Roedean Review 2016-17 by Roedean School

Trips

Review 2016-17

Contents Trips

Roedean 24

Music 11

Community 30

Drama 16

Farm 31

Dance 18

Houses 32

Art 19

Sport 33

Academic 20

Festival Week

Foreword from the Headmaster The year 2016-2017 has been a fantastic year for Roedean, and I am delighted to see how the school and our girls are flourishing. From individual successes at the very highest level to the whole range of teams on the sports field, and from performances on stage or in choirs and orchestras to girls exceeding their academic expectations, Roedean is helping every girl thrive. It is wonderful to see the girls challenging themselves to develop their talents and to discover new 2

ones, and I am grateful to my colleagues for supporting them in these endeavours.

for life, this holistic approach is hugely valuable, and this makes Roedean a very attractive option.

I am delighted that Roedean is the school of choice for girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; education in the area and is seeing very strong growth in interest across the UK and internationally. The girls are intellectually curious, have strong academic passions, along with wide-ranging interests, and they are confident in their abilities, and not afraid to take risks and try new things. As a preparation

So much has happened at Roedean over the last year that it would be impossible to capture it all, but this review should give a strong flavour of the school and the wider Roedean community in 2016-2017 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I hope that you enjoy reading it.

Years 7 and 8 out in the bush!

Roedean’s Got Talent!

At the start of the academic year, all of Years 7 and 8 had a residential weekend doing Bushcraft in the Oxfordshire countryside. The nervous anticipation of ‘I wander what it will be like’ dissipated quickly when the girls saw the beauty of their new ‘outdoor home’.

Of this there can be no doubt! The finals were amazing! The Charities’ Prefect, Eunice Y (Yr13) organised an absolutely brilliant show which was enjoyed by a packed Theatre. Auditions were held and ten acts progressed to the finals – the audience was treated to amazing performances, including songs by Adele and Corinne Bailey Rae, as well as tapdancing to Pharrell Williams’ Happy.

Bushcraft Camp life started immediately, and in no time at all the girls were learning to light fires and build shelters. The staff had so many ideas of forest games that helped everyone find their bearings, as well as understand the challenges of living away from home. The girls were in good spirits and excited to tackle new skills, and the evening games brought laughter as the girls started to get to know each other.

Drama

Music

Trips

woodland and open areas around the camp, as well as learning how to fillet the largest salmon ever and toast marshmallows blended with Rice Krispies! Other bushcraft challenges were many as the girls bonded in their tutor tribes, supported by their tutors. The ‘Tribes Got Talent’ show brought out the best in the girls as they performed confidently on the woodland stage, and overall everyone had a brilliant time!

Annie In June, a large cast of KS3 girls presented a lively and highly entertaining production of the heart-warming musical, ‘Annie’. The production was a fantastic combination of all the performing arts, under the direction of Mrs Stephens, Miss Markey, and Miss Fewkes. The girls put a huge smile on everyone’s face with their rendition of the much-loved songs, qualifying for what is known in the theatre business as “the triple threat” award, namely

The quality of the performances was really impressive, and every one of the performers did brilliantly – the five judges had real difficulty in deciding the top 3, because the girls’ talents were so diverse and impressive. • 3rd place – Dorothea B and Tilly L (Yr7), with an amazing combination of acting and singing from Wicked

Each half day was filled with learning a variety of challenging skills whilst having a great deal of fun! These included wilderness first aid, swimming in ice cold water, cray fishing, cutting tools, making bracelets from paracord, learning how to camouflage and conceal themselves in

• Runner Up – Eva P (Yr9), demonstrating amazing vocal power and stage-presence in her rendition of Streisand’s Please Don’t Rain on my Parade

• Winner – Jess M (Yr9), with her drum accompaniment to Castle on the Hill by Ed Sheeran

A Little Night Music Gala Concert Do not be misled by the title. This was a concert of big things, including the massive celebrations for the Royal Fireworks and the Russians’ defeat of Napoleon in Tchaikovsky’s famous ‘1812 Overture’. It was also a big concert, involving a huge number of girls from every year, and attracting a pleasingly huge audience. The cunning lighting achieved the feat of creating real atmosphere in Centenary Hall, and the expert technical crew provided imaginative visual effects throughout the concert. There was candy a-plenty at the

back of the Hall, but most delicious of all was the eye-candy of four gorgeous Labrador pups from Canine Partners for Independence – this training evening was perhaps a sensory overload for them! The mix of music made for a tasty menu, with lovely singing from the Sandman, Amelie S (Yr9), and several Lloyd Webber cats, and a fantastic saxophone solo from Gabriella K (Yr10). Congratulations to everyone involved – it was brilliant – and donations for Canine Partners exceeded £400!

Jess’ drumming had the audience dancing in the aisles, and she engaged with them excellently; when the result was announced, they went wild! Congratulation to everyone involved – it was a brilliant event!

Fran has a place at the Guildhall

16 The Roedean House Play Festival For the House Play Festival this year, the girls were set a very specific challenge; rather than writing original scripts, they were required to focus on experimentation with dramatic techniques, specifically those of theatrical storytelling. The brief was a dramatisation of a story by Dahl, so that the Festival could also mark the centenary of his birth. There is also a Roedean connection in that the daughter of the acclaimed writer, Tessa Dahl, herself a celebrated novelist, is an Old Roedeanian. The girls more than rose to the challenge, with each of the four Houses creating lively, imaginative and totally engaging performances.

Congratulations to Fran Seaborne (Yr12), who auditioned at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama, one of the world’s leading conservatoires – she has been accepted to study there on Saturdays. Furthermore, and even better, she has also been offered a university place already, which is an amazing achievement! Watch this space for the next star!

House 3

House 4

House 1

For both the school performance and the evening competition, the Theatre was buzzing with excitement and there really was a sense of both the House community spirit and a wonderful whole school celebration. The judging panel consisted of our visiting Speech and Drama teacher, Katy Markey, Glenn Hawkes, Roedean’s site manager, and Sarah Bakhtiari, Head of KS3, and the chief judge, our Len Goodman of the evening, was Verena Lewis, the Head of Acting at Brighton Academy of Performing Arts. They had a tough job, as the standard was so high, but eventually they decided on the overall winners as House 2 for their film-noir style dramatisation of ‘The Way Up To Heaven’.

House 3, for the chicken dance

Best Cameo

House 4, for Eden W-N’s Queen

Beat Lead Role Actor

House 1, for Tanith L

Best Technical and Stage Crew

House 2, for the golden paintbrush

Best Costume and House 3 Make-up Most Original Interpretation of the Material

House 2

Overall, Most Creative Piece of Theatrical Storytelling

House 2

the classic Goodwood motor circuit, along with about thirty other cars from local schools. Miranda L and Catherine C (Yr13) were the intrepid drivers who successfully steered the car around the circuit, maneuvering with great skill amongst the other cars and driving safely back into the pits. 25 June was the culmination of months of preparation and hard work for the Roedean F24 electric car team and, when we arrived at the Goodwood motor circuit for the actual race, there was already a fantastic buzz as about 80 other teams were also arriving, unloading their cars, and setting up their mobile workshops. We raced against twenty-five other teams, aged between 16 and 25, so many of them were university teams who had spent years developing their cars.

Roedean students, staff, and parents were treated to an evening of Dance that brought colour, energy, and artistry to the stage, with styles ranging from Ballet to Contemporary and Hip Hop. GCSE dance students demonstrated their choreographic skills and also performed their own creative work. All the girls involved worked very hard throughout rehearsals to ensure that the two performances for the school and invited guests were wonderful – well done!

A group of about 15 budding engineers amongst our Sixth Form students have worked hard so far this year on Roedean’s Greenpower F24 electric car project. This involved many weeks’ work, and the girls relished the challenge of assembling an electric go-kart from a complex kit. Using all of their collective problem-solving skills, the girls worked on designing and constructing the seat, the steering wheel, and the bodywork of the vehicle,, all of which involved a range of creative engineering skills,

Amelie’s Street Dance Amelie then competed at the XM British Street Dance Championships, and she won the U18 British Championships with her crew, BN1. She was also first in the Open Trios and a finalist in Advanced U18 Quads and Over16 Duos. Amelie and her crew also performed at the Brighton Dome in the Breaking Convention Tour in May, as part of the annual Brighton Festival, where she danced alongside top international hip hop dance crews.

including 3D modelling, safety testing, and metal-work skills. The day before the summer term started, on 23 April, the Roedean Physics Department went to the Goodwood motor circuit in Chichester to test drive our F24 electric car. It was the first official test drive, and it was important to be able to evaluate how it went before the race event on 25 June. After months of hard work assembling the car, it was brilliant that the car passed the official scrutineering with only minor changes required. They then drove the car around the full 2.5 miles of

For the main race, the Roedean team of consisted of three drivers – Miranda, Melanie, and Catherine – and the pit team – Zoe, Francesca, and Miranda. Our final position was 21st out of 26 cars, and our car’s average speed was 17 mph. Given that this was their first race using the basic kit car, it was a fantastic achievement and a testament to the hard work of the girls and staff throughout this academic year. We also learnt a huge amount of technical knowledge about how to improve the performance for next year’s events. The girls and staff worked brilliantly as a team, and it was a genuinely exciting day for all – well done to everyone involved.

Top-notch Mathematicians

Maths Challenge Success for Ruoyan!

Roedean hosted the annual Maths Association Problem Drive, which saw 60 students completing a series of interesting, complex and surprising Maths puzzles in five rounds, with each student joining a different team for each round. Lancing College and Burgess Hill School for Girls joined us, but Roedean girls managed to win 4 of the top 5 prizes: Mavis Z (Yr12) was 5th, Mika X (Yr12) and Melanie C (Yr12) shared 3rd, and a girl from Lancing College took 2nd place, but it was Nancy Z (Yr12) who came out on top and secured the 1st place prize. There were quite a few boys present, but with none of them winning prizes, we have to ask, what’s all this talk about Maths not being a girls’ subject?

Ruoyan C (Yr11) not only qualified for the Maclaurin (the prestigious next round of the Maths Challenge), but she was invited to attend a five-day course during the summer at Balliol College, Oxford. Invitations onto this course are for the very top performers in the UK, and to be asked is a massive achievement for Ruoyan, as her original challenge paper performance was described as ‘excellent’. Congratulations to her!

Farm

Community

School Photo

Roedean’s sheep move into their new home!

Fairy tale mural at children’s hospital

The logistics of getting five hundred girls and over a hundred staff onto the staging were quite tricky, but the sight of all of our girls in their new uniform snaking across the whole site was a real delight!

The junior boarders swapped their pens and uniform for paintbrushes and overalls, as work on a fairy tale mural began at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Sick Children, a local children’s hospital. It was organised through Rockinghorse, which is the charity that supports Brighton’s children’s hospital, among others. The initial idea was to encourage each of the boarders in Years 7 and 8 to complete 10 hours of

A Fitting Farewell to Sue Stanway and Simon Rothon Simon Rothon has served as Roedean’s Chair of Council for the last five years. Simon, who is also a former parent, has shown a great commitment to all aspects of School life. Perhaps his most notable achievement during his time as Chair was to appoint Mr Blond. The pupils were so impressed by the account by fellow Council member Margot Chaundler of Simon’s illustrious career and multilinguistic skills, that he has been invited to deliver a Roedean Academic lecture in the New Year.

community service over the year, and the time they have spent on the mural counted towards this tally. The mural, which was initially drawn by the very talented Tori N-M (Yr12), has been painted in the babies’ waiting room on the children’s emergency ward, and it will undoubtedly be enjoyed by hundreds of babies and families in the future. Tori’s drawings, including flying fairies, magical toadstools, and mystical

What a wonderful day it was when the fifteen lambs and one ewe trotted off the trailer into their new field, surrounded by fifty girls and staff. This was quite the opposite reaction to eight months ago, when people just asked ‘why?’ and pulled a confused face when we floated the idea of a farm here. It really is great to have started this. Our new flock seem very at home here, and the boarders and boarding staff visit them in number on a regular basis. If this helps in a small way to engage our girls in the natural world around them and to live a little more ‘outside’, it will be certainly be worth it.

princesses, were all done free-hand and, such is her talent, it only took her a few hours to draw it all! The junior boarders then took it in turns to paint the mural with care and precision. They went every evening for a week for a couple of hours to complete it – they seemed to love it, and were very quiet and focussed while they were there. It is an amazing thing and the girls deserve to be very proud of what they have achieved.

Archaeology at Roedean We were delighted to welcome fourteen Year 6 pupils from Holmewood House in the summer term for our first ever archaeological investigation day. The girls spent the morning learning about the role of an archaeologist and got to handle an amazing array of artefacts, including prehistoric stone axes, Iron Age pottery, and stunning Roman brooches and coins.

Tributes to Sue Stanway, who retired from her post as Head of Art after 47 years of service to Roedean, came from Mr Blond and OR Sasha Glynn. Quite how so many years can be summed up in a few minutes was a challenge for us all, but appreciative sentiments and much nostalgia was shared. However, it was the words of pupils Tori Nathan-Maister (Yr12) and Eunice Yuen (Yr13) which touched our hearts. Both spoke of Mrs Stanway’s unfailing dedication to her many pupils over the years, and these touching words from Eunice struck a chord with us all:

Before lunch, they visited the excavations at Ovingdean where they saw Saxon and Norman remains. In the afternoon, the girls got to dig their very own test pit in our beautiful grounds. The best find was undoubtedly a fragment of Roman pottery. Brighton and Hove Archaeological Society were wonderful, and the girls were grateful for their support and expertise.

£5500 raised at the Christmas Fair Santa’s Grotto, a tombola, carol singers, mulled wine, a raffle with great prizes, tinsel galore, and a huge array of stocking-fillers to buy – the movie-themed Christmas Fair was a wonderful event, and the Roedean extended family pulled together brilliantly. The Parents’ Guild ran a whole range of stalls and the café, as well as organising external stall-holders, but most of their work was actually in the preparation for the event, and they did an exceptional job! The girls transformed the classrooms on the Main Corridor into a winter wonderland, with carols playing, paper chains, candy-floss, henna

‘You told us that we are each one of your precious collection of memories – dear Mrs Stanway, we are very proud and honoured to be part of your collection.’

Chickens, the first eggs, and keeping them in!

tattoos, and lots of Christmas games and challenges. We also had Young Enterprise companies selling their products, and Year 12 CAP groups raising money for their charities. In total, the Fair raised over £5500, double last year’s figure; the lion’s share of this will go to the school main charity for the year, The Malala Fund, and we will also be making valuable donations to two local charities, to support their work in the local community.

Mr Blond was presented with Roedean’s first egg just after the Founders’ Day service, and it became a centrepiece in one of his Open Day speeches. But Open Day meant something else for our new chickens, as their gate was temporarily (and accidentally) left open, and three hens decided to explore the wider grounds. Luckily, three farm prefects, Millie and India H, and Iris M, were on hand to

Congratulations to everyone involved – the fair’s success was down to the contributions of every single one of you!

scrobble them back into their run – the PE department may have to expand our sports provision to include Chicken Rugby! That notwithstanding, the hens settled in well, and lay about a dozen eggs a day. They make nice dust baths for themselves, and provide a certain amount of entertainment for their neighbours, the sheep!

After the fireworks to celebrate the start of Chinese New Year, the girls in 6.2 hosted a party in Keswick Hall for the entire Sixth Form and staff. This event was the first to be held in the hall since its major refurbishment, and the evening’s theme was Gatsby and the 1920s.The Hall was decorated with black and white balloons and strings of lights, and the girls and their guests really went to town with their outfits; the plus ones were in black tie, and Daisy Buchanan herself would have been proud of some of the dresses and other period paraphernalia.

Festival Week

Sport - Hockey

Houses

Great Gatsby evening

Sport continues to grow at Roedean with all girls enjoying a full and varied Physical Education Curriculum and most taking advantage of our numerous clubs and activities each day, with a growing number partaking in school fixtures each week.

Community Day

Our Sixth Form have really benefitted from the varied sports and activities on offer during their games lesson, and they have been able to use the facilities at the Marina Studios, Withdean Climbing Wall, and Yellow Wave beach volleyball court.

The girls have also competed in badminton and cross fit competitions. This is a new craze and really exciting for the girls to experience a proper gym and use free weights.

Everyone a Scholar Day

Hockey The drinks and canapés were quickly swapped for dancing, and many of the girls and their guests threw themselves into the Charleston workshop, led by Roedean’s Head of Dance, Sophie Abaza. The training started with the basics,

and soon moved onto the infamous swivel – it didn’t seem too troublesome for many though, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. It really was a wonderful evening, the space proved perfect for that type of social event!

Under the guidance of Mr Carter, Hockey has made fantastic progress over the past two years. He is pushing the sport to a new level in preparation for when the all-weather pitch is completed later this year. Since 2015, Roedean has almost doubled its fixtures to 71 games, with 13 teams playing in the term. As well as having increased participation, Roedean hockey has also been very successful on the pitch, particularly with the U14 squad who won the East Grinstead Hockey Academy tournament. We have also had 19 U12-U14 girls going through county trials, and Clara H (Yr10) is playing Sussex hockey, whilst Bea W (Yr9) is currently training at a Performance centre. These achievements show that Roedean hockey has an exciting future with a lot of young talent on the horizon.

Staff v Seniors Hockey Match Some described this game as bigger than Speech Day. The Roedean 1st XI Hockey team picked their best squad to play against a very talented staff team. With the likes of Miss Walker’s low centre of gravity and Dr Barrand’s extraordinarily long reach, the staff were very confident in winning this game. Both teams played like they were competing in the Hunger Games, not wanting to give up, with a lot of pride at stake. The match had lots of entertainment and could have gone either way. However, the game resulted in a 0-0 thriller, with a lot of golden opportunities missed by the staff towards the end… (no names will be mentioned)! It was a great event, and well done to staff and supporters for lasting out what was a very cold night under the lights!

Roedean’s fifth Casino Night The Sixth Form Casino Night was a night of music, dancing, mathematical fun, and, of course, a wonderful chocolate fountain! With their fake money and gambling chips, the girls had a great time, trying their hands at poker and black jack, and dancing to the live band which was brilliant. It was a lively evening, which came at just the right time to celebrate a term of hard work and high energy. The girls dressed up to enjoy the evening with their peers and their guests, and we were delighted to welcome back some former students, who were wowed by the newly refurbished Sixth Form Centre at Keswick House.

Roedean

House 4, for the orphanage scene

Best Movement

House 2

Dance Showcase

On 18 November, the School held a beautiful evening Chapel service to celebrate the achievements and contributions of two key staff members who have recently stepped down from their duties at Roedean.

House 1

Best Crowd

F24 – Roedean’s speed junkies

At Roedean, every year, the girls produce stunning pieces of artwork, and this year was no exception. Here are just a few examples:

Amelie H (Yr8) started the 2016/17 street dance competition year with wins in her first two competitions! In September, she won the U16 advanced duo title in Wiltshire, and, in October, Amelie and her new crew, BN1, competed at their first event, the South Coast regional championships, and they won the U18 crew title. As South Coast Champions, BN1 were invited to dance at the prestigious TEDx event at Brighton Dome, where the theme was ‘We can be heroes’, and the speakers included the TV presenter, Adam Pearson, and Jordan Stephens, the musician and writer from ‘Rizzle Kicks’.

Best Publicity

Academic

Art

Dance

performers who can act, sing, and dance! Bo Ana M (Yr7) gave a stellar performance in the title role and Katarina H (Yr9) was a wonderfully wicked Miss Hannigan, convincingly foiled by good guy Danny Warbucks, played by Ava D (Yr9). The key roles were supported by many wonderful cameo performances and a very strong and tight ensemble. It’s always a special treat when everyone, both on and off stage, is operating as a true theatre team. Congratulations to everyone involved!

Staff vs Seniors

1st XI Team

‘Everyone a Scholar’ Day provided an opportunity for girls to be engaged in and inspired by new skills, learning, and experiences, hopefully with a desire to pursue them further. The girls were certainly buzzing with excitement at the end of the day from seeing the crown jewels, BMXing, taking part in a very realistic operation, learning a new percussion style, dancing to the beat of a new drum, cracking enigma codes and cryptic crosswords, not-too-spooky ghost stories from Brighton’s Lanes, meeting snakes and coding mini robots, and finding out how to make a business out of football! And, after all of this, there was an independent project for them to get their teeth stuck into over the summer!

25 different activities took place across one day, with students helping their local community in a wide and varied manner of ways, from fundraising and busking, to hosting an afternoon tea for the elderly, to participating in archaeological digs, to designing resources for a guide dog charity, to running activity days for primary school children and children with learning difficulties... The day was a great success, with too much happening to document it all, but this quotation from a Year 9 student just about sums it all up: ‘I learned a lot, from small things like making conversation with people who you might not get a chance to talk to normally, and stepping out of your comfort zone to do things, to bigger things like putting a smile on someone’s face simply by doing something that might not mean so much to me, but will have a very big impact on someone else’s day.’

Roedean’s Race for Life!

In the final, we played against Lingfield Notre Dame. It was a tight game which ended 0-0, with chances at both ends. Because it was a draw, the game was decided on ‘shuffles’, which is similar to the Olympics, where the striker goes against the keeper and only has 10 seconds to score. It was incredibly tense – Bea W scored and Rachel W saved their first attempts, so it was still a draw. After a few more shots, it was down to Yelena F to score our last attempt, which she did in 9 seconds – and we ended up winners! Roedean scored 14 goals in the tournament, and conceded only 1 – the girls played brilliantly and thoroughly deserved their victory.

Our school Race for Life event was available to everyone in the school community – it was an ideal date during the last week of the term, and all staff and girls were on site and ready for action! It was wonderful that, as well as racing for personal reasons, as a community, Roedean was racing for Alan Smith and Ken Thomson. Over 400 participants took to the 5km course and, between rain showers, were successful in their endeavours to raise awareness. We were delighted to see parents and siblings join in, and Mr and

Mrs Spicer and their family looked the part in their colourful capes and matching socks! Sky O’C is to be congratulated on setting up her Race for Life Just Giving Page and she raised over £275 by herself, which was fantastic! Congratulations to Mr Andrew Wood for crossing the finish line first and to Tatum W (Yr8) for her achievement in coming second overall and the first of the girls to finish. We are already looking forward to our next R4L event in 2018!

Trips

Years 7 and 8 out in the bush! At the start of the academic year, all of Years 7 and 8 had a residential weekend doing Bushcraft in the Oxfordshire countryside. The nervous anticipation of ‘I wander what it will be like’ dissipated quickly when the girls saw the beauty of their new ‘outdoor home’. Bushcraft Camp life started immediately, and in no time at all the girls were learning to light fires and build shelters. The staff had so many ideas of forest games that helped everyone find their bearings, as well as understand the challenges of living away from home. The girls were in good spirits and excited to tackle new skills, and the evening games brought laughter as the girls started to get to know each other. Each half day was filled with learning a variety of challenging skills whilst having a great deal of fun! These included wilderness first aid, swimming in ice cold water, cray fishing, cutting tools, making bracelets from paracord, learning how to camouflage and conceal themselves in

Trips

Year 9 residential at Kingswood!

Classics trip to Italy

At the very start of the year in September, the Year 9 girls of Roedean began their first bonding experience as a year group. After a quick tour of the campus, the girls were given an impression of the amazing activities to come. Joni-May L (Yr9) loved the experience: ‘My first activity was orienteering and I enjoyed exploring the facilities independently, as well as getting to know my peers a bit better. The next day, we had a whole day full of fun waiting for us, with thrilling activities, such as the 3G swing, Jacob’s ladder, nightline, and so much more!

October half term started with an epic trip to Italy for senior Roedean girls, from Years 10-13. The first two days of the trip were spent ambling through the streets of Rome, visiting the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and the Trevi Fountain. The heavier day drove us through Vatican City, the Roman Colosseum and the Forum. We also guzzled pizza and pasta as often as we could. The third day saw us travelling down to the Bay of Naples, and exploring a volcanic crater en route. We also took in a Roman amphitheatre and ventured into the bowels of its subterranean prisons. The following day took us on a trek up Mount Vesuvius – the views over the Bay of Naples were simply stunning. That afternoon we explored the ancient seaside town of Herculaneum, a particular favourite with the girls, thanks to its remarkable wall paintings and mosaics. Day five was spent entirely in Pompeii, skirting around the ruins and soaking up ancient culture. We even managed a remote Year 9 lesson from Pompeii, as we FaceTimed our students back at Roedean! Our evenings were spent in glorious Sorrento, devouring more pizza and pasta. On the final day, we relaxed in Sorrento harbour, basking in the October sunshine, before flying home. The trip was an enormous success, and we packed in a great deal. The sights were inspiring and enlightening, with both classicists and culture-vultures fulfilled.

That night we had a really fun time at the disco in the Kingswood club. Everyone was dancing and having a great time! It was a fantastic end to our last evening. All in all, it was a brilliant trip and we made so many new friends and memories. Thank you to all the amazing teachers who attended the trip with us; it was unforgettable. We can’t wait for another year group trip and all the amazing experiences they will bring us.’ These year-group trips at the start of the year really help the new and established girls to integrate well with each other – and everyone always has a brilliant time!

Trips

Maddison with Ethiopian ophans

Last year, Roedean introduced the Air, Land, and Sea travel awards, open to members of Year 12, to help them to undertake a trip or challenge which will make a difference. One of the successful applicants was Maddison M (Yr13), who went to Ethiopia over the summer holiday to volunteer at an orphanage, run by the charitable organisation Shamida. It is on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, and takes in street children with the hope of finding them a permanent family. Its mission is to contribute towards the development and self-sufficiency of children in destitute circumstances. With few volunteers, a team of 8 women each look after about 15 children. Their patience and affection when caring for these children struck Maddison:

Lara working in the slums of Mumbai Lara S (Yr8) spent an amazing week over the Christmas holidays working in the slums of Mumbai in India. She worked with The Change Foundation, which works in India in partnership with a charity called Magic Bus which aims to educate children who live in the slums in India by ensuring that they are educated to the age of sixteen and then supported to get jobs, which will mean they do not have to beg on the streets which is dangerous and miserable. Magic Bus attracts children to their education and employment programme through running sports programmes in the slum communities, and then by taking the children to a wonderful outward bounds centre in the countryside outside Mumbai. Lara helped out with the sports sessions in the slums and then also travelled out to the outward bounds centre. The sports sessions that she helped run are cleverly designed to reinforce strong messages about the need to attend school every day, to have goals to work towards, and to support your friends. At the end of the trip, Lara felt really lucky to attend such a great school as Roedean and to have somewhere safe to live. She said, ‘What made me sad was that when I was playing with the children I felt just like them, but after the sessions I knew that they were going home to a crowded, dirty and unsafe slum.’

‘My favourite part of the whole experience was meeting the children. Every day, I got to learn more about each of them, whether this was their favourite colour or their background story. Through teaching them and reading to them, I got to know their individual personalities and see them develop during my time there. They were so full of joy and love that it was obvious what a difference Shamida had made and I am extremely grateful I got to experience their amazing community.’

Rome on an Air Land and Sea travel award As a recipient of one of the ‘Air Land and Sea’ travel awards, Tara M, who intends to study Classics at university, spent a week over Christmas in Rome: ‘Visiting Rome in Italy was a fantastic experience for me, because it was the very heart of the ancient Roman world. I saw iconic classical sites such as the Colosseum, the Forum, and the Pantheon, and more unusual sites, such as a small fraction of the ancient catacombs which run beneath the city and the retirement home of the Emperor Hadrian, Villa Adriana in Tivoli. My favourite site from the trip was the ancient port of Rome, Ostia Antica, which is incredibly well-preserved due to the mud of the River Tiber. I was astounded by the amount of modern architecture which has been influenced by that of ancient Rome. The trip greatly increased my motivation and passion for learning Classics, and brought the ancient world to life.’

Trips

Roedean has a ‘cool’ time in Iceland ‘It was a truly amazing opportunity’ and ‘even though I haven’t studied Geography since Year 9, I have learnt so much and been inspired by the sites of Iceland’ were just a couple of the comments made by the nineteen girls and three members of staff who attended the Iceland trip over the first weekend of the February half term. Iceland is truly a geographer’s paradise, with so many amazing features in one place, and a great deal of what is taught in the classroom can be put into context as well as making it real. It was a whirlwind tour of the south west of the island, which took in some breathtakingly beautiful sites. The trip

was jam-packed and we had already taken in 360 degrees views of the capital Reykjavik before settling in to our accommodation in Selfoss on day one. On the second day, we began with a visit to the secret lagoon, a naturally heated pool that was built in 1981. This was certainly an experience to remember and we were all appreciative of the warmer than average temperatures when getting out of the bath-like water! We also took in the exciting eruptions of volcanically heated water at Geysir, and had an exhilarating walk behind the Seljalandsfoss waterfall, which was an amazing opportunity and the highlight of the trip for many of the

girls. This was followed by a visit to the Eyjafjallajökull volcano visitor centre; this was the volcano which spewed ash into the sky and stopped thousands of flights over Europe in 2010. We were lucky enough to see breathtakingly beautiful coastal features and basalt columns at the Black Beach. We felt the awesome power of water falling 60 metres at the base of the Skogafoss waterfall, before trekking up the 527 steps to a viewing platform at the top – it was hard work, but all agreed that the effort was worth the views of the beautiful landscape! The trip was a great success and an experience that will never be forgotten. Where will the Geography department’s next big adventure take us?

Trips

On the slopes in Andorra 51 girls and 6 members of staff spent six wonderful days over half-term skiing on the glorious slopes of Grandvalira in Andorra. There were skiers of all abilities among the group, and it was fantastic see how much progress everyone made over such a short period of intensive skiing. Well done to everyone, but in particular Sydney O’s (Yr7) amazing talent was clear, and she was in the top ability group, despite being a younger member of the party. The girls and staff had a brilliant time and learnt a great deal with the support of their instructor

Gonzalo. Some of the highlights included the free churros and hot chocolate on the mountain, the snow park, and the evening activities such as bowling. Everyone had a brilliant time out on the slopes, there were great games in the evenings too, spectacular face-plants were demonstrated by members of staff, and some of the girls who were novices at the start of the trip, including Jaqueline L (Yr9) and Jessica M (Yr9), made outstanding progress during the trip. Many of the girls are already asking to go again next year!

Roedean girls in Seville Eight students from Roedean from Years 10 to 12 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, and the Guadalquivir River. On the last evening, we all went to the Triana neighbourhood to enjoy tapas, followed by ice cream. The girls were brilliant ambassadors for Roedean and so enthusiastic about the whole experience.

Trips

Emily in Costa Rica

It was wonderfully nice in Nice!

Emily L (Yr13) was one of last year’s recipients of the Roedean Air, Land, and Sea Travel Awards, and she travelled to Costa Rica to work for two weeks in an Animal Rescue Centre, deep in the rainforest, where there is a real need for volunteers because there is little or no support from the government. The centre initially provided support for turtles, but it was moved because the government wanted to build a port where it was. Instead, the centre was given a small area of land in the rainforest, with no vet and just 10 volunteers. ‘Travelling to Costa Rica was by far the best experience I’ve had in my life so far. Volunteering in an animal sanctuary gave me an insight into how human activity can have such a vast impact on wildlife, both positively and negatively. Not only was working with the wildlife so enriching, I also got the opportunity to meet people from all over the world and it was humbling to see people dedicate so much time into protecting Costa Rica’s biodiversity.’ Emily worked with all of the 67 animals, but her main interest was the sloths – her aim was to support these wonderfully unusual and interesting animals, and to prepare them for release. The experience was most definitely a challenge, but Emily found it so rewarding, and she is very grateful to the Roedean Travel Award scheme for giving her this wonderful opportunity.

Seven girls set off to Nice on an early flight, and went straight out to enjoy the Matisse Museum and the idyllic parks and gardens of Nice. They made the most of the warm weather, enjoying lovely ice cream, and Nice and Monaco were great. They had four hours of French lessons at a language school, where speaking French was the only option because the teachers did not speak English! In the evenings, we went to a restaurant to enjoy typical French food as well as local specialities. They saw ‘La Belle et La Bête’ (Beauty and the Beast) in the local cinema, went bowling, 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 them not just the opportunity to buy chocolate and perfume, but also the chance to see how they are made! The trip was great fun, the girls’ French improved rapidly, and they did Roedean proud!

Trips

Roedean in Florence A group of Roedean Sixth Formers, with girls studying Classics, History, Geography, Philosophy and Ethics, Economics, and Government and Politics at A Level, went to Florence to supplement their studies with focused sessions that were able to draw out the most from this renowned cultural and historical hub. They visited many of the key sites, including the Leaning Tower of Pisa, The Uffizi, the Galleria

dell’Accademia and, of course, the Duomo. The politicians embarked upon a walking tour of Florence that focused on the life and works of Machiavelli, the economists managed to experience valuable context to economic theories which will add depth and application to their work, and the classicists were treated to the Archaeological Museum and a trip to the Roman ruins at Fiesole. In amongst the activities and trips,

there were plenty of moments to soak up the atmosphere of Florence. As the birthplace of the Renaissance, every corner of the city reflects the influence of the famous Medici family, and it is impossible not to be impressed by the mark that individuals such as Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, and Botticelli have left upon it. The pizza, pasta, and gelato exceeded all expectations and, as we all know, well-fed Roedean girls are

A ‘Siriusly’ magical day

One of the highlights of last year’s weekend programme was the trip to the magical world of Harry Potter. 60 excited students and 6 equally-as-excited staff awoke at the crack of dawn, donned their Hogwarts jumpers (or Gryffindor robes in one student’s case), pocketed their wands, and set off for the Warner Bros Studios in Leavesden. The girls loved the many authentic sets used to film the series, from the Great Hall with its genuine solid-stone flooring and seasonal Christmas decorations, to the Weasley’s cosy Burrow and their

self-chopping carrots. They also go to see the spectacularly intricate 1:24-scale Hogwarts model used to film the exterior of the school covered in snow for the Christmas season and examine thousands upon thousands of genuine film props, including many of the characters’ wands, the Mirror of Erised, the Triwizard Cup, and the actual Tom Riddle diary that Daniel Radcliffe stabbed with a ‘basilisk fang’ in the Chamber of Secrets. The tour culminated in the Studio shop where several wands were purchased and many pockets stuffed with Chocolate

Frogs, Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans and Peppermint toads, before we boarded what many wished was the Knight Bus and headed back to our own Roedeanshaped version of Hogwarts!

Music

Roedean’s Got Talent! Of this there can be no doubt! The finals were amazing! The Charities’ Prefect, Eunice Y (Yr13) organised an absolutely brilliant show which was enjoyed by a packed Theatre. Auditions were held and ten acts progressed to the finals – the audience was treated to amazing performances, including songs by Adele and Corinne Bailey Rae, as well as tapdancing to Pharrell Williams’ Happy. The quality of the performances was really impressive, and every one of the performers did brilliantly – the five judges had real difficulty in deciding the top 3, because the girls’ talents were so diverse and impressive. • 3rd place – Dorothea B and Tilly L (Yr7), with an amazing combination of acting and singing from Wicked • Runner Up – Eva P (Yr9), demonstrating amazing vocal power and stage-presence in her rendition of Streisand’s Please Don’t Rain on my Parade

• Winner – Jess M (Yr9), with her drum accompaniment to Castle on the Hill by Ed Sheeran

Fran has a place at the Guildhall Congratulations to Fran Seaborne (Yr12), who auditioned at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama, one of the world’s leading conservatoires – she has been accepted to study there on Saturdays. Furthermore, and even better, she has also been offered a university place already, which is an amazing achievement! Watch this space for the next star!

Music

Vox Gala Triumph! On 23rd and 24th of February, students, parents, and staff alike were treated to a rousing, lyrical delight in the form of the Vox Gala Concert. Ms Fewkes led proceedings that involved all the year groups, and a significant number of peripatetic staff. The evening began in operatic style with the orchestral prelude to Carmen. Beautifully performed and passionate, this set the tone for the concert. We then moved through Sinatra to ‘Beauty and the Beast’. The string ensemble as ever played deftly, weaving stirring melodies through the auditorium. Lucy B (Yr11) was one of the first soloists to shine in the evening, drawing the audience in to an emotive piece. The audience then moved through the familiar melodies of Blue Moon and Moondance to a gorgeous rendition of O Mio Babbino Caro in choral form. There was an intake of breath as David Bowie appeared on the large screen as the

choir sang Life on Mars. It was a suitably moving piece to declare that his music will live on. Eva P (Yr9) showed exceptional dramatic style as she gave us Pulled from ‘The Addams Family’. She revealed the rare ability to genuinely take in the entire auditorium as she built her song to a crescendo. The Glee Club Singers took over to sing a traditional American Spiritual in Gospel style, complete with rhythmic dance moves. Ava D (Yr9) then used her beautiful voice to weave the melodies of Mama who Bore Me. With her natural stage presence and flair for conveying dramatic emotion, Ava lit up the stage. It was hard for the audience to resist the urge to get up and dance as we heard Madness, Abba, and Swing from Louis Armstrong. Anamika N-W (Yr9) displayed considerable control and musicality in the trumpet solos. After the orchestral pieces,

Charlotte B (Yr12) showed that, not only is she a talented harpist and oboist, but she also has a beautiful classical singing voice that already sounds mature. Bonnie W (Yr8) gave us When I Marry Mr Snow, a treat for the audience inspiring many whoops. The choir then sang haunting melodies in the form of Adele’s Turning Tables, and Peggy Lee’s Fever. Sorcha H (Yr11) ended the line of superb soloists. She held the floor both dramatically and musically, making the stage her home. The evening was finished off by a genuinely compelling and rousing choral version of Nessun Dorma, which left the audience feeling as though they had crossed through centuries of art and lyricism that night. It was a wonderful concert, performed not once but on both Thursday and Friday. Congratulations to everyone involved, all ably directed by Mr Rous, Ms Bartlette and Ms Fewkes.

Music

Year 8 SOLID STEEL and Year 7 ‘stomp-style’ BEAT GOES ON! workshops The Music Department continues to challenge the girls to think about the whole range of music which surrounds them. All the girls in Year 8 enjoyed a fabulous day of vibrant music-making in the company of musicians from the group SOLID STEEL. They learned from scratch how to play steel pans in a whole class ensemble in this interactive workshop. Each of the three classes had just one 45 minute lesson to put their piece together, so all our students showed a great deal of concentration, teamwork, and disciplined learning. All the performances were fabulous and it was wonderful to see how the girls

clearly enjoyed the whole event and threw themselves into it. Two classes performed traditional Calypso and the third learned to play quite an extensive version of the Jessie J song Price Tag. It was quite clear from the buzz in the Theatre, the total commitment in rehearsal, and the performance, that the Year 8s had a wonderful experience making music together. The director of BEAT GOES ON, Ollie Tunmer, led all our Year 7 girls in a vibrant day of rhythmic, music and movement, stomp-style workshops. The girls really entered into the spirit of this very active rhythmic team-work with great energy and enthusiasm. The

Fran, Amelie and Flo in the GYO! Congratulations to Fran S (Yr12), Amelie S (Yr9), and Flo G (Yr9) who all successfully auditioned for Glyndebourne Youth Opera. They are performing in ‘Belongings’, which was a newly commissioned opera by Lewis Murphy, Glyndebourne’s Young Composer-in-Residence. The opera deals with the experiences of young people who are forced to abandon their homes by war. The opera will have its world première at Glyndebourne in November 2017, and this will mark Glyndebourne Youth Opera’s twentieth year. It will be a wonderful experience for Amelie, and this will be Fran’s second year and Flo’s fifth year in the GYO – well done to both.

day concluded with an enjoyable and very slick performance from each of the three classes playing different devised pieces in samba style. The whole year group began the performance with a very well-coordinated piece involving just body percussion sounds. The very appreciative audience also had the chance to join in with some call and response exchanges with Ollie himself. It is wonderful that the girls have such wonderful and diverse musical opportunities.

Year 9 Goes Gospel! Some of our most able and enthusiastic singers are in Year 9, and it is for this reason that on 6 March this year group was involved in a workshop of Gospel-style singing, led by the inspirational group Gospel Touch. Through rote-learning, and call and response, the girls rehearsed a selection of songs, managing three-part harmony in just one 45-minute session per group. It was great to see everyone responding so well in the workshop and getting into the Gospel singing mood. Solo opportunities were eagerly and ably taken up by Amelie S, Eva P, Ava D, Eden W-N, and Bahar E. Before the final performances from the girls themselves, they were inspired by The Gospel Touch singers performing a stylish selection of songs. At the end of the afternoon, everyone joined together in performances of ‘O Happy Day’, ‘Lean on Me’, ‘Stand By Me’, and ‘This Little Light of Mine’.

Music

Masterclasses and Tea-Time Recitals A new venture for the Music Department this year was the inclusion of a more firmly established series of teatime recitals as part of the music events programme. These smaller scale concerts have given many of our musicians opportunities to try out performances to friendly

and sympathetic audiences. Some of the recitals formed the concluding performances for the wide range of masterclasses held across the year with visiting musical experts in wind and string instruments, piano, chamber music, and presentation in vocal performance.

The teatime recitals also featured performances resulting from the KS3 world music workshops in samba, steel drums, and gospel singing, involving every student in these year groups in some very enjoyable and inclusive music-making.

Roedean Musician of the Year The Roedean Musician of the Year was a new competition for this year, and it was wonderful that over 40 girls took part in the first rounds of the competition. On June 19, the finalists performed to our visiting adjudicator Sarah Field, a professional saxophonist and trumpeter, with a friendly audience of other competitors, parents, friends, and staff. Every single performer did very well in the final of the competition and they deserve to be very proud of themselves. Some younger girls in Year 8 who were competing in the top two classes deserve particular praise. The following are the winners and runnersup in each category:

Grades 2 & 3 Runner Up

Jemima V (Yr7) – Recorder Muskrat Ramble – Kid Ory

Winner

Alma S (Yr7) – Singing

Kineret – Trad.

Runner Up

Bonnie W (Yr8) – Singing

I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls – Balfe

Winner

Maggie Z (Yr11) – Hulusi

In the Bamboo Forest – Trad.

Runner Up

Ava D (Yr9) – Voice

I’d Give My Life For You – Schönberg/Boublil

Winner

Amelie S (Yr9) – Voice

Voi Che Sapete – Mozart

Runner Up

Freya S (Yr11) – Violin

Violin Concerto in G Minor – Bruch

Winner

Juliette L (Yr11) – Piano

Waldesrauschen – Liszt

Grades 4 & 5

Grade 6 & 7

Grade 8+

Music

Roedean starts the Brighton Fringe Festival with a bang! On 6 May, the school’s Chapel was packed with Roedean family, friends, students, staff, and members of the local community. There was not a single spare seat, with everyone eagerly anticipating the annual Roedean Concert which starts the Brighton Fringe Festival. The audience was entertained for an hour and twenty minutes by a range of musical pieces, all performed to an exceptionally high standard, reflecting the enthusiasm and dedication of the choir, orchestra, and individual soloists. The concert opened with a glorious rendition of ‘Zadok the Priest’, from Handel’s set of four Coronation Anthems, powerfully sung by the entire choir of Roedean girls and members of the local community, expertly led by Roedean’s Director of Music, Veronica Fewkes. Later on in the programme, the choir and orchestra also gave a skilfully textured rendition of Monteverdi’s ‘Beatus Vir’, using contrasting groups of voices. The

choir closed the programme with a powerful and uplifting performance of Hubert Parry’s ‘Blest Pair of Sirens’. The Roedean soloists all played with exceptional skill and style, displaying maturity beyond their years. It would be easy to forget that these musicians were all still school girls studying for their examinations. Gabriella K (Yr10) captivated the audience with her poignant performance on the clarinet of Weber’s Allegro from the Concerto in F Minor. Briana K (Yr11) then enchanted the audience with her delightful interpretation of two movements from Rutter’s ‘Suite Antique’. This was beautifully contrasted by the next soloist, Tiffany L (Yr13), who performed an arrangement of Fauré’s ‘Après un Rêve’ on the double bass in a unique dreamy style. Freya S (Yr11) then treated us to a soulful and very highly

accomplished Adagio from Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No 1, while Francesca S (Yr12) gave a truly impressive performance of Rachmaninov’s highly challenging ‘Vocalise’. Four young violinists, Freya S, Cici W (Yr10), Eva F (Yr8) and Scarlett J (Yr9) also performed the Telemann Concerto in D Minor, skilfully passing the musical line between them so that all four violins had equal voice. The orchestra sounded highly professional and the conductors, Sophia Bartlette, Veronica Fewkes, and Benjamin Rous, were a joy to watch as they directed the musicians with enthusiasm and a warm passion for their chosen pieces of music. Every individual performer was clearly inspired by being part of such an impressive event, and the audience left the Chapel full of praise and admiration for everyone involved in the concert.

Evening recital at St Laurence Church, Falmer The idyllic setting of St Laurence Church, nestling on the edge of the South Downs at Falmer, was the perfect venue for the evening recital given by some of our musicians on 25 March. The warm sunshine beamed through the church windows as a good sized audience enjoyed a very varied programme of musical delights. The standard of musicianship was high and the musical

performances accomplished. This was all the more pleasing given that the majority of the musicians were girls in KS3. The programme opened with a movement from a Corelli concerto grosso, from a chamber group of Year 8 girls (Eva F, Joyce W, and Esme B) and concluded with another chamber group of Year 9 players (Katarina H, Kamali M, and Coco A), performing three of the

delightful Miniatures by Frank Bridge. Representing the more senior end of the school, Gabriella K (Yr10) gave an elegant rendition on the clarinet of three movements of a Mozart Divertimento, and Olivia T (Yr12) performed a very haunting vocal solo, Song to the Seals by Granville Bantock. It was a lovely occasion, and appreciated by the audience.

Drama

Annie performers who can act, sing, and dance! Bo Ana M (Yr7) gave a stellar performance in the title role and Katarina H (Yr9) was a wonderfully wicked Miss Hannigan, convincingly foiled by good guy Danny Warbucks, played by Ava D (Yr9). The key roles were supported by many wonderful cameo performances and a very strong and tight ensemble. It’s always a special treat when everyone, both on and off stage, is operating as a true theatre team. Congratulations to everyone involved!

In June, a large cast of KS3 girls presented a lively and highly entertaining production of the heart-warming musical, ‘Annie’. The production was a fantastic combination of all the performing arts, under the direction of Mrs Stephens, Miss Markey, and Miss Fewkes. The girls put a huge smile on everyone’s face with their rendition of the much-loved songs, qualifying for what is known in the theatre business as “the triple threat” award, namely

The Roedean House Play Festival For the House Play Festival this year, the girls were set a very specific challenge; rather than writing original scripts, they were required to focus on experimentation with dramatic techniques, specifically those of theatrical storytelling. The brief was a dramatisation of a story by Dahl, so that the Festival could also mark the centenary of his birth. There is also a Roedean connection in that the daughter of the acclaimed writer, Tessa Dahl, herself a celebrated novelist, is an Old Roedeanian. The girls more than rose to the challenge, with each of the four Houses creating lively, imaginative and totally engaging performances.

House 3

House 4

House 1

House 2

Best Publicity

House 1

Best Crowd

House 4, for the orphanage scene

Best Movement

House 3, for the chicken dance

Best Cameo

House 4, for Eden W-N’s Queen

Beat Lead Role Actor

House 1, for Tanith L

Best Technical and Stage Crew

House 2, for the golden paintbrush

Best Costume and House 3 Make-up Most Original Interpretation of the Material

House 2

Overall, Most Creative Piece of Theatrical Storytelling

House 2

Drama

Scholars’ Production – ‘Mobile Phone Show’ A thirty-strong cast of girls from Years 7-11 delighted a large audience in the Theatre at Roedean, with a highly physical, ensemble performance of Jim Cartwright’s ‘Mobile Phone Show’. The piece explores the phenomenal impact mobile phones have on our everyday lives – a very pertinent issue for us all! The cast skilfully manged to switch moods from the serious to the absurd, so that the performance was both entertaining and poignant. The production was a ‘first’ for Roedean, as the cast consisted not only of Drama Scholars, but also of girls who are Scholars in Sport, Dance, Art, Academic, and Music.

Harriet and Honor play Milly and Flo

A Christmas Carol at Roedean What better way to start the season’s Christmas cheer, than with the finest of productions – Roedean’s version of ‘A Christmas Carol’. The cast represented the largest we have seen at school, with 68 girls on stage and a talented back stage crew of 10 girls (our own unsung heroes). The stage was set magnificently both in style and imagination. The costumes displayed a period of time and the acting was breath-taking from the first scene to the last. The story line was so elegantly delivered; every word carefully spoken with poise and clarity, fit for any London stage. The thread of the story was intriguing where actors allowed their passion for performing to flow and the audience were captivated in moments of time travel.

A real sense of reality swept through the auditorium when Scrooge awakens on Christmas morning with joy and love in his heart. Well done to Honor P (Yr13) who gave a tour de force performance as Scrooge. He spends the day with Fred’s family and anonymously sends a prize turkey to the Cratchit home for Christmas dinner. The following day, he gives Cratchit a raise and becomes like another father to Tiny Tim. A changed man, Scrooge now treats everyone with kindness, generosity, and compassion, and now embodies the spirit of Christmas. The finest and best moments were delivered on stage in a full production and when the snow fell on performers and audience alike, as the cast gathered for a final time – Christmas was really upon us!

Honor P and Harriet C-S (Yr13) presented their A Level Theatre Studies performance piece to a large audience. ‘Milly and Flo’ was a touching story of two young women who have followed the family tradition and become a double act. Milly has written a play about their great-great grandmothers and, as they rehearse, we learn of the triumphs of Millicent and Florence, both on and off stage, and how their lives go on to shape the future lives of Milly and Flo. Set on Brighton Pier, the atmospheric and moving piece was inspired by the painting ‘Brighton Pierrots’ by Walter Sickert, and was devised by the girls themselves. Everyone agreed that Honor and Harriet did indeed make the perfect double act!

Dance

Dance Showcase Roedean students, staff, and parents were treated to an evening of Dance that brought colour, energy, and artistry to the stage, with styles ranging from Ballet to Contemporary and Hip Hop. GCSE dance students demonstrated their choreographic skills and also performed their own creative work. All the girls involved worked very hard throughout rehearsals to ensure that the two performances for the school and invited guests were wonderful – well done!

Amelie’s Street Dance Amelie H (Yr8) started the 2016/17 street dance competition year with wins in her first two competitions! In September, she won the U16 advanced duo title in Wiltshire, and, in October, Amelie and her new crew, BN1, competed at their first event, the South Coast regional championships, and they won the U18 crew title. As South Coast Champions, BN1 were invited to dance at the prestigious TEDx event at Brighton Dome, where the theme was ‘We can be heroes’, and the speakers included the TV presenter, Adam Pearson, and Jordan Stephens, the musician and writer from ‘Rizzle Kicks’.

Amelie then competed at the XM British Street Dance Championships, and she won the U18 British Championships with her crew, BN1. She was also first in the Open Trios and a finalist in Advanced U18 Quads and Over16 Duos. Amelie and her crew also performed at the Brighton Dome in the Breaking Convention Tour in May, as part of the annual Brighton Festival, where she danced alongside top international hip hop dance crews.

Art At Roedean, every year, the girls produce stunning pieces of artwork, and this year was no exception. Here are just a few examples:

Academic

F24 – Roedean’s speed junkies the classic Goodwood motor circuit, along with about thirty other cars from local schools. Miranda L and Catherine C (Yr13) were the intrepid drivers who successfully steered the car around the circuit, maneuvering with great skill amongst the other cars and driving safely back into the pits. 25 June was the culmination of months of preparation and hard work for the Roedean F24 electric car team and, when we arrived at the Goodwood motor circuit for the actual race, there was already a fantastic buzz as about 80 other teams were also arriving, unloading their cars, and setting up their mobile workshops. We raced against twenty-five other teams, aged between 16 and 25, so many of them were university teams who had spent years developing their cars. A group of about 15 budding engineers amongst our Sixth Form students have worked hard so far this year on Roedean’s Greenpower F24 electric car project. This involved many weeks’ work, and the girls relished the challenge of assembling an electric go-kart from a complex kit. Using all of their collective problem-solving skills, the girls worked on designing and constructing the seat, the steering wheel, and the bodywork of the vehicle,, all of which involved a range of creative engineering skills,

Top-notch Mathematicians

Maths Challenge Success for Ruoyan!

Academic

Six girls passed the Sussex University Geometry course Congratulations to the six girls in Year 13 who successfully passed the Sussex University Geometry course! Six of our most talented mathematicians, Catherine C, Hermione H, Valerie L, Rachel L, Miranda L, and Vicky Z, attended firstyear undergraduate lectures alongside university students, and then were required to sit two exams in order to pass the course. Clearly, this is a remarkable achievement since they had not completed their A Levels at that point. Here is an example of a question from the end of course examination: Obtain a Gaussian array from the following set of equations, and transform it to reduced row-echelon form to obtain the solution: -x + 8y - 3z = 2, x - 5y + 2z = 3, -x + 10y - 4z = 4

How do you think you might have got on? Roedeanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s partnership with Sussex University has been in place for well over ten years, and we have established a proud tradition of Roedean girls not only studying at university level, but in actual fact also gaining higher marks than most of the university students. This opportunity allows our students to experience a university-style education, as well as challenging their mathematical understanding, helping them become more secure in their knowledge of many of the ideas in the Further Maths A Level course, and providing them with credits that they could actually use to contribute to their own first year of university study.

Vicky leads again in a dozen Chemistry Olympiad successes

Twelve Roedean Sixth Form chemists achieved fantastic success in the 49th Royal Society of Chemistry Olympiad. Vicky Z was awarded another Gold to go with her Cambridge Challenge result from last year. Mavis Z, Selen S, Iman SA gained Silver awards, and Georgina K, Tiffany L,

Natalie T, Catherine C, Poppy Y, Yian Z, Jasmine H, and Grace R achieved Bronze awards. It was encouraging to see that four of these girls were only in Year 12 and will have another opportunity to compete next year, by which time they should be in a position to do even better.

Biology medallists! Last week, Sixth Form Biology students took part in the British Biology Olympiad and the results are in! This is a prestigious competition which stretches competitors beyond the requirements of the A Level curriculum. We had some fantastic results, and huge congratulations go to Grace R, who achieved a Gold medal (meaning that she is among the top 6% of competitors in the country); Georgina K achieved a Silver medal, and Bronze medals were awarded to Vivian L, Tiffany L and Catherine C. In addition, Isabella M and Martha N were highly commended and Jasmine H, Maya C-M, Miranda G and Melanie C were commended.

Bali Rai at Roedean As part of the World Book Day celebrations last week, well-known YA author Bali Rai visited Roedean to talk to the girls in Year 9. Bali won the Southern Schoolsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Book Award (SSBA) in 2015 with Web of Darkness. He gave an entertaining and informative presentation focusing on his awardwinning book, Rani and Sukh, which is inspired by Romeo and Juliet. He also talked about his dystopian novel, Fire City, in which he uses dialogue to move the plot along. He revealed that he practises dialogue with a mirror, pretending that his reflection in the mirror is the other character, much to the occasional consternation of his family. Following the presentation, there was a book signing, where Bali signed books and answered questions from the audience. He also held a creative writing workshop with Year 8 girls in the Library, where he described how stories work by connecting the readers with characters through emotions, hopes, and feelings. He underlined the importance of writing to engage the readerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s curiosity.

Academic

The Business Club is impressed by the girls’ business acumen Roedean welcomed the Brighton & Hove Business Club to the School on 20 March for the third time in recent years. The Business Club comprises local company leaders whose turnover is greater than £2m and employ more than 10 employees. Roedean is the only school to be a member of this organisation, and it is a great opportunity to exchange best business practice, provide work experience for the girls, and enhance our presence within the local community. The range of businesses ranged from the Grand Hotel, Hotel du Vin, and Shoreham Port, to a number of professional firms including accountants, lawyers, branding

agents, surveyors, and management consultants. Updates on developments at the School and, in particular, the business opportunities were presented by Mr Poffley, Mr Blond, and Mr Low, and the members were then treated to a superb lunch with inspirational talks by the girls on their business experiences. The students then joined the Business Club members at the tables to discuss their ideas further. One member said at the end of the day, ‘I think they could teach me more than I could teach them!’, and others spoke of how inspiring it was to hear from the pupils, and the business acumen they displayed.

A week of academic pursuits The girls were immersed in a fantastic week of academic activities at the end of the summer term, each designed to inspire and reveal hidden talents or passions for learning. It was Academic Week! The girls began the week with an invitation to explore the ethical dilemmas in the recent hit BBC series of ‘Sherlock’. Monday ended with the chance to join in with the Academic Prefects’ Reading Party, indulged by the catering team with a superb Alice in Wonderland-themed spread. On Tuesday, Iman S-A (Yr13) led a fun fact-finding mission within Quantum Physics, that left all in the room wallowing gloriously in Bohrian bewilderment. Students of all ages were then able to take part in a Greek and Roman Art auction, bidding for major art objects from Greek

and Roman times, using fake cheque books. The winners had to be able to show that they had won the best pieces for a proposed exhibition or art house. The Wednesday saw a day of Art History: the Bigger Picture Company came in to deliver two super workshops to the Year 11 and Sixth Form Art students. The lecture they gave at the end of the day on ‘The City as a Work of Art: Myths and Masterminds of Renaissance Venice’ was a fascinating journey through the history and geography of that mythical city. Thursday was a day for the languages, primarily English. Dr Lighthill, a former BBC director and producer, gave workshops on Shakespeare and further enrichment in his lecture entitled ‘Why bother with a 400 year old writer?’ It gave a high calibre

examination of why this bard is still so relevant for students today. Finishing off the week in style, the Royal Geographical Society came in to discuss all matters ‘Heritage’ with the girls, and Mr Dawson gave us a re-reading of what bad science is, based on Ben Goldacre’s book. We were delighted that a number of members of staff also took up the challenge to go off piste in their lessons, for example, Ms Roberts thrilled the Yr 7s with a quick entrée to Chaucer! Thank you to Consuella Z (Yr13) who spear-headed much of this week and supported much of the preparation for this complex but exciting programme of activities – it was a great week, full of academic challenges for all!

Academic

World Book Day World Book Day was celebrated by many activities in which the girls participated enthusiastically. For one of these, they were invited to enter a competition to represent a book title in the form of a newspaper front page. Scarlett B (Yr8) submitted an imaginative ‘Wonderland Bugle’ which advertised White Rabbit time-management courses. The Bugle headline drew attention to eyewitnesses’ disagreement over the size of a young visitor entering Wonderland. Poppy S (Yr7) designed a ‘Daily Tombstone’ front page which featured a chilling story about an escape from an asylum by two dangerous characters, Alice and Hatch, based on the Chronicles of Alice by Christina Henry.

Book Day itself. The staff were bemused to discover that they were teaching, among others, The Cat in the Hat, Cruella de Ville, Mr Twit, Luna Lovegood, Little Red Riding Hood, the Queen of Hearts, War Horse, Dolores Umbridge, Tinkerbell, Smee, and Peter Pan. Well done to everyone for their fantastic costumes! The winners of this competition were Poppy S (Yr7), Tatiana C (Yr8), Eden W-N (Yr9), Hafsah B (Yr12), and Freida J (Yr7).

All the girls were given the option of dressing as a book character on World

On Thursday, the author Nikki Sheehan engaged groups from Year 7 and 8 in two lively creative writing workshops, where she encouraged the girls to develop and write about a character transforming into an animal. Later she gave a presentation to them about how to write a book, citing Matt Haig’s advice that you should write as though your mother will never read it! Nikki answered many questions about reading and writing, including what had inspired her to become a writer, what she liked to read, and what was the first book she had ever read.

Roedean’s Biology Olympians

Chemists achieve no mean feat at Greenwich

Congratulations to Miranda G, Melanie C and Martha N (Yr12) who all achieved Bronze Awards in the Royal Society for Biology’s Intermediate Biology Olympiad. This put them in the top 13% of students nationally who entered this prestigious and tough competition. However, even bigger congratulations went to Selen S (Yr12) who won a Silver Award in the same competition, meaning that she was in the top 10% of all entrants.

Three budding chemists, Martha N, Selen S, and Emily T (Yr12), battled the elements on their way to the University of Greenwich to compete in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s School Analyst Competition. The first challenge they faced involved using a visible/UV spectrophotometer to produce two absorbance v wavelength graphs for samples of potassium manganate (VII) and potassium dichromate (VI), to deduce

There were also quizzes entitled ‘Match the literary villain to the villainous deed or description’ and ‘How much do you know about Harry Potter’, and many girls entered these.

the wavelength of maximum absorbance, and determine the concentration of an unknown solution. The girls had never used a spectrophotometer before and had to familiarise themselves with the apparatus quickly. The second task involved preparing a standard solution and using it to determine the concentration of a hydrochloric acid solution. The girls were complimented on skill and teamwork, and proudly came fourth out of twenty schools.

Roedean

School Photo The logistics of getting five hundred girls and over a hundred staff onto the staging were quite tricky, but the sight of all of our girls in their new uniform snaking across the whole site was a real delight!

A Fitting Farewell to Sue Stanway and Simon Rothon On 18 November, the School held a beautiful evening Chapel service to celebrate the achievements and contributions of two key staff members who have recently stepped down from their duties at Roedean.

Simon Rothon has served as Roedean’s Chair of Council for the last five years. Simon, who is also a former parent, has shown a great commitment to all aspects of School life. Perhaps his most notable achievement during his time as Chair was to appoint Mr Blond. The pupils were so impressed by the account by fellow Council member Margot Chaundler of Simon’s illustrious career and multilinguistic skills, that he has been invited to deliver a Roedean Academic lecture in the New Year.

Roedean

Positive Mental Health Awareness Weeks Our Positive Mental Health Awareness Weeks at Roedean include a range of activities and events for all. Two visiting speakers, Alicia Drummond and Ben Dew, joined us for one of the weeks. Alicia, who leads an organisation called ‘Let’s Talk’ is an experienced counsellor and coach with expertise in working with teenagers, their families and teachers. Alicia entertained Key Stage 3 with a fun and informative guide to coping with their adolescent years and gave a valuable seminar to staff. Ben is a youth worker from Brighton’s LGBTU organisation ‘Allsorts’. The emphasis has been on enjoying activities to promote relaxation and

learning strategies for coping with stress. With a focus on balancing work, rest and play, the highlight of one of the weeks was an inter-house Bake-Off! Other activities have included Yoga and Pilates’ sessions, a farm walk, and baking in the Houses. Keswick held a ‘Stay and Sing DVD’ evening and the Peer Listeners welcomed a great turn out from our younger girls at their ‘pizza and donut tea’ in House 2. The tutors across all year groups practised ‘mindfulness’ techniques with their groups, and much fun was had in the Art studio where pupils and staff contributed to a giant colouring-in circle.

Women in the Workplace Our inaugural Women in the Workplace evening brought together teachers, pupils, and parents from a variety of professions and fields to discuss the important issue of gender equality in the workplace. The quality and intensity of

the discussions and debates showed how important this issue is to everyone and there was a strong consensus that we all have to continue to challenge our own preconceptions and inequality where we find it. The parent panellists and speakers

shared wonderful insights, and the girls spoke with impressive clarity about what matters to them and to their futures. They were truly inspiring

Roedean

Speech Day with Professor Byron ‘You don’t have to listen to your thoughts: they don’t always tell you the truth’ As well as welcoming back many of the girls who completed their A Levels last year and are now at university, it was wonderful to have Professor Tanya Byron as our guest at Speech Day. She is an eminent child psychologist as well as being a media personality, with over twenty years’ experience, specialising in working with children and adolescents. As a clinician, Professor Byron works with those suffering from a variety of psychological and emotional issues, and she was commissioned by the then Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, to undertake an independent review into potentially harmful effects of video games and the internet on children, which resulted in the so-called Byron Review, Safer children in a digital world, published in 2008. She spoke in a way which was accessible to every girl in the room, and her key message was relevant to us all – overall, the day was a huge success. Miss Hawks, who teaches Politics and Geography, particularly enjoyed the address, and this is what she has written: ‘The title ‘Professor Byron’ conjures up a combination of an academic geek and a wild child. The real Professor Byron tried her hardest at being a wild child, but she failed to be expelled from school! After

some time wondering what to do when she grew up, she found the exciting world of the brain, and spent the rest of her youth studying psychology. Since then, she’s become one of Britain’s pre-eminent psychologists, familiar to readers of the Times, and to listeners of Radio 4’s All in the Mind. Professor Byron’s theme was how to embrace imperfection and how to banish crushing visions of failure: ‘you don’t have to listen to your thoughts: they don’t always tell you the truth’ – a piece of advice that will have a lasting impression on her audience (not least Blythe K (Yr7), as it’s her granny’s mantra). Eliciting answers from the girls (but emphatically not their teachers), she got to which bits of the mind we have to be mindful of. Byron’s cartoon-style diagrams and engagingly informal manner sowed the idea that the brain is something we can, so to speak, step outside, and extract those paralysing mind-worms of despair. The message of this rock-star of psychology, that we’re all beautifully imperfect, was enthusiastically applauded by her festival audience.’ An interview with Tanya Byron After Speech Day, some of our A Level Psychology students – Jodie H, Ami A, Georgina K, and Maria P – had the chance to interview our speaker. When asked what

motivated Tanya throughout her career in the face of difficulty, she told the pupils ‘success is passion’. She suggested that if you have a strong interest in something, this will encourage you to continue trying even if you do not initially succeed. The questions moved on to studying Psychology at university. Tanya went on to explain that nowadays, getting onto a Clinical Psychology course at university is equally as difficult as being accepted to study Medicine. She believed that all medical students should be encouraged to study Psychology because a more holistic understanding of the patient is now considered to be important. One of the Psychology students presented Tanya with the statistic ‘3 children in every classroom suffer from a diagnosable mental condition’. When asked what she thought schools could do to better support those children, Tanya noted the importance of subjects such as PHSE, as well as peer listening schemes. She was impressed by the HHH programme currently being offered to our Year 7 students called ‘Brain Busting’, because Tanya believes that it is really important for all pupils to understand how the brain works. She stressed the importance of having open conversations about mental health, alongside knowing when and who to ask for help. Concluding the interview, Tanya emphasised looking after yourself and your brain by eating and sleeping

Roedean

Goodbye Waste, Hello Recycling! Georgie W, Daisy O-J, Nahida U, Yasmin M formed a Year 12 CAP group, which worked hard to improve the recycling facilities at Roedean. They bought and distributed five bins around the school, and they were a fantastic success! They gave presentations in Assemblies, hoping to give the school community an insight into their work, and raising awareness of what they were trying to achieve, through recycling correctly and inspiring people to care about the environment. They were very grateful for the positive feedback they received and welcomed suggestions as to what could be done to make Roedean more environmentally friendly.

Obituary – Ken Thomson (26 December 1962 – 15 December 2016) It is with great sadness that I report that Ken Thomson, Head of Economics and Government & Politics, passed away over the Christmas period, after courageously battling an illness over the last year. It is very difficult to comprehend losing a key member of the Roedean community, who was with us teaching his classes until very recently, and all our sympathies are with his wife, Angela, and their two children, Alec and Ariana, at this most difficult time. Ken was a great teacher and colleague, and a wonderful inspiration to the many students he taught and guided over the 25 years he was at Roedean. He led two departments for the last 11 years, and was hugely generous with his time when supporting his students, as well as others who sought his advice when completing their university application forms; he made a difference to countless individuals over many years. They learnt a great deal from him, not only in his subjects, but also through his humane and patient approach, and Ken made a real difference in ways he perhaps could never know.

Keswick Hall – what a wonderful

transformation for the Sixth Form The creation of the Roedean Sixth Form Centre at Keswick House transformed it from a boarding house with study facilities for Year 13 students, into a Sixth Form Centre where both Year 12 and Year 13 students can socialise and study. Keswick Hall is a mixture of old and new – many of the original features of the old hall have remained, with the addition of a large mezzanine with laptop bar, large staircases, a state-of-the-art sound and presentation system, comfortable armchairs and sofas, and alcoves for study. It is a wonderful venue for lectures and chamber music, and the students began planning social events for later on this term with excitement.

The new Keswick Hall joined the other spaces that the Sixth Form students had been enjoying since they opened in September, including a large, silent study room, a conference room, and a common room with a kitchen area. Over time, more of the members of staff and services that support the Sixth Form became available in the Keswick Sixth Form Centre. Whilst the Sixth Form continues to play an important part in leading their school community, the Keswick Sixth Form Centre offers them more sophisticated, calm and inspiring spaces for their independent study and for meeting with others in the Sixth Form.

Roedean

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Top Tips

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The Artemisian The first edition of the Artemisian, Roedean’s new student magazine, spearheaded by Nahida U and Ellie G (Yr12), featured articles from girls in a variety of year-groups. It followed in the footsteps of The Boudicca Bulletin, which faded into obscurity two years ago, and, with the amazing quality of the articles, it was a great success. Congratulations to Nahida and Ellie for their hard work with this, and thank you to Ms Boobis and Miss Boles for their invaluable support!

Page 10

Reforesting the planet

Obituary – Jenni Sambrook

With very little resources but a lot of enthusiasm, the Sustainability Group planted two plum trees as part of their CAP project tackling paper waste and recycling. The planting took place after the group undertook some research about the importance of trees in our lives and for the environment. These two young trees, named ‘Brenda’ and ‘Teddy’, are a small but nonetheless vital contribution to make up for the large amounts of paper which are used in schools each year.

Our former Maths teacher, Jenni Sambrook, passed away in March this year. She taught Maths for nine years, from 2001 to 2010 and kindly returned to Roedean in 2015 to help us out at a time of need. Jenni had retired in the summer of 2016, and celebrated the wedding of one of her daughters before her very unexpected passing.

(6 June 1952 – 27 March 2017)

Jenni was an inspiring teacher, a fabulous mathematician, a loyal friend of the school, and a keen sailor. She was committed to getting the most out of every student with meticulous preparation. She wanted everything to be perfect in her lessons, and she often brought her own experiences as a surveyor into her lessons to make them relevant to the outside world. She was also committed to extending and pushing students beyond the curriculum through her committed work with the Maths Trust. She was much loved in the department and by her students, and she will be sorely missed.

#BeBoldForChange at Roedean

The 2017 International Women’s Day campaign theme was #BeBoldForChange, and every student at Roedean, in every year group, marked the day, each making personal pledges to be bold for change. On downloaded selfie cards from the IWD website, they all wrote something personal to them; some of the girls came up with some fantastic statements, and here are just a few examples: • • • • • • • • •

Well-behaved women rarely make history We are not strange, we are BOLD I will be BOLD, I will be BRAVE I will be bold, pick up a drill, and continue working on the F24 race car Don’t be the damsel in distress, be the HERO! I will stand up for body image! I will be bold to speak for those who are unable to speak for themselves We will be BOLD and make sure we are HEARD Girls love BLUE, boys can love PINK too!

There was a fantastic display in the Fireplace in Reception, with well over 100 of the cards submitted, and this made a powerful statement about what they believe in. At Roedean, the girls will be bold for change!

Roedean

Farewell and Good Luck to our Year 13 Leavers!

Leaversâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Ball After a brilliant day on the Friday before half-term, when the girls in Year 13 had a lovely breakfast and their Leaversâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Chapel and Hand-Shaking, they had a wonderful ball at The Grand that evening. It was a lovely event, with every girl in the year-group enjoying the brilliant food, the company, and the atmosphere, and sharing the end of their last official day in school with their parents and members of staff!

Community

Fairy tale mural at children’s hospital The junior boarders swapped their pens and uniform for paintbrushes and overalls, as work on a fairy tale mural began at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Sick Children, a local children’s hospital. It was organised through Rockinghorse, which is the charity that supports Brighton’s children’s hospital, among others. The initial idea was to encourage each of the boarders in Years 7 and 8 to complete 10 hours of

Farm

Roedean’s sheep move into their new home! What a wonderful day it was when the fifteen lambs and one ewe trotted off the trailer into their new field, surrounded by fifty girls and staff. This was quite the opposite reaction to eight months ago, when people just asked ‘why?’ and pulled a confused face when we floated the idea of a farm here. It really is great to have started this. Our new flock seem very at home here, and the boarders and boarding staff visit them in number on a regular basis. If this helps in a small way to engage our girls in the natural world around them and to live a little more ‘outside’, it will be certainly be worth it.

Chickens, the first eggs, and keeping them in! Mr Blond was presented with Roedean’s first egg just after the Founders’ Day service, and it became a centrepiece in one of his Open Day speeches. But Open Day meant something else for our new chickens, as their gate was temporarily (and accidentally) left open, and three hens decided to explore the wider grounds. Luckily, three farm prefects, Millie and India H, and Iris M, were on hand to

Houses

Great Gatsby evening After the fireworks to celebrate the start of Chinese New Year, the girls in Year 13 hosted a party in Keswick Hall for the entire Sixth Form and staff. This event was the first to be held in the hall since its major refurbishment, and the evening’s theme was Gatsby and the 1920s.The Hall was decorated with black and white balloons and strings of lights, and the girls and their guests really went to town with their outfits; the plus ones were in black tie, and Daisy Buchanan herself would have been proud of some of the dresses and other period paraphernalia.

The drinks and canapés were quickly swapped for dancing, and many of the girls and their guests threw themselves into the Charleston workshop, led by Roedean’s Head of Dance, Sophie Abaza. The training started with the basics,

Sport - Hockey Sport continues to grow at Roedean with all girls enjoying a full and varied Physical Education Curriculum and most taking advantage of our numerous clubs and activities each day, with a growing number partaking in school fixtures each week.

The girls have also competed in badminton and cross fit competitions. This is a new craze and really exciting for the girls to experience a proper gym and use free weights.

Hockey Under the guidance of Mr Carter, Hockey has made fantastic progress over the past two years. He is pushing the sport to a new level in preparation for when the all-weather pitch is completed later this year. Since 2015, Roedean has almost doubled its fixtures to 71 games, with 13 teams playing in the term. As well as having increased participation, Roedean hockey has also been very successful on the pitch, particularly with the U14 squad who won the East Grinstead Hockey Academy tournament. We have also had 19 U12-U14 girls going through county trials, and Clara H (Yr10) is playing Sussex hockey, whilst Bea W (Yr9) is currently training at a Performance centre. These achievements show that Roedean hockey has an exciting future with a lot of young talent on the horizon.

Staff vs Seniors

1st XI Team

U14s won the East Grinstead Hockey Tournament! Congratulations to the U14 Hockey XI who played in the East Grinstead Tournament at Ardingly on Thursday. The competition started well and the girls won their group. This meant that they met Benenden in the quarter final – the game was close, but we held our nerve to win 2-0. Roedean was through to the semifinal was against Lancing, and that game ended 4-0 – we were on fire! In the final, we played against Lingfield Notre Dame. It was a tight game which ended 0-0, with chances at both ends. Because it was a draw, the game was decided on ‘shuffles’, which is similar to the Olympics, where the striker goes against the keeper and only has 10 seconds to score. It was incredibly tense – Bea W scored and Rachel W saved their first attempts, so it was still a draw. After a few more shots, it was down to Yelena F to score our last attempt, which she did in 9 seconds – and we ended up winners! Roedean scored 14 goals in the tournament, and conceded only 1 – the girls played brilliantly and thoroughly deserved their victory.

Sport - Netball

Netball Netball continues to be extremely strong, with our teams playing in all of the local tournaments. We also entered the Independent Schools’ Netball Cup last year and the U13s were most successful, getting through to the second round. This is a difficult competition, with all Independent Schools across the country taking part. The U14s were runners up in the Sussex Round of the National Schools, progressing through to the regional stage in Southampton. They were also runners up in the SISNA competition, losing to Brighton College in the final. We also boast several girls gaining selection for the U14 Sussex Academy, which in turn boosts the standard of our school teams. We also were pleased to welcome Pamela Cookey in January, and she delivered a netball masterclass to our Year 7 and 8s. Pamela is an ex-international and Superleague Netball player. On the same day, Pamela led an inspirational presentation in the morning for our Sport Scholars, where the girls enjoyed the opportunity to have pictures taken and ask Pamela about her topflight career in Netball. She then led two very interesting coaching sessions and allowed the girls to practise what they had learnt. Emphasis was placed on ball-handling and denying space to the opposing player. The girls responded brilliantly to her, and I am sure that they learned a lot from the session.

1st Team

SISNA SISNA Netball

Staff v Seniors Netball Tournament

On Tuesday 28th February, our U14 Netball squad travelled to Hurst for the SISNA Netball Tournament. Being the last big tournament in the Netball season, there was a determined atmosphere amongst the girls and they had worked hard in training leading up to this competition. They won their first match by 25 goals to 2 against Brighton and Hove High School, but lost in the second round 15-5 against Brighton College. Nevertheless, they quickly picked themselves up, dusted themselves off, and went into the next game against Mayfield, which they won 11-8. They then won 10-7 against Eastbourne College, and beat Bede’s 7-6 to get into the semi-finals. As a result, they were runners up in the group and faced the winners of the other pool in the semi-final – that was Hurst, and on their home soil! But this was no match for our amazing U14 Roedean squad – they started strongly, turning over ball after ball, and they went on to win 12 goals to 4, putting them in the final! Yet again, the final was to be Brighton College vs Roedean – they are the only team in Sussex Roedean has yet to beat at this age group. Roedean started strongly with only a goal in it initially. Ami F made many interceptions and Beatrix W was making beautiful drives into the circle. It was a great team effort, but unfortunately Brighton College were just too strong and rarely missed a shot when in the circle. The final score was 13-4, and Brighton College were deserved winners. However, Roedean played out of their skin and their coach, Mrs Pittingale, was proud of every single one of them and the maturity they showed during the day. Congratulations to Jess K, Ella L, Yelena F, Ami F, Beatrix W, Liv H, Hana A, Kamalika N, and Demi A.

About 50 players made up 5 combined teams of staff and students who 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. Mrs Pittingale organised another wonderful event, and perhaps the staff need a little more practice before next year!

Staff vs Students

Sport - Athletics

Athletics Congratulations to our athletes! Six Roedean girls competed in the Sussex Athletics Championships at K2 in Crawley – they all did brilliantly, and each of them either won a medal or achieved personal bests. On Saturday, Amber A (Yr11) and her sister Ruby (Yr8) were both in action. Amber, who is a U17 athlete ran up an age group in a combined U20 and senior women’s 400m final. She was neck and neck with the seniors entering the final straight, and proved stronger over the final 100m to cross the line in a personal best time of 54.88s, which is the qualifying standard for the Commonwealth Youth Games. The time was a personal best by one second and also a Championship Best Performance, breaking a record which has stood for seventeen years. Considering that she had torn her hamstring in February, Amber hadmade an excellent recovery, and she topped the UK rankings in her age group over both 400m and 200m. Ruby (Yr8) also performed well, and, in her first year as a U15, she won the 100m in magnificent style, breaking the 13-second barrier to win the final in a time of 12.85s. Ruby was equally dominant over the 200m, and, despite a strong headwind, she won this race emphatically to become a double county champion. Amber P (Yr11) and Pippa W (Yr10) were both in action in the U17 women’s javelin competition. Amber won bronze last year, and she returned in fine style to launch the javelin out to 30.97m to win the Gold medal. Pippa, in her first county championships, took the Silver medal, with a PB of 27.10m. This result is even more impressive, because Pippa only took up the javelin last year. Gracie B (Yr9) and Tatum W (Yr8) both took part in the U15 girls’ 800m, which consisted of two seeded time trials. Gracie was third in her race, which was the faster of the two, and she earned the Bronze medal, running a PB of 2:25.51. Tatum won her race in a PB of 2:26.01, which gave her fourth place overall, to add to her PB in the 1500m on the previous day, where she came sixth with a time of 5:09.09.

It was great that all these girls performed so well, representing Brighton & Hove AC, and it showed that Roedean has some strength in depth at the highest level, both on the track with sprints and longdistance, and in the field! Roedean wins the Junior Track and Field Cup! We took two teams to the Track and Field Cup Competition at K2 in Crawley in May. This is an exciting team event and, after placing 2nd last year in the junior competition, they were determined to go one better. There are two competitions running throughout the day, and schools from East Sussex were competing alongside schools from West Sussex. Each girl of a team of 12 had to perform 1 event on the track and 1 in the field, gaining points for the overall score. Placings do not matter, as much as times and distances ensure a certain number of points for the overall score. Intermediate competition results: 4th with 271pts 100m

14.5s 15.9s

11pts Demi A 4pts Jess K

200m

29.8s 31.2s

14pts Bea W 10pts Eloise G

300m

49.3s

15pts Jemima G

800m 1500m

The Juniors were placed 1st at lunch which fuelled them to compete hard in the afternoon to maintain their lead. The team recorded several outstanding performances, including Ada gaining a whopping 27 points on the 100m, Ruby 26 points on the 200m, and Tatum 25 points on the 1500m. In the field, Sophia C achieved 23 points in the Long Jump and Tatum gained 22 points on the Javelin. We came home 1st in the relay, but the red flag was flown to disqualify us. It was a nail-biting 20 minutes, because we had not gained any points from this race which could place us in 2nd. Finally, the results were read out and Roedean had still won (by 10 points)! Junior competition results: 1st with 331pts 100m

13.2s 14.7s

27pts Ada O 13pts Onate OD

200m

27.5s 28.7s

26pts Ruby A 22pts Sophia C

800m

2m47.0s 19pts Sophie N 2m43.0s 20pts Serena C

1500m

5m05.0s 25pts Tatum W 6m38.0s 9pts Poppy S

Hurdles 15.8s 14.4s

11pts Phoebe H 17pts Isabel De J

High Jump

1.20m 1.11m

14pts Serena C 11pts Sophie N

2m33.0s 21pts Gracie B 3m23.0s 2pts Amelia J

Long Jump

4.48m 3.60m

23pts Sophia C 11pts Phoebe H

5m30.0s 17pts Josefine F 5m56.0s 12pts Liv H

Shot

5.75m 5.95m

11pts Ada O 11pts Poppy S

Discuss

17.32m 10.32m

16pts Ruby A 7pts Sylva C

Javelin

21.95m 17.73m

22pts Tatum W 16pts India H

Hurdles 14.1s

18pts Jessica M

Relay

60.7s

13pts

High Jump

1.23m 1.17m

12pts Gracie B 10pts Liv H

Long Jump

4.19m 3.39m

15pts Jessica M 7pts Eloise G

Shot

9.41m 7.10m

25pts Pippa W 14pts Bea W

Discuss

17.53m 12.63m

12pts Rachel E 6pts Demi A

Javelin

21.10m 19.33m

18pts Amelia J 15pts Jess K

Sport - Various

Football A young and exciting U14 team took to Bede’s annual U15 tournament with great enthusiasm. As a new squad, we were excited to see how our training was paying off. We started a little slowly in our first game against Bede’s. By the time we got going, we were by far the more dominant team, but Bede’s had already scored too many and we couldn’t pull it back. Our second game against Peacehaven was excellent; well done to their goalkeeper who saved several great shots and a wellstruck Roedean penalty. It ended a 0-0 draw, but both teams had played some great football. We continued to perform well throughout, and certainly have the strong foundations of a very promising team. Well done to all girls involved and we look forward to next year already!

Rowing Roedean at the National Junior Indoor Rowing Championships Following Roedean’s pilot indoor rowing event back in October, our first ever rowing squad travelled to Lea Valley Athletics Centre for the National Indoor Rowing Championships. It was a huge event, with 1700 young people taking part from schools from across the country. London Youth Rowing organised the event which saw members from the ladies’ Oxford and Cambridge rowing teams in attendance, to help give out the prizes and inspire the young athletes. Roedean did extremely well, taking into account the fact that the girls have only competed in their own event once and had minimal training in our own school gym. India H and Dione W were our most notable performers, but it was a really great effort from the girls representing Roedean at this fantastic event.

Swimming Roedean Swimmers in Europe Our swimmers were only beaten once last season against Farlington School. We have a strong squad of competitive swimmers who train once a week and have forged super links with Brighton swim club. Approximately 10 swimmers train regularly with the club and it works

Cricket Cricket’s going well at Roedean The U12A and B team played their first cricket match for Roedean against Mayfield last term. Both teams played with an excellent manner, putting on a good display of fielding, bowling, and batting. Considering the girls had only trained for three sessions, they showed plenty of enthusiasm and bags of potential. In terms of the results, the U12A team lost by 13 runs and the B team won by 16 runs. This fixture gave them a huge amount of experience, and it was wonderful that so many parents came to support on a very warm and sunny day.

out perfectly for both boarders and day girls as the club use the Roedean pool. There are a host of galas throughout the year and we endeavour to enter an A and B team to ensure that 30+ swimmers compete. Unfortunately due to our holiday dates we were not able to retain our cup in the Brighton Schools’ swimming competition, but we are eager to win this back next year. Josie F and Gracie B (Yr9) and Jemima V and Ruby L (Yr7) travelled to Belgium to compete at the Antwerp International Youth Swimming Cup, with teams from across Europe attending. Gracie made the youth 50m and 100m butterfly finals, and she finished 5th, which is outstanding. Josie narrowly missed out on a spot in the 100m breaststroke final, finishing 9th, and she also finished 7th in the 200m breaststroke. Jemima and Ruby had great swims too, both achieving many Personal Best times. Brighton Swimming Club won the overall cup for the first time, and it was a great experience for everyone involved.

Sport - Individual Successes

Maria’s going to 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: • • • •

Winner – Individual Kumite Junior Women –Winner – Team Kata Youth Women 2nd place – Individual Kata Junior Women 2nd place – Individual Fukugo Junior Women

Her success means that she qualified to 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. Following her outstanding successes at national level in Romania, Maria P (Yr12) then qualified in three different categories for the Karate World Championships in November – what an exceptional achievement! She came 1st, with her brother, in the mixed enbu category, 2nd in the team kata, and 3rd in fukogo, and will therefore compete in each of these categories at the Worlds. She is extremely grateful to one of the Roedean Young Enterprise companies, Sugarush, who sponsored her flight back to Romania so that she could compete. Maria has been world champion every year for the last seven years, so let’s hope that she can do exactly the same again this year!

1:51.25 – Emily and Martha’s

fantastic time for a half marathon!

Congratulations to Emily T and Martha N (Yr12) who ran the Brighton Half last weekend. They were both quite nervous about such a daunting distance, particularly since they are both very young (Martha only just met the qualifying age-limit by 14 days). However, running together the whole way, they crossed the line in 1 hour 51 minutes and 25 seconds! They were soundly beaten

by Mr Woodhouse’s experience and stamina, but they actually pipped Miss Andrew to the line by about 20 seconds (although she ran most of the race with a friend!). The girls are understandably delighted and proud of their remarkable achievement:

Fantastic gymnastics success for the Year 7 twins Emilia and Lola B (Yr7) took part in the British National Rhythmic Gymnastics League competition at Fenton Manor in Stoke on Trent, and they achieved a remarkable result in just their first year of competition! They perform with I-Star Academy, based in Shoreham, where they also do dance. Their routines are in groups of four, and their group, I-Star Pearl, came a fantastic third in their national group league. This is a huge achievement, as they were competing against 12 other squads from all over the UK, with teams from Birmingham, Bath, London, Cardiff, and more. This success is the culmination of lots of hard work – the twins train all day on Saturday for gymnastics and dance, and some weekday evenings too in the run up to competitions. Well done, Emilia and Lola. ‘It was a great experience, but my legs are aching so much that Martha and I won’t be planning the full marathon for at least a few months!’, and ‘despite the wind and rain, I really enjoyed the atmosphere and I love my shiny, new medal!’ The girls have raised well over £2000 for Chestnut Tree House, a hospice which provides care for young people locally suffering from life-limiting illnesses. Well done, Emily and Martha!

Sport - Individual Successes

Maddie wins an award for sailing her topper dinghy Maddie Q (Yr8) was selected to be one of 15 youngsters to win awards, from over 80 applications, after competing in the Royal Yachting Association Zone Championships which took place at eight venues in September. Run by the RYA, OnBoard is a grass roots programme which introduces sailing and windsurfing to young people aged 8 to 18, through schools, youth groups and training centres. Over a ten year period, OnBoard has introduced more than half a million children to sailing and windsurfing in the UK. Since 2012, JMST, a charity partner of the RYA, has donated more than 50 single-handed junior pathway boats and boards to promising sailors. This year, JMST donated 13 boats and two boards to the 15 award-winners, including Maddie, to provide them with the opportunity to use the highest quality of equipment to develop their sailing skills. This is a wonderful way to recognise her commitment to sailing, and we are sure that Maddie will go from strength to strength.

The Anning sisters continue their winning ways! Amber wins silver at the National Indoor Championships Amber A (Yr11) won a silver medal at the National Indoor Championships in Sheffield over 200m, despite suffering an injury. She ran the fastest time of the year in her age group of 24.47s in the semi-final, going into the final as the favourite. She was leading on the final bend, but unfortunately pulled her hamstring with less than 30 metres to go; despite this, she managed to continue to secure a medal. She was wheelchaired off the track and had a four week recovery period. Amber has had a hugely successful season, including being selected to compete at the Youth Commonwealth Games – she has a bright future!

Ruby’s Sussex Champion! Ruby A (Yr8) is the Sussex U15 Indoor Champion over 60m. She was last year’s U13 Champion, but she is in her first year in the older age group, and it was an unexpected victory and a fine achievement. She won her heat in a personal best time, before storming through the line to get another PB of 8.18 seconds in the semi-finals. Ruby was really excited about the final, and a timely dip on the line in the final gave her the gold medal. Congratulations!

Saskia gets her trophy from Rio Gold medallist Saskia LD (Yr7) is a racing sailor in the Optimist class, the largest and only international junior boat class. It’s a single-hander, so she spends between 4 and 6 hours a day on the water without a break when she’s racing. On the weekend of 19-20 November, Saskia raced in the national Winters Championship, at which the 130 competitors completed in three races each day, taking about 45 minutes to go around the course. Saskia performed brilliantly, and was the second junior girl! But her biggest thrill of the trophy presentation was that she received it from her namesake Saskia Clark, a Gold medallist at the Rio Olympics and the female World Sailor of the Year. Roedean’s Saskia has been competing in national regattas of between 130 and 250 sailors since 2014, and she was selected this year to be in one of the two national squads organised by the Royal Yachting Association to coach promising sailors. The squads offer intensive winter training for the top 40 sailors in the country and prepares them to compete in selections for international events. Alongside the RYA support, Saskia also trains with a world-famous Optimist coach, Vagelis Atzemian. Congratulations to Saskia for this wonderful achievement – we can’t wait to hear what she does next!

Festival Week

Community Day Everyone a Scholar Day ‘Everyone a Scholar’ Day provided an opportunity for girls to be engaged in and inspired by new skills, learning, and experiences, hopefully with a desire to pursue them further. The girls were certainly buzzing with excitement at the end of the day from seeing the crown jewels, BMXing, taking part in a very realistic operation, learning a new percussion style, dancing to the beat of a new drum, cracking enigma codes and cryptic crosswords, not-too-spooky ghost stories from Brighton’s Lanes, meeting snakes and coding mini robots, and finding out how to make a business out of football! And, after all of this, there was an independent project for them to get their teeth stuck into over the summer!

25 different activities took place across one day, with students helping their local community in a wide and varied manner of ways, from fundraising and busking, to hosting an afternoon tea for the elderly, to participating in archaeological digs, to designing resources for a guide dog charity, to running activity days for primary school children and children with learning difficulties... The day was a great success, with too much happening to document it all, but this quotation from a Year 9 student just about sums it all up: ‘I learned a lot, from small things like making conversation with people who you might not get a chance to talk to normally, and stepping out of your comfort zone, to bigger things like putting a smile on someone’s face simply by doing something that might not mean so much to me, but will have a very big impact on someone else’s day.’

Roedean’s Race for Life! Our school Race for Life event was available to everyone in the school community – it was an ideal date during the last week of the term, and all staff and girls were on site and ready for action! It was wonderful that, as well as racing for personal reasons, as a community, Roedean was racing for Alan Smith and Ken Thomson. Over 400 participants took to the 5km course and, between rain showers, were successful in their endeavours to raise awareness. We were delighted to see parents and siblings join in, and Mr and

Trips

Roedean School, Roedean Way, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 5RQ T: +44(0)1273 667500 | E: dba@roedean.co.uk | W: roedean.co.uk facebook.com/RoedeanSchool | twitter.com/RoedeanSchool