House Dance at the end of last week was a wonderful showcase of different dance styles, and remarkable energy and House spirit. It was clear that the performers were having a great time, and the packed audience cheered them on with gusto. Every House had real strengths, but House 2 was a worthy overall winner – well done to everyone involved.
I am delighted that there have been two events this week focusing on oracy. I understand that Monday’s Debating Competition, which we hosted, was both exciting and an excellent learning opportunity. On the next day, our students also took part in a Public Speaking competition, and I am incredibly proud of Nathania, Audrey, and Gabriella, who won the competition – congratulations! We have also just received news that no fewer than five Roedean students were winners in the Poésiae poetry recitation competition – 250 schools from around the world take part, and Hannah, Lucy, Lydia, Maisa, and Thea all won their categories – well done!
On Monday, it was our great pleasure to welcome our Sports Ambassador, Olympian Helen Richardson-Walsh, back to Roedean. She ran sessions on the Astro with prospective students, really focusing on specific skills and building confidence on the pitch. Helen also gave a talk to our Sports Scholars, where she focused on the importance of training and conditioning. Everyone involved had a brilliant day, and I hope that it was a positive experience for them all.
I am looking forward to this evening’s Dreams and Nightmares gala concert – there are over 100 musicians performing, and the programme sounds very exciting! The concert is the prelude to two very busy last weeks of term. Next week, the Prefects are running Roedean’s Got Talent on Tuesday, and next Saturday will see our charity fundraising extravaganza, the Roedean Christmas Fair. It is a lovely day, and one which is so worthwhile – hopefully, along with the Parents' Guild, we will raise lots of funds for our school charities.
I wish you all a restful weekend, as we move into December!
Helen Richardson-Walsh Joins Roedean for Hockey Experience
Roedean Success in Spoken Word Competitions
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.
Natalie and Constance (Yr11) – for a fascinating Academic Lecture on 'Investigating Fraud: The Role of Chromatography and Chemical Testing in Detection’, which was delivered with real gusto and a great sense of humour! [Ms ibanez Barcelo]
Liv (Yr13), and Rhea and Freya (Yr11) – for sharing their reflections on the echoes of impact in Chapel this week [Dr Black]
Lilia (Yr11) – for playing Syrinx, by Debussy, in Chapel – her stunning unaccompanied playing was all the more evocative because she was up in the Organ Loft, and the sound flowed down over the congregation [Dr Barrand]
Cindy and Dixie (Yr8) – for creative planning to spend as much time with Chantelle before she leaves at Christmas to move to Australia [Miss Bamford]
English Department’s Students of the Month
This month, the department has seen students flourishing as they engage with poetry and the depiction of villains in Shakespeare's plays. Skills of analysis have been fine-tuned, to explore the many ways in which a writer can make their audience feel, alongside exploring how issues as wideranging as poverty, status, childhood, and war are presented.
Of the many students who have continued to excel this term, those who have been nominated have shown exceptional achievement in one or more of the following: their spoken language skills, when performing a monologue; the standard of analysis of texts studied; artistic interpretation of 'Macbeth'; and watching 'Othello' in performance as part of their independent exploration of the play.
Well done!
Ms Shahab
MFL Poetry Competition Winners
The Poésíae Poetry Competition is an annual event, with over 250 schools from around the world taking part. Roedean students therefore deserve huge congratulations for their success in this prestigious competition! Their brilliant performances and inventive videos brought poetry to life in such inspiring ways.
We are incredibly proud of their oracy skills and self-confidence, which shone through their performances. Special mention goes to our Global 2024 Winners: Lucy (Yr12) and Hannah (Yr13) for winning the French competition; Maisa (Yr8) and Lydia (Yr12) for winning the Spanish competition; and Thea (Yr7) for winning the English as a Foreign Language competition.
These fantastic achievements highlight the love of foreign languages within our school. Well done to all!
Mr Sampieri
MFL Linguist of the Half-Term
The MFL Department is proud to announce their Linguists of the Half-Term! These students have demonstrated exceptional dedication, progress, and enthusiasm in languages throughout the first half of the Autumn term. Congratulations to the following students:
Year 7
■ French – Deema, Kosi, and Chloe
■ Spanish – Kosi, Nkem, and Lexi
Year 8
■ French – Alexa, Lily, Stella, and Betsy
■ Spanish – Charlotte, Cynthia, Elianna, and Ottilie
Year 9
■ French – Rotimi, Charisse, Gladys, Sophie, and Beth
■ German – Dayspring, and Joy
■ Spanish – Janice, Isla, Livvy, Cheryl, and Andrea
The atmosphere was pure electric as Roedean students, adorned with House colours and chanting House songs, filtered into the Theatre in support of their fellow housemates. The excitement was tangible, anticipating performances from each House. House Dance truly is a spectacle, and this year’s performances did not disappoint!
'My heart's thumping – best House Dance ever!'
Mrs Green
In this year’s House Dance, each House had to choose a country or region of the world and portray it through dance. The entries and results are as follows:
House 1 chose American dance as their theme (this was a popular choice) and showcased Street Dance – this won them the category of 'Best stage presence'.
House 2 chose Korean dance, and danced a range of dance styles from traditional to modern K-pop (- the crowd went wild and joined in with Gangnam Style) – this won them the category 'Best creative dance'.
'My voice is disappearing – I’ve been singing and cheering so hard!'
Scarlett
'My jaw’s aching from smiling so much!' Lara
House 3 chose American dance and showcased line-dancing and cheerleading – this won them the category 'Best representation of a country'.
House 4 chose South America and showcased Latin dance – this won them 'Best choreography'.
Summing up the judging, Mrs Green said that it was 'so very hard to choose', but the overall winner was House 2.
Performances were so good that an ensemble piece containing elements from each House performance will be performed at this year’s Speech Day – what a treat!
Thank you to Mrs Green, Ms Abaza, and Mrs Stidston for judging this incredible event!
Finn
Mrs
Roedean Success in Spoken Word Competitions
On 25 and 26 November, three groups of students represented Roedean in the local heats of the English Speaking Union’s Mace Debating Competition and Public Speaking Competition.
The students spoke with real flair and poise, on topics as wide-ranging as proposing a four-day school week, to poverty and how we respond to calls for charity, to the politicisation of social media. All students showed fantastic team work, and spoke with passion and conviction. Well done to Suraya (Yr13), Maria (Yr12), and Solari (Yr13) for their incisive debating skills, and to Lennie, Rhea, and Freya (Yr11) for their brilliant speeches and questions.
'The ESU competition provided me with the opportunity to debate topical concerns with like-minded students. I also observed the drama of debating environments as well as competing with a great team from Lancing. Thank you to Ms Shahab for this experience, and I look forward to seeing Roedean take part in more competitions!'
Suraya
'I really enjoyed the whole process from preparing for practice debates to delivering the speech in the actual competition. It allowed me to explore my potential and I have gained so much from it.'
Maria
Huge congratulations also to Gabriella (Yr10), Nathania (Yr11), and Audrey (Yr11), who won the first round of the public speaking competition! We look forward to entering students for the next set of competitions, which are the International Competition for Young Debaters, and Oxford Schools Public Speaking Competition. Any students interested in any of these competitions should get in touch with me before the Christmas holidays!
Ms Shahab
Making Robots in DofE Coding
The Year 9 and 10 Coding group for DofE had a go at building their own robots this week – they had a great time, and really enjoyed the practical application of what they have learnt so far. Well done!
Mr Roche
Brighton Rock Trip for Year 13
On Friday of last week, a group of Year 13 English Literature students left School to tour the key locations of Graham Greene’s ‘Brighton Rock’, which they study for their Elements of Crime Fiction A Level component.
We began in the Seven Dials area, used by Greene as a symbol of how the Regency façade of Brighton has always concealed a murky hinterland of organised crime. We walked through the North Laine to Hanover, the site of the half-finished 1930s slum clearances (interrupted by World War II), and the location of the demolished streets where Pinkie and Rose grew up in violence, poverty, and repression. We then headed to the pier, where Hale’s kidnapping occurred, and where Pinkie desperately tried to secure a false alibi. From there, we went to the Museum and up to the Racecourse, then down the steep hill into Whitehawk, mirroring Pinkie’s escape from Colleoni’s men. We ended the trip on Ovingdean beach, probable site of the novel’s thrilling dénouement.
The students have seen that Roedean occurs twice in the novel – both times, it is used to illustrate the class divide in Brighton and the kind of aspiration unavailable to some of the novel’s characters. They enjoyed riding the Ghost Train, practising their aim on tin cans, and eating the eponymous confectionery item!
Mr Woodhouse
Year 7
Climbing Adventure!
As part of their Wild Fridays programme, some of our Year 7s had the exciting opportunity to try a new activity –climbing! This was the first time climbing has been included, and the students had an amazing time scaling the walls and embracing the challenge!
Helen Richardson-Walsh Joins Roedean for Hockey Experience
Former GB Olympian and Roedean Sports Ambassador, Helen Richardson-Walsh, visited Roedean this week for our annual Hockey Experience Day!
The event brought together enthusiastic young local hockey players, who enjoyed honing their skills and gaining insights from Helen and our expert team. The day culminated in a motivational talk with Helen sharing her Olympic journey and proudly showcasing her medals, leaving the young athletes inspired.
During her visit, Helen met with our Sports Scholars to discuss their current focus at
Roedean, and strength and conditioning. She provided valuable advice about life as an elite athlete, offering a glimpse into what is required to compete at the Olympic level.
This connection with a worldclass athlete is invaluable for our students, inspiring them to aim for excellence and showing them what is possible through hard work and determination. It was a privilege to host Helen, and share such a memorable experience with our students and young local hockey players.
Chapel – The Echoes of Impact
Dr Black: Today I would like to address the idea of long-term impact, the ripple effects that follow a single act or event. From a scientific perspective, the definition of the word ‘impact’ is: ‘where one object comes forcibly into contact with another’: a short, sharp, one-off event. Sometimes these impacts are predictable and measurable, sometimes they are unpredictable and chaotic, intended or unintended. As humans our lives are full of impacts both felt and delivered – think of a snooker table and the opening break – the cue hits the white ball short and sharp - a predictable effect – the white ball heads off in a straight line. The white ball then hits the triangle of reds – again short and sharp – but they go all over the place, unpredictably, no two breaks are ever the same. Sometimes you will be the white ball, having a predictable, desired impact, sometimes the red ball, and sometimes you will be one of the colours rudely slammed into by a red ball, blissfully unaware that there was ever even a white ball involved.
As a historian, I spend lots of time asking my students to reflect on the longer-term impacts of past events, to consider the consequences and reverberations that key moments in history have had. History is a web of stories generated by millions of impactful events across time. Some planned and expected, some unintended. Think of the Battle of Hastings which took place just 40 miles from here, how would Britain have been different if the Normans had stayed at home, or if they had lost, or if there had been a storm and they sank crossing the channel – arguably we wouldn’t be eating ‘beef’ but rather ‘cow meat’ - an echo of the Norman invasion. Or, thinking about more recent global history, tomorrow/today marks the 77th anniversary of the United Nation resolution for the partition of Palestine. The reverberations of this – the 1948 Arab Israeli War, the 1956 Suez Crisis, the Six Day War in 1967, the Yom Kippur War, Lebanon War, the first and second Intifada, and of course the tragic conflict that is going on in Gaza today and all of the lives affected there, are in some small way, an echo of that impactful UN decision in 1947.
Our world is full of impact, big and small. For us as individuals, sometimes we can see the impact we make, sometimes we can plan and choose the impact we want to have, work on it, invest in it – be it as that performer, that inventor, that charity worker or that entrepreneur, to make a difference to those around us and in the future. However, sometimes we do not live to see the effects of decisions we make today and that is for future generations to record.
Liv: Over the last few months, it has become increasingly obvious to me that the decisions I make now are likely to have a considerable, long-lasting effect on my life. Making decisions about university courses and career paths will influence the friends that I meet, the places I go and the skills that I pick up. Making way for a variety experiences, all of which are determined by the decisions and actions that I am making now. There are multiple doors that I could walk through, each leading me to various outcomes and impactful moments. I will never know for sure whether the turns I take in life are the correct ones, however I take comfort in knowing that these moments are what ultimately shape me into the person that I need to be and put me in the places where I am needed.
Rhea: I am the people that I surround myself with. Even what may seem as the most insignificant things can cause shifts in the habits and perspectives of those around you in a way that is long lasting and impactful. Here is an example: my friend is deaf in her right ear, so I've always tried to walk on her left side. Over time, it’s become a habit, and now I instinctively walk on everyone’s left side without even thinking about it. Each small change others inspire in us might seem negligible at first, but they build up to make us who we are. My friends and I may not know each other 10 years from now, but I still carry with me their influence that quietly stays in my memory, reminding me of the people who watched me grow in some of my most formative years. Something as small as always being on someone's left side may not seem life-changing, but these habits reflect the important people who have shaped me into the person I've become.
Roedean Merchandise Shop
Are you stuck for Christmas gift ideas?
We have a fantastic range of Roedean merchandise available at https://community.roedean.co.uk/shop/
The range includes everything from stocking fillers, such as keyrings, scrunchies, and bookmarks, to larger gifts, such as the new Roedean X Chilly’s water bottle, 125th anniversary umbrella, and our latest additions, personalised blankets and pyjama bottoms.
Most items can be delivered anywhere in the world, and we also offer a free ‘Click and Collect’ service from the School.
On Saturday 7 December, we will have a merchandise stall at the Christmas Fair –this could be the perfect opportunity to buy some lastminute gifts and get in the Christmas spirit!
Freya: For me, recording a story can amplify the impact of an action or an experience, allowing stories to be shared, so they can affect others in the long term. For example, when I was 8 years old, I took a trip travelling around the world with my parents for one year. I had just arrived in India when I met a man working in a café, who gave me the advice that I should keep a journal, recording my experiences for the future. I then tried to remember as much as I could and began writing every day. Now, I have a journal that records all of my earlier experiences in detail. This has had a profound impact on me and in the future, I aim to show this to any children or grandchildren, extending its impact to future generations. Another significant example of the impact of recording experiences is the novel ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ by Viktor Frankl, which I’ve recently read. Frankl describes his experiences as a holocaust survivor and his theory of separating your mentality from your experiences. His strength and determination have changed the lives of many and I encourage you all to have a read. Overall, if an action is recorded, it can allow others to understand your experience and have a profound long-lasting impact on the reader.
We are now going to hear Lilia play a piece called Syrinx, by Debussy, which was written in 1913 and went on to have a huge impact on the modern flute solo repertoire, and was written to be played off-stage. The story behind this is one of unintended consequences – as the Greek nymph Syrinx disguised herself as a water reed to escape the attentions of Pan, who then unknowingly cut these same reeds to make his musical pan pipes which destroyed her – a tragic unintended impact.
We may never know the long-term impact or significance of the things we do or say; the kind word that unexpectedly restores hope, the cruel word that haunts someone for years, the encouraging word that spawns success or the demoralising insult that made someone give up. So, as far as you can, choose your impact, by knowing that any interaction may be longlasting for those whose lives you are touching.
This week in Boarding…
As the cold snap hit the South coast, we were greeted with lovely scenes of a snowy Roedean... although it didn't stick around for long, it certainly is feeling a lot more festive!
House 1 had a very relaxing end to the exciting week, with an evening of mindful colouring, although they do have a bias to the colour green! Stormy weather meant a cosy movie night in, accompanied by some tasty popcorn!
Motivational Monday was spent playing card games related to influential women. The warm scent of freshly baked goods spread through House 1, as the girls got busy baking delicious brownies. It's safe to say they didn't last long!
House 2 indulged in some homemade cinnamon buns, which also added a lovely seasonal smell to the entire house! The girls have enjoyed making a variety of crafts to decorate their rooms, decorate the House, and for gifts for friends and family. A crisp tasting challenge brought out the competitive side of boarders, as they tried to guess weird and wonderful flavoured crisps, including pigs in blanket, katsu curry, and jerk sauce! To celebrate House 2 winning the House Dance competition, Mrs Burns baked a couple of her famous chocolate cakes, House 2-themed, of course, for the girls to enjoy – well done! As Christmas is just around the corner, the girls also made some Tanghulu with a Christmas twist!
House 3 hosted a Harry Potter evening, complete with a quiz, movie, and themed snacks, including sorting hat cupcakes and chocolate wands! Boarders had fun painting onto pebbles collected from a local beach. There was lots of creativity, as the girls painted different characters and wintery scenes! To get into the festive spirit, House 3 have been busy putting up their Christmas tree, baking festive foods, and making Christmas crafts. The boarders enjoyed making, and eating, pineapple smoothie bowls – a healthy midweek snack!
House 4 have been all about Christmas this week, and have decorated their wonderful tree and ODR with House colours. Girls have handmade clay decorations, with names of loved ones and family, to personalise the tree. These can then be gifted when the girls go home at the holidays. The famous House 4 pancake night came with a Christmas twist, making pancakes with themed cookie cutters to create Rudolph and Santa's sleigh. Some even created snowmen with the classic pancakes, topped with Christmas sprinkles!
Lawrence had a visit from Pippa's Guardians, and came together to enjoy non-alcoholic mulled wine and minced pies – the perfect festive treat! As a nod to November, there was an afternoon tea inspired by chrysanthemums, the flower of November. The girls got inventive, creating handmade jewellery using seashells! These beautiful items will be available at the Christmas Fair, and would make a lovely gift for friends or family this festive season.
Miss Barnett
Hocknet for Netball
'Our team competed in the Hocknet competition, playing four matches in total. We scored 8 goals in one game and 6 goals in another, showing solid offensive play. Throughout the tournament, Chloe and Sara were our top scorers, with fantastic shots throughout the afternoon. Maise, who was playing GK, made some key saves and strong defensive plays that helped keep us in control.
Overall, we did really well, showing strong teamwork and effort throughout the tournament. Great job to everyone!'
Nkem – the Year 7 Captain for the day
'The team played very well, facing an A team opponent. One of the things we were strong at was communication and passing. This was key, as many of us had never played Netball together before. We were also quick on the ball and pre-scanning the court, so we could speed up the flow and get the ball to goal. We struggled a bit with getting in front of our players. By match three, we showed great teamwork and determination to do well.'
Amber – the Year 8 Captain for the day
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
Sporting Stars of the Fortnight
Congratulations to the sporting stars of the last two weeks:
Well done!
Year 7
Holly and Nkem, for fantastic progress and effort in Hockey
Year 8
Gracie, for excellent progress and a great attitude in PE lessons, and Charlotte, for fantastic progress and performance as a Hockey goal- keeper
Year 9
Bella, for working tirelessly in Hockey, and Lili, for displaying excellent effort in Hockey
Year 10
Natalie, for excellent performances in Badminton this term, and Evelyn, for excellent attitude and diligence coming back to full fitness
Year 11
Bea, for fantastic progress and performances in Hockey, and Bella, for her outstanding achievement getting into the TA Hockey squad
Year 12
Elisa, for displaying an excellent performance in a Volleyball match, and Selina, for her outstanding effort in Cross-Fit sessions for Games
Year 13
Yuki, for her brilliant play in the Volleyball match, and Milla, for her exemplary commitment to Cross-Fit during Games
