Life Skills

This month, a group of students took part in a Life Skills session led by InvestIN. The sessions have been carefully designed and aim to equip the students with valuable insights and practical skills that are crucial for both personal and professional success.

Life skills sessions can help students foster key attributes such as confidence, adaptability, and problem-solving. These skills are vital for successfully navigating the challenges of the real-world enabling students to make thoughtful and confident decisions about their future.

Debating Workshop

This month it was wonderful to see a group of students immerse themselves in the dynamic and challenging world of competitive debate, honing the skills required for the British Parliamentary format.

Some of these students are also representing Roedean at the regional rounds of the Oxford Schools Competition and the International Competition for Young Debaters later this year.

Learning how to debate is a crucial skill that fosters critical thinking, enhances communication, and strengthens the ability to craft persuasive arguments.

Harp Diploma for Vanessa

Congratulations to Vanessa in Year 12 who has recently achieved her ARSM Performance Diploma on the Harp. We were delighted to hear her perform in Chapel - she played L’Egyptienne by the Baroque composer Rameau and the audience were clearly impressed by her beautiful playing which was highly evocative.

Roedean Sailors

The Autumn term saw our enthusiastic young sailors take to the water as our Year 7s completed their Wild Fridays sailing block and our Saturday Sailors took on the challenge of completing the RYA Level 2 Dingy Sailing Course.

The Year 7s were presented with the Roedean Wild Fridays Certificate of Achievement in Water Safety and Dingy Sailing and we were delighted to present Mia (Yr10), Charlotte (Yr8), and Soraya (Yr8) with the RYA Level 2 certificate. It was brilliant to see our Saturday sailors demonstrate their skills with some very close single-handed racing in very light winds.

After much discussion, we finally named our Roedean Fusion Sailing Dingies with the Saturday group choosing a bird theme. The new names are Robin, Kestrel, Swift, and Jay.

Drama Puppet Workshop

Our KS3 Drama scholars had a fantastic introduction to puppetry this month when they were visited by local theatre company  Puppetbox. Using original rod puppets designed by Annie Brooks, they experienced areas such as focus, independence, active stillness, and breath. The 90-minute workshop was wonderful, and the students created delightful scenes by the end of the session.

"I enjoyed learning about the movement of different creatures and how we incorporated different voices and personalities"

Harrie (Yr7)

"I loved that you just forgot that the world around you was there when you were controlling the puppets"

Grace (Yr8)

GCSE History WW1 Workshops

In an exciting group of educational sessions for our Year 10 and 11 GCSE History students, we were delighted to host Dickie and David’s WW1 Workshop.

They brought history to life using compelling storytelling alongside authentic costumes, and the interactive activities were particularly well received. The students had the opportunity to handle historical artefacts, including rifles and gas masks, act as stretcher bearers, and even model a British soldier’s uniform.

It was wonderful to see the students so involved and it clearly helped enhance their understanding of their GCSE content as well as providing teachers with ideas and inspiration for future lessons. We are already looking forward to welcoming David and Dickie back next year!

Boarding Round-up 

We were delighted to welcome back our boarders after the Christmas break, and it was wonderful to see them settle straight back into school life.

In the first week of term, as the cold weather set in, Roedean was covered in a blanket of snow and for some of our boarders it was the first time they had ever seen it. Many rushed outside at the first opportunity to have snowball fights and build snowmen, while others dusted off the sledges for a race down the hills. Later that evening there was plenty of time to shelter from the cold and warm themselves up with tasty waffles and toasties.

Games night returned with competitive bingo, Just Dance, and quizzes, and the eagerly awaited pizza night was gladly welcomed by the girls who created delicious pizzas in amazing shapes with their favourite toppings. The smell of tasty treats filled the ODRs as the girls enjoyed creating a range of culinary delights including smoothies, sundaes and even homemade pretzels.