Serena's amd Sophia's family has recently moved to Johannesburg, so they were keen to take the opportunity to see the school, and compare it with ours. Roedean South Africa was founded in 1903, shortly after our School, by a fourth Lawrence sister.

They were met by Mrs Rabie, who was our contact when Roedean visited South Africa in 2018, and Anza, the Head Girl, who presented them with flowers and balloons. Serena and Sophia then went to lessons in Mathematics, Physical Science, History, and English. They also attended a very engaging talk for the Matrics (Year 13s), given by a guest speaker, Joanne Joseph, the author of Children of Sugarcane, on Indian indentured labour.

They had a great time, sharing their experiences with the Matrics, and they really got a glimpse of life at Roedean South Africa. They were surprised about how many similarities there are between the two schools, even though they are so far apart. As we do, the girls refer to female members of staff as ‘Madam’, they also have ‘hand-shaking’, they refer to us in their School Prayers just as we do, and the weather is about as changeable as ours is too! But there are also differences: Serena and Sophia reported back that Roedean South Africa has an amazing reputation for Water Polo, their lessons are 70 minutes long (which they thought was far too long!), and the uniform is very different

They really had a fantastic time – the Roedean South Africa girls were so welcoming and friendly, and they were all really keen to say hello. Sophia also finally met up with some pen-pals she was introduced to through our partnership, and with whom she has been corresponding with since 2020!

We are so lucky to have this connection with our sister school in South Africa, and it is brilliant that Serena and Sophia were able to represent Roedean there.