6th May 2016 - Issue 4
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Head’s Introduction
This has been a wonderful week for Roedean. The report from our ISI Inspection in March has been published, and I am absolutely delighted that it describes the school in extremely glowing terms. In every category, Roedean has been judged ‘Excellent’, the highest accolade. This remarkable success is the result of the fantastic work which goes on here every day, across all areas of the school. It reflects the collective commitment, hard work and aspirations of the girls, staff, and the entire school community. Roedean is an ever more dynamic and vibrant school, and I believe that this positive ethos will continue to enable us to improve and develop. We are all proud to be a part of this success, but there is much still to do to ensure we provide the very best education for every girl. You will all soon have a copy of our Inspection brochure with an abridged report, as well as access to the full ISI report. I am sure that you will agree that it describes Roedean in the most positive way, and I am very proud of the school – well done to all! The week started with Open Day, to which we welcomed over a hundred families, despite the Bank Holiday being the one misty and damp day in the last fortnight. Those girls with public examinations continued with their lessons, with the visitors enjoying their tours and another wonderful performance by the girls in U3 and some from L4, followed by an ‘Alice in
Wonderland’-inspired lunch. We immediately received a lot of very positive feedback, so thank you to everyone involved for making it a success, when there is so much else to concentrate on at this time of year. This week, two year groups have been away on residential trips, which are great opportunities for the girls to learn in very different ways and get to know each other even better. The Year 8 girls have been in Derbyshire, returning today, and those in Year 9 got back yesterday from three days of outdoor activities at Bushcraft. I have no doubt that they will have some stories to tell, and I look forward to hearing all about what they have been doing. I am looking forward to the Fringe Festival concert tomorrow, where it will wonderful to see so many girls performing together with members of the local community. I know that it will be the culmination of weeks and months of dedicated work, and I wish all the performers, including our six outstanding soloists, the best of luck. This has been a fantastic and varied week, and I wish you all another great week to come.
Excellent in all areas – ISI Inspection 2016 We are delighted that Roedean was judged to be excellent in every area by the ISI Inspection at the end of last term. A copy of the abridged findings has been sent to you by post, and you will be receiving the full report by e-mail next week – some of the quotations from the report have been included here: The ‘girls have an exemplary attitude towards learning’, along with ‘high levels of success in the many extra-curricular activities’, and ‘excellent standards of personal development’. The seven highly experienced and respected Inspectors remarked on the girls’ exemplary attitude towards learning, which, combined with excellent teaching, allows them to achieve excellent results in public examinations: ‘teaching is excellent’ and ‘pupils display excellent levels of knowledge, understanding and skill in their academic studies’. Beyond the academic, the girls are also highly successful in the many co-curricular activities available
to them: ‘the school provides a range of excellent facilities and resources which enhance the educational experience’ and ‘the contribution of extra-curricular opportunities strongly supports pupils’ excellent achievements’. Roedean’s commitment to its holistic vision of education is clear to see: the girls are becoming intimidating adversaries in sport, they achieve very highly in the Performing Arts, and they feel strongly about charity fund-raising and are keen to be involved in community action work, as well as being supported as much as possible to realise their full academic potential. Roedean is a dynamic school, where the girls are happy, confident, and flourishing – ‘pupils have outstanding levels of creativity’, they ‘feel happy and safe at school’, and display ‘high levels of self-esteem and mutual respect for each other’. Whether the girls are boarders or day-girls, relationships are often central to a thriving boarding school, and the
Inspectors found at Roedean that ‘pupils are very supportive of each other and develop strong bonds of friendship’; it is a school where the ‘staff express their pride in their pupils’ and ‘know their pupils extremely well’, and where the ‘outstanding integration between pupils of different nationalities and between day and boarding pupils results in mutual respect’. This is a very exciting time at Roedean, and we are delighted that the school’s remarkable provision in terms of teaching, facilities, pastoral care, boarding, and co-curricular opportunities has been recognised in this way – Roedean received the highest of accolades from the Independent Schools’ Inspectorate, highlighting the fact that the school provides a fantastic all-round education for it students.
All-round Excellence at Roedean