Heads Review 2024 - Issue 19

HEAD’S REVIEW

Head’s Introduction

Congratulations to the cast and crew of A Midsummer Night’s Dream – I am very pleased to hear that the two performances yesterday went very well, and I am looking forward to tonight’s show. Yesterday also saw the Private View of the Art Exhibition, with remarkable work by our A Level and GCSE students – it was such a pleasure to hear the girls talking about their work, and describing the processes they went through to achieve their final pieces. I cannot wait to see their work displayed in the gallery at the OXO Tower in London when we hold our exhibition there in September.

Last night, a group of over 40 staff and students in Year 10 braved the chilly conditions to sleep out on the fields to raise money for Off the Fence – it was a clear night with a full moon, but still cold for this time of year. The CEO of the charity came to speak to the group in the evening after they had built their ‘shelters’ out of cardboard, and he described the experience of homeless people in Brighton. I am very proud of our connection with this charity, and of the girls’ endeavours to raise funds for it.

Roedean’s Mock Election saw a high turn-out on Wednesday. I am pleased that the school body is very engaged with the forthcoming election, and those studying Politics in Year 12 have had hands-on experience of what they are studying, campaigning for different parties in Assemblies and around School – well done to everyone involved.

Well done to our athletes, who have enjoyed some brilliant successes over the last ten days. They have done very well at two large-scale events, including lots of personal bests, and the enormous trophy which has been in the Fireplace which is an indication of this success!

I look forward to seeing many of you at Roedean Day tomorrow, and at Speech Day next week, which will be a wonderful opportunity to celebrate so much of what we do at Roedean, and to say farewell to the Year 13s. I also hope that you can have a restful Sunday ahead of an exciting and busy final week of term!

Sleep-Out for Off The Fence

Sixth Form Pathways Lectures

We were delighted to welcome four ORs and a current parent to talk to our Year 12 students on Monday, for their final Pathways Lecture of the year.

The talks are aimed at giving the students a more in-depth look at different careers and the possible routes into them. They are split into our four Pathways – STEM, Society, Business and Economics, and Creative and Performing Arts. The students are able to choose which talk they would like to attend.

We had an exceptional group of speakers to choose from which really showed the breadth of experience within our community. Irina Bataeva (2009-13) spoke about her work writing software for an artificial lung

system, Kate Coker (No. 4, 1977-79) talked about the different routes into a career in medicine, Pearl Uzokwe (Igboegwu, No. 1, 1997-99) led an inspiring session on working on the UN's Social Development Goals in Africa, Ayomide Ogundeyin (2007-11) shared highlights from her work as an Architect and Interior Designer, and last but not least, current parent, Sola David-Borha spoke about her career in business and banking.

If you would be interested in presenting a Pathways Lecture next year, please do let either Ms Carragher (cc@roedean.co.uk) or myself (alumnae@roedean. co.uk) know.

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.

Lennie (Yr10) – for thoughtfully checking in with Mrs Ross about whether the main door of school should be open or closed before progressing on with her journey [Ms Boobis]

Unsung Staff hero in the spotlight

Mr Woodhouse – for a thoughtprovoking Academic Lecture on 'An Inspector Calls – the legacy!' [Ms Ibanez-Barcelo]

Mr Foggoa – for running a sports day for St Mark's Year 6 pupils – the sun was shinning, our Year 9 sports leaders ran the events, and the children loved it. [Miss Wakeling]

Roedean's Mock Election

On Wednesday, the Roedean electorate headed to the ballot box to participate in the School’s Mock Election.

In their role as ‘Campaign Managers’, Year 12 Politics students have been drumming up support over the past few weeks. Having made their pitches in Assemblies, covered the corridors in posters, and spent much time canvassing, they have shown fantastic enthusiasm and creativity. We are incredibly fortunate to have students so committed to widening understanding of the democratic process.

Many thanks to everyone who participated. Congratulations to Year 12 for recording the highest level of turnout! The results are shown below:

Sleep-Out for Off The Fence

38 students in Year 10 and four members of staff enjoyed a stunning full moon over the English Channel as they slept out to raise money for Off the Fence. Sleeping on cardboard on the bottom field under the stars, we got the briefest snapshot of the nightly experience of a homeless person.

Year 10 are proud to have raised £6602 for Off The Fence over the course of the year – the School has worked closely with the charity for a number of years, and we hope that the money we raise each year helps to improve the lives of homeless people in Brighton. If you would like to donate to support their important work, follow this link: https://www.justgiving.com/page/ roedeanfundraisingy10

Congratulations to all the girls who slept out, and to Mr Wilson, Mrs Howson, and Mrs Allen for organising the challenge and supporting them.

Dr Barrand

Roedean Eco-Council Help Fight Rare Plant Extinction Raystede Awards

Congratulations to our Year 9s – we had a visit this week from a representative from Raystede, their year-group charity, and those who completed

presented with a medal!

On Thursday, the Roedean Eco Council planted rare Spider Orchids on the Roedean site – this species is listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, indicating a high risk of extinction in the wild. What a brilliant initiative!

Girlguiding St Lucia Bake Sale

On Tuesday, House 4 girls came together to support Miss Barnett, their Deputy Housemistress, to raise funds for a Girlguiding project that she is taking part in this summer. Miss Barnett has been selected by Girlguiding for a Guiding Overseas Linked with Development (GOLD) project in St Lucia this summer. This project aims to help Girlguides in St Lucia to improve their recruitment and retention, create social media and websites, and develop a national programme.

A massive thank you goes to those who baked delicious goods, and to those who bought and enjoyed those yummy treats. Overall, over £200 was raised towards the GOLD St Lucia project!

Kung Fu Nun at Roedean

This week, Year 12 had the wonderful opportunity to enjoy a talk from Ting, a so-called 'King Fu Nun'. These buddhist nuns in Nepal strive for equality and represent female empowerment. They are champions of gender equality and environmentalism, and are best known for their epic acts of service. The nuns promote equality for women, girls, and marginalised communities, through teaching selfdefence, advocating against human trafficking, and providing disaster relief.

Teaching Kung Fu to young girls is a way to promote self-defence in communities where violence against women is rarely reported. During the pandemic the nuns mobilised a distribution network for essential relief aid to more than 24,000 under-served families facing starvation in Nepal and India.

Ting spoke to Year 12 about being considerate of others, and the importance

of sorority – the girls loved her talk, and have all donated to the LivetoLove Charity, represented by Ting.

What an amazing experience!

Mrs Sturgeon

Inter-House Balloon Debate

An impressive range of debating skills was evident in this event, which took place on Friday 14 June. Students took part in two rounds, each House representing a different personality: JFK, Tony Blair, Leonardo di Caprio, and Meghan Markle.

The teamwork, passion, and critical thinking displayed allowed students to engage with wideranging aspects of the debate, such as economic progress, international relations, meritocracy, and feminism. Key speakers at the debate included Charlie (Yr10), Nisreen (Yr10), Phoebe (Yr7), Scarlett (Yr9), and Gabriella (Yr9), all presenting informed and persuasive arguments in support of their chosen personality.

House 2 were the overall winners, ably represented by their speakers Nisreen and Charlie, closely followed by House 3, represented by Gabriella. All three of these speakers earned extra points for their remarkable ability to formulate exceptional speeches in the limited time available. Well done to all for taking part, and we hope to see more inter-house debates next year!

Amazing Intermediate Biology Challenge Results

Last week, our Year 12 Biology cohort completed the Intermediate Biology Challenge. This is a national competition aimed at Year 12 students only.

We are delighted that our Roedean students did very well. Julia, Kathy, Claudia, Kaitlin, and Jannie led the way with Gold Awards. Martha and Flora followed close behind with Silver, and we also won 5 Bronze awards, with Eve, Kaitlin, Rachel, Kate, and Dorothy.

Well done everyone!

Ms Shahab

Mrs Andrews

Roedean Sailing School

We were  really delighted after some final rope work to present  RYA Dinghy Level 1 and 2 to Galya (Yr 11), Martha (Yr11), Sophie (Yr9) and Alicia (Yr12) who have worked hard throughout the year to achieve this.

Roedean Sailing School had very windy conditions for their last celebratory session of the year which made it challenging for testing out  the Fusion and new Topper dinghy we had borrowed for the week.  We welcomed two new members, Charlotte (Yr7) and Soraya (Yr7) who set sail in the Optimist dinghy and then the safety boat as the wind increased.

Ms Carr

U15A Cricket Finish the Season with a Win

On Tuesday, the U15A played their final game of the season against Mayfield. After losing the toss and being put in to bat, the team got off to a rather rocky start and were 2 wickets down after the first over. However, opening batter, Tiah played some smart cricket, building partnerships with Megs (9), Romey (14), and finally Gabriella (28*) to post a score of 33 not out. Gabriella hit 28 runs off just 21 balls at a strike rate of 133%, leaving us with a final score of 141 to defend.

After a quick break with some fielding practice, the team took to the field. The bowling unit started well, with three wickets in the first 5 overs for just 34 runs. Although the extras started to creep in as the overs progressed, with some good batting from the opposition and a very short boundary to help, they were always behind the run rate and needed 24 off the final over. Well done to Romey who bowled 4 overs for just 14 runs, and took 1 wicket, and Harriet and Megs for taking 2 wickets a piece. The opposition were kept to 124/6 giving Roedean the win.

Miss Kirby-Jones

Roedean Sailing School Trialing New Fusion

In sailing, we got to trial the new Fusion boat for our sailing adventures! This stunning boat has a sleek cobalt plastic exterior, and a vibrant green sail. It is also impressively spacious. Unlike our usual two-person boats, it can comfortably allow one more person, making it feel like a huge upgrade! The speed of the Fusion boat is incredible! As I glided effortlessly over the water, I was mesmerised by its agility and power. The experience was nothing short of exhilarating. I was pleased to discover that the Fusion boat is incredibly stable, making it difficult to capsize.

Diamond League Athletics

This term, our athletes have competed at 5 Diamond League events. At each event, we have gone from strength to strength, with some impressive performances. With PBs from Megs, Romey, and Aimee in High Jump, and Kelly in Long, Triple and 100m! The points across all the meets add up, and on the Finals' Day, we won bronze for the Inters Relay team and Rosa won gold in the 200m, after some outstanding runs across all meets. Huge well done to everyone involved!

Miss Wakeling

Miss Hammond

1st XI Cricket vs MCC

The 1st XI played the MCC for the first time since 2008, and the game ended in a narrow defeat. MCC batted first and were bowled out for 142. Flo took an outstanding 3-6 from 3 overs, and Bethany took 3-31 to halt a promising MCC start.

Roedean only lost one wicket in reply, but fell just short. Maria carried their bat for an unbeaten 47 from 62 balls, but couldn't quite get enough strike to keep up with the required run rate, so MCC took the win.

The re-introduction of the MCC fixture is a big step forward for Roedean Cricket, and will hopefully become a regular home fixture in the near future.

Mr Smethurst

Impressive Silverware for Roedean Athletes!

Last week, our athletes from Years 7-11 competed at the Brighton Hove Portslade Town Sports – it it is a fantastic event, where state and independent schools compete to win an array of trophies!

Our Year 7 & 8 squads were up first on the Monday, putting out some very strong performances both in the field and on the track, with a new Long Jump PB from Maddie, 3.95m. The Year 7s came 3rd out of 9 schools overall, and should be very proud of their performances.

On Wednesday, our Junior (Year 8-9) and Inter (Year 10-11) squads were up. They started off strongly, securing first in all bar 1 throwing

competition. We got a new PB for Izzy in Triple Jump, 8.89m, Minnie in Triple Jump, 9.00m, and Kelly for 100m with a time of 13.6!

On the track, we were consistently strong and it was great to have Poppy out there, leading the way with her hurdle performance. The combined squad won the Girls’ Jump Cup, Girls’ Throws’ Cup, Overall Girls’ Winners, and were joint first in the Girls' Relay Cup!

Huge congratulations to all, it was a full squad achievement. Well done!

An exciting new selection of merchandise has recently been added to the Roedean Shop. This includes notebooks, scrunchies, bookmarks, and the Buffs previously only available from the Parents' Guild at the Christmas Fair!

The latest item to be added, and which will be available for the first time on Roedean Day, is a stunning Chilly's Roedean water bottle. These are insulated metal bottles in our beautiful navy blue colour, and they come individually boxed.

We will also be taking pre-orders for our new pyjama bottoms and personalised Roedean blankets on Saturday.

Miss Hammond

Cricket vs St Andrew's Prep

Unbeaten Season for U13C!

'The U13Cs played their last match of the season on Wednesday, winning with 311 runs. They were determined to win and were very pleased to do so. St Andrew's batted first, getting 6 wickets. Sofiia did an amazing job on the field, catching the ball and stopping it from going on the boundary. Dhiya caught the ball as well, and she also bowled a wicket which was phenomenal. Bea was the most supportive on the pitch, motiving everyone. Zaina also threw the ball at the wicket knocking the stumps down.

In batting, it was a tough competition as the scores were similar, but the team still managed to smash it. Lucia hit a 6, and Gracie got 10 runs – this duo was on fire the whole time. Paloma and Bea went first in batting, but set very high standards with their amazing attitude and determination, and Paloma hit a couple of 4s. Flo was also on fire, hitting a 6 with such confidence and skill. Towards the end, our score was so close, but Amyra and Dhiya won us the match. Amyra was astonishing, hitting three 6s! And the whole team's effort and cheering brought us to victory.

Batting MVP was Amyra, and Bowling MVP was Lucia. Overall, the team did an amazing job winning their last match of the season. (a special mention goes to Chloe and Bea for the team cheering and supporting).'

Zaina

U12C

The mighty C team have played their last match of the year where we welcomed St Andrew’s Prep school. After our captains Ottie and Lara won the toss, we started fielding.

Hester opened as bowler, doing a fantastic job, and, on her last ball, getting a wicket. Evelyn then took over, playing in her first C team match. Tilly, Ottie, and Hailey then took over, and Hailey got two wickets!

We then switched over and batted. Lily was hitting some excellent shots and got a boundary. Harriet also hit an excellent 4, which boosted our batting score. We unfortunately lost a lot of runs due to St Andrew’s getting a few wickets and outs. This brought us down by 18 runs. India and Gracie finished last as batters, getting a total of 10 runs which brought our score to a draw.

Well done to both teams, and it was a great match to finish on – 245-245!

Miss Walsh

Hockey County Championship Squad

This season, Ines (Yr9) has been selected for the Sussex Championship Squad for hockey, and has been playing for the U14 Sussex Team. This is a great success for Ines, well done!

Sport Stars of the Week

Well done to this week's sporting stars, and to the Team of the Week, the Athletics Brighton and Hove Town Sports Team, for fantastic performances overall, and winning the jump cup, throw cup, joint winners of the relay cup and overall. Congratulations!

Mr

Year 7

Sophia, for a superb batting performance against Hurstpierpoint, scoring 43 runs

Year 8

Alex, for a fantastic Cricket performance against Hurstpierpoint

Year 9

Poppy, for achieving a personal best in Long Jump of 4.52 metres at Brighton & Hove Town Sports Competition

Year 10

Tiah, for excellent improvement in Cricket and Athletics this term

Year 13

Phoebe, for a great attitude and consistent effort in Cricket this term

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

Mr De Costa

U13C

Campleman