Roedean rocks
How do Roedean pupils manage to pack in so much
and still smile?
What a term at Roedean! With close to 400 students, 100 of them day girls, the school embarked on the autumn term as it meant to carry on: with gusto.
The pace was set by the new headmistress Frances King who invited the whole community – pupils, parents, staff, feeder schools, heads from the Girls’ Schools Association and members of Brighton and Hove City Council – for dinners, lunches, tea parties, concerts and plays at the school. Keen to engage with all, Mrs King took as much pleasure listening to the girls’ opinions of Roedean, as she did encouraging them to interact with visiting guests.
The prowess of Roedeanians seems amazingly effortless. Judge for yourself. In three months they: made 1,000 cranes to mark World Peace Day; danced the salsa on the European Day of Languages; wrote, directed, produced and acted in a Team Play Festival; played Vivaldi’s ‘Winter’ and The Flintstones at St Margaret’s Church in Rottingdean for an audience of local primary school children, and then threw a Gala Festive Concert. As well as this they enacted Scheherazade and her wonderful tales in Arabian Nights; managed trips to Stratford, Tate Britain, Germany as well as the Brighton Pavilion and took tea in the Lanes; attended mosaic workshops at the weekend; visited a vintage fashion fair; went mountain biking, climbing; and set up a weather station.
All on top of normal lessons, polo, karate, scuba diving, the Young Enterprise scheme, Duke of Edinburgh expeditions and raising £25,000 for charity. The ever-efficient fleet of minibuses have been busy in a 20-mile radius, not only ferrying day girls but local junior school pupils to share the facilities of the science department for exciting chemistry lessons that went with a bang!
Roedeanians have collected a few accolades along the way. The Schoolzart Competition based on healthy eating was won by a Year 8 student. Four of Roedean’s talented mathematicians finished in first place in the final of the Regional Maths Team Challenge. Some took up a new instrument in September and passed the Grade 1 examination in December, others finished Grade 8 with distinction. It takes all sorts at Roedean to form this dynamic upbeat community and the joie de vivre is contagious.
For more information call the school on 01273 667500
