Roedean School was founded in 1885, to provide a thorough physical, intellectual and moral education with ‘as much liberty as is consistent with safety. The founding Lawrence sisters believed that girls deserved an education that was at least as good as boys had. 130 years ago, this challenged perception, and this is exactly what they intended.
Their vision was to prepare girls for university education and their future careers. The School’s first prospectus outlined six key pillars of Roedean School:
- To encourage healthy and active living
- To provide a strong academic foundation
- To develop an appreciation of the sport, culture, and the arts
- To build independence of thought and character
- To develop skills and confidence for university and careers
- To develop a strong sense of personal and moral values
This founding vision continues in the School. Roedean provides a distinctively academic, high-quality, all-around education, within a caring and friendly community in a wonderful coastal setting.
We aim to inspire and challenge every student to develop her strengths and passions, to seek the highest academic and personal standards for herself, and to develop a strong foundation for her future.
At Roedean, we seek to enable you to develop lifelong friendships, a strong sense of belonging, and a sense of pride in yourself and your school.
Our aim at Roedean is to nurture your talents, spark your curiosity, develop your skills, and let your imagination run riot. That is because education is about so much more than just examination results – this is at the foundation of our holistic approach.
Roedean girls here do achieve exceptionally high grades in public examinations, but they are not driven by this – instead, you will be able to pursue your passions, challenge yourself to do new things, and make some mistakes. This is precisely what will allow you to develop into a confident young woman with multi-faceted interests and skills, free from external pressures and expectations.
Roedean’s stunning position on the cliff to the east of Brighton is inspirational – with the sea in front, and the national park behind, you will fall in love with the amazing grounds. They provide a sense of breathing space and calmness, where you can do some exercise, help out with the sheep and chickens on the Farm, or just sit and think.
A rounded education is the best preparation we can provide for you because we know that producing students with a string of A* grades but no experiences or interpersonal skills is doing them a disservice. We believe strongly that a holistic approach to education will give you the skills of independence to manage your life and studies at university, the communication tools necessary to play an active and confident role in society, and the resilience to make your way in our increasingly competitive world.
Academic curiosity, independence, and self-confidence are developed through dynamic and engaging learning and teaching. When you join Roedean, we will encourage you to develop originality and creativity, both in your character and in your thinking.
Passing exams and assimilating knowledge is important, but you will come to appreciate that it is more valuable to learn to think deeply, critically, and spontaneously, and to challenge and question what you learn.
