We had a fantastic two days of OR events on the 21st and 22nd April, which saw ORs who left Roedean from 1951 to 2022 either welcomed back to Roedean or enjoying an afternoon in London.

On Friday 21st, we held our annual OR Afternoon Tea at the Oriental Club in London. Two years ago, Roedean joined the Oriental Club's OC7 scheme, which provides reduced membership to ORs, so it was wonderful to hold an event in their beauitful Club House just off Oxford Street. About 20 ORs joined us for the tea this year, representing nearly 70 years of Roedean. It was wonderful to see them all mixing, regardless of the year they left Roedean in. There were many conversations comparing which teachers were there during their times, and surprise at how long some teaching staff stayed at Roedean! Two of the ORs in attendance were also talking about sending their own daughters to Roedean, which is always wonderful to hear.

The tea itself was delicious, and with the food being replenished frequently, the Club were luckily able to provide some take away boxes for the leftovers. We feasted on wonderful finger sandwiches, beautiful pastries, and excellent scones, all accompanied by tea and prosecco. We do hope you are able to join us for next year's tea.

Saturday morning then saw the OR vs Student netball match. The weather forecast was looking very unpredictable so we were very pleased that the day was dry, with not too much wind (surely a Roedean first) and not too cold for those of us spectating or too hot for those playing.

The School team was a mixture of our 1st, 2nd and 16s (many of them in the middle of revising hard for their upcoming public exams). The ORs had a strong squad, made up of leavers from 2016-21, and despite not playing together before they linked throughout court efficiently. There was fesity defending from both sides, with multiple turnovers happening within a centre pass. Both teams gave their all, but well done to the ORs who were victorious this year, with a final score of 26-11. 

Thank you to all who played, both current and past pupils, the supporters who came to cheer them on, the PE Staff for umpiring and to Mary Henderson (ORA President) for organising the OR team. It was a joy to see you all on court together and with the overall score at 1-1 we are looking forward to seeing who takes the lead next year!

The OR Team this year were: 

Demi Adeyemi, Captain (No.3, 2014-21)
Hana Al-Arari (No.4, 2013-19)
Amelia Balthazor (No.1, 2009-18)
Gracie Bernard (No.3, 2014-21)
Lea Donovan (No.3, 2014-16)
Eloise Goddard (No.4, 2016-21)
Luchia Leigh (No.2, 2010-16)
Natasha Rustemeyer (No.3, 2013-18)
Lorretta Sargeant (No.3, 2013-18)
Bea Wright (No.3, 2016-18)

The next OR event will be Roedean Day on June 24th, booking will be opening very soon for this!