The fantastic sunshine last week was the perfect antidote to the fact that everyone at Roedean was either in or preparing for exams. The girls made the most of the grounds and found time to relax or revise outside. Roedean’s first sea-swimming session took place last week, with seven girls and three members of staff. Sea-swimming at Roedean goes back to when the School first opened on this site. Before the tunnel opened in 1910, girls went to Rottingdean and climbed into covered wagons which were then drawn by horses into the sea. As well as just being a great experience for the girls, the longer-term aim is to compete in the annual Cross-Channel relay in June 2020. Last week also saw the annual shearing of the Roedean flock. Local shepherd, Holly Arpino, showed the fascinated Farm Prefects how to age, dag, and shear a sheep, as well as how to fold the freshly shorn wool accurately. In other news, on Sunday 12 May, 9 students from Years 9-13 went to Goodwood to race Roedean’s electric car. This has been built over the last few years, and the students have been working exceptionally hard to upgrade the car throughout this school year. The improvements include a new throttle system, a nose cone, cooling fins and a fan, wheel covers, and an eChook to monitor the car’s performance on the track. And finally, last Monday every pupil in Year 7 had the opportunity to play an instrument and present their musical talents to an audience of parents, staff, and girls. For many of the girls, this recital is the end product of Year 7 Instrumental Scheme at Roedean, where every girl learns either the trumpet or violin for a year.