What a whirlwind of a week it’s been at Rosebery! At the end of Anti-Bullying Week it was lovely to see some wonderful odd sock combinations on display today, and I know the Year 7 Team are very much looking forward to the Children in Need Movie Night in the Common Room. In support of CIN, we also took the opportunity to support the Casey Ward at Epsom Hospital, and I am hugely grateful to those who bought in toys, crafts and games. The children who have to spend time in hospital at this time of year and over the festive period, will benefit hugely from your kind donations – so thank you.  

It was also lovely to host Year 8 and Year 9 families at our first ‘Open Mornings’ for those year groups. I must confess I was a little hesitant when Mr Harvey pitched the idea, but I am delighted that those parents/carers that wished to, had the opportunity to see the school in action first hand, and to better understand what school looks and feels like for their daughters. It’s so important to me that schools and families stay connected and that we continue to build and maintain a sense of community spirit, cohesion and togetherness – ultimately this is what makes Rosebery such a special place and makes us stand out in comprehensive state education.   

Earlier in the week, Year 13 students completed their first round of A Level mock exams, so well done to them, and good luck to Year 11 students who begin their GCSE mock exams next week. And of course, Monday was Armistice Day, and I must thank Miss Canessa, Mr Holloway and Mrs Dever for helping organising a lovely service of Remembrance. As Ms Allen attested to last week, it is so important that we educate our children about our history and help them foster a sense of gratitude, empathy and respect for those who have served, and those who serve today, to protect our collective freedoms.  

Finally, I’d like to spotlight an, at times, unsung hero at Rosebery, our Head of Music – Mr Holloway. Since joining Rosebery, he has been a breath of fresh air and helped galvanise our commitment to platforming the creative arts within our curriculum and as part of the enrichment and extra-curricular offer. This has been recognised by him securing the Music Mark for the school for 2024-25 and reflects his brilliant contribution to both Music and Drama at Rosebery. Friday Live now has audiences of up to 100 students. There are weekly rehearsals for the Flute Ensemble, Young Voices, Concert Band, String Ensemble and Rosebery Singers and 125 girls have weekly instrumental lessons, and that’s before we get on to the School Productions, with Sister Act a roaring success last year, and rehearsals for Peter Pan well underway. Unsurprisingly, GCSE numbers are growing and we’ve now added AS Music as an option in the Sixth Form next year. I doff my cap to you, Sir!  

Congratulations to our Year 12 students; Louisa P 12C, Amy B 12A, Emily W 12C and Elena E 12B, who have all been successful in securing a place at the most competitive and prestigious Lucy Cavendish College in Cambridge. 

This virtual Academic Attainment Programme provides 1000 high-achieving state school students with comprehensive supplementary academic support tailored to their stage in the curriculum, giving them the best chance of achieving their full potential to attend Russell Group universities (including Oxford and Cambridge) in the future. 

Students have already attended an online lecture which they described as thought-provoking and extremely helpful. This is a highly competitive opportunity, so we are incredibly proud of these students for such an achievement and wish them well in their future studies. Well done!

Mrs Carnegie - Acting Head of Competitive Applications

Mr Phillips - Director of Sixth Form

PSA Christmas Trees

Lisa Higgins - PSA Chair

The Leatherhead Operatic Society are performing Charlie & The Chocolate Factory next week at Epsom Playhouse, and want to offer discounted tickets to Rosebery families. For the performances on Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 November, kids tickets will be offered at £10 (normally £19.50), and adults at £15 (normally £23). To book, just phone the theatre box office on 01372 742555, quoting ‘schools offer’.

Ms Wiggins - Art Teacher

Geography Film Club continues on Tuesday 19 November with 'Seaspiracy'.

Mrs Spencer - LRH Manager

Mrs Rathore - Maths Teacher

Congratulations to our performers from last week: Zahrah S 7PX, Betty V 9PY and another of our Year 10 bands (Alvina W 10CX, Jasmine W 10EX, Erin A 10EX and Katie C 10EX) as well as their new singer Eloise B G 11CX. We had another (now normal) audience of over 100 students. If your daughter would like to perform in a Friday Live, please email Mr Holloway at dholloway1@glfschools.org .

Congratulations to the Rosebery Singers, who performed a version of ‘Only Remembered’ from the play and film ‘Warhorse’ on Monday. A special mention goes to Sophie B 11PX who sang a beautiful solo, and Rosie R 11PY who gave a fantastic rendition of ‘The Last Post’. Thank you to all of the musical students involved in such a fitting Remembrance event.

Year 10 GCSE Concert - Thursday 21 November, 5.00pm, D3 & D4

All are welcome to come and hear our first concert of the year featuring our fantastic Year 10 GCSE Music students.

Rosebery Christmas Carol Concert – Monday 16 December, 7.00pm, Main Hall

Featuring a variety of our musical ensembles and choirs, GCSE Music students, Christmas readings, congregational carols and refreshments served by the PSA from 6.15pm. A letter with ticket details will be sent out soon.

We are very fortunate at Rosebery to have a fabulous team of peripatetic music teachers. Please click HERE to find out more information if you are interested in getting lessons for your daughter. Each week I am featuring one of the team. This week I am featuring Mr Marsh, one of our two excellent guitar teachers and experienced staff member at Rosebery:

Mr Holloway - Head of Music

Last week, 20 of our fantastic A Level Chemistry students travelled to King's College London for a tour of their Chemistry department, and to attend the prestigious Daniell Lecture - this year on the subject of building molecules sustainably. They carried out experiments with cross-linking polymers to make alginate worms in the KCL labs, and then listened to two wonderful speakers: PhD student Esmé Shepherd and Professor Rebecca Goss. An inspiring evening!

Miss Stanwix - Head of Chemistry

In a dominant performance, the Year 9 Netball Team triumphed 26-2 in today’s netball match against Ashcombe School. From the outset, they took control of the game with precise passing and strong defensive efforts. Our attacking players worked seamlessly to convert opportunities, while our defence was rock-solid, limiting the opposition to just two goals throughout the entire match. With quick footwork and excellent court awareness, the girls consistently outpaced our opponents, finishing with a commanding 24-goal victory. It was a fantastic team effort, with standout performances across all positions. Ashcombe voted their attacking Player of the Match as Rhianna S 9MX, and their defending Player of the Match to Fearne L 9EX. Well done girls - you smashed it! 

In a closely contested match, the Year 10 Netball Team were unfortunately defeated 8-4, also against Ashcombe School. Despite strong efforts in both attack and defence, the team struggled to convert their chances and found it difficult to break down the oppositions defence. The defensive unit worked hard to limit their scoring opportunities, but couldn’t match Ashcombe's shooting accuracy. In the attack, the girls showed moments of good play, however, inconsistent passing and turnovers allowed the other team to build a lead. Though the result didn’t go our way, there were still a number of positive moments to build on for future matches, so congratulations on such a close game! Ashcombe voted Saachi E 10EY as their Player of the Match.

Miss Elms - PE Teacher

Last Wednesday, the Year 8 netball players took on Cobham Free School in another league game. After the first quarter, the scores were very tight and Rosebery were narrowly in the lead by 2 goals. Going into the second half, the girls lost a lot of possession and gave away a few centre passes which Cobham Free School were very happy to capitalise on. By the end of the first half, Cobham had caught up and the score was even at 9-9.

After a few tactical changes going into the third quarter, the Rosebery girls were making better tactical changes and turning the ball over well, which led to a lot of goal-scoring opportunities and resulted in Rosebery once again taking the lead with a score of 15-11. By the time the fourth quarter arrived, the courts were slippy and the sky was dark. However, the girls persevered and extended their lead, finishing the game with an overall score of 18-12. Well done for a fantastic squad effort on this home game, and in particular to Phoebe B 8CY who received Player of the Match from the opposition.

Mrs Hart-Mckee - PE Teacher

On Thursday afternoon, selected students in Years 7, 8 and 9 took part in a cross country event at Nonsuch Park. It was an exciting afternoon of competition, with over 150 runners from local schools taking part throughout the afternoon. The race took place on a challenging course which included hills and muddy trails. Despite the chilly weather, though, everyone gave it their best effort.

In the U15 girls race, it was a close competition, with Rosebery students taking, 4th, 5th and 6th position in quick succession of one another (well done Darci V-R 9MY, Abihail P 9MX and Fiona W 9CY). Special mentions go to those students who finished in 9th, 15th and 24th place; Francesca A 8EY, Izzy C 8MY and Mimi B 8MY as well as all the students who participated who all ran strong races, showing great determination and resilience.

The Year 7 mixed race was particularly impressive, with students showing potential for future races. Their energy and teamwork stood out. Well done to all students who took part, it was a pleasure to see you be so successful and encouraging of each other. 

Miss Fielding - PE Teacher

I am grateful to all students who contributed so powerfully to our Remembrance commemorations, by engaging so thoughtfully in our Remembrance service in school or by representing the school in Epsom. We very much enjoyed welcoming parents of Years 8 and 9 into school this week and I am grateful to our Sixth Form guides for their support with these events.  

Congratulations to the students below who have been nominated this week.

Year 7 

Mrs Carnegie has nominated Erin O 7MX for making a super recording of her harp playing – she is such a  talented student and Rica W 7EX for beautifully demonstrating how to play the violin to the rest of her class, Miss Monk has nominated Izzy C 7MX for demonstrating dedication and effort in attending several enrichment clubs, a real enrichment superstar, Evie R 7CY for developing her resilience in the face of the challenges she faces every day, she is making excellent progress and Sophia H 7PX for improving her attendance in school and demonstrating excellent engagement in lessons.  

Year 8 

Mrs Carnegie has nominated Beth G, Elise J, Skiy McB and Moriah Q 8PX for an exceptional Philosophy assessment and Ms McMullan has nominated Alexis K-N, Poppie M and Emilia F 8CY who have produced exceptional sustained paintings in Art over the few weeks. 

Year 9 

Mr Faunce-Brown has nominated Duda A 9CY for going above and beyond to create excellent homework and I have nominated Katie B 9EY, K Lee 9EX, Annabelle B 9MX and Aliyah R and Abby B 9PX for representing Rosebery so brilliantly at the Epsom Armistice Day service. 

Year 11 

Miss Reilly has nominated Amy F 11PX for consistently going above and beyond on her homework, showing exceptional dedication and understanding, Mr Holloway has nominated Sophie B 11PX for her lovely choral solo in the Remembrance event and I have nominated Rosie R 11PY for her beautiful and powerful rendition of the Last Post, both on the shared video and on Armistice Day in the quad.  

Sixth Form 

Mrs Burge has nominated Holly S 12B and Emily W 12C for their excellent achievement in their recent assessment on coasts.