On Thursday 22 March, the Roedean Alumnae team hosted an Afternoon Tea at The House of Lords in aid of the Pitch Perfect Appeal.  Guests gathered in the Cholmondeley Room for a glass of champagne before sitting down for a delicious Afternoon Tea of sandwiches, scones and cakes. After enjoying the tea and wonderful views over the river Thames Roger Sanders (Chair of Council), Oliver Blond (Headmaster), Mark Taylor (Director of Development), and Karen Andrew (Faculty Lead Sport), spoke about future developments at Roedean and gave a presentations on the fantastic new facilities for sport. This was followed by speeches from Maggie EB (Head of School, and Year 7 pupil, Maria V.  Maria spoke about how excited she is about the all-weather pitch:

‘I must say that I am particularly happy to be in Year 7, just in time for the Astro to be built. This means I am one of the lucky ones who will benefit most from the Astro pitch – I can look forward to many years of great practice, great fun and great competition, and hopefully lots of great victories!

There are many advantages of the Astro to Roedean School. They will include: Not having to travel so much. Recently, around 30 girls went to East Grinstead Astro for a hockey training session. We spent an hour and a half on the coach... time that would be better spent on the pitch!

Secondly, imagine the saving we could make as a school, on the cost of fuel, if we cut out all the bus and coach journeys to all-weather pitches at other schools and venues. Not to mention, the saving on the cost to our planet with less damage to the environment.

Thirdly, a huge part of this project is being able to play in the evenings under floodlights. This will mean that, in the winter our training sessions and games can take place at home, later into the evenings.

Finally, I would like to conclude by saying, I always hear my PE teachers saying “In a few months' time...” And I think it is safe to say, they are looking forward to this big opportunity as much as us girls! Our Astro pitch will fill us all with a great sense of pride. We will be proud to welcome our visitors to the new “Jewel in our Grounds!”’ Maria V (Year 7).

Everyone enjoyed the afternoon enormously, and we plan to make this an annual event.  To find out how you can help us complete this transformational project, visit Pitch Perfect Appeal or email Mark ([email protected]).