29 November 2019 - Issue 11
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Head’s Introduction
The focus of this week at Roedean has been Academic Week, with its theme of Tricks of the Mind. It has provided the girls and staff with an extraordinary range of lectures and activities, and challenged them to reconsider and think differently. Congratulations and thank you to Ms Boobis and her team of Academic Prefects, led by Elsie – it has been incredibly impressive and very thought-provoking. It was our privilege to host the Brighton Kemptown parliamentary candidates for the three main parties, along with a Green councillor for the city for Roedean’s Hustings on Tuesday. The audience of a packed theatre of students and staff enjoyed hearing our guests outlining their priorities. The questions from the floor challenged them to explain how they will deal with local and national issues. At a time when there is a concern nationally that young people may not exercise their right to vote, it was heartening to hear Roedean girls engaging whole-heartedly with the debate. They have continued in corridors, classrooms and Houses ever since. Thank you to our former colleague, Mr Andrew England, and to Mr Marchant and the A Level Politics students for inviting the speakers and the work they did to prepare for this event. Thanks also to Mr Sheriff – chairing a political debate is perhaps even more challenging than keeping hundreds of pupils focussed and on task. I am very much looking forward to this evening’s ‘Around the World in 80 Minutes’ gala concert, which I know will be spectacular, and also to Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, which will transform the Chapel into an exciting space for the performances next week. I wish all our performers and staff the very best. To put on a week’s worth of events such as this is the product of a great deal of work behind the scenes, so I would also like to thank and congratulate our Theatre and IT teams, the Housemen and Maintenance teams, and the Catering Department – it really is a team effort, so thank you. Seeing the Christmas trees going up around School today was wonderful – good luck to you all for the last two weeks of term!
Hustings As the General Election approaches, political discussion is plentiful at Roedean. We were therefore delighted to host a hustings of parliamentary candidates on Tuesday evening. We were joined by Joe Miller (Conservative), Lloyd Russell Moyle (Labour) and Ben Thomas (Liberal Democrat), all of whom are hoping to be elected as the Member of Parliament for Kemptown. The Green candidate, Alexandra Phillips, unfortunately could not attend, owing to duties in the European Parliament, yet was represented by Hannah Clare. Well over one hundred interested and excited students watched as the candidates answered questions from our Sixth Form Political Scientists, with topics including how to improve the representation of young people, helping rough sleepers, getting to net zero carbon emissions, and of course, Brexit! Many thanks to the Sixth Form Politics students who introduced the candidates; Nour, Lottie, Lara, and Mia gave an excellent overview of the candidates’ careers and their ambitions for the local area. We are also grateful to Mr Sheriff for chairing the panel so well. JHM I was so glad to see that all the parties were so enthusiastic about addressing the ever-growing problem of our climate emergency and rough sleepers in Brighton. Eloise (Yr12) I have never been to a political event, but I really enjoyed it! I loved hearing the candidates campaign for their stance on worrying issues like Brexit. Courtney (Yr12) The hustings was really enjoyable. It was great to see who could be representing Brighton in Parliament and what they had to say. Holly (Yr12)
The hustings were really interesting to watch, especially given the uncertainty of the result at the upcoming election. I found it very interesting to hear about the background of each candidate, as well as their plans for the future of Kemptown. Gracie (Yr12) It was interesting to see politics first-hand and feel closer to the political process. Jess (Yr12) The hustings was a really exciting and interesting experience. It was nice to see the actual applications of political theories which I have learnt in A Level Politics. Annie (Yr13)