Roedean School for Girls is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

English medium English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles, one of the Germanic peoples that migrated to Britain after its Roman oc ...

and

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

for girls situated in the suburb of

Parktown Parktown is a wealthy suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, and is the first suburb north of the inner city (both chronologically and geographically). It is affectionately known as one of the Parks, others including Parkview, Gauteng, Parkview, Pa ...

in the city of

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 ...

in the

Gauteng Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...

province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

History

The school was founded in 1903 by Theresa Lawrence and, Katherine Margaret Earle: two young women in their early thirties, both educated at the

University of Cambridge 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 ...

. They acted as joint Heads of School during the years 1903–1930. It is a sister school of

Roedean School Roedean () is a private boarding school governed by royal charter on the outskirts of Brighton, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1885 by three sisters to educate wealthy daughters and heiresses of aristocracy and industrial elites of the 19t ...

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 ...

, England which was founded by three older sisters of Theresa Lawrence, namely Penelope, Millicent, and Dorothy. The school began with 22 pupils, and was situated in a small house in Jeppestown, Johannesburg. In 1904, it relocated to its current site in Parktown, Johannesburg. Sir

Herbert Baker Sir Herbert Baker (9 June 1862 – 4 February 1946) was an English architect remembered as the dominant force in South African architecture for two decades, and a major designer of some of New Delhi's most notable government structures. He was ...

, a prominent architect responsible for many of Johannesburg's most historical houses and monuments, designed the original school buildings. The oldest structures include St. Ursula's Building and Founder's Hall. Over the years, additions have been made, but the signature Herbert Baker features, with arches, colonnades, unwashed brickwork, and courtyards have been maintained.

Notable alumnae

* Mary Maytham Kidd, botanical artist * Sheena Duncan, social activist *

Jani Allan Jani Allan (11 September 1952 – 25 July 2023) was a South African journalist, columnist, writer, broadcaster, and media personality. In 1980, Allan became a columnist for a centrist newspaper, the ''Sunday Times'', South Africa's most widel ...

* Camilla Waldman, actress *

Maud Sumner Maud Frances Eyston Sumner (1902–1985) was a South African artist. Sumner was born in Johannesburg, Transvaal Colony. After completing her schooling at Roedean in Johannesburg, she studied literature at Oxford University from 1922 to 1925 and ...

, artist *

Lauren Beukes Lauren Beukes (born 5 June 1976) is a South African novelist, short story writer, journalist and Screenwriter, television scriptwriter. Early life Lauren Beukes was born 5 June 1976. She grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa. She attended Roede ...

, author *

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 ...

, writer *

Sarah Calburn Sarah Katherine Calburn, usually known as Sarah Calburn, (born 10 May 1964, Johannesburg) is a South African architect.Kate Otten Katherine Maree Otten, usually known as Kate Otten, (born 28 March 1964, Durban) is a South African architect, who has won numerous awards for her South African traditional work.Rapelang Rabana, entrepreneur * Kgomotso Matsunyane, TV presenter, producer, director, businesswoman * Minister Barbara Creecy, Minister of Transport of South Africa

Academics

Roedean's leavers write the

Independent Examinations Board The Independent Examinations Board (IEB) is a South African independent assessment agency which offers examinations for various client schools, mostly Private school#South Africa, private schools. It is most prominent in setting examinations for ...

exams.

Sport

Roedean's students are encouraged to do a minimum of one sport throughout their schooling journey at the school and typically perform well in sport throughout the year. The sports that are offered in the school are: *

Diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), ...

Equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

Hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

Netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

Rock climbing Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending climbing routes, routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in c ...

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

Squash Squash most often refers to: * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (plant), the fruit of vines of the genus ''Cucurbita'' Squash may also refer to: Sports * Squash (professional wrestling), an extr ...

Strength Strength may refer to: Personal trait *Physical strength, as in people or animals *Character strengths like those listed in the Values in Action Inventory *The exercise of willpower Physics * Mechanical strength, the ability to withstand ...

and

conditioning Conditioning may refer to: Science, computing, and technology * Air conditioning, the removal of heat from indoor air for thermal comfort ** Automobile air conditioning, air conditioning in a vehicle ** Ice storage air conditioning, air conditio ...

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

Water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

References

External links