28th April 2017 - Issue 1
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Maria’s going to the National Karate Championships Again
At the start of the Easter holidays, Maria P (Yr12) competed in the regional championships, hoping to qualify for the national championships, so that she can represent Romania again. She performed excellently, winning two categories, and coming second in two others:
Roedean at the Goodwood Motor Circuit The day before term started, on Sunday 23 April, Roedean Physics Department went to the Goodwood motor circuit in Chichester to test drive our F24 electric car. This was the first official test drive, and it was important for us to be able to evaluate how it went before the race event on 25 June. After months of hard work assembling the car, we were very pleased that it passed the official scrutineering with only minor changes required. We were then able to drive the car around the full 2.5 miles of the classic Goodwood motor circuit, along with about thirty other cars from local schools. Our intrepid drivers, Miranda L and Catherine C (Yr13) successfully drove the car around the circuit, maneuvering with great skill amongst the other cars and driving safely back into the pits.
Head’s Introduction
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Winner – Individual Kumite Junior Women
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Winner – Team Kata Youth Women
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2nd place – Individual Kata Junior Women
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2nd place – Individual Fukugo Junior Women
Her success means that she will compete at the National Championships in May, to be part of Romanian national team, and thereafter hopefully compete in the European Championships in the autumn. This is just another step in her journey to fulfil her dream of competing at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo – congratulations to Maria on this fantastic achievement!
Welcome back after the Easter holidays – I hope that you all had wonderful break. The school is looking glorious as we move towards the summer; I would like to thank the Grounds team, led by Ali Polowski, for the immaculate lawns and planting, and I must say that seeing the pitches marked out with an athletics track really is the start of the summer for me. While those with public examinations spent a large part of the holidays revising, there were also a number of trips and activities over Easter. During the first week, the Modern Languages Department took girls to Nice on the French Riviera, and to Seville in Spain, and they all loved the chance to immerse themselves in the language and culture of the two countries. At the same time, we ran a revision week for GCSE students at Roedean, and those who attended enjoyed the focus on exam technique
There were a number of significant mechanical challenges to overcome during the day, such as the drive chain repeatedly falling off due to a tiny misalignment of the cogs. The whole team worked together brilliantly to solve these problems, and we were extremely pleased to complete several full circuits. We learned a great deal from this experience, and now have a large list of tasks to complete before the main race event, such as installing a new electric motor, looking into improving the gear ratio to increase car speed, as well as obtaining communication devices to allow the drivers to talk to the pit team. We are all looking forward to race event in June, and it promises to be a fantastic day. JHI
and consolidating their knowledge. I was also delighted to hear how well Roedean’s F24 car performed in testing at Goodwood last weekend – I am sure that it was great for the girls to see all their hard work come together as the car they built sped around the famous motor circuit. Well done too to the three members of staff who ran in the Brighton Marathon – Mr Orys, Mrs Robins, and Mr Reid competed on a very hot day, and they deserve our congratulations. This term is very short, with only four weeks left until half-term already, but there will be a great deal going on. The public examinations have begun, with GCSE speaking exams yesterday and today, and we are also expecting over 100 families at Open Day this Monday on the Bank Holiday. I wish you all well for a wonderful term, and particularly to those taking GCSE, AS, and A Level examinations – good luck!
28th April 2017 - Issue 1
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW 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.
Isabel de J and Serena C (Yr8) for handing in a lost purse at Horizons [SEL]
Jodie H (Yr12) for achieving a remarkable grade in her recent Psychopathology assessment – what a star! [JRO]
Isabella M (Yr13) for working with such tenacity, despite all her other commitments and responsibilities, to pass her Grade 8 piano [AWH]
Pippa W (Yr10) for exceptional commitment to her independent studies; this has had a remarkable effect on her proficiency in Spanish [AK]
Mr Burlinson for his patient and positive support [JCO & the Admissions team]
Esmee E, Jade M, Fran S and Jess R (Yr12) for working so brilliantly with the Year 7 girls to prepare their Open Day song [RB]
Mr Blond and Roedean in the Good Schools’ Guide Every so often, the Good Schools’ Guide publishes an article entitled ‘Head to Head’, in which the experiences of two Heads are compared. Mr Blond is one of the two Heads in the most recent article, which asks the questions ‘What’s it like running a leading UK school in which you’re the opposite gender to your charges?’ Helen Pike, the Head of Magdalen College School, Oxford, describes her experiences in a boys’ school, and Mr Blond talked about being our Headmaster in his interview, and this is what he said: ‘I’m not the first male head of Roedean. That was John Hunt, who led the school from 19711984, and when he came into post, he made front page news because it was seen as such a big deal. By the time I became the second male Head, a lot of the old girls had already been educated with a man at the helm, so nobody really batted an eyelid. I like to think that another reason my gender hasn’t been seen as a hot topic is because what’s more important to the girls and staff is whether I can do a good job and take the school further. I think a match of ethos and approach is so much more important than gender. There was certainly no shortage of directness when I became the first male head of Henrietta Barnett School, which is where I worked before coming here. I can remember old girls shaking my hand and saying, ‘It’s such a shame they had to promote a man, don’t you agree?’ They said it so graciously that I felt I had no choice but to nod. But while I genuinely can’t see any downsides to being a male Head of a girls’ school, I do think role models are incredibly important, especially for people thinking about their future lives and careers. And I don’t know
whether it’s true, but I feel like saying that’s particularly the case for girls. Because there isn’t equality in every workplace and sexist attitudes do still exist, I think we do need to make sure our school is full of female role models – everywhere from the teaching staff to governing body to outside speakers. It can’t just be about a male Head standing on stage. Personally, I love working in an all-girls’ school environment. They are incredibly empowering and enabling places, in my opinion, because they are dynamic, friendly, engaging, and tolerant communities, with very little need for rules. Everything seems to be achieved through inspiration and discussion. I don’t have experience of working in an all-boys’ school, but I did go to one (which I didn’t always enjoy) and I have worked in co-ed schools. There, I think the ethos is quite different, because boys benefit from more scaffolding and clearer structures than girls. Obviously, this is all generic because not all boys or girls are the same, but, in general terms, I find girls are more internally motivated, and the less you talk about exams and the more you encourage them and inspire them to feel they can take risks, the better they do. For me, that environment is stimulating and thoroughly enjoyable. Mind you, working in a girls’ school, you do learn what long memories girls have – and how they don’t take criticism lightly. Boys are the opposite, I think. I remember once, a girl who was leaving reminded me of how, in her first year of lower school seven years previously, I’d picked up some aspect of her uniform that wasn’t right! As a community, girls read the world much more sensitively than boys do, I think, and that certainly changes the way you operate as a Head.’
Fantastic Results for our Dancers Congratulations to all of our dancers who took Royal Academy of Dance examinations at the end of last term. The results were outstanding, with every single entry being awarded at least a Merit, and over a third being awarded a Distinction, which is a brilliant accolade for the girls and for the Dance Department. Particular congratulations to Martha and Gabriella, who both passed the challenging Advanced Foundation examination with Distinction, and their achievement is all the more impressive given their age – Martha is in Year 12, and Gabriella is only in Year 9. Well done to all! SAB Page 2
Gabriella D Martha N May Tia L Gabriella D Sophia R Maddison M Tanith L Jane S Charlotte S Scarlett R Rhiannon B Poppy A Megan T Kamalika N Isabel de J Iris McC Sophia C Serena C Alexandra K Aisling M
Advanced Foundation Advanced Foundation Intermediate Grade 7 Grade 6 Grade 6 Grade 5 Grade 5 Grade 5 Grade 4 Grade 4 Grade 4 Grade 4 Grade 4 Grade 4 Grade 4 Grade 3 Grade 3 Grade 3 Grade 3
Distinction Distinction Merit Distinction Merit Merit Merit Merit Merit Merit Merit Distinction Merit Distinction Merit Merit Distinction Merit Distinction Merit
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
28th April 2017 - Issue 1
Roedean girls in Seville Eight students from Roedean from Yr10 to Yr12 had the wonderful opportunity to immerse themselves in Spanish culture in Seville during the first week of the Easter holidays. To make this experience both exciting and productive, they all stayed with Spanish families and attended four hours of Spanish lessons to strengthen their language skills and grammar every morning. In the afternoons, the girls had
the chance to see the city being transformed for the Holy Week processions and also to visit various landmarks with our fantastic guide, such as the Seville’s Cathedral, the Giralda Tower, the Plaza de España, the ‘Mushroom’ Bridge, the Guadalquivir River, and, last but not least, the Sephora shop! On the last evening, we all went to the Triana neighbourhood to enjoy tapas, followed by ice cream.
I would like to thank all students for having been brilliant ambassadors for Roedean and so enthusiastic about this whole experience. I do hope this trip will remain one of their happiest memories from their time at Roedean. I would also like to thank Mrs Skipper for being so wonderful during this trip. JSM
It was nice in Nice for Roedean! On the final day of term, Mme Coombes and Mme Dean took seven girls to Nice. After an early flight and checking into our hotel, we set off to enjoy the Matisse Museum and the idyllic parks and gardens of Nice. We made the most of the warm weather, stopping to get ice creams before heading back to the hotel to get a well-deserved rest. Unfortunately, the warm weather did not last, and it was soon replaced by clouds and a little rain for the next two days of the trip, but we still enjoyed our walking tour around Nice and visiting Monaco. During the trip, we had four hours of French lessons at a language school, where we could
only speak French because nobody (save Mme Coombes, Mme Dean, and us, of course!) could understand us as they could not speak English! In the evenings, we went to a restaurant to enjoy typical French food as well as local specialities. This was followed by activities like going to see ‘La Belle et La Bête’ (Beauty and the Beast) in the local cinema and going bowling. Luckily, the sun came back again for the final two days of the trip, and we visited ‘La Confiserie Florian’ (a French sweet factory), and we also went up to a small town named Grasse to visit ‘La Parfumerie Fragonard’ (a French perfume factory), which gave us not just the Page 3
opportunity to buy chocolate and perfume, but also the chance to see how they are made! Our 2-4 hours of free time each day were usually spent buying food, going shopping in the nearby shopping centre, or buying ice-cream. Overall, this was a great experience for all of us to meet new people, improve our French, and have great fun. Thank you to Mme Coombes for organising the trip – we all had an amazing time! Eva P (Yr9)
28th April 2017 - Issue 1
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW SPORTS REPORT
South County Netball Festival On 2 April, Netball South held its annual Inter-County Netball Festival as part of the England Netball Performance Pathway. We are delighted that three Roedean girls represented Sussex at U14 level. Bonnie W (Captain) and Ami F (the Sussex player of the tournament) were in the Sussex Blue side that won the festival, with 6 wins out of 6 against other counties, and Yelena F represented Sussex Yellow, who also played some excellent netball. Well done!
Staff/Student Netball Yesterday afternoon, about 50 players making up 5 combined teams of staff and students had a fantastic time on the netball courts. The girls impressed the many spectators with their skills which unfortunately the staff were not always able to match. It was a wonderful opportunity for the girls and their teachers to play in teams together and many of the teachers learnt a great deal about the complexities of netball; a special mention to Dr Barrand who learnt how far you need to be from a player to defend them the hard way after accumulating a record number of penalties against him. Congratulations to Team Andrew which was victorious, and the runners up were Team Sampieri. Thank you to Mrs Pittingale for organising another wonderful event.
The start of the Rounders season! The first Wednesday of Rounders fixtures was full of variety! We started the tournament outside, playing against Windlesham and Brighton College, with Roedean fielding an U12A and U13B team. The girls played brilliantly, finding combinations of play that were effective in the field and beginning to hit the ball to the far end of the Rounders field. Half-way through the afternoon, the rain set in so play was moved into the Sports Hall where we played a fun but modified version of Rounders indoors. The girls were wonderful hosts to our guests from Windlesham and Brighton College, and a fun afternoon was had by all, despite the inclement weather. HHY
Full Endurance for Tatum Tatum W (Yr8) has been awarded a scholarship place at the highly regarded Full Potential Endurance Training Camp for a week during the summer holidays. Congratulations to her on this excellent opportunity. She is working hard to get back to full fitness after having the Cross Country season off, and she ran a very strong 3rd leg for the A team at the Sussex Road Relays on April 1st, and she won a team Silver medal.
Amelia passes her Gold DofE Congratulations to Amelia B (Yr13) on completing her Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award; this is no mean feat. Well done!
We welcome contributions from all parts of the Roedean community. If you have something you would like featured in the Headmaster’s Weekly Review, please email: marketing@roedean.co.uk Page 4
JJ WHAT’S COMING UP
IN THE WEEK AHEAD?
Mon 1 May
OPEN MORNING
Wed 3 May
U12 Rounders tournament at Westbourne House (A) 6.1 & 6.2 Tennis vs Moira House (H) U14/15 Football vs Bede’s
Thurs 4 May
Senior Tennis vs Brighton College (H) U12 & U13 Athletics at Burgess Hill (A)
Sat 6 May
EXEAT Brighton Festival Fringe Concert Follow us @RoedeanSchool