27 April 2018 - Issue 2
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Head’s Introduction The A Level and GCSE examinations are now underway, with speaking tests in a number of languages, Art GCSE, and the Drama performance of the A Level devised piece. Congratulations to all the girls who have completed their GCSE Art and to Esmee, Grace, Jade, and Jess on creating a powerful piece of stage-work about a dystopian society where music, the very rhythm of life, is banned. I wanted also to congratulate the performers from every year group who gave a wonderful music concert at Falmer last Saturday. The local community were full of praise for the quality of the pieces. There have been two Biology trips this week, one to the beach to undertake eco-sampling fieldwork for Year 13, and the second for Year 12 to the
The Tennis season has started, and it’s a chance to play on our resurfaced courts! Hurray!
Millennium seed bank at Wakehurst, where billions of seeds from around the world are stored and protected. It is trips like these which put learning into a context. I’m pleased that the girls enjoyed them. Well done to those who completed their DofE Silver Practice expedition last weekend, and my thanks to Mr Beard, Mr Silvey and Mrs Brett for accompanying them. I hope that those who visited Cambridge today had a wonderful trip, and I am sure that every one of them will have been inspired by the wonderful surroundings and the air of academia. I am incredibly proud that Roedean gives the first concert to begin the Brighton Festival Fringe each year, and this is the 15th year that Roedean has been part of the Festival Fringe – I wish
everyone performing in this concert on May 5 the best of luck. The School has had wonderful tasters of what is to come in our Chapels this week. It is remarkably impressive that we will have soloists from Years 9 to 13, and we heard from the youngest in Chapel – with great confidence and dexterity, Joyce in Year 9 played the slow movement of the Mozart Piano Concerto in C, accompanied by the orchestra. What an opportunity, and what talent – I can hardly wait for the concert and to hear all of our musicians performing. Good luck to all those performing in the Dance Showcase this evening. There have been some long rehearsals but your commitment will pay off. I hope that you all have a wonderful week.
Biology Trip to Wakehurst Place This week, our Year 12 Biologists have been to the most biodiverse place in the world! Even more so than tropical rainforest! We went to the Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) at Wakehurst Place, which contains approximately 200 billion seeds. Seeds from all species of UK flowering plants are stored here, along with others from every country around the world. We realised that the seed bank is an incredibly important resource for the future of the human race. New medicines could be discovered using compounds in the plants that can be grown from the seeds. New characteristics from these plants could be genetically engineered or bred into our crop plants to ensure we all have enough food as the climate on our planet changes. And extinct plant species could even be brought back to life. The MSB is a priceless and inspiring place and we were so lucky to have a behind-the-scenes tour. We also carried out some ecological sampling work in two areas of beautiful coppice woodland. One of the group said, ‘We were learning by doing, and so have a much deeper understanding of this type of practical investigation and are more likely to remember it when it comes to exams!’ PCH
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