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I remember it well. I was then aged 11, in my first year at Roedean School, when I carried home at the end of my day on the 13 May 2002 a letter, that without prior warning, would suspend and permanently expel me from my school. In violation of my Rights, under "the Rights of the Child", I was deprived of the opportunity to personally redress the extreme and cruel punishment meted out to remove me from my school for the rest of the school year. There was nothing alleged I had done to be put through this expulsion.
Roedean made me feel at the time this happened I had done something very wrong. It stayed with me for a long time. I was only able later to grasp the utter unfairness of my sudden removal. That Roedean had expelled me because they disingenuously considered my parents complaints (which they never handled with proper procedure or an investigation), as having lost confidence in the school. And so Roedean considered it was in my interest my "immediate and permanent withdrawal" was to take place the day before my end of year exams. I don't think so.
I have seen an early letter which suspects my parents of questioning the scholarship procedure. It was only later after my expulsion, in documents obtained by our solicitors my parents were able to demonstrate there was no mechanism in place to offer any entry level applicant a Junior Art Scholarship/Exhibition, or for U3/11+ entry, a Performing Arts Scholarship/Exhibition in the school year of 2001, despite both these scholarships being well advertised for girls.
There has never been an explanation forthcoming from the school for this. For my parents these awards now looked like an inducement to maintain their interest in applying to the school for me. It was after what they would consider baiting, it would seem my school switched to offer another award, this time of questionable merit called the Academic Day Award, to encourage my parents to accept the place they offered me. But this was disregarding I had worked so hard for years to be assessed properly for both the art and performance scholarships.
Because of my high achievements elsewhere I was invited to sit for 3 scholarships/exhibitions, Academic, Art and Performing Arts. Passing the academic stage and completing the 2nd in all disciplines, the school wrote to say I was unsuccessful in gaining any scholarship, but was awarding me an Academic Day Award, which my parents had not even applied for. This award was never recorded on my database, nor published, yet I found it described as a scholarship on my school’s invoices, and in the Student Handbook. And oh yes, this Handbook was produced only on my first day, and was the only document my parents had to refer to, for all information.
At the time, it emerged on questioning the offer letter, Roedean stated they were not awarding the Art Scholarship/Exhibition as 'they' had all disputed the authenticity of my portfolio, despite their invitation for me to sit for an Art Scholarship on account of the work I had produced during a "guest day" at the school. Retracting this serious slur to my parent's only, both the Junior Art Teacher and the Head Mistress, Patricia Metham, promised them I could retake the exam the following year as an internal candidate if my parents accepted the place for me.
However documents my parents are now in possession of, reveal Roedean were well aware of my genuine talent, at no time questioning the authenticity of my work. Internal documents from the examining art teacher and the Head Mistress recommend me as a scholar and for a exhibition/scholarship. It would be further documents that would reveal the extent Roedean would go to disappear this knowledge they had of me; by painting me as an average student, with no particular ability especially in Art and Design. To add to this, despite repeated requests from my parents solicitors, the school would never hand over my exam piece.
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