Roedean School
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Roedean () is a private boarding
school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...
governed by royal charter on the outskirts of
Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1885 by three sisters to educate wealthy daughters and heiresses of aristocracy and industrial elites of the 19th century. It is a girls-only school for those between the ages of 11 and 18. The campus is situated near Sussex Downs, on a cliff overlooking the
Brighton Marina Brighton Marina is an artificial marina in Brighton, England. It features a working harbour and residential housing alongside a variety of leisure, retail and commercial activities. The construction of the marina itself took place between 1971 ...
and the English Channel. It is widely regarded as the equivalent of Eton for girls, having educated industrialists, ambassadors, stateswomen, civil leaders, artists, and famous writers. The school is equipped with multiple dance studios, music classrooms, a private theatre, heated indoor swimming pools, private golf courses, farms, chapels, as well as a range of specialised workshops, studios, laboratories and sports pitches. Roedean School is a member of the Girls' Schools Association and the
Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), formerly known as the Headmasters' Conference and now branded HMC (The Heads' Conference), is an association of the head teachers of 351 private fee-charging schools (both boarding schools ...
(HMC). The '' Good Schools Guide'' stated that the "School has a healthy spirit and much to offer." The Independent Schools Inspectorate rated Roedean as Excellent in all areas (highest category) in its most recent inspection (March 2016). In the 2023 A-Levels, the school saw 55.2% of its candidates score A*/A.


History

The school was founded in 1885 as Wimbledon House by three women: Penelope Lawrence and her step-sisters Millicent and Dorothy Lawrence. Their brother was the lawyer Sir Paul Lawrence of Wimbledon who became unable to support them. Their Lawrence great aunts had been noted school teachers earlier in the century, mainly in Liverpool. In its early years, Roedean was favoured by wealthy parents - many of whom were Nonconformists - to prepare girls for entrance to the newly opened women's colleges at
Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
, Girton (now co-ed) and Newnham Colleges where Penelope had studied. In 1898, the school moved to its present site, occupying new buildings designed by the architect Sir John Simpson. A sister school, also called Roedean School and co-founded by the youngest Lawrence sister, Theresa, in 1903, is located in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
, South Africa. The school motto, ''Honneur aulx dignes'', is in
Norman French Norman or Norman French (, , Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a '' langue d'oïl'' spoken in the historical and cultural region of Normandy. The name "Norman French" is sometimes also used to describe the administrative languages of '' Angl ...
, and means "Honour the worthy". When pronounced, it sounds like "Honour Roedean". In 1924 the Lawrence sisters were replaced by Emmeline Mary Tanner who became the new head. She had been poached from Bedford High School by Penelope Lawrence as their successor. During the Second World War, the students and staff, including classics teacher Mary Creighton Bailey,
PDF version
were temporarily evacuated to Keswick, in the north of England. The school buildings in Brighton, Sussex were used by the Admiralty. They adapted it for use by
Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
cadets attending the Mining and Torpedo School (known as HMS ''Vernon'' (R)). Roedean is one of the few girls' schools in the country to have an Old Boys' Association. The artist Percy Shakespeare was killed by a German bomb while serving at Roedean.


Absorption of St Mary's Hall

Inspired by his friend William Carus-Wilson, who founded Cowan Bridge School, Reverend Henry Venn Elliott proposed to found a similar school for the county. St Mary's Hall was opened in 1836 and was the second-oldest girls' school in the United Kingdom before it was closed in 2009. At that time, its junior section became Roedean's junior school while many senior girls transferred to Roedean. The junior school was closed in 2011 as the school administration decided to focus on secondary and
sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...
education.


Location

Roedean School is set in of grounds off Roedean Way, at the top of a cliff on the Sussex Downs overlooking the sea, approximately in line with
Brighton Marina Brighton Marina is an artificial marina in Brighton, England. It features a working harbour and residential housing alongside a variety of leisure, retail and commercial activities. The construction of the marina itself took place between 1971 ...
.


Academic results

In 2023, the school achieved 55% of all A-Level grades A*-A and 74.3% of GCSE grades 9-7.


Houses

The school community is divided into
houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
. The Lawrence and Tanner House (with Senior and Junior wings) system, introduced in 2005, was reversed starting in 2010. A numbered house system was reintroduced. Roedean school has the longest corridor in England. Year 7 to Year 11 students are spread out amongst Houses 1, 2, 3, and 4. These are named after the house numbers 1–4 of Lewes Crescent, where the School was located prior to moving in 1898 to this campus built for it. Sixth form (Years 12–13) are admitted to Keswick House and Lawrence House, which are detached from the main school building. In the 1960s, the
houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
were: Junior House; House Number 1; House Number 2; House Number 3; House Number 4; and a Sanatorium. In 1966 part of the Sanatorium was made into rooms for 6th form girls, two 6th form girls from every numbered house. The School retains a sanatorium wing (now known as a health centre) to this day.


Admission procedures

Roedean is a selective school, and entry to the school is based upon the School's own entrance examinations, interviews and reports from the students' previous schools.


Notable alumnae

Old Girls are known as Old Roedeanians and include:


Arts

* Vera Stanley Alder, painter * Pauline Boumphrey, sculptor * Enid Marx, designer * Beatrix Ong MBE, fashion accessories designer * Phyllis Pearsall MBE, artist, writer and publisher * Clare Pooley, blogger and novelist * Edith Pretty, philanthropist and magistrate * Zina Saro-Wiwa, video artist and filmmaker *
Jillian Becker Jillian Becker (born 2 June 1932) is a South African-born British author, journalist, and lecturer, who specialises in research about terrorism. Her work includes ''Hitler's Children: The Story of the Baader-Meinhof Terrorist Gang'' (1977). E ...
, author * Dorothy Theomin, philanthropist and art collector


Business

* Marjorie Abbatt, toy-maker and businesswoman


Healthcare and education

* Dame Cicely Saunders, nurse, social worker, physician and writer * Olive Willis, founder of Downe House School * Barbara, Lady Stephen, educationalist and biographer


Journalism and literature

* Alison Adburgham, fashion editor of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', author and social historian * Jani Allan, journalist, broadcaster * Tessa Dahl, novelist and daughter of Roald Dahl * Adèle Geras, writer * Zerbanoo Gifford, writer and human rights campaigner * Naseem Khan (activist), journalist and activist * Noo Saro-Wiwa, author * Nancy Spain, journalist, author and broadcaster * Katharine Whitehorn, journalist, writer, and columnist


Military and sport

* Barbara Calder (1924–2018), yachtswoman * Elizabeth Devereux-Rochester, member of SOE F Section * Tanya Streeter, world champion freediver * Philippa Tattersall, soldier and first female to complete the All Arms Commando Course * Amber Anning British Athletics Record holder 400m and double Paris Olympics medallist


Politics and activism

* Ursula Graham Bower,
anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...
and
guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...
fighter in Burma during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
* Jill Braithwaite, Lady Braithwaite,
anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...
, diplomat and social reformer * Anna Campbell, activist * Lynda Chalker, Baroness Chalker, politician * Dame Margaret Cole, politician and writer * Flick Drummond, Conservative Party politician * Helen Millar Craggs, suffragette * Birgit Cunningham, campaigner *
Layla Moran Layla Michelle Moran ( ; born 12 September 1982) is a British Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrat politician. She has served as the Chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee since September 2024, and has been Member of Parliamen ...
, Liberal Democrat politician


Science

* Helen Dick Megaw, crystallographer


Theatre, television, and film

* Marisa Abela, actress * Jill Balcon, actress * Hermione Cockburn, broadcaster * Noel Dyson, actress * Lucy Griffiths, actress *
Rebecca Hall Rebecca Maria Hall (born 3 May 1982) is an English actress and director. She made her first onscreen appearance at the age of 10 in the 1992 The Camomile Lawn (TV serial), television adaptation of ''The Camomile Lawn'', directed by her father, ...
, actress * Jessica Hester Hsuan, actress * Verity Lambert OBE, television producer, known for being the original producer of ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
''. * Sarah Miles, actress * Rhona Mitra, actress, model and singer-songwriter *
Honeysuckle Weeks Honeysuckle Susan Weeks (born 1 August 1979) is a British actress best known for her role as Samantha Stewart (later Wainwright) in the ITV wartime drama series '' Foyle's War''. Early life Weeks was born in Cardiff, Wales, to Robin and Susan ...
, actress * Perdita Weeks, actress


See also

* Grade II listed buildings in Brighton and Hove: P–R


References


External links

*
St Mary's Hall Association WebsiteProfile
on the ISC website * ISI Inspectio
Reports
{{authority control Boarding schools in East Sussex Girls' schools in East Sussex Educational institutions established in 1885 Private schools in Brighton and Hove Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association Grade II listed buildings in Brighton and Hove 1885 establishments in England Schools with a royal charter