THE QUAD Old Roedeanians’ Association Newsletter Issue 3 – Winter 2010
Editor’s Note The third issue of The QUAD – is here in full Technicolor! However, I’m sorry to report that we have lost our old Editor-at-Large, Katya Borowski (No.4, 1982-1987). Katya has been appointed Head of New Business at the NSPCC and felt that the demands of her new job would not allow her sufficient spare time to continue. I am extremely grateful to Katya not only for coming up with the name but also for dutifully producing and collating the first two issues and setting the bar high for future editions. Our ORA Magazine Editors Zoë Willis (No.1, 19952000) magazineeditor@oldroedeanians.co.uk VI2 Leaver’s Dare 1989 and Spirit de la Mare (No.1, supplied by Alexandra Montgomery 1997-2002) (McCartney, No.3, 1985-1992). editoratlarge@oldroedeanians.co.uk are taking over the helm so please continue to email your contributions or send them by post to Lesley Morrill, ORA Liaison, Roedean School, Brighton, Sussex, BN2 5RQ. We are always keen to hear your news and also to receive photos of reunions or of your time at school. If you would like to help with either the Magazine or The QUAD please contact me. Sasha Glynn (No.1, 1980-87) president@oldroedeanians.co.uk
President’s message There have been so many highlights since the last edition of The QUAD. Hence the choice of cover photo for this edition! On Roedean/Reunion Day this year, roughly 125 ORs celebrated being part of the Roedean Community that the Lawrence sisters conceived all those years ago and which Frances King (Headmistress) and her team of today are encouraging with all their energy. On asking one of my peers for feedback on the day, she explained that it was the reminder that her time at Roedean had taught her that “anything is possible” which struck her most. This lady works full time, has two young boys and has written a book. I put her in touch with a publisher friend of mine and they are in the early stages of getting it off the ground to mutual benefit. I am sure all of you are aware how important that philosophy and the Roedean network has been and could continue to be in all our lives. I have just returned from the most splendid Open Day at Roedean. I was able to meet with several potential Roedean girls and their parents. All the families were taken on a tour of the school by one of the girls and we all met up in the Studios (Old No.1 and No.2 Dining Rooms in the Dining block) for coffee, tea and delicious pastries and cakes. Frances King then treated us to an address about the goings-on at school this term. You can learn more about this in the Headmistress’ Report. Next we were introduced to three new girls who had just started in Upper 3. They seemed to be having such fun and were so happy and confident for girls so young. The presentations were completed by the most wonderful piano recital and a presentation by one of the VIth Formers explaining her Art project. The talent displayed was breath-taking. Please can I ask you to remind yourself, your friends and family that the first port of call for education for girls should be Roedean. I am confident that anyone who takes up that offer will not be disappointed. The Bursar has confirmed a 5% discount on fees for daughters of ORs, which goes to show the value that the school places on its Old Girls. We were invited to join the South Africa ORA at their London Reunion during the summer and it was brilliant to meet so many of them and discover the similarities between the two schools. They are keen to be included in OR events so keep an eye out for them at the Networking event at the Royal Over-Seas League in London on Saturday, 20 November 2010. We have recently been trying to re-engage the OR Year Reps and those of you who were selected by your peers for this role will have received a letter calling you to arms from Zoë Willis. If you are not a Year Rep but would like to be please contact Zoë Willis (No.1, 1995-2000) magazine-editor@oldroedeanians.co.uk. Finally, I would like to say a huge thank you to the superb ORA Committee; the energetic and enthusiastic team I work with at school; and all those ORs whom I have had the pleasure of meeting in person, by phone or electronically for their never-ending support, encouragement and friendship. Sasha Glynn (No.1, 1980-87) president@oldroedeanians.co.uk.
SAORA Reunion Lunch London – Frances King, Mary Williams (Headmistress Roedean South Africa), Laura Pereira (UK SAORA Rep), Sasha Glynn and Brett Jury (SAORA President).
School Report by Frances King, Headmistress The new school year The year has started with a full and cheerful school; girls happy to be returning to see their friends or keen to start in a new community. Day one was spent finding classrooms, meeting new teachers and beginning a fresh set of studies. It ended with our Freshers’ Fair: stalls for everything from dance through to the school newspaper, voluntary service and debating were vying for custom and there was a real buzz in the hall. A significant development for this new year is a return to four houses, and to the familiarly named Houses 1, 2, 3 and 4. A more defined sense of house community is clear already as the girls get to know each other. This will be raised to fever pitch by half term when the house plays are presented to the school, our first inter house competition of the year. Each house is now responsible for organising the activities for the school on their house weekend as we work to enhance our commitment to a full boarding experience. Already these have attracted a good number of our day girls too. The highlight of our first weekend was camping overnight near Old Lawrence: this included singsongs by a real fire and breakfast cooked for the girls by the sixth
Spot the Roedean Day Quiz Questions throughout the QUAD - answers on p.10
formers. Chessington Park featured next in the diary and after our first exeat girls will be going mountain biking and climbing. You can see why the day girls are keen to join in! Another development this year is our appointment of Abra Reid (No.1, 1984-86) to the post of Head of Careers. Whilst this had been ably filled to date, Abra is able to focus solely on the careers provision here and to look for ways in which we can further improve our provision for students as they prepare for adult life. Abra is keen to be involved in the ORA’s mentor programme and would welcome any offers from Old Girls to share insights from their careers with the students. You can contact her on abr@roedean.co.uk. This year sees the school celebrate 125 years with a number of exciting projects and activities planned. Old Girls are warmly welcomed to the Founders Day Service on Friday, 11 March 2011, which will be followed by tea and a school concert. We are looking forward to more music in May with the visit of the Roedean South Africa choir. This will be a wonderful opportunity for us to welcome our sister school and learn more about life in South Africa. More details about our events over the coming year will be published on our website: I hope I will have an opportunity to meet you at one of these.
Roedean and Reunion Day 26th June 2010
The ORA Golden Mile Team – All ORs this year! Thank you to the 125 or so ORs who attended the Reunion this year from all over the world. It was the ORA’s pleasure to host an event with the full support of the school and for so many ORs to be present on such a glorious day. It was fantastic to be able to meet so many of you who registered and to learn about your experiences at Roedean and about your lives since leaving. We reproduce an
1900 - 1920 Who donated the pews in the Chapel?
excerpt from one of the large number of most welcome thank you notes we received after the event. Pippa Alexander (Waide, No.2, 1974-80) wrote: “We all thought the ORA Day was a true delight. It was very well thought through & executed. We all felt enormously welcome and at ease in our old school. We LOVED all the activities that you very kindly arranged for us. It was wonderful to see the current pupils in the Drama & Dance Show and then at Sports Day; the girls all seem very talented, grounded & charming. The Art Exhibition was truly excellent; it quite surpassed anything we were capable of. The trip down the tunnel was not for all of us but those who braved the darkness thoroughly enjoyed the experience. And lastly the lunch & tea were delicious & very tasty; quite unexpected after the years of school food. Personally I don’t think you could have improved the day at all. It certainly answered all my expectations & needs. THANK YOU & YOUR TEAM for all your hard work. We all returned home on quite a high ……….” There were 7 correct entries and the winner of the Reunion Day quiz was picked at random by Harriet Clifton-Sprigg (U3). Diana Buckley (No.2, 1981-88) was victorious and we plan to present her with a small prize at the next ORA event she attends. The ORA and Roedean are hoping to make this year’s event just as good. We have taken on board all the very useful feedback we received so it should be even better. We hope to see you on Saturday, 25 June 2011!
Elizabeth Keir, Catherine Reeves (Carswell, No.4, 1975-81), Fauzia RahmanGreasley (Rahman, No.4, 1975-80), Pippa Alexander (Waide, No.2, 1974-80), Julia Chamberlain (Pollock, No.2, 1974-80), Penny Holt (Miller, No.2, 1978-80) & Katherine Keir.
1920 – 1940 When did Penelope, Millicent and Dorothy Lawrence die?
Reunion Day drinks in the cloisters with Miss Marjorie Deley (Nurse - 198085) (centre) and friends.
A Millennium Leavers’ 10 years On Celebrations On a fine weekend at the end of the June 2010, the terrace at the Chapel Bar in Islington was taken over by about thirty-five girls from the class of 2000. A few brave significant others were in tow and some members of staff also joined in the merriment and nostalgia. Over a barbecue lunch and lashings of chilled sauvignon blanc and rosé (it was the hottest weekend of the year thus far) girls who had not seen each other in a decade enjoyed the catch up, the memories and a bit later, the England vs Germany football World Cup quarter final. We won’t go into details about the utter shellacking that England underwent, but fortunately the atmosphere at the reunion was so buoyant the game was promptly forgotten and the chattering and giggles quickly resumed. It was fascinating to see how our lives had evolved in just ten years. Some girls were now married with children, whilst others were pursuing careers in a range of realms, from the City to the army, the arts to fashion, teaching to medicine. What was apparent amongst us all was the drive, confidence and enthusiasm with which we were travelling along our particular paths, a journey on which many of our friends from Roedean were still such an important and cherished part. Long may this continue and I for one am already looking forward to the reunion in 2020! Zoë Willis (No.1, 1995-2000) magazine-editor@oldroedeanians.co.uk
1940 – 1960 Who donated the stained glass window which commemorates the visit of the Queen Mother in 1955?
Millennium Leavers: Gabby Cust (No.4, 1994-2000), Jessica Walsh (Andrews, No.4, 1993-2000), Sarah Aliker (No.4, 1993-2000), Fiona Walker (Chemistry Teacher, 1995 to date), Margot Hill-Landolt (No.4, 1995-2000).
Millennium Leavers: Helen Sandiford (No.2, 1993-2000), Rosemary Allt (No.2, 1993-2000), Emma Rundall (No.2, 1993-2000), Serena Dodd (No.2, 1993-2000).
1960 – 1980 Who opened the Dining Block in 1964?
Pygmalion with the OR Scholar - Jodie Gough To celebrate her excellent GCSE results and her birthday, Sasha Glynn invited Jodie Gough and her mother to watch Honeysuckle Weeks (No.2, 1992-97) play Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion at the Chichester Festival Theatre. After enjoying this magnificent production and Honeysuckle’s exemplary performance they waited to meet her at the Stage Door. She was the last performer to leave the theatre and so they managed to meet and chat with Stephanie Cole and Rupert Everett who both signed their programmes with love! Honeysuckle gave Jodie some excellent advice in a very touching exchange between the two. She told her: “Never let anyone tell you can’t do it! Always keep faith in yourself and tell yourself you can do it!”.
Honeysuckle Weeks (No.2, 1992-97) and Jodie Gough ORA Scholar 2010-2012
ORs @ Ascot August 2010 This year the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup was attended by a small group of ORs keen to study the form and take their chances on winning. We opted to bring our own picnic, which we enjoyed before and after the festivities. Not one of us managed to come out on top on the day - it was tense at times - see photo on penultimate page. But we all enjoyed the racing and the chance to re-live the 80’s at the two hour live concert featuring Boy George, Belinda Carlisle and Johnny Hates Jazz afterwards. The day was such fun that we have all resolved to meet again next year and book the hospitality package this time. Please email Sasha (president@oldroedeanians.co.uk) if you and your family would like to come along next year.
1980 - 2000 Which unique Roedean Head resigned in 1984?
ORA Mentor Scheme
Nicky Orlebar (Ford, No.2, 1961-68), Natalie Nzeymiana (T2, 2003-9), Mrs Steele (Head of Keswick House) and Margot Chaundler OBE (Wilkin, No. 4, 1962-67) I loved Roedean. I loved the sea, the people and the space to take initiative. Of all the things I missed most when I embarked on my gap year, I’d say the freedom to think for myself topped the list. Roedean had instilled me with a sense of confidence and I left feeling like I had a lot to offer the world. With a new academic year beginning, I found myself preparing for the “University of Life” whilst friends were embracing everything about their Fresher’s experience. After a month working as a waitress in a busy Thai restaurant in central London, the world, which I had seen as my oyster, was slowly turning into a scallop. Six months of working in retail on Oxford Street and I now found it turning into a cramped mussel. I vividly remember my fears on the train to Brighton on Speech Day. I was about to accept a string of certificates and awards that were physical reminders of how well I’d done at school and how much I was failing at life. Had I peaked too soon? Would I always be looking backwards? Was there any hope? Questions and doubts plagued me, but as soon as I arrived at school on what was a surprisingly sunny day, they fell away. My old teachers and friends greeted me with the famous Roedean hospitality and immediately I felt at home. The prodigal daughter had returned. Speech Day provided an amazing opportunity to meet some of the wonderful ORs who had sponsored me through my studies there. This, combined with the congratulations, pride and warmth I felt coming at me from all corners of Centenary
2000 - The Blyth Library relocated to its current location in 2005. Who is it named after and what was his association with the school?
Hall put my mind at ease. In retrospect, it was a turning point. I met many inspiring ORs who made me feel as though anything was possible. Of all these influences, Sasha Glynn became one of the most important. Having taken me under her wing, she became what could perhaps be best described as the world’s most proactive mentor. Several weeks of daily chats later, the mussel had turned back into the oyster. By some miracle, namely Sasha’s powers of perception and persuasion, I found Emily Pluthero (Campbell, No.3, 1979-88). All the hopes I had of being delivered from what I desperately hoped was a short stint in retail were resting on the outcome of this conversation. Thankfully, it went well and I met Emily the next day, which I remember as being sunny even if it wasn’t! Meeting Emily was refreshing. She is discerning and full of energy, and when you’re around her you can’t help but feel like you can make the impossible happen. And she does. On a day-to-day basis she defies commonly held assumptions and finds solutions to complex problems. The best way of bringing all of her varied roles (mother, chair of a charity, property developer, interior designer, mentor, friend, wife, daughter, manager, boss, entertainer, entrepreneur, philanthropist - in no particular order!) into one it would be to describe her as a problem solver. No. She’s more than that: Emily is a solution provider! At this point, to say that I was in an enviable position would be an understatement. I was fortunate enough to have had Sasha’s guidance which helped me get to a place where I was able to put my best foot forward and learn from Emily. To be honest, at first I was intimidated. I still am. Here stand before me two amazing women who effortlessly juggle seemingly never-ending demands on their time and do so with grace, humility and lashings of wit and humour. The OR Mentorship scheme opened my eyes to the varied roles and responsibilities women have to juggle. It forced me to evaluate and redefine the qualities I think are necessary to lead a happy and fulfilling life, and it’s armed me with experiences which have given me the foresight to see problems as unidentified solutions waiting to be found. Natalie Nzeymiana (T2, 2003-9)
Quiz Answers 1900 - 1920 1920 – 1940 1940 – 1960 1960 – 1980 1980 - 2000 2000 -
Who donated the pews in the Chapel? Mr C R W Wysock Wright When did Penelope, Millicent and Dorothy Lawrence die? Penelope (1932) Millicent (1925) Dorothy (1933) Who donated the stained glass window which commemorates the visit of the Queen Mother in 1955? Marilyn Farrar-Bell Who opened the Dining Block in 1964? Princess Margaret Which unique Roedean Head resigned in 1984? John Hunt The Blyth Library relocated to its current location in 2005. Who is it named after and what was his association with the school? Charles Frederick Tolme Blyth, married to Agatha Lawrence, Clerk and then and Vice President to the Council
ORs@Ascot: Kate Sylvester-Kilroy (No.4, 1982-87), Adela Hussain (No.2, 19971999), Ella, Sasha Glynn (No.1, 1980-87)
REUNION DAY – Saturday, 25 June 2011 All ORs are welcome as usual for the event that wraps up the 125th Anniversary celebrations. However Sarah Bayliss (Bowes, No.4, 1973-81) has the following message:
“Calling all those who left VI2 in 1981! Next summer it will be 30 years since we left Roedean. We are planning a reunion for all those who finished school that summer. We are organising a dinner in London on Friday, 24 June 2011. The more intrepid amongst us plan to meet again the following day at Roedean on OR Day, 25 June 2011. The ORA has kindly agreed to help with arrangements, which will include drinks before lunch, and lunch will be in a reserved area of the dining rooms. There will be tours of the houses, and lots of other things going on at school, but most importantly, lots of time to chat and catch up with one another at both gatherings. You should all receive a letter of invitation from the OR in your house and year who has offered to coordinate your house, but in the meantime, if you have any questions or comments, please do email me on the address below. Please put the date in your diary now; it would be wonderful if as many of our year as possible could make it. Sarah Bayliss née Bowes 30yearson@oldroedeanians.co.uk” If anyone would like help from the ORA co-ordinating a gathering of their peers please contact Sasha Glynn. We are keen to encourage the 10, 20, 40, 50 and 60 Years On.
OR Networking Event & AGM – Saturday, 20 November 2010 After the roaring success of last year’s wine tasting social in Brighton the ORA will be hosting a repeat performance, this time at the Royal Over-Seas League (ROSL) in London. Old Roedeanians, ORA South Africa, St Mary’s Hall old girls, parents, staff and current pupils are all invited to join us for a drinks and finger buffet reception on Saturday, 20 November 18:30 - 23:00 at the Royal Over-Seas League, Over-Seas House, Park Place, St James’s Street, London, SW1A 1LR. This will be a glorious opportunity to catch up with old friends and make some new ones, thus strengthening the connections within our unique and lively community. We look forward to seeing you there although we cannot guarantee gale force winds and driving rain in London that will be of a comparable standard to Brighton’s best. We shall try our best though! The AGM is free, includes refreshments and starts at 5pm. Tickets for the neworking event that follows the AGM cost £40 and include a finger buffet, drinks and surprise entertainment. Ticket cans be purchased either: 1.
Online at the website http://oradrinksreception.eventbrite.com/
2.
Via a cheque for £40 made payable to the ORA to the following address: Captain Clodia N O’Neill (ORA) The Adjutant101 Engineer Regiment (EOD) Carver Barracks, Wimbish, Essex CB10 2YA
Tickets will be available until Monday, 15 November 2010. For further enquiries please contact the ORA Events Committee on: ORAEvents@oldroedeanians.co.uk
GRAND 125th ANNIVERSARY BALL – Saturday, 2 April 2011 This exciting and historic black tie event will take place on Saturday, 2 April 2011 at the Hilton, Park Lane, London. A central London location has been chosen so that as many members of the Roedean Community as possible can attend. We are keen to generate awareness of the event, so please spread the word and invite friends, family, parents, teachers etc.. Tickets will be in the region of £95 each and will include: a pre-dinner glass of champagne; 3 course dinner and half a bottle of wine not to mention the entertainment.... The Ball Committee knows there are opportunities for collaboration out there so if you are interested in helping us in any capacity: wishing tree gifts; auction donations; sponsorship - please contact: ORAEvents@oldroedeanians.co.uk. with your ideas. Put the date in your diaries and book now to take advantage of the Early Bird offer! You will not regret it! To book you can download a booking form from www.oldroedeanians.co.uk or contact ORAEvents@oldroedeanians.co.uk. Please see the ORA Calendar and the ORA website (www.oldroedeanians.co.uk) for more details on all OR events.