the week!

Miss Kirby-Jones

Miss Palmer-Jones

U12s Place 3rd in Sussex

On Wednesday, the U12A team played in their first ever SISNA tournament. They had a group stage to come 1st or 2nd in, in order to qualify for the semi finals... The team of 10 were excited to take to the courts and, with some manifesting and good luck charms, we stepped to court.

Game 1: Brighton College Prep. Typically, our squad struggles to get going in match play, and we were determined to come out stronger in tournament play early doors. Unfortunately,

U13s Came 3rd in SISNA

On Wednesday, we hosted 29 schools on-site for the annual U12 & U13 SISNA tournament. It was a great day, with some excellent netball on display from all schools.

Izzy and Amelie led the team well, motivating them and keeping them focused all day. We knew it would be a tough day, as we had 8 matches in our group, and only 2 out of those 9 teams go through to the semi-finals.

We started off strongly, beating Brighton College Lower School 13-4. We maintained this high standard, with excellent turnovers from our defence, Amarah, Lula, YanYan, and Amber. This enabled us to win the next two matches, 15-0 vs Vinehall and 11-4 vs Seaford. We knew the fourth match of the afternoon versus Windlesham House would be tough, but the team kept their composure, especially in attack, with some calm feeds from Amelie and Poppy to take the win 9-4.

BCP were hot on our tails and capitalised on this, and we quickly went 7-0 down. A better second half settled the score at an 8-2 loss, but this was not a great start for the team.

Game 2: Seaford. This was a team that we had beaten before, but, with some fresh faces in the opposition's squad and a determination to improve, we pushed hard and managed to bag an easy 8-2 win. It was a much better game for the team.

Game 3: Mayfield. We knew we had this game in the bag, but with goal difference on our minds, the shooters were under some pressure... Pressure that they rose to... 12-0 win!

Game 4: St Andrew's Prep. Having not played St A before, we were not going to underestimate them. They were nippy and feisty, something we were quick to break down. 12-1 win!

Game 5: Hurst. We went into this game knowing that, if we won the match, they were to qualify for the semis, if we lost by less than half, we would go to goal difference, and, if we lost, we were out. This was a lot of pressure, but, my word, did the team deliver. With a quick lead from the Roedean team, the score was within two for most of the game. With a

final burst, we took the win 6-3. Semi final time! Semi final vs Brighton Girls: The squad were nervous, but determined to take home some silverware. We turned the ball promptly and took an early lead, only being one goal down at half time. BG were quick to transfer the ball out of their defensive end, leaving us chasing the ball around the court, and we took a gutting loss of 4-14.

3rd/4th Play Off vs Brighton College Lower School: With a final match to go, aiming for 3rd place in Sussex, the team were so excited to take to the courts one last time. It was an outstanding performance, and they left everything on court and saved the best until last... we won!

I am unbelievably proud of the squad, for not only their hard work, drive, and determination all day, but for their sportsmanship and kindness, not only to each other but also to other teams. They really found their groove as the day progressed, and they should be really proud of themselves. I cannot pick a Coach's Player, as each and every pupil who played was outstanding. Well done to Sophie (C), Andrea (VC), Matilda, Chiara, Paloma, Yasmin, Sorcha, Maddie, Katherine, and Naomi.

Miss Bamford

We then faced St Christopher’s who were unbeaten at that point. We took the lead in the first half, but St Christopher’s came out hard for the second 7 minutes, and we struggled to keep our centre passes, and we ended up losing 7-5, but got the crucial half score point.

Next, we faced Mayfield and Brighton Girls where we secured two wins, 6-1 and 8-2 respectively. For our final group match of the day, we faced Great Walstead, who had also only lost one match. We were in control for the first 5 minutes, but had a dip in performance and allowed Great Walstead back into the game. We were then fighting goal for goal. We scraped a draw, which managed to secure us a place in the semi-final.

We faced Copthorne in the semi-final. Despite a slow start, we upped the intensity and physicality to get a few goals behind us, before half time. We came out strongly for the second half and were closing the gap, but, unfortunately, we ran out of time and lost 9-11.

We then faced St Christopher’s again in the 3rd/4th play off. We went straight up with some

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excellent shooting from Liv and Izzy, which continued all match to secure a 3-goal win. A huge well done to the whole squad, on and off the court you were amazing. Taking third place at SISNA is something to be very proud of!

Miss Hammond