Edition 1 - Summer 2026
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Welcome back to Rosebery
Welcome back to Rosebery
As we approach our centenary year, we are taking the first step in bringing the Rosebery alumnae community together.
The Alumnae Newsletter is a new termly update created to reconnect former pupils, share what is happening across the school, and open up ways for alumnae to spend time together and remain part of Rosebery life.
At this start of this year of celebration, we are reminded how fortunate we are to belong to a community shaped by the experiences of so many Rosebery women. Across generations, those shared years have gone on to shape friendships, ambitions and lives in many different ways.
Over the coming months, we look forward to welcoming alumnae back through events, shared stories and opportunities to reconnect, both with one another and with the school.
Ms Holly Lowe - Assistant Head: Ambition, Futures & DEI
In May 2027, Rosebery School will mark one hundred years since it opened on Whitehorse Drive and became the school we all know today.
This centenary is a rare and special opportunity - not only to reflect on our proud history of educating girls, but also to celebrate our present and look ahead to the future we will shape together. From May 2026, we will embark on a full Centenary Year: a programme of events and projects that brings together students, staff, families, alumnae and our wider school community.
At its heart, the centenary is about connection - honouring what Rosebery has been, taking pride in where we are now, and thinking carefully about what we want the next hundred years to represent. We are delighted to begin sharing plans for a year of celebration that will recognise the achievements of generations of Rosebery students while creating new opportunities and lasting legacies for those to come.
Highlights of the programme will include a Centenary Festival Day, a Creative Arts Gala Performance featuring talent past and present, and a Centenary Exhibition telling the story of 100 years of girls’ education. We will also create a Centenary Orchard and Rosebery Walk, launch our “100 Challenges for 100 Years” initiative, establish a new Rosebery Foundation to support future generations, and preserve today’s memories in a time capsule.
Alongside these major events, the programme will include opportunities for alumnae to return to school to share experiences, contribute to creative and community projects, and help record the rich history of Rosebery School for future generations.
To give a fuller picture of what lies ahead, we invite you to explore the Rosebery 100 Centenary Brochure (link below), which outlines the year’s plans in more detail.
This promises to be a joyful, ambitious and truly memorable chapter in our school’s story. We look forward to sharing it with you and warmly invite you to be part of this remarkable journey.
Centenary Exhibition
Centenary Exhibition
A Century of Girls Education
A Century of Girls Education
A central feature of the centenary year will be the Rosebery Centenary Exhibition, exploring a century of girls’ education through photographs, objects and personal stories that capture everyday life at Rosebery across the decades.
We would be delighted for alumnae to contribute. If you have items such as school uniform, photographs, badges, letters, or other keepsakes, these will help us build a rich and representative picture of Rosebery’s history.
You can contribute in the following ways:
By post to the school
By dropping items at Reception during school hours
By email (for digital copies, photographs, or to make arrangements): alumnae@roseberyschool.co.uk
All contributions, large or small, are hugely valued and will form part of a shared history to be enjoyed by the whole school community during this special year.
Centenary Magazine
Centenary Magazine
This Rosebery Day, we launched our student-led Centenary Magazine, a monthly digital publication created by the Senior Prefects and Junior Prefect Team.
Each edition will explore a different decade of Rosebery’s history, beginning with the 1920s.
As a key part of the centenary celebrations, the magazine captures the school’s story through archive material, student research and creative responses, reflecting both everyday life and significant moments in its development.
Editions will be shared on the alumnae website throughout the year, offering a unique insight into how today’s students are discovering and interpreting Rosebery’s past.
The Alumna's Legacy
The Alumna's Legacy
The Di Long Bursary
The Di Long Bursary
Through the extraordinary generosity of the Di Long Bursary, a once‑in‑a‑lifetime scientific experience will now be within reach for Rosebery girls long into the future. The European Space Centre visit is a defining moment for a small group of Year 10 students, building curiosity, confidence and ambition in science at a time when girls’ engagement with STEM too often falters, not through lack of ability, but because of practical and financial barriers.
For some students, opportunities like this would otherwise remain out of reach, regardless of enthusiasm or potential. From 2026 onwards, the Di Long Bursary will ensure that three girls each year are able to take part who might previously have been excluded by circumstance, removing a barrier that should never stand in the way of curiosity, aspiration or brilliance.
This remarkable and enduring gift does more than fund a trip. It sends a powerful message to those girls that they belong in ambitious scientific spaces, and that their future is not limited by circumstance.
Dianne Long joined Rosebery in 1953 and spoke warmly of the school throughout her life. She remembered the friendships she formed, the sense of belonging she felt and the support she received during a period of real uncertainty.
When Dianne left England in 1957 to move to Australia, her entire class was given the day off to travel to London and see her off from the station. It was a moment of kindness that stayed with her.
Dianne went on to build a successful career in obstetric ultrasound after initially finding engineering pathways closed to women. Together with her husband, virologist Ian Gust, she raised five children and later became a grandmother to eleven.
In 2025, Ian contacted Rosebery to explore whether a science bursary could be created in Dianne’s memory. We are extremely grateful to the Long family for a gift that will continue to benefit generations of Rosebery students.
Dianne Long
Di in 2026
Di as a young girl in the UK
Di Long and Family, Lord Howe Island
The Rosebery Foundation
The Rosebery Foundation
The Di Long Bursary is one example of the kind of impact supported through the newly established Rosebery Foundation.
The Foundation exists to widen access to opportunity for Rosebery students through support that may include enrichment, wellbeing, leadership and future pathways. It brings together generosity of different kinds, including time, expertise and funding.
As alumnae reconnect with the school in different ways, we will share how the Foundation is supporting students now and into the future.
Alumnae back at Rosebery this summer
Alumnae back at Rosebery this summer
Alumnae will play an active role in several key events, including the Year 12 Student Futures Festival, where they will share insights into careers and life beyond school, and the Year 9 Graduation, offering reflections on alumnae journeys since leaving Rosebery.
We are also pleased to introduce Rosebery on the Lawn (Thursday 2 July 2026), our first open summer gathering for alumnae—a relaxed afternoon of conversation, refreshments and reconnecting with the school community. All alumnae are warmly invited to attend.
Alumnae will be joining the Year 12 Student Futures Festival, a dedicated event designed to support students as they explore their next steps beyond school. Through talks and informal conversations, alumnae will share their career journeys, post‑school decisions and the different paths they have taken since leaving Rosebery.
These contributions provide valuable, real‑world insight, helping students gain a clearer understanding of the wide range of opportunities available to them. We are extremely grateful to those who have generously volunteered their time and experience to support this important event.
Year 9 Graduation
As part of the Year 9 Graduation celebrations, a group of alumnae returned to contribute to this important milestone in our students’ school journeys. Alongside the celebrations, they shared their memories of Rosebery and reflected on their experiences since leaving. Hearing directly from former pupils gave students a broader understanding of what lies ahead, helping to reassure our current students that there are many different pathways after school, and no single route to success.
Thursday 2 July
Thursday 2 July
5.00pm to 7.00pm
5.00pm to 7.00pm
We are delighted to invite you to Rosebery on the Lawn, our first open summer gathering for alumnae - an occasion we hope will become a much‑loved tradition in the Rosebery calendar.
This will be a relaxed and welcoming afternoon of refreshments, conversation and connection. There will be opportunities to revisit the school, catch up with friends and meet fellow alumnae from across the years.
All alumnae are warmly invited to attend, whether you left recently or many years ago. If you would like to join us, please complete the form below. We would be thrilled to welcome as many alumnae as possible; however, depending on interest, we may need to limit numbers (there are only so many scones we can bake!).
Staying Connected
Staying Connected
As we develop and strengthen the Rosebery alumnae community during this centenary year, we encourage you to stay in touch and be part of what’s ahead.
You can:
confirm or update your contact details
share your Rosebery memories or recent news
receive updates about alumnae events and opportunities
Alternatively, you are very welcome to get in touch with us directly at: alumnae@roseberyschool.co.uk
The Alumnae Website
The Alumnae Website
We are delighted to announce the launch of our dedicated Rosebery Alumnae website - a shared space designed to keep alumnae connected both with the life of the school and with one another.
The website will host:
Alumnae news and events
Centenary stories and updates
The Centenary magazine
Information about ways to get involved
Over time, it will also become a space to celebrate and share alumnae stories, reflecting the wide range of experiences shaped by a Rosebery education.
The site will continue to develop throughout the centenary year, growing alongside the stories, connections and contributions of our alumnae community.
As Rosebery enters its centenary year, we are reminded how rare and valuable it is to belong to
a community of women connected by a shared place, shared experiences and shared memories.
Long after school ends, those connections endure in friendships, in confidence, and in the quiet knowledge
of having been shaped by something held in common.
As Rosebery enters its centenary year, we are reminded how rare and valuable it is to belong to
a community of women connected by a shared place, shared experiences and shared memories.
Long after school ends, those connections endure in friendships, in confidence, and in the quiet knowledge
of having been shaped by something held in common.
We are proud of the alumnae community that already exists and grateful for the many ways you continue
to support and strengthen one another, as well as the girls who follow in your footsteps. We look forward to reconnecting with you and continuing to build this community together in the months and years ahead.
We are proud of the alumnae community that already exists and grateful for the many ways you continue
to support and strengthen one another, as well as the girls who follow in your footsteps. We look forward to reconnecting with you and continuing to build this community together in the months and years ahead.
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