It was an adventure! Being at a school in the middle of Plymouth compared to my local village primary school was exciting to be closer to the city. I also remember what it felt like at the beginning – both teachers and students were proud to be part of a school with such a long reputation for success.  No doubt about it though, expectations were high and competition was quite fierce for achieving a lot as a student both within the curriculum but also in extra-curricular activities. 

My school memories 

It was an adventure! Being at a school in the middle of Plymouth compared to my local village primary school was exciting to be closer to the city. I also remember what it felt like at the beginning – both teachers and students were proud to be part of a school with such a long reputation for success.  No doubt about it though, expectations were high and competition was quite fierce for achieving a lot as a student both within the curriculum but also in extra-curricular activities. 

There was a Iot of fun too – I particularly remember the Sixth Form Shows at Christmas which were hilarious, the school drama productions such as Annie brought in as a new idea from around year 10, some mad charity fundraising events and some great school trips.

I remember that Mrs. Dunball, the Head teacher who started at the same time as our school year group brought in a new era encapsulating a more modern approach at the school. She was admired by many teachers and students for her approach, encouraging the girls to do their best and be curious about the world around them. She was inspirational!

I’m still in touch with some of my peers it is great to see how far we have come since school!

My experience at DHSG gave me an international outlook. It also taught me to always aim for success and that girls can do just as well, or often better than boys. 

What did you do after DHSG? 

I went to the University of Bath to study European Studies with Modern Languages (French and Russian).

I embarked on a career in policy advice on EU political and legal matters. After university at Bath (which included time in both Belgium and Russia), I went back to Brussels where I had spent my university year abroad. I worked as a policy adviser for a trade association in the media and advertising sector. I was lucky enough that this work in Brussels took me to many European capitals and gave me wonderful friends from several countries. I also lived and worked for three years in Amsterdam, The Netherlands in the same line of work. I’m now back in the UK working on international policy matters for a major UK regulator (public body), working with different nationalities, particularly our counterparts across the European Union, which includes regular travel to Brussels for meetings. I also spent one year doing a Masters course in international policy and regulation in London after having spent a few years in Brussels. 

Tips and advice 

Think really carefully about what degree you want for your job. It’s tough to do this at such a young age, but I remember that a surprisingly high number of people at university changed their course after the first year because it wasn’t turning out to be what they had thought, so save yourself wasting an entire year and do the proper research on choices in good time. Take a gap year if you are not sure. Also think about what you would like to be able to answer to someone who asks you the question “So what do you do?” in ten years’ time!

Attending DHSG is a great choice and there are no boys to distract the girls’ concentration in classes! Nor is there any criticism or putting you down if you are a student who cares about working hard. But you need to be supportive of your child in both homework and participation in extra-curricular activities as they will be expected to do their best in this amazing learning environment.