Ukrainian Bursary Appeal

When Ukraine was invaded, we, along with the whole student body, felt shock, horror and disbelief- but most of all, we felt so helpless as we watched the atrocities unfold. And now, as Head Girls, we know we speak for all the students when we say that we are so happy at the prospect of welcoming Ukrainian pupils to Roedean in September. We hope that with time in our nurturing community, they will eventually find some peace and joy returning to their lives, after experiencing such traumatic experiences in their childhood years. Jemima and Sarah, Head Girls

When war broke out, I was in my tenth year of the 11 years we go to school in the Ukraine and so getting ready to go to university. I had already called Shevchenko university in Kyiv to talk about courses. But then in February, it started. I found myself living in a combat zone. Me, my six-year-old sister and my three-year-old brother who has asthma had to go and live in the basement with my mum, dad and grandparents along with many neighbours.

After a week my dad said we had to leave the basement and so we set off by car for the border with Poland. My grandparents stayed behind. It normally would take eight hours but there were checkpoints everywhere and we had to stop all the time so it took two days.

I feel so grateful to the family we are with in Uckfield for having us, they’re so kind and they have been helping me emotionally too. I know that it will be a long time before I go back home so I’m aiming to go to university here after Roedean and I will try to get into Kings College in London to study neuroscience or biology.

Roedean has long provided a home and an education to those in need, and so we were very excited earlier this summer to launch our Ukrainian Bursary Appeal, to raise £50,000 towards the School providing 10 places to Ukrainian refugees. These bursaries, will be funded at 110%, meaning that as well as school fees, they will also cover, uniform, sports kit, extra-curricular activities and trips, day buses, and additional language support. So far we have raised £22,000 towards our target, and so we still need your help to ensure that we can support the students as fully as possible as they join Roedean.

All gifts, whether large or small, will be gratefully received.

Full year or term sponsorship ranges from £8,300 to £25,000. Sponsorship at this level would also mean that you become a member of our 1885 Major Donor Society.

These start from as little as £10 a month over a year, and are shown in the table below:

£2,500 £208 Excursions and Trips for all 10 students £1,500 £125 Transport and Activities Sponsorship £500 £42 Uniform, Sports Kit and Resources Sponsorship £250 £21 Excursions and Trips £120 £10 Additional Language Lessons

Donations can be made online by going to https://community.roedean.co.uk/pages/ukrainian-bursaryappeal or by returning our gift form, which can be downloaded here: https://issuu.com/roedeanschool/docs/ ukraine_appeal_donation_form_-_final. If you are based in the USA, you are able to make a tax efficient donation through the British Schools and Universities Foundations by going to: https://www.bsuf.org/ donate.

If you would like to get in touch to discuss a donation to the Ukrainian Bursary Appeal, or another aspect of Roedean, please contact Grace Chaston on glc@roedean.co.uk, 01273 667398 or by post to the School.