Heads Review - Issue 5 - October 2024 by Roedean School

HEAD’S REVIEW

Head’s Introduction

I have been in Belfast for some of this week representing Roedean at the HMC Conference for Heads. This is a great forum for sharing ideas and best practice in the independent sector, but I am also disappointed to have missed an inspiring visit by Amber Anning OR. I have heard from students and members of staff all week about how incredibly engaging she was, and how brilliant it was to see and actually hold her Olympic medals from Paris. I am very grateful to Amber for giving up some time to come to Roedean to inspire our students to identify their goals, and then to put in the hard work to realise their dreams.

Roedean Geographers at Calshot

I hope that the event for Year 7 parents provided an informal chance to catch up with Tutors on Tuesday, after their first month at Roedean. The Year 7s threw themselves into their Samba workshop that day, and I have enjoyed the videos of each group showing off what they had learnt during the day – well done. They have also taken part yesterday in what may be the largest live online poetry lesson in the world – we await confirmation from the Guinness World Records’ team, but they were clearly having a great time, following the interactive lesson on the huge screen in the Library!

Our series of events in October to mark Black History Month began with excellent Chapel services, in which our students spoke about black women who have inspired them. I am looking forward to our keynote lecture on Tuesday 14 October, when Carolynn Bain will speak to the whole school about black writers, which will also coincide with World Book Week.

Last weekend's GCSE Geography field trip was a great success, and I am grateful to Mr Carter and the team of staff who took part in this trip. I hope that today’s Sixth Form Open Day has helped our Year 11s and our external applicants to think about their programme in the Sixth Form, and that the subject fair allowed them to find out more about A Level study.

Congratulations to the eleven students and staff who braved very chilly conditions to swim in the Sea Lanes pool, to start and end the Rockinghorse charity race last night and this morning. Good luck to everyone involved in Saturday’s Netball Nationals – the weather forecast looks positive, so I hope it goes well. I wish you all a restful weekend!

Amber Returns to Roedean with her Olympic Bronze Medals

Mountain Biking for Year 7 Wild Fridays

Hockey U12B vs Mayfield

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.

Amelia, Onose, Solari, Mbali (Yr13), Fatou (Yr11), and Khadija (Yr10) – for sharing their Black Sheroes in Chapel this week, to celebrate Black History Month [Ms Boobis]

Fola (Yr13) – for coming to the Oxo Gallery on Saturday afternoon and helping to look after visitors [Mrs Alexander]

Natalie (Yr11) – for playing Elfentanz so well in Chapel – the piece's composer, Florence Price, was the first black female composer to have her music performed by a major symphony orchestra [Dr Barrand]

Unsung Staff hero in the spotlight

Mr Marchant – for a compelling Academic Lecture on ‘Harris vs Trump 2024: The Race to the Oval Office’, delivered with real gusto – thank you so much for enlightening us all [Ms Ibanez Barcelo]

Bernice, Candis, and Julia at St Michael's

On Saturday evening, Bernice, Candis, and Julia (Yrs12-13) performed in a concert, alongside BBC Songs of Praise presenter, Pam Rhodes.

The evening was celebrating the centenary of St. Michael’s Church in Lancing, and also included performances by The Boundstone Chorus and The Worthing Salvation Army Band, which I conduct. Julia performed a Chopin Nocturne, and Candis and Bernice played a piano duet by Debussy.

They finished the evening with Rachmaninoff's Valse for six hands on one piano!

It was a sold out concert and the girls played brilliantly to a very appreciative audience. Thank you Candis, Bernice, and Julia for all your work in preparing for this special evening. Thanks also go to one of our piano teachers, Miss Ono, for helping organise the pianists and assisting them in selecting an excellent choice of repertoire.

Ms Kennard

12-Hour Charity Swim for Rockinghorse

Due to Roedean's sustained commitment to supporting the Rockinghorse charity, 11 brave students were kindly invited to open and close a brand-new fundraising swimming event from Thursday 3 to Friday 4 October – it is a 12-hour swim relay at the Sea Lanes in Brighton.

These students braved the cold and challenging conditions to swim for a whole hour as a team. Clara, Astrid, Katherine, Kat, and Isabelle opened the event, swimming from 19:00 to 20:00. The next morning, Janet, Finya, Abby, Elianna, Kayla, and Megs got up very early to swim the final hour between 6:00 and 7:00. They were all very cold and tired, but proud of their efforts! Well done to the students for taking part in such a worthwhile event.

All the money raised from this event will help to fund a new well-being hub at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. Specifically, for every £100 raised, the hub will fund a sixweek sea swimming course for a teenager with long-term health conditions.

Mr Wilson

Amber Returns to Roedean with her Olympic Bronze Medals

Amber Anning, who left Roedean seven years ago, came back to School this week to inspire the next generation. It was such a pleasure to see her, a shining example of a young woman who had a dream and has worked incredibly hard to make it come true – and her prize was not one, but two Olympic Bronze medals!

Amber’s name is all over the Honours’ Boards in Centenary Hall and in our Sports Day records’ book, so it was already obvious seven years ago that she was going to excel. But her success is the result of a huge amount of hard work, determination, resilience, and sacrifice. As she showed the audience of 250 students clips from

her races in Paris, she also talked about how hard it had been to move her life to America to focus on her sport, to miss Christmas with her family, and to deal with failure. However, she was keen to stress that her Mum always told her that she had to succeed academically too –Amber started studying at Louisana State University in 2019, and it was about this time that she took part in the Olympic trials for the Tokyo Games. She got to the Final in the trials, but came last, and was not selected. She told the audience how this knock had been hard to take, but also how, when she bounced back, she was even more hungry for success.

As a result, Amber changed university and became even more focused on her running. As the Paris Olympics approached, she enjoyed more and more success, including breaking the 25-year-old British record over 200 metres, and also breaking the notorious 50-second barrier for the 400 metres! She won the British trials in Manchester to secure her spot in Paris. And this was the start of a hugely exciting Olympic Games. Having already won a brilliant Bronze in the 4 x 400 Mixed Relay, Amber was one of 48 athletes in the 400 metres, the best runners in the world, and she eased through the rounds and qualified for the Final with confident runs. The Final was incredibly exciting, and at moments on the home straight it looked as if she might get a medal – in the end, she was fourth, just outside the podium places. Amber admitted being disappointed,

An Interview with Amber

Gabby and Megs in Year 11 had the opportunity to interview Amber Anning, while she visited Roedean, and here is some of what she said:

‘What inspired me? My family’s Jamaican, so I grew up watching Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Usain Bolt winning and running in the Olympics.’

‘It is just all about enjoyment and giving yourself the best opportunity to excel in whatever you want to do, and I think, just at a young age, you just need to do everything, don’t limit yourself, don’t put yourself doing one sport, do a variety of different things, try new stuff and just be really open-minded.’

‘I think the big thing for me with Roedean is they helped facilitate my training. So, I trained in London, so I had to leave early from class or

like from any sports stuff I did, and they’d allow me to leave and then go up and train there.’

‘For me, Roedean always celebrated my achievements, they always made sure I was good in my training but they were able to support me academically as well, and know that sometimes I’d have to juggle both.’

‘As much as it’s hard and I don’t enjoy it too much (maybe the training), it was just something that I was really good at and it’s kind of taken me all over the place.’

‘I’m so grateful to say that ‘I’m the fastest ever’, because not many can say that and it’s a great feeling… and a lot of girls have been amazing 400 metre runners in the past, so I’m very grateful for where I’m at.’

but then reminded herself that her result was the fourth best in the whole world, and in a race in which every athlete ran under 50 seconds. In true style, she bounced back to win another Bronze medal in the women’s 4 x 400 relay, an event in which Team GB has such strength in depth. The students gasped when she brought out one of her medals, and some even had a chance to hold them – how extraordinary, to win two Bronze medals at your debut Olympics!

Amber’s talk was genuinely inspirational, and all the more so because she repeatedly referred back to the fact that her success is the product of a collective effort – the journey she spoke about began when she was at primary school in Australia, and she was keen to acknowledge her family’s support throughout, her time at School and at university, and also the Groundsman at Wish Park in Hove, who marked out a track for her so she could train during Covid. She was mobbed by autograph-hunters after her talk ended, and even signed someone’s shoe! It was a fantastic and inspiring talk, and we are very grateful that Amber was able to return to Roedean to share her story with us – no doubt, we will all be glued to our screens when the Olympics are in Los Angeles in 2028!

Dr Barrand

‘I think with sports, an injury is inevitable and it’s more the mental side, being strong and determined to keep going regardless of what we’re going through.’

‘My parents, to be honest, always pushed doing well on the track and in the classroom. So I work as hard as I do on and off the track. But it’s just really prioritising, being disciplined.'

Roedean at the OXO Tower

Last week, Roedean students, past and present, had the great pleasure to exhibit their work in a professional gallery space, in the heart of London, on the South Bank. It was such a delight to see the legacy of exceptional Art from Roedean – the work of last year's A Level cohort was displayed alongside that of Old Roedeanians.

We welcomed very many of our current students and parents to the exhibition on Friday evening and over the weekend, and I have no doubt that it has inspired some future artists. We are already looking forward to our next exhibition to showcase the consistently remarkable work which is produced by our students.

Ms Strachan

Samba at Roedean

This week, the Year 7s had a brilliant time with Ollie learning Samba rhythms.

Each tutor-group had a workshop during the day, and the Year 6 class from St Mark's also joined in. At the end of the day, the Year 7s showcased what they had learnt during the day in a concert in front of their parents. Afterwards, the parents had an opportunity to have an informal chat with their daughter's tutor, while also meeting other parents.

Well done to everyone who took part, to Ollie from The Beat Goes On, and to Ms Bartlette for organising the workshop.

Black History Month Chapel

Over the course of this month, Roedean staff will bring to light stories of black people's contributions in their subject-areas, and there are also posters in the corridors of black women who have made important contributions in their field, and some of these were highlighted in Chapel this week.

'This Tuesday marked the beginning of Black History Month, which is observed each October in the UK. It is a time to recognise the significant contributions of Black individuals throughout British history.'

Amelia

'This year, the theme of Black History Month is ‘reclaiming narratives’ and revolves around taking charge of the stories we hear, and removing misrepresentations and places where the full history has been neglected. It is vital to hear about these overlooked black women, and those like them who are forgotten, as often we don’t hear about the people who, despite playing a key role in history and being deserving of remembrance, are often swept under the rug and forgotten. This Black History Month we are aiming to bring these memories to light and to reclaim the narratives that have written them out. We are going to share the real stories of incredible black women who are often left overlooked.'

Onose

'An inspirational woman in the world of literature is Emilia Lanier. Lanier was born to a family of dark-skinned Venetian musicians, who were probably of Moroccan descent. However, traditional scholarship refuses to confirm that she was black, using euphemisms instead. Often referred to as the ‘dark lady’ in Shakespeare’s sonnets, Lanier made her mark in poetry in her own right. At the age of 42, she became the first woman in England to assert herself as a professional poet. Her first published volume was possibly the first feminist work published in England, with all of her dedications being to women and her title poem concerning the crucifixion of Jesus from a woman’s point of view.'

Fatou

'An important woman that has been overlooked for her efforts in the medical field is Mary Seacole, a Jamaican nurse predominantly known for her work in the Crimean War in the 1800s. Mary Seacole had to overcome adversity just to make it to England, as she was refused a place as an army nurse during the war. This didn’t stop her, as she financed her own trip and founded the British Hotel, where officers who were sick and in need of medical attention were able to stay. Her efforts didn’t stop here, as she would visit the battlefields, that were at times under fire, to treat wounded soldiers. Mary Seacole’s story is important as she is often overlooked in history when people refer to the nurses who made significant impacts at the time.'

Khadija

'Born in Jamaica, Reverend Rose HudsonWilkin moved to the UK in 1982 where she studied at the Church Army College before becoming a Deacon in Wolverhampton in 1991, and being ordained a priest in 1994, one of the first women in England to do so. She has since taken on a great range of ministerial roles, including being Chaplain to the Queen, Chaplain to the speaker of the House of Commons and Roedean’s own chaplain. On Desert Island discs in 2014 she was asked about the proposed ordination of women as bishops and said: "I believe that we hold certain prejudices about certain things and we believe them to be true ... What I want is for people to be open to the possibilities that their minds might be changed." In 2019, she became the first black woman to be a church of England bishop.'

Mbali

'Another remarkable woman who unknowingly made her mark in history is Claudette Colvin. During the time of the civil rights movement in the 1950s in the United States, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin defiantly refused to give her seat up for a white woman on an overcrowded bus. At first glance Claudette’s story sounds similar to the popular story of Rosa Parks, but what many people don’t know is that Claudette did it nine months prior. Claudette’s story isn’t known however as, at the time she was a darker skinned 15-year-old who was pregnant out of wedlock, making her an undesirable face of the civil right campaign. Despite her story being untold for decades, Colvin, still alive, has expressed that she isn’t upset at her lack of recognition, but rather takes pride in having been able to spark the fires that led to the success of the civil rights movement.'

Solari

'Reclaiming narratives means more than just learning about history – it's about how we shape the present and future. By reclaiming these stories, we make sure that history includes all voices and experiences, showing us that everyone has a role in shaping the world we live in today. History belongs to all of us, and by reclaiming these narratives we ensure that everyone’s story is told.'

Onose

An extract from Mari Evans' poem I am a Black Woman:

I am a black woman

Tall as a cypress

Strong beyond all definition

Still defying place and time

And circumstance

Impervious

Indestructible

Look on me and be renewed

Roedean Geographers at Calshot

Last weekend, our Year 11 Geographers travelled to Southampton Water, on the fringe of the New Forest National Park, to take part in fieldwork studies and a range of outdoor activities at the Calshot Centre.

This was the largest cohort of GCSE students that the School has ever taken away on a residential Geography field trip, and the 81 students (and 7 staff) had a successfully busy, productive, and fun three days and nights away from School.

The photographs probably tell the story better than words ever could, but we carried out measurements on the River Darkwater and in the bustling but pretty town of Lyndhurst, as well as experiencing Rock Climbing, Dry Skiing, Archery, and a challenging team-bonding Low Ropes course at the Calshot Activities Centre.

The weekend also included sessions in the classrooms, working until 8.30pm each night, where the Calshot tutors were able to add extra detail to the day's study and teach us the key investigative skills required for the Geography GCSE exams. After an exhausting day of activity, this was sometimes a challenge, but the girls maintained an admirable work-ethic throughout.

Following Saturday evening's session, we all gathered to enjoy Mrs Finn's marshmallow and smores beach party under a star-filled sky.

The girls returned to Roedean very tired, but with a deeper understanding of the geographical sequence of enquiry, and having spent a great weekend away together.

Many thanks from the Geography Department to the Year 11 geographers, Miss Holmes, Miss Bamford, Mr Halsey, Miss Smith, Mrs Finn, and Mr Bond for their hardwork and for giving up their weekend.

Mr Carter

‘Wear Something Woolly’ Non-Uniform Day

Our first non-uniform day of the year had a 'wear something woolly' twist, because the money raised will support the work of Off The Fence, a charity which Roedean has worked closely with for a number of years –we'll let you know the total raised in next week's Head's Review.

Angelica and Lydia (Yr12) are spear-heading a project, which will use the funds raised from the non-uniform day, and the bake sale they organised for today, to purchase items for 'comfort boxes' which can be handed out to the homeless in Brighton. They met with Julio, the CEO of Off The Fence, to discuss their idea last week, and they intend to get their boxes ready quickly, particularly as the weather is getting colder.

Dr Barrand

CAP Student Letters

Our CAP students received some training last week, before they embarked on site placements this week.

As part of the induction, we asked the students to write to their programme leaders, and here are some of their letters.

Miss Kelsey

Mountain Biking for Year 7 Wild Fridays

This year, we have added a new activity into the Outdoor Adventure strand of Wild Fridays for Year 7 – Mountain Biking! They had a brilliant time last week, and have a follow-up session to come!

Mr Wilson

National Poetry Day – Thursday 3 October –Guinness World Record Attempt!

The theme for this year was ‘counting’ and ‘what counts’, and a good number of our students have written their own poems based on this theme.

Year 7 students took part in an online lesson with Laura Mucha, Author-in-Residence in the Department of Public Health & Primary Care, University of Cambridge. She is an award-winning poet and her poems have been featured on BBC Radio 6 Music, BBC Radio 3, Classic FM, and CBBC. The lesson students participated in was an attempt to break a Guinness World Record, for the largest online lesson, multi-venue, and was attended by students all over the country, and as far as France, Spain, Mexico, Sweden, Netherlands, and Cyprus.

It was exciting to take part in the editing of the poem, and understand what might make a good title, which words would fit where, and how this affects what we want readers to feel.

What do you think counts?

I’m counting how many licks to finish a lollipop, how many times a grown up says ‘no’, how many marshmallows I can fit in my mouth, how many times I cry about homework, how many sticky notes I can put on Mum’s face, how monsters I have in my head.

I’m counting the days until I’m a famous tennis player, days since the war started, days until I see Daddy, until I have a friend.

I’m counting on my nain and taid because they give me hugs and say ‘sweets cost 1p back in the day’. And the friends I don’t need to pretend to, that respect me, that play.

And my bunny, Binky, my axolotl, Bob, because although they eat my homework, they always keep my secrets safe.

I’m counting on the people in power to protect the planet, on teachers so I can get a good job,

Here is the completed poem, which was created using more than 250,000 contributions worldwide, and the youtube link for the lesson: https://www.youtube.com/live/uLR31iHhraw

We will find out whether the Guinness World Record was broken once all the evidence has been reviewed. In the meantime, we will receive a certificate to say we took part, and a letter to thank our Year 7s for taking part in this unique event by Laura Mucha.

Shahab

money, a better life, and my football coach because I WANT TO PLAY IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE.

I’m counting cows on the way to school, raindrops in my mouth, memories of people I’ve lost.

I’m counting on someone to love me no matter what, to want the best for me, keep their promises, listen, and keep me safe, so I don’t have to worry so much.

I’m counting on the small things –because they all add up.

What do you think counts?

Clara's Charity River Swim!

'On Sunday, I took part in an annual River Arun swim for the charity Aspire, which does amazing work helping people with spinal cord injuries. The swim was just over 6.5k upstream. Luckily the tide was coming in, so we were helped along a little. Out of the 11 swimmers there, only two of us were in only skins (non-wetsuits); the other swimmer was Scottish and swam in lochs! It was a really nice swim with very pretty views, and it was great to raise money for an important charity.'

Clara (Year 12)

U13C Hockey vs Ardingly

'Our match was against Ardingly College. At first, due to the fact that Ardingly had no goalie, we scored many goals, about 4 within the first half. These were mainly scored by our fantastic forward, Emma, and our amazing midfielders, Emily, Anna, and Lily. Emma and Lily mainly stayed in the opposition's D, scoring super goals, while Emily and Anna were just outside the opposition's D, tackling and running bravely. Zara and I defended our goal, attempting with much success, to tackle anyone who got in the D. Overall, the match was a great success, with the final score 10-2 to us! It was so much fun playing against Ardingly, and I look forward to many more matches!'

Aisha (Yr8)

This Week in Boarding...

House 1 hosted a spectacular coffee morning and bake sale in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. There were plenty of delicious cakes, all lovingly baked and decorated by the girls! Boarders made a dessert to rival the wellknown Eton Mess, and have named it a 'Roedean Mess'. This included lots of fresh strawberries, squirty cream, and, of course, sprinkles!

House 2 got to grips with their new air fryer, making cheesy mozzarella dippers and an indulgent s'mores dip! The girls took part in a 'paint swap', where they paint for a minute before swapping their paper with the person next to them... to eventually create a collaborative masterpiece! The heat was on when the House 2 'families' had a cupcake decorating competition, and the cakes were donated to the Macmillan bake sale. Over the weekend, House 2 also transformed into a pizzeria, with plenty of different toppings to choose from.

House 3 have been loving their Saturday dog walks, and have even offered to take other Roedean dogs with them! What a great way to stretch their legs in the sunshine! One evening got particularly competitive, with a House-wide scavenger hunt, which ended in a tie-break game of musical chairs. The girls enjoyed reinventing the pizza, making a sweet version with cookie dough and a chocolatespread base! A special teenage birthday was celebrated amongst friends, and a beautiful cake! House 3 also opened a bagel bar, with freshly toasted bagels and several spread options.

House 4 marked Milan, Paris, and London Fashion Weeks by having a go at being fashion designers! The girls got creative, coming up with gorgeous outfits out of feathers, cotton wool, gems, and cellophane. To mark National Rose Day, the boarders successfully made strawberry roses... and ate them with a drizzle of chocolate! Continuing with sweet treats, the House 4 girls have made an array of yummy snacks, including waffles, chocolate twists, pancakes, and air fryer crumpet churros! Saturday evening saw the pizzeria re-open, this time with heart-shaped pizzas to mark World Heart Day. World Dream Day was also last week, so the House 4 girls made some wonderful dream-catchers to hang in their rooms!

Keswick girls have enjoyed kicking back and relaxing between studies, which means lots of doggy cuddles! The boarders made a collaborative effort to build a lego flower bouquet, which looks stunning!

Lawrence hosted a wonderful Mediterranean-themed afternoon tea, with citrus-flavoured snacks and tea with a dash of homegrown mint from Lawrence garden! Mindful Monday saw a new flavour of smoothie – avocado and oat – which the girls enjoyed over a relaxing chat with each other!

Pippa's Guardians hosted a social evening for their students, which involved some warm chocolate brownies, hot chocolates, and lots of silly games!

Miss Barnett

3rd XI Hockey vs Hurstpierpoint U18D

It was another beautiful, sunny Saturday for Hockey, and the first 3rd team match this season. The team was a mixture of year groups, ranging from Year 9 to Year 13. It was great to see them all gelling together as a team, even though most hadn’t played together before!

It was also a very even match against Hurst, so possession was quite equal between the teams. Hurst managed to get an early goal, they broke away from us and used their speed to get into our D with little pressure, and creep the ball past Michelle. We had been a bit slow to react to the break, so we needed to learn from this. We started putting more pressure on and marking more effectively. Defence were stopping them from getting into the D, and Liv was doing some lovely hard hits out from 16s

to get the ball down the pitch. We picked up the pace and managed to make a few really good breaks up the pitch, with Solari on the right sprinting with the ball, then passing the ball into the D, where Rida and Jemima were nicely positioned. We scored 3 good goals this way.

Jemima did a great job controlling the ball as left mid, playing the best I have seen her play. Lydia, as CM, was holding the middle well, reacting to the movement of the ball up and down the pitch, and linking attack and defence nicely, and there were some great turnovers from her too. Kayla was a force in defence, playing high and stopping anyone trying to break through – her ball control was impeccable, and she was controlled and patient with the ball, looking for the right option. Farwa and Aisling

(RB/LB) also put pressure on the widths, trying to stop anyone getting close to the D and Hurst didn’t really break through much at all. Faye and Almen were playing in positions they hadn’t really played before, but they didn’t make a fuss and managed to hold their positions well in midfield/forward. They did well closing down their players and putting pressure on the pass.

■ The final score was a well-deserved 3-1 win for Roedean.

■ Player of the Match – Michelle (GK)

Coach's Player – Solari, for her super-fast dribbling with the ball down the right side of the pitch, then passing the ball in round the back of the D

U14A Hockey Sussex Tier 2 Tournament

The U14A Tier 2 Sussex Hockey tournament at Bedes saw the team put in a series of impressive performances. Their day started with a 2-0 victory against Mayfield, followed by a hard-fought 1-0 win over Worth School. With these wins, they topped their group and advanced to face a strong Seaford side.

Despite a determined effort, the U14A team lost 3-1 to Seaford, though the final score didn't reflect how close the game truly was. With more time, they might have closed the gap even further. Bouncing back from this defeat, they secured a 2-0 win against Lancing, a result that qualified them for the next round.

Outstanding defensive performances came from Sophie, Ali, Honor, Sorcha, Katherine, and Matilda, who stood firm throughout. Yasmine and Eva controlled the midfield brilliantly, while Andrea made several key saves in goal. The team’s attack was spearheaded by Kayla and Erin, who scored crucial goals, with Maddie, Alex, and Bella also contributing as the forward line.

A huge congratulations to the whole team for their resilience and teamwork, and best of luck in the next round!

Miss Patching-Jones

Hockey vs Mayfield

U12B vs Mayfield U13D

We had a great match against Mayfield on Wednesday. It was a good match up between the teams, and, although we had the ball a lot in our attacking third (lots of chances to score), they were solid defensively. We managed to get the ball into their D about 20 times, but struggled to get the goal. We had a lot of short corners and finally scored a goal off one, with Wren tapping it in from the back post.

Defence did a great job: Kosi, Tabitha, and Cara are really getting the hang of going to the ball and trying to tackle, with one holding back to protect the D. Our attackers, Lara, Bethany, Wren, and Harrie, worked really well together –they were moving the ball quickly between them and doing some lovely hard passes into the D, giving us lots of chances near goal. The team is really gelling together and getting used to their positions, I can see the improvements week on week, and our main aim now is trying to score goals.

■ The final score was 1-0 to Roedean.

■ Player of the Match – Harrie

Coach’s Player – Tabitha (RB), for taking the free hits quickly and doing hard hits down the pitch and into our attacking half

Miss Patching-Jones

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

U13B

The U13B team continued their strong start to the season with a 5-0 win at Mayfield. After a lethargic start, Roedean began to take control and create pressure. This eventually led to an opening goal from Soraya, who lifted the ball over the goalkeeper, and was followed up with strikes from Indira and Valerie.

The second half saw Mayfield enjoy more possession, though strong defence from Cora, Hester, Sofia, and Amber managed to restrict them to just one short corner. Indira was outstanding throughout and scored a second, and Hester scored a fifth, playing in an unfamiliar centre forward position.

Mr Smethurst

Sporting stars of the Week

Congratulations to this week's sporting stars – they have all been named as our sporting stars for this because of their excellent commitment to sport at Roedean.