Roedean is situated on the south coast
ROEDEAN SCHOOL, EAST SUSSEX
Debating club for sixth formers has recently been revived at Roedean and the school is looking to expand its offering down to Year Seven. The first debating match will be against Harrow School this month. Head of Classics, Claudia Hindle heads up the club and is excited about the new life skills the girls will develop as they train for their debating competitions. She explains: “We are basing our debating on the British parliamentary style and the girls will learn about putting a compelling argument across, how to counter it and the importance of fully researching your subject before putting it to the house. They will learn how to react quickly, how to understand other people’s point of view and how to be persuasive in your language. These skills not only really help them across all their subjects but also when they leave school.” “What makes debating club so much of a challenge is that the girls will be given various issues for debate to prepare for but they won’t be told which side they are going to have to argue. They could be asked to argue for or against anything from animal testing to capital punishment. To be able to debate successfully, you have to have developed a flexible mind with the ability to strategise on the go.”
“While Bryanston recognises the importance of developing expertise and confidence in public speaking, the skills and approach required for effective debating are quite different. That’s why we have a dedicated debates programme that not only supports the personal development of pupils but also encourages pragmatism and inquisitive insight. We have very enthusiastic participation in our regular debates and the events certainly prompt much intrigue and discussion throughout the school community.”
SCHOOL STATS HEADTEACHER:
Oliver Blond
NUMBER OF PUPILS:
620
FOUNDED:
In 1885 by three sisters, Penelope, Millicent, and Dorothy Lawrence. They wanted to set up a school which prepared girls for entrance to the women’s colleges at Cambridge, which were Girton and Newnham MOTTO:
Honneur aulx dignes – Honour the worthy LEAVERS’ DESTINATIONS:
34.4% bound for university aim to do a STEM subject; 4% will go to Oxbridge; 57.5% to a Russell Group university; 7% will go to an international university. NOTABLE ALUMNI:
WHAT MAKES DEBATING CLUB A CHALLENGE IS THAT THE
girls are given issues for debate to prepare for BUT AREN’T TOLD
WHICH SIDE THEY WILL ARGUE Pupils go on to study across a wide variety of courses at university
Former Europe minister Baroness Chalker of Wallasey, MP Layla Moran, actress Tess Dahl, nurse Dame Cicely Saunders, creator of the London A to Z Phyllis Pearsall, and Ursula Graham Bower – an anthropologist who became a guerilla soldier fighting against the Japanese invasion of Burma, Actresses Rebecca Hall, Sarah Miles and Honeysuckle Weeks, journalists Katharine Whitehorn and Nancy Spain.
SCHOOL STATS HEAD:
Sarah Thomas NUMBER OF PUPILS:
692
MOTTO:
Et nova et vetera – The New and the Old FOUNDED:
In 1928 by JG Jeffreys LEAVERS’ DESTINATIONS:
In 2018, pupils went to study at Cambridge, Durham University, Bath, King’s College London, Oxford, Birmingham, Leeds, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, Royal College of Music, Georgetown Washington and the University of British Columbia. NOTABLE ALUMNI:
Ben Fogle, Emilia Fox, Sir Terence Conran, Sebastian Conran, Jasper Conran, The Rt. Hon, the Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers KG (former President of the Supreme Court), Lucian Freud.
SUMMER 2019 | independentschoolparent.com
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