I took this photo on my weary way home after work today, (its Wednesday role on Friday!). I always think when passing the school of one snowy night last winter when my journey home, usually a 30 min trip, took some 6 hours. I was in my car alone and stranded right outside the gates of Roedean School. Ryan, my son, walked a couple of miles to be with me and together we finally arrived home. Thanks son for your company that night xx

History:-
Roedean school, one of Brighton’s most famous and enduring landmarks, has celebrated its 125th birthday. The school was founded in 1885 by three sisters, Penelope, Dorothy and Millicent Lawrence – known locally as ‘the Firm’. The school was originally located on a site in Lewes Crescent in Brighton, moving to its cliff-top site 13 years later.

The popular girls’ school has become a feature of the city and a landmark in itself with its unique and imposing presence on the seafront. To mark the school’s birthday, some of Roedean’s best kept secrets have been unveiled…

A sister school, also named Roedean School, was co-founded by the youngest Lawrence sister, Theresa, in South Africa in 1903. Establishing the school was a huge achievement considering it was set up just after the controversial Boer Wars. Roedean South Africa is still flourishing today with 800 pupils.

Another of the Lawrence sisters, Sylvia, designed the school’s uniform, the ‘djibbah’ – a short sleeved tunic worn over the top of a white long sleeved blouse and woollen tights. The djibbah was inspired by the dress of North African tribesmen. Students wore a day djibbah made of thick wool serge and an afternoon djibbah made of silk or velvet. The last djibbahs were worn in the late ’40s, when it proved impossible to get the materials after World War II.

Brighton’s Roedean School has a private tunnel that leads from inside the school grounds, under Marine Drive and out onto the Undercliff Walk. Built in 1910, pupils could make their way down safely and quickly to the sea for a swim. Girls today still delight in surprising dog walkers and joggers when the tunnel door is opened!

Roedean has also seen its fair share of famous pupils, which span the world of entertainment, sport, human rights, politics and science. These include up-and-coming Hollywood star Rebecca Hall, World Record-holding free diver Tanya Streeter, philanthropist and politician Zerbanoo Gifford, Phyllis Pearsall – creator of the London A-Z, children’s author Adele Geras, Dame Cicely Saunders – founder of the modern hospice movement, and Noel Dyson – who played Coronation Street icon, Ida Barlow.

I hope you are all