Former Head Girl secures place at Cambridge University

Congratulations to 2014/15 Head Girl, Jade Franks, on securing a place at St Edmund’s College, Cambridge to study for a degree in Education, English, Drama and the Arts.

We’re always keen to hear from our former students and Headteacher Miss Whelan said:

“One of the best parts of our job is when a student returns to Weatherhead and tells us what they have been up to. It was so lovely to see one of our ex-students last week and to hear her wonderful news of gaining a place to study at Cambridge University.”

Jade returned to share her news and to talk about the path she chose to take after completing her A levels. After gaining A*AA in her A levels in 2015, Jade opted to take a gap year:

“I went straight into the world of work, while also continuing to pursue my love for theatre and writing in my spare time. My gap year quickly turned into three; I had spent my time travelling, working in universities in LA and Boston and auditioning for drama schools. Overall I was rejected from nine drama schools/universities and was accepted into two, however financial circumstance and gut feeling led me to decline both offers.

Working in the education sector in America sparked an interest for the subject and made me consider university; Cambridge being the only university offering such a specific course of Education with Drama, English and the Arts. I applied on a whim and was amazed with the news. I had an interview, and after two tough academic grillings plus an exam followed by a month long wait to hear back, I got an unconditional offer to start this October. I am still very much in shock and can’t quite believe it; I would like to thank all the teachers in Weatherhead who work so hard, especially those who encouraged and supported me during my time there.

If I were to give any advice to students it would be to not feel any pressure to do what everyone else is doing, that’s in terms of post 18 choices and in life generally. University isn’t for everyone, sometimes you need time to figure out what it is you want to do but it’s important to get good grades while you can so that as many doors remain open in the future as possible.”

Jade is keen to stay in contact, to share her journey and support our current students.

We love to hear from all our students so please keep in touch using the contact us page, our Facebook and Twitter pages or visit our alumni page.