Apr 06, 2016
HEADS INTRODUCTION
The first half term of the academic
year has been excep�onally busy. I
am delighted that we have been
able to get a number of new ini�a-
�ves off the ground this year.
The new Community Ac�on Pro-
gramme for 6.1 girls sees all our
sixth form making a difference in
the local community and broaden-
ing their own understanding of chal-
lenges people face across the area.
It is the start of pu%ng Community
Service at the heart of the school.
We have also started our Triple H
programme (Head, Heart and
Hands) for U3, L4 and U4 to ensure
that thinking skills, community ser-
vice and prac�cal skills are embed-
ded within the curriculum. We know
that the girls love the sessions in
subjects as diverse as sign language,
cookery, philosophy and photog-
raphy.
The third new ini�a�ve is our new
Co-educa�onal Enrichment Pro-
gramme. We are invi�ng organisa-
�ons from the local area to provide
addi�onal ac�vi�es to Roedean girls
and girls and boys from others
schools. It means that we have been
able to add lacrosse, Go-Cart con-
struc�on, song wri�ng, football, hip
hop and theatre workshops to our
provision. We look forward to
watching all these new ini�a�ves
develop in the future.
A key event this half term was our
Founders’ Day Service. The school
represented itself so well and gave
those visitors who had arrived to
commemorate loved ones a sense
of the importance and value Roede-
an places on its former girls and
staff and their family and friends. It
was sad to pay tribute to our former
Headmaster, John Hunt, but won-
derful to have his two sons in school
to see how well the school is going.
Our Open Day and Brighthelm
events were wonderful occasions
this year and our busiest ever. We
welcomed over two hundred and
fi:y families to Roedean. We are
delighted that the news about
Roedean is spreading and gener-
a�ng interest. It simply is a wonder-
ful place to grow, to learn and a fan-
tas�c community to be part of.
I hope you enjoy reading a li;le of
what is happening back at school.
Please do get in touch if there are
any ini�a�ves you would like to get
involved in or hear more about.
As always, we hope to see you back
at school for an event, tour or reun-
ion soon. Please see the OR events
calendar in the accompanying QUAD
for full details.
Best wishes,
Oliver Blond
EXCITING START
The first week of a new academic year
is always an exci�ng �me, old faces
return with smiles and confidence as
friendships are reunited, and new faces
emerge with mild trepida�on yet an
overwhelming sense of adventure for
what the Roedean journey might pre-
sent.
For staff, the new school year is equally
an exci�ng and anxious �me, but per-
haps more so this year as we waited to
see if the changes that had been put in
place would work and create a be;er
environment for the girls. I am delight-
ed to report that seeing the girls in
their now smarter uniform, mee�ng
tutors, and all going to Chapel together
looked fantas�c and provided the
structure and purpose to the start of
day that we wanted. This, coupled with
the buzz of the teas in the Houses at
the end of school, wrapped up a su-
perb, meaningful first day back.
We will be con�nuing to review the
provision for the girls in all areas of
their lives at school, be they academic,
pastoral, or co-curricular. We also look
forward to welcoming you to some of
the many events in and around the
school over the coming year. Helen
Semple, Deputy Head, Pastoral
MASTER TEACHERS’
OPEN CLASSROOMS
This year, we launched the role of Mas-
ter Teacher to a;ract the best teachers
to Roedean and to provide opportuni-
�es for the teachers already here.
The Master Teacher role is all about
providing inspira�on and innova�on. It
involves taking a specific area of re-
sponsibility, leading in-school training
sessions, sharing good prac�ce and
undertaking research in school and
through Sussex University. We hope to
share more about them in the future.
Our Master Teachers recently opened
their classrooms to the rest of the
school. The variety, energy and passion
for their subjects is inspiring. There
was a buzz around the school of en-
couragement, enthusiasm and sharing
ideas.
ACADEMIC SIXTH FORM BRIGHTHELM
SCHOLARS
We are delighted to welcome ten stu-
dents from the local area to join Roede-
an as our Sixth Form Brighthelm Schol-
ars.
SIXTH FORM LECTURES
The weekly lecture programme for the
Sixth Form has started with a diverse
range of talks this half term. Three
talks covering literature, forgiveness
and Romanian orphanages and how
although they are not in the news like
they used to be, there is s�ll a need for
charitable support. The most recent
was given by Shaun A;wood, who
made millions on the stockmarket but
became bewitched by popularity, drugs
and too much money, ending up im-
prisoned and ruined. His salutary mes-
sage about drug use was very clear.
The Lecture Series will run throughout
the year—if you or someone you know
would be interested in giving a talk,
please do get in touch with the school.
ACADEMIC
OUR MP AT ROEDEAN
Mr Simon Kirby, our local MP, took the �me to come to Roedean on Friday 3rd Oc-
tober. He was very humble, telling the audience that he’s “not much of a role mod-
el” although his story is obviously one of “hard work and determina�on”; he was a
council house boy from Has�ngs with the mindset of “if you want some-thing done,
you’ve got to do it yourself”.
Although Mr Kirby seemed to be all for the idea of more women in Parliament, he
did seem to be quite taken aback by the hard-hi%ng ques�ons being fired at him
from the sea of young women. True to Roedeanian tradi�on, the girls did not hold
back when ques�oning our MP about issues such as drug abuse, tax cuts, homeless-
ness, building on the Sussex Downs, how to get more people to vote, and “why
Conserva�ves?”. However (a:er catching his breath), Mr Kirby delivered factual,
considered and logical answers to sa�sfy the bloodthirsty Sixth Form Poli�cs stu-
dents. The turnout was fantas�c, with girls from all year groups and all subjects
listening to the Lecture. We are grateful to Simon Kirby for taking the �me to speak
to us, and also to Mr Chu;er and Mr Thompson for making this possible; it was a
fantas�c opportunity for all the girls to get their teeth into the wider world and
poli�cs. Marisa Abela, 6.2
Weekly boarding is the best experience
I have ever had. I am always busy and
there is never a dull moment. It is so
great to spend my school nights with
my friends, we can help each other
with homework and talk about things
that are going on. I have been weekly
boarding for a year and I love it. I live
in London and every Friday evening a
member of staff escorts us from Bright-
on sta�on to London Victoria. There is
an escort from Victoria to Brighton on
Sundays too, and I always arrive with
enough �me to relax with my friends
for a while and then go to bed.
One of the best things about weekly
boarding is that I am completely school
-based on school nights. This is great as
I don’t have to worry about ge%ng to
and from school each day and remem-
bering my books and sports kit. Then I
can come home and spend a great
weekend with my family a:er a busy
week at school.
The boarding houses have just finished
a huge refurbishment and everywhere
in the houses is incredibly comfortable,
stylish and modern. All the rooms look
stunning and have plenty of space for
everything. The house staff are always
there if I need someone to talk to, and
every single one of them is really kind
and helpful.
I have made so many good friends
since star�ng weekly boarding. We
have fun every day, even if it’s just be-
ing in each other’s rooms, talking about
our favourite shops or si%ng in the
common room watching a film, we al-
ways enjoy ourselves. I can’t put into
words how much I love it. Julia Hinton
EVENING ACTIVITIES -
WRITING TO ORS
A group of H4 boarders spent their
evening with old fashioned pen and
ink wri�ng to some of the Old Roede-
anians who would have walked the
corridors of their House in the 40s,
50s and 60s.
They wrote about what they like
about Roedean and about boarding
and asked our former students what
it was like for them at Roedean and
what they liked best (and what
pranks they got up to!). The girls
were fascinated to see pictures from
these decades and hear about the
visits from the Queen Mother and
Princess Margaret. They were par�c-
ularly taken by the changes of hair-
styles that happened over the years.
BOARDING AT ROEDEAN
RACE FOR LIFE
We are delighted that through dona-
�ons, the sale of T-shirts, wrist bands,
and refreshments the grand total
raised for Cancer Research last year
was £1937.65, which is outstanding!
I smile when I think of how many stu-
dents, staff, parents and families came
together on a lovely sunny day – what a
day to remember!
Thank you all for your support of the
event. Jane Chandler
SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP -
CITY ACADEMY WHITEHAWK
For the past term, a group of Upper 4
girls have been helping a class of Year
1s learn to read in neighbouring prima-
ry school, City Academy Whitehawk.
We have each been assigned a buddy
with whom we read a few books each
week and record their progress. This is
a really great opportunity both for us
and the children at the school to get to
know each other, improve our mentor-
ing skills, and get involved in the com-
munity. We have been given guidelines
to help to teach our buddies, and some
of us enjoy adding our own crazy ac-
�ons and dance moves. It has been
really nice to remember what it is like
to be a beginner at reading and this has
helped us remember not to give up
when finding things hard. It is also
great to see them improve a li;le bit
each week. Briana and Lucy
KIDS COMPANY
Following a visit from Camila Bat-
mangehlidjh, the founder of Kids Com-
pany, on Saturday 11th October, two
minibuses arrived full of 10-12 year olds
at Roedean. These were children who
have rarely travelled beyond the limits
of the estate they live on and for whom
a trip to the seaside is an unknown lux-
ury.
Seventeen children and their helpers
were met by Roedean staff and over 20
girls from across the school and were
quickly engaged in a range of ac�vi�es
from trampolining to launching �ssue-
paper hot-air balloons and rockets that
they had made. The boys and girls
loved every minute of their short visit
to Roedean and many of them said they
didn’t want to leave.
Kids Company, provide prac�cal, emo-
�onal and educa�onal support to vul-
nerable children and young people.
They reach 36,000 children across Lon-
don and Bristol, including the most de-
prived and at risk whose parents are
unable to care for them due to their
own prac�cal and emo�onal challeng-
es.
www.kidsco.org.uk
BEYOND THE GATES
The four Houses produced a quartet
of highly entertaining and unique
pieces, involving almost all girls either
on or off stage. There were two Snow
Whites, a mentally ill clown and a
mysterious criminal, all carrying the
main stories in an evening themed as
Tales of The Unexpected. The judges,
from Reigate Grammar School, St
Paul’s Girls and The Na�onal Youth
Theatre had a memorable evening,
they gave all the Houses excellent
and bespoke feedback, eventually
awarding the coveted Becky Clarke
Cup to House 4. All the Houses
should be rightly proud of their
efforts : amid the fizz and chaos of
the evening it is worth remembering
that the journey was a significant
one. Jay Green
HOUSE PLAYS
House Drama stormed The Theatre,
equal parts high energy and uns�n�ng
commitment to the cause.
THE WINTER PRODUCTION
This is our major produc�on this term
and we are absolutely delighted to be
the first school in the world to be
granted the rights to Kneehigh’s fabu-
lous Tristan & Yseult, currently running
on Broadway.
Featuring girls from Years 9-13, as well
as boys from the Brighton area, the
produc�on runs for 3 nights, from 8–
10 December at The Roedean Theatre.
Tickets are £5 with all proceeds going
to the Royal Marsden Cancer Unit and
are available on 01273 667510 or �ck-
[email protected] Follow us on
Twi;er @roedeantheatre
MUSIC AND DRAMA EVENTS ARE OPEN
TO OLD ROEDEANIANS TO ATTEND.
FULL DETAILS CAN BE FOUND IN THE
OR CALENDAR IN THE QUAD.
EXTRA CURRICULAR
Eulogy for John Hunt—given by Jonathan Hunt at Founders Day
2014
“The poem I am about to read was wri;en by Prunella Stack and some back-
ground to her, and her link with Roedean, is relevant. Prunella’s mother found-
ed the League of Health and Beauty around the end of the 1st World War which
was the forerunner of all the fitness movements since then, par�cularly for
women. She was a leading light in a number of areas, and was head of the
League in the 1930s, when she was known as Britain’s ‘Perfect Girl’. She came
each year to Roedean to talk to the Sixth Form about the League bringing one
of her demonstrators with her. She herself was a superb example of fitness and
beauty, as well as fun. Her son, Iain Douglas Hamilton and her granddaughter
Saba Douglas Hamilton are wildlife experts in Kenya specialising in ele-
phants). My parents remained great friends with her (and Iain) throughout my
father’s life. Jonathan Hunt
THE JOURNEY
By Prunella Stack
Where are you going? To a place I’ve heard of
Far away?
A life�me’s journey
How will you find it? I’ll recognise
As untouched shore With a brimming sea.
How will you get there?
My sails are trimmed
My stores are ready I wait for the �de.
Will you be met?
Ah! that’s the ques�on.
Stars will lead me
To find the answer.