Last night I had the pleasure of attending the Roding Valley production of My Fair Lady. The drama studio provided an intimate venue and a packed house thoroughly enjoyed the highly polished performance. Isabella Bramley was simply superb as Eliza Doolittle with an astonishing transformation from flower girl to duchess. Doncho Atanassov was a very convincing country gentleman as Colonel Pickering and both Ben Botteman and Harry Gipson burst into song to the delight of the audience. There were strong performances from all of the rest of the cast but I must mention Matthew Tinker whose Henry Higgins was full of humour and pomposity much to the dismay of his mother played beautifully by Thisbe Barnett. It is a great credit to the school that we have the students who are prepared to put in so much time and effort to prepare for such a demanding show whilst simultaneously keeping up with their studies. I know that several members of the cast had to go back and revise for a Maths exam straight after the performance so they should be commended. I would also like to thank Mr Stansfield, Head of Drama, for his hard work in supporting the students in their rehearsals. All in all it was a wonderful evening and everyone concerned seemed to enjoy every moment. I have also been pleased to receive some positive telephone calls letting me know how delightful our students are in the local community. Three members of the public have spoken to me in recent weeks saying how impressed they have been with how polite, helpful and well presented our students have been and this is exactly what we want to hear. Unfortunately, occasionally I am informed that a tiny minority of students do not show the school in its best light and this is totally unacceptable. If I am informed that any of our students have behaved in a way that brings the school into disrepute I will always take it seriously and will always take action. Just because it may be outside of school time does not mean that we will not sanction that individual or group of students. As far as I am concerned while a student is wearing the Roding Valley High School uniform, they are representing the school and it is vital that all of our students are aware of this and act accordingly. The excellent reputation of the school is critical if we are to continue to drive up standards and I would like to thank you all for your ongoing support in this regard. I wish you an enjoyable weekend. J Luck Headteacher
Message from the Governors At the latest meeting of the Personnel and Finance committee we discussed the invaluable contribution to the school made by the professional support staff. We very much appreciate all the “above and beyond� work that often goes unseen but we know makes all the difference to our success. Roding Valley High School would not be the great school it is without the dedication of the many people behind the scenes.