Roedean School

Roedean School is an independent day and boarding school in Roedean Village on the outskirts of Brighton, East Sussex, England for girls aged 11 to 18. The campus is situated near the Sussex Downs on a cliff overlooking Brighton Marina. The school incorporates a 320-seat theatre, a heated indoor swimming pool and a chapel, as well as a range of workshops, studios, laboratories and sports pitches. Current school fees are between £5,250 and £11,550 per term, from the youngest day girls to the oldest boarders. This puts Roedean among the most expensive girls' schools in the United Kingdom. Roedean School is a member of the Girls' Schools Association. The Good Schools Guide stated that the "School has a healthy spirit and much to offer."

History

The school was founded in 1885 as Wimbledon House by three sisters: Penelope, Millicent, and Dorothy Lawrence. Their brother was the lawyer Sir Paul Lawrence of Wimbledon, who helped them considerably, and their Lawrence great aunts had been noted school teachers earlier in the century, mainly in Liverpool. Roedean was founded to prepare girls for entrance to the newly opened women's colleges at Cambridge University, Girton (now co-ed) and Newnham Colleges. In 1898, the school moved to its present site occupying new buildings designed by the architect Sir John Simpson. A sister school, also called Roedean School and co-founded by the youngest Lawrence sister, Theresa, in 1903, is located in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Roedean School (South Africa)

Roedean School is a private day and boarding school for girls located in Houghton, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.

History

The school was founded in 1903 by Theresa Lawrence and her close friend, Katherine Margaret Earle: two young women in their early thirties, both educated at the University of Cambridge. They acted as joint Heads of School during the years 1903–1930. It is a sister school of Roedean School in Brighton, England which was founded by three older sisters of Theresa Lawrence, namely Penelope, Millicent, and Dorothy.

The school began with 22 pupils, and was situated in a small house in Jeppestown, Johannesburg. In 1904, it relocated to its current site in Houghton, Johannesburg.

Sir Herbert Baker, a prominent architect responsible for many of Johannesburg's most historical houses and monuments, designed the original school buildings. The oldest structures include St. Ursula's Building and Founder's Hall. Over the years, additions have been made, but the signature Herbert Baker features, with arches, colonnades, unwashed brickwork, and courtyards have been maintained.