Heads Review - 2024 Issue 18

HEAD’S REVIEW

Head’s Introduction

On Monday night this week, six of our students took on a remarkable challenge – they embarked upon a relay swim across the Channel to France. Congratulations to Trinity (Yr12), Finya (Yr11), Evelyn (Yr9), Farah and Katherine (Yr8), and Maisa (Yr7), who each swam for at least one hour in the sea, making it about halfway to France. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen weather changes, that they had to stop. This was incredibly disappointing for them, but they should all be incredibly proud of what they have achieved – we are certainly very proud of them.

It seems that this has been a week of challenges, although not as extreme as the Channel swim. Well done to 140 girls in Years 9 and 10 who successfully completed their Silver and Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expeditions at the weekend – congratulations. At the same time, 36 girls in Years 7 and 8 had a fantastic time on the Welsh coast, studying environmental issues and sustainability. Many of these same girls have also been raising money today for charity, as the whole of Year 7 abseiled down Peacehaven Cliffs, as the finale to their Wild Fridays programme!

Well done to everyone who performed in last Friday’s Drama Showcase, which featured LAMDA pieces, GCSE devised pieces, musical theatre, and an extract from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, our upcoming production. I also really enjoyed the Year 7 Music Showcase on Tuesday, in which the girls showed what they have learnt over the course of the year as part of the Year 7 Instrumental Project. It was also lovely for them to hear some performances from slightly older girls, who have continued to play as a result of the project. Well done to everyone involved in both of these events.

Yesterday, we welcomed 34 pupils to Roedean for our annual Rockpools Day! These girls, who will be joining Roedean in September 2025, has a fantastic time down in the rockpools, searching for sealife, after which they learnt about the effects of the wind before building and flying their kites. As we all know, Roedean has brilliant weather for this, and they had a great time. Thank you to the Admissions Department, the staff leading groups and sessions, and the Year 9 helpers, who all made the day such a success!

I am looking forward to our Mock Election next week, as well as seeing very many of you on Roedean Day, when we have the chance to showcase the School, formally open the Library, and enjoy Sports Day. Have a lovely weekend, and good luck for the final preparations for next week’s play.

Year 7 and 8 Sustainability Trip to Wales

Year 7s Abseil Down Peacehaven Cliffs

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.

Kate (Yr12) – for playing Madrigal by Gaubert on the Flute – it was lovely and very calming, and the low register was particularly beautiful! [Dr Barrand]

Unsung Staff hero in the spotlight

Mr Clingan – for a fascinating Academic Lecture on 'Understanding the Economic Story behind Liz Truss, Lettuces, and the 2024 UK Election' –thank you so much! [Ms IbanezBarcelo]

Roedean Mock Election

Given the current siutation in politics in the United Kingdon, it is wonderul that the younger generations are very engaged with the current situation in UK Politics.

The Year 12 Politics students are representing all of the political parties, and are campaigning around the School over the course of this week. Their manifestos are festooned throughout the School, and this will surely inspire those who are standing up for change. There will be a mock election next Wednesday lunchtime – well done!

Merla (Yr12)

Fantastic Results in the UK Biology Challenge

Congratulations to our Year 9 and 10 cohort, who did very well in the UK Biology Challenge!

The competition involves applying general biological knowledge to answer tough multiple choice questions. We are very proud of the fantastic results achieved this year's entrants. Huge congratulations go to Zyta (Yr10), who is among the 5% who have been awarded a Gold Award nationally.

Jasmine, Constance, Chloe, Natalie, and Anna can also be very proud of their Silver Award, as this puts them in the top 15%. Angelina, Nathania, Anna, Athena, Megs, Lilia, Tiffany, and Scarlett achieved a very honourable Bronze Award, and many more were Highly Commended or Commended.

Well done to all!

Mrs Andrew

Lyla starts in Brighton

Festival

Congratulations to Lyla (Yr9), who recently had a starring role in a show at the Brighton Festival. She was part of Brighton People's Theatre's performance of 'Born and Bread'. Lyla played Darya, the daughter of the lead character, Amina. The show was co-created with over 100 local people, following conversations about their relationship to the city through food.

Lyla gave a moving and powerful performance about the impact of food poverty on children in the city. She received standing ovations from Festival audiences. If you are interested in finding out more about Brighton People's Theatre and supporting their work as a small local charity, please follow this link: https://brightonpeoplestheatre.org/2024/05/16/bpt100/

Mrs Woodbridge

DofE

Expeditions

Congratulations to our 87 Bronze and 53 Silver participants who smashed their qualifying expedition last weekend in the Ashdown Forest. Bronze participants completed a two-day, one-night, expedition. Silver participants completed a three-day, two-night expedition. All expedition teams demonstrated improved navigation, campcraft, and teamwork skills.

I am immensely proud of our participants’ immersive attitude and their ability to laugh. Expedition is tough and, once again, they exuded grit and determination to achieve this sectional award, alongside having fun with friends. I received countless comments of commendation from their assessors, and was approached by two members of the public who wished to share their “delightful encounter” of polite conversation with our girls. They thoroughly enjoyed their conversation and energy levels, and loved seeing our girls enjoying being outdoors.

Thank you to Mr Fieldsend, Miss Holmes, Ms Bartlette, Miss Good, Mrs Sturgeon, and Mr De Costa, for being an essential part of Roedean’ s DofE staff team. Without your commitment, this expedition could not have taken place. Here’s to next year!

Mrs Jacky Finn

Year 7s Abseil Down Peacehaven Cliffs

Congratulations to the Year 7s who have abseiled down Peacehaven Cliffs today – what a perfect way to round off their Wild Fridays experience, while also raising money for their year-group charity, Rockinghorse. If you would like to donate, you can do so here!

Roedean School Drop360 Abseil Challenge – JustGiving

Mr Wilson

Rockpools Day 2024

We welcomed 34 children to Roedean this week –they are the accepted prospective students for 11+ and 13+ entry, and they loved coming back to School for the day.

In the Rockpools section, they all found crabs, anemones, and shrimps, and they then learned

about Physics of the wind, and then put this learning into practice by flying their own kites on the fields.

Thank you to all the staff who were involved, and to the Year 9 helpers – well done!

Mrs Wienekus

Year 7 Music Showcase

Well done to everyone who took part in this week's musical showcase on Tuesday – all of the Year 7s showcased what they have learnt over the course of this year as part of the Year 7 Instrumental Project – there were Violins, Trombones, Bassoons, Violas, Clarinets, and Trumpets.

Not only did the Year 7s demonstrate what they have learnt, but it was lovely to see performances from some Year 8s and 9s, who have continued to play after they left Year 7.

Thank you to the Visiting Music Teachers, and to the Music Department – well done, what an inspiration!

WestEnd Calling!

Congratulations to Fleur in Year 12, who gave a stunning and emotive performance of the song All Grown Up from Bare at the Arts Theatre in London over half term.

After successfully negotiating the auditions round, the Brighton heats, and the semi-finals in London, Fleur was one of 25 senior finalists from across the UK who performed in front of a panel of talented judges from the West End.

Fleur should be extremely proud of her performance which impressed the judges, who liked that she didn't hold back, and praised her for belting out the song, compared to others who were more reserved.

Well done, Fleur!

Mrs Alexander

Unstoppable Chess Champions –House 1 Checkmates the Competition

The annual House Chess Competition concluded last Friday with House 1 emerging as the undisputed champions, demonstrating a strategic prowess that left all competitors in check. This year's tournament saw a remarkable turnout, with around 35 pupils from Years 7 to 12 participating, all eager to showcase their tactical skills and earn the coveted title for their respective Houses.

From the opening gambits to the final end-games, House 1 dominated the chessboard, winning all of their matches with a display of strategic depth that would make even grandmasters envious. Their path to victory was a true tour de force, reminiscent of a well-executed Queen's Gambit, where every move seemed meticulously planned and flawlessly executed.

House 1's success was marked by impressive tactics, including

their opponents between a queen, a rook, and a hard place! There were no fool's mates here – every victory was hard-earned.

As the pieces are packed away and the boards are reset, House 1's victory will be remembered as a master-class in chess excellence. Their triumph is a testament to the power of preparation, strategy, and teamwork. Congratulations to House 1 and all the participants, for their enthusiasm and dedication, and special thanks to the House staff for their unwavering support. It was a truly unforgettable event – Reti or not, here we come for next year’s challenge!

Mr Halsey

Year 7 and 8 Sustainability Trip to Wales

The Year 7 and 8 students who travelled to Wales last weekend for the Sustainability Trip had a fantastic time. They went on a boat trip, learnt lots about bugs which could make the world more sustainable if they become part of our regular diet, and they found out about seaweed. The staff who went on the trip, Miss Bamford, Mr Halsey, Mrs Allen, and Miss Frank-Keyes were all incredibly proud of the girls' commitment to all the activities and of what excellent ambassadors they were. What a brilliant trip!

House Tennis

Over the past term, we have been running a House Tennis competition in Games afternoons, for those students who have Tennis as their games option. This is the first year of doing such a competition, and it has been great to get so many girls involved in competing for their Houses. About 220 girls have played in this competition, across all the year groups, including Year 11 and 13 before they left.

The competition format was doubles, so the students were in pairs, playing against all the other pairs in their class. The results for each year group varied, and the individual year group results are below. They were then combined to give an overall score for each House. It was very close between the Houses, but congratulations to House 4 who won overall. Thank you for all those who took part.

Tennis –Mayfield U13 Tournament

This was one of the last Tennis fixtures of the summer term, and it was exciting to be playing in a tournament against other strong schools.

Betsy and Ruby, both in Year 7, were playing as a doubles pair, representing Roedean. They haven’t played a lot of doubles tennis, so this was going to be good experience for them. There were 9 teams entered and they were split into 2 pools. Each pair plays everyone in their pool, then the winners of each pool play each other, seconds play each other, and so on.

We drew Mayfield B first and beat them comfortably 4-0. We then had Bede’s A, so knew it would be tough. Betsy and Ruby were really blasting the ball at them, but they were getting everything back, something that the girls didn’t expect, I think. We needed to play a

Sport Stars of the Week

We welcome contributions from all parts of the Roedean community. If you have something you would like featured in the Head’s Weekly Review, please email: aws@roedean.co.uk

bit more tactically, but that's difficult when your up against an opponent like them. The girls lost 4-1. We then had Lingfield A and, again, won comfortably 4-1. Our final match was against St. Andrews B, who just like Bede’s, were stiff opposition. The girls played well and held their own, but St Andrew’s just had the edge and beat us 4-2. They were trying to play more tactically, going for the volleys and throwing in some drop shots, which was good to see.

This meant we went into the 3rd place play-off to decide 5th/6th. We played Mayfield A and won 6-0, meaning we finished 5th place out of 9. This was a great experience for the girls to play against such good competition.

Mrs Patching-Jones

Well done to this week's sporting stars, and to the Channel Swim team, for their unbelievable effortduring their crossing, dspite the harsh weather conditions, and their commitment to training!

Mabel, for excellent progress and improvement in Athletics and Cricket this term

Year 10

Ruby, for commitment and effort in Hockey GK lessons in preparation for next year Year 8

Ying, for a fantastic attitude in all PE lessons this term

Ava, for outstanding progress and improvement in Cricket this term Year 7

Year 11

Finya, for an incredibly positive and supportive attitude in Sea Swimming Year 13

Grace, for excellent progress and attitude in Horse-Riding lessons this term

Mr Campleman