Roedean School, Brighton

A creative, diverse and progressive all-girls school in stunning surroundings with sensational facilities, strong academic results and a holistic and nurturing ethos.

13 February 2024

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WHAT? WHERE

With its castle-like Bath Stone buildings, clifftop location and views out to sea, this day and boarding school for girls aged 11-18 is something of a Malory Towers by the sea. Everything from the superb facilities arranged across an expansive and character-packed site to the strong community of the happy, purposeful students and staff feels straight out of a modern-day Enid Blyton novel.

Roedean was founded in 1885 to provide ‘a thorough physical, intellectual and moral’ education to girls. Since 2013, numbers have expanded from 360 to some 700 and the facilities have evolved to accommodate such rapid growth. The final wave of an £11m refurbishment project will see a brand-new library open its doors, followed by an update to the already impressive STEM facilities. This comes on top of an overhaul of boarding houses, sixth form centre, sports and outdoor facilities, a swanky new 350-seat theatre and an upgrade to the music facilities.

The result is a creative and progressive school with a diverse community of pupils and staff which is teeming with opportunities, delivers strong academic results, and has a holistic and nurturing ethos.

FACILITIES

The history and tradition of Roedean is palpable as you roll up via a long, sloping drive to the main reception. Inside it’s a mix of wood-panelling and plush carpet, and long corridors with smart, almost office-like classrooms on either side. The two dining rooms are grand and feel traditional as befits an independent school with a long and distinguished history. But elsewhere facilities are distinctly more modern and everywhere feels light, airy and aspirational as opposed to imposing and austere.

Science is arranged across three floors with separate labs for physics, chemistry and biology all brilliantly equipped and extremely spacious. Along the corridors, inspiration abounds, from the quotations and images used to the pupils work on show, most notably the spectacular artwork across all media. Speaking of art, the studio is a complete dream, a glass-roofed building with spectacular light, unique and quirky provocations including a working vintage printing press and a separate textiles area. Pupils are welcome to just come along and hang out – one pupil told me eagerly about spending most of her free time in the art rooms perfecting her fashion design skills by dressing and styling the mannequins. A DT area incorporates computers for design and robust, rustic-looking surfaces for hands-on work.

The new library, which is due to open imminently, is eagerly anticipated by pupils and staff alike. Although thoroughly up to date, it will incorporate features from the original library which is one of the more traditional rooms within the school, all wood panelling and shelves with a studious feel that prompted Muddy to automatically lower her voice to a whisper as soon as she stepped inside.

A brand new theatre sits towards the back of the site. This is an incredibly impressive and professional space – when Muddy popped her head in a fully constructed set for Legally Blonde The Musical was all rigged up as the sound of a West End-worthy rehearsal drifted in from next door. The theatre currently hosts chapel, as the chapel itself is being refurbished.

SPORT

With just the 13 surfaced sports courts, flood-lit all-weather pitch, indoor heated swimming pool and of course, the beach on its doorstep, Roedean is pretty well-served for sports facilities, to put it mildly. The clifftop location brings challenges and advantages – often cricket teams can only bowl in one direction because of the ever-present wind, but the girls at Roedean have the home advantage during fixtures when visitors might not be as acclimatised to the elements. Girls play hockey, netball and cricket, swim, ride at nearby Lancing Equestrian Centre, sail with the Roedean Sailing School and even go sea swimming – a relay team swam the Channel in 2023. Pupils compete across 14 different sports in around 600 fixtures a year. There’s also a fully-equipped gym complete with in-house strength and conditioning coach, who works with the girls to help them meet their sporting goals.

On top of curriculum PE, there are clubs and activities ranging from athletics and badminton to football, rugby, rounders and lacrosse and many more besides. Pupils Muddy spoke to raved about the sports on offer, and the opportunities to get stuck in.

CREATIVE ARTS

Arts, music, drama, dance – all covered! The newly refurbished music classroom now houses plenty of swanky iMacs for music technology, and three Steinway Grand pianos arrives recently at Roedean meaning all lessons and performances will take place on the absolute OG of instruments. Orchestras and ensembles abound – there’s a symphony orchestra, a string orchestra, a concert band, a school choir, a guitar ensemble and several chamber groups. Pupils all have the opportunity to study instruments and currently some 260 lessons spanning 22 musical instruments are taught weekly.

Over in the drama department, three productions a year are staged, ranging from classical theatre to musical productions. There are also two dance showcases a year spanning modern, contemporary, ballet, street and tap among others. And within the stunning art studio pupils work with traditional and new media, and once they’ve developed a level of proficiency in drawing, painting, sculpture, craft and design, pupils can move on to GCSE courses covering a range of creative processes and A Levels in art, photography and textiles as well as a BTEC and an art foundation course so pupils can progress directly to their chosen art college.

ACADEMICS

Although Roedean isn’t an academic hothouse and prioritises a balanced and holistic education, results are nonetheless extremely strong. In 2023 nearly 58% of pupils scored grades 8 and 9 (32% of all results were a grade 9) and at A Level, a whopping 56% achieved straight As and A*s. Leavers go on to prestigious destinations including Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, UCL, King’s College London and Edinburgh University.

BOARDING

Roedean offers flexi, weekly and full boarding and some 47% of pupils board in the charming boarding houses which are simply numbered one to four as a nod to the school’s original site in Sussex Square, where it occupied houses one to four. The houses are cosy and friendly with lovely light rooms offering gorgeous views across the campus itself and the wider South Downs and coastal landscape. Each house has spacious common rooms, cosy snugs for quiet evenings, studies for older pupils and excellent bathrooms with surprisingly large showers.

Sixth formers live separately in the sensational Keswick House, so named because Roedean girls were sent to Keswick in the Lake District during wartime when the school was handed over to the military for training. Recently refurbished with thoughtful retention of original features, Keswick House is a thoroughly grown-up and classy extension of Roedean itself.

Boarders are kept busy with a range of fun activities and weekend trips, and there’s such a strong community feel that one day pupil confessed she’d begged her parents to let her board at Roedean. A year 8 boarder, meanwhile, told Muddy she’d literally never spent a night away from home until she joined the school and had been super nervous about boarding, but she settled in quickly and now absolutely loved the whole experience.

In terms of pastoral care, mindfulness and life-skills are built into the curriculum and girls learn self-defence, cooking, juggling, sign language and plenty of other useful and nurturing life skills.

Pastoral managers are based at the heart of the school site, acting as a first port of call for girls with any issues or problems. A team of senior school pupils are trained up by the school counsellor to act as dedicated peer listeners for individuals or groups of younger girls. A dedicated learning support department works with teachers and staff to identify any pupils who could do with a bit of extra help, and a specialist assessor works with outside specialists in dyslexia, dyscalculia, autism and ADHD to meet the needs of all pupils.

THE HEAD

Former acting head of Mayfield School Niamh Green joined Roedean in 2023, replacing Oliver Blond who was instrumental in spearheading the incredible growth of the school.

Mrs Green brings more than 20 years experience in all-girls education and was deputy head at Mayfield until she took over the top role temporarily. She confesses she never thought she’d end up in all-girl schools, but having applied on a whim to a girl’s school in Surrey early on in her career, she’s never looked back and is a passionate advocate of the benefits of single-sex education. She points to an anecdote she heard from a university professor about always being able to spot girls who went to single-sex schools because they’re the first to put their hands up in class, unencumbered by any notion that speaking up and contributing isn’t always encouraged among women.

She’s a strong advocate of community and is pleased Roedean has moved from something of an isolated fortress on the hill into an active and important part of the local community. She’s committed to providing girls with the skills and confidence they need to excel, with the backing of remaining a Roedeanean for life. Under her stewardship the school is thriving, with strong links with local sports clubs and the state education sector, and the trajectory looks to remain firmly pointed upwards.

QUIRKS

The substantial 40-acre site encompasses a farm, where girls can get outside and broaden their experience and skills looking after chicken, goats and sheep. There’s also a secret tunnel that leads to the beach. Very Famous Five.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

Years 7-11 hand their phones in every morning and get them back at the end of the day. Sixth formers are trusted to self-regulate.

WORD ON THE GROUND

Pupils love the friendly community feel of the school and the range of sporting opportunities. They also appreciate having a chance to have their say – some of the traditional features of the old library are being transferred to the new one at the request of the student body.

TRANSPORT

A fleet of comfy and modern minibuses serves a wide-ranging local area, covering some 20 routes to destinations ranging from Worthing to the west, Horsham and Pease Pottage to the north, and Uckfield, Eastbourne, Seaford and Hailsham to the east. There’s also a weekly escorted travel service to and from London.

FEES

Day fees are £6,730 – £8,795 a term, flexi boarding is £9,855 – £11,915 a term, weekly boarding is £12,120 – £13,515 per term and full boarding fees are £13,257 – £15,925 per term.