Head’s Introduction
This week started with Remembrance on Monday. We marked the very poignant Silence at 11:00 in the Front Quad, and it was lovely to see the CCF students there, standing to attention when the Trumpet sounded. Well done to Ellen, who played beautifully. Thank you also to Siyun and Ella for representing Roedean at the annual Rottingdean Remembrance Day Parade.
As well as Odd Socks Day on Tuesday, there have been a whole series of activities relating to Anti-Bullying Week in the Fireplace every day this week, run by the Prefects along with Miss Orrells. I am pleased that the school body has engaged with these, and I hope that everyone is able to think more deeply about bullying and its effects.
I am very happy to hear about the great success of the Early Spider Orchids project, which is being run by our Sustainability Prefects. This is part of a renewed focus at Roedean on how we can be more eco-friendly and sustainable, overseen by Mrs Pashley, and on 25 November some of our students will be able to take part in an online conference about what we can all do to help clean up our oceans. A group of Year 9 students also enjoyed their BIMA Digital Day earlier this week, when they gained valuable insights into the world of digital careers, and heard from experts in this field.
I am delighted that groups of students have taken part in conferences at other schools this week – one group took part in the Model United Nations, and another went to the Young Pastoral Leaders’ Conference. I am also pleased that, in the course of the next few weeks, Roedean is hosting a Maths Enrichment Day with other schools, and an ESU Debating Competition, and some of our students are taking part in a Public Speaking competition. These types of activities allow our students to collaborate and share ideas with others, and this builds their skills and widens their perspectives.
‘Break a leg’ to all those involved in Alice By Heart this evening. I am looking forward to seeing the show, and I feel very proud to know that it is completely studentled, and that so many students are taking part. I am sure we can all imagine the amount of work involved, and they have arranged rehearsals for those on stage, as well as covering all of the backstage and technical roles. I hope it goes well!
I wish you all a restful exeat weekend!
Odd Socks Day and Anti-Bullying Week
CCF at Remembrance
U14D
Hockey vs Brighton College
Roedean Staff Sleep Out for Off The Fence
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.
Siyun and Ella (Yr12) – for representing the School at the Rottingdean Remembrance parade on Sunday [Miss Smith and Mrs Arnall]
Unsung Staff hero in the spotlight
Mrs Allen – for a fascinating Academic Lecture on ‘The Acropolis to Abercombie: the legacy of ancient representations of the human form’. Thank you so much! [Ms Ibanez-Barcelo]
Roedean Staff Sleep Out for Off The Fence
Well done to Ms Holmes, Ms Sturgeon, and Mr Bullock, who took part in Off The Fence's 'Big Sleep-Out' last Friday night – if you would like to make a donation to acknowledge their endeavour and support the amazing work of the Hove-based homeless charity, Off The Fence, you can do so here: https://www. justgiving.com/page/roedeancharityy10
This week, we also received a lovely letter of thanks from Reverend Julio Abraham, the CEO of Off The Fence:
'I am writing to express my deepest thanks for the incredible support Roedean School has consistently shown to Off The Fence. It has been a huge privilege to build and strengthen the links between Roedean and our organisation, and I am particularly grateful for the outstanding contributions your school continues to make year after year.
Why not send a Christmas Candy Cane to someone special? The Prefects will deliver candy canes on the last Tuesday of term, and it will be the perfect time to spread some love and Christmas cheer.
The candy canes cost £1.50, and you can add a message for an additional 50 pence.
If you are a student, please use this link: If you are a parent, please use this link:
The involvement of your Year 10 students, who so enthusiastically engage with our initiatives, is a true testament to the ethos of your school. I am especially heartened by Roedean’s commitment to supporting our Big Sleep Out both in June at the School and in November at St Peter's – the generous offer of 200 meals for the fundraiser was well-received and appreciated. This remarkable gesture is a shining example of Roedean stepping up to address critical issues like homelessness, and it has been both deeply appreciated.
I am so grateful for Roedean’s dedication to social justice and community well-being. Your ongoing partnership is invaluable to us at Off The Fence, and I look forward to continuing to work together to support those most in need.'
Well done and thank you to everyone who has been involved in this important partnership!
Dr Barrand
Photo: Lucy (Yr12)
Odd Socks Day and AntiBullying Week Model United Nations for Roedean
Roedean has marked Anti-Bullying Week in a whole variety of ways. On Tuesday, students and staff sported odd socks, and there have been activities run by the Prefects in the Fireplace each day. These included writing definitions of 'respect', and messages of kindness to each other.
Thank you, and well done for engaging so enthusiastically with the activities!
Miss Orrells
On Saturday 9 November, Roedean students attended a Model United Nations Conference at the Royal Grammar School in Guildford. Delegates from over twenty schools met to engage in a full day of discussion and negotiation, simulating the important work of the United Nations.
Salient topics, including crypto-currency regulation, reducing single-use plastics, and
widening access to education, were all debated in various committees. The standard of rhetoric was matched by the impressive thoroughness of research undertaken to prepare for the day.
Well done to Suraya, Race, Maria, Rukhshona, Rachel, Solari, Audrey, Olivia, and Alicia for being such fantastic delegates.
Mr Marchant
Year 13 Pizza and Painting
Year 13 had a post-assessment social of ‘Pizza & Painting’ in Horizons on the afternoon of Friday 8 November. There was painting by numbers, mindful colouring, cards, and board games. A perfect way to decompress!
Ms Sturgeon
Success at Roedean for Early Spider Orchids!
'This year, our School is thrilled to be part of an exciting conservation project! In May, we began establishing a new population of Early Spider Orchids (Ophrys sphegodes) on our grounds, thanks to the rare opportunity to source six seed-raised plants of this endangered native orchid. Typically, found in only a few locations along the south coast, the Early Spider Orchid is nationally endangered and grows in very small numbers.
Protecting endangered species like the Early Spider Orchid is vital. These plants play unique roles in their ecosystems, contributing to the health and diversity of local habitats. Every species lost has negative effects, impacting pollinators, soil health, and the intricate balance of ecosystems.
This month, we celebrated the successful growth of four of our orchids! While some seeds haven’t sprouted yet, this may be due to factors such as dormancy or the seeds being sown upside down.
We are excited to contribute to biodiversity and support conservation efforts here at the School!'
Poster Competition for the New Science Rooms
As we are waiting eagerly for our new Science rooms to open, we are already thinking about decoration, and we would love for our students' work to be displayed! The best posters will make it onto our walls and will win prizes.
Your poster can be on any scientific theme, it can even be on safety in a lab, or revision techniques for a particular topic... anything science-related will be considered! So get your pencils, brushes, laptops, and cameras ready, and submit your entry before the end of this term.
Martha (Yr13)
Mrs Andrew
Young Pastoral Leaders Conference at Seaford College
Six of our Pastoral Leaders, Galina (Head of School), Liv (Pastoral Prefect & Peer Listener), Gabi (Middle School Prefect & Peer Listener), Mancy (Boarding Prefect & Peer Listener), Ingrid (Charity Prefect & Peer Listener), and Eva (Academic Prefect & Study Buddy), attended a conference at Seaford College for Young Pastoral Leaders.
We heard from students from other schools about their pastoral leadership programmes, and our students did an amazing job talking about what we do at Roedean with our Peer Listeners, Big Sisters, Study Buddies, and Pastoral and Boarding Prefects. There were a range of activities which enabled the students to network, learn from each other, and share good practice.
It was lovely to have so many teachers from other schools approach us to find out more about what we do at Roedean, and to hear such positive feedback. We would like to thank Seaford College for organising this event and for being such welcoming hosts.
Ms Sturgeon
Kenzie's Installation
At the end of last half-term, Kenzie (Yr13) invited students and staff to engage with her installation in the Art Studio.
She presented a piece of painted fabric, held up with threads, and individuals were directed to cut a thread of their choice. The process was recorded, and Kenzie was about to explore how different versions of a scene can be presented and revealed by the viewers when interacting with the piece.
Through this, she was working with the concept of how subtraction can lead to an addition of perspective, by inviting the audience to cut off any thread holding the fabric pieces and letting sections fall.
As the front pieces of coral reefs and nature fall down, the architectural parts behind are slowly revealed creating a new scene with each cut.
Thank you to everyone who engaged with the piece.
Dr Barrand
DofE Photography
The students pursuing Photography for the Skills section of their Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh Awards have excelled with their outcomes for this week’s theme, which is 'shadows'.
Each student's interpretation is unique, using either natural or artificial light creatively. They have captured impressive contrasts and intriguing shapes which highlight technical skill and artistic flair. Through this exploration, they are honing their ability to observe and capture the world around them, developing a deeper appreciation for the art of photography, while adding to their DofE achievements. Well done!
Alexander
Mrs
Teatime Recital
On Tuesday, eight wonderful musicians from Years 8 to 13 performed at our most recent Teatime Recital. It was lovely to hear a range of instruments played, including the Lever Harp, Trombone, and Double Bass, and these players performed very well:
■ Claire (Yr11) – Cantabile by Enesco – Flute
■ Charlotte (Yr8) – Prelude in B flat by Concone – Lever Harp
■ Beatrice (Yr8) – Le Coucou by Daquin – Piano
■ Ellen (Yr10) – Polonaise de Concert by Wieniawski – Violin
■ Galina (Yr13) – Hommage a Manuel de Falla by Kovacs –Clarinet
■ Sofia (Yr10) – Comedy Tonight by Sondheim – Trombone
■ Meghan (Yr11) – June by Quilter – Voice
■ Zyta (Yr11) – Andante from Sonata No.2 by Misek –Double Bass
■ Ellen (Yr10) – Etude No.2 by Sibelius – Piano
Well done to everyone who performed so well, but particular congratulations go to Galina, who demonstrated complete command of the Clarinet with her piece which captured Spanish themes brilliantly, and to Ellen, who presented the audience with fireworks in her outstanding virtuosic performance of a highly technical and flamboyant piece on Violin.
Well done!
Tabitha Wins Badminton Tournament!
Tabitha in Year 7 has been playing Badminton for a long time. She has been in the Sussex squad for two years, and has been representing them throughout this time.
Her two most recent successes are that her team beat Essex last weekend, where Tabitha won all of her matches (doubles, singles, and mixed doubles). Her U12 team also won the invitational tournament a few weeks ago, where Tabitha also won all of her matches.
Well done – and long may this winning streak continue!
Miss Bamford
Dr Barrand
This week in Boarding…
This week, House 2 have made some refreshing Tanghulu for a tasty midweek snack! The girls also enjoyed a hilarious game of telestrations, with lots of funny drawings!
House 3 celebrated National Nacho Day with some cheesy nachos and salsa! The girls marked the Diwali festival of light by painting glass jars to turn them into colourful lanterns with battery powered tea lights. The boarders baked cornflake tart and jam rolypoly for British Pudding Day, and both were devoured with a warm serving of custard – without question the best companion for pudding!
House 4 have been busy baking this week, from bread and pizza, to scones with cream and jam, and even vanilla cupcakes for National Vanilla Cupcake Day! The girls marked World Kindness Day by writing kindness postcards to other members of the House. They all woke up to a kind message to motivate them for the day ahead!
Keswick has been a hive of study this week, with Year 12 & Year 13 assessments taking place. The girls have found time for a break with activities such as homemade cookies, bingo, and mindful colouring.
Lawrence are getting ready for the incoming Winter weather, with their Roedean beanies!
All the Houses have marked Remembrance Day in various ways, including House 3 creating a window display, House 4 decorating cupcakes with poppies made of icing, and Lawrence held a 1940s-themed afternoon tea, complete with rations!
2nd XI Hockey vs Mayfield
This match was a closely contested one, and both teams were similarly matched, so it could have gone either way. Mayfield got an early goal, because we were floating off our players and gave them too much space, so it was forward versus goalie with no opposition – it was an easy chance to score, which they did. We looked a bit rusty after half-term, so now had to switch on. Our defenders started marking more tightly (Mbali, Jasmine, Mollie, Tiah, Izzy) and closing down space to limit those balls getting into the D, and the attackers had woken up too.
The attacking play started to flow better, and we were finding chances to get the ball through and into their D. Aimee got an early chance, one on one with the goalkeeper, but she unfortunately missed – we knew it wouldn’t be long before she found the back of the net. Bea, Saffron, and Alicia in midfield were making some lovely balls through the defence, and getting it through to our forwards, Alice, Aimee, and Molly. Aimee capitalised on her next chance, and blasted the ball in with a hit, scoring an amazing goal
to bring us level. The play in the second half of the first quarter was much better, and we were dominating, but it could just take a sneaky turnover to put us on the backfoot again.
Mayfield scored another goal early in the second half, similar to their first, with an easy shot at goal. We started to fight back though, and a long ball from Mbali at the back into the C, then offloaded to Alicia on the right who made the perfect pass into the D, and the next goal was scored. It was now level. We had a few more chances at goal and managed to keep Mayfield mainly in our attacking half, however they did get a few balls through us and were looking
dangerous, but Cindy in goal made some epic saves, and the defence were clearing the ball out of the danger zone.
The match finished 2-2, which was a fair result against a solid opponent.
■ Player of the Match – Bea
■ Coach's Player – Mbali, for sending great long balls from the back to get the ball high up the pitch, and for her physical defending in the D.
Mrs Patching-Jones
U14D Hockey vs Brighton College
On Saturday, the brilliant U14D team played their last match of the season against Brighton College. After a hefty loss in our last match against Hurst, the team were ready to show off all their improvements, dedication, and the time they had applied to their training sessions.
In the first few seconds Brighton College scored, which hit hard but motivated everyone to keep their heads up and fight back. In the second quarter, our attacking play managed to outplay the BC defence, and we scored a fantastic goal. Unfortunately, BC managed to score another two goals, very quickly.
Brighton didn’t have enough players for the match, so we offered to lend two players each quarter. The girls really showed how mature they were, subbing for the BC team, and their team manager was very grateful and impressed with them all.
At the end of the match, the score was 1-3 to Brighton College. In the second half, neither side scored, which was down to the defensive wall we set up. Well done to everyone who played, and thank you to the parents for coming down and supporting. See you all next season!
Miss Walsh
Remembrance at Roedean
Following last week's Remembrance services in Chapel, at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, 106 years after the end of World War I, the School marked Remembrance on Monday, Roedean fell silent.
'When you go home
Tell them of us and say, For your tomorrow We gave our today.'
Kohima Epitaph
Members of Roedean's newlyformed CCF contingent were present in the Front Quad, while Ellen (Yr12) played the Last Post and the Rouse, and Noelle Chase and Mrs Green laid wreaths as representatives of the ORA and the School. Siyun and Ella also represented Roedean at the Rottingdean War Memorial on Sunday.
'They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them.'
Binyon – 'For the Fallen'
Sporting Stars Since Half-Term
Year 7
Maisie, for superb progress in Netball and Hockey, and Sara, for superb progress in Netball
Year 8
Anna, for excellent progress and performances in Hockey, and Lily, for fantastic effort and attitude in PE
Year 9
Andrea, for fantastic progress and a great attitude in Hockey, and Sofiia, for great progress as a Goal Keeper in Hockey
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
Year 10
Bella, for incredibly consistent performances in Hockey, and Faye, for all-round excellent progress in Sport Science and Badminton
Year 11
Kitty, for her excellent performance in an Equestrian competition and qualifying for the finals, and Jasmine, for excellent performances and effort in Hockey
Year 12
Finya, for fantastic performances in Swimming, and Lydia, for an excellent attitude and progress in Hockey
Year 13
Elodie, for commitment and leadership in Hockey
Congratulations to the sporting stars of the last two weeks.
Well done!
Mr Campleman