Unlocking the Path to a Promising Future in Law

Ella was one of our top-performing GCSE pupils of 2023 and she is now studying for English, Psychology, Geography and Biology A Levels with her plan being to pursue a degree in English as a bridge into studying law. The idea of a career in law only came to Ella when looking at where her love of English could take her. She’s been pro-active about seeking advice and realistic about managing her challenges. Ella joined as a flexi boarder at Casterton, Sedbergh Prep School in Year 8.

I boarded about two or three times a week. It depended on where mum was working and who else was boarding in house. It definitely helped how I got to know all the girls. And then coming up to senior school I felt a bit more prepared because I knew a few people.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how hard did you work for your GCSEs?

Oh wow! I would say close to a nine! I didn’t really know what to expect and I definitely stressed myself out quite a lot. So revision-wise, I wanted to make sure that I was on top of everything and that I knew as much as I could so that when I went into the exams I wasn’t unprepared. I think definitely that drove me.

Revision-wise, when we were at school, we did an hour of revision for every lesson. So, on a full day that’s about six hours; then I’d do three or four additional hours after school. So that would usually be about nine hours a day. When I went home [before exams], I got up at seven but I was a bit more flexible. I could do work for 40 minutes and then take 20 minutes breaks, which I thought worked better for me. I usually worked until about four o’clock and then my mum would say, “That’s it, you’re done! Put everything away now.”

Do you feel different being in sixth form? Do you think you’re treated differently in School?

Things have definitely become a lot more real! I think especially doing GCSEs, I always thought, ‘Oh, A levels, I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it!’ Now that I’m actually here doing it, it is a lot more real. We’ve got two years left.

Yes, I definitely think that I’m treated differently in School. There’s an expectation that there is more maturity. For the simple tasks teachers are not guiding you as much and they’re focusing on you becoming more independent. I think it’s very, very good. It was definitely a very big transition from GCSEs because we went from being in our tweeds [uniform] and teachers saying, right, you need to do this, then this, then you need to revise by doing this and this and this. Even two weeks into year 12 there’s a lot more freedom. They’re like, you know what you need to do.

Do you feel that, with that extra freedom, you have the ability to make your own choices and to make mistakes?

Definitely. I think so. I think the hardest part is that because there isn’t as much teacher guidance, you need to realize those mistakes yourself. I think that is the biggest part because usually at GCSEs, teachers are telling you, oh, you’ve done this wrong. This is what you need to do to change. But because now at A Levels there’s not a teacher there every single step of the way, it’s up to you – instead of the teacher approaching you, you need to go to the teacher. That’s a very important life skill, so I do think it works.

Have you always thought of law as a potential career for you?

Definitely not! There’s been a lot of tossing and turning. I think growing up all girls go through the stage of oh, I want to be a vet, a teacher, a princess and all of that. Until recently I did want to do medicine, but I have never been as engaged in my sciences, which you need to be fully committed to do, at a high level, if you want to go down that path. So, that was when it changed for me – I decided that if I can’t help people physically, I’d rather help them emotionally. While originally I was interested in the criminology side of law, now I think I’d more want to involve myself with children. I’d rather focus on that and then build on from there and see what happens.

How did you become aware of this pathway to law?

It definitely began before we started picking our A levels. We were sent a form to select the courses that we want to do; it included the A levels that you need and the grades – things like that. I’ve always really enjoyed English and wanted to do that. From that I started researching into branches, what else I can do from that. And I read up on things such as journalism and then obviously law was there as well.

For me personally, well I know law is going to be very difficult, but it was the one that I wanted to do the most and the one that I was most interested in, which I think is very important because you definitely have to be really interested in something if you want to succeed in it.

What resources, tools and advice have you used to guide your decision making?

I have definitely been influenced by other people and books that I’ve read. But teachers here [at Sedbergh] have been a main influence, especially Mr. Lucas who’s now my psychology teacher. He was recommending loads of books for me and saying, ‘Oh, if you want to learn about this, this is what you need to do.’ I think that having another perspective really helps you to understand, oh, this is possible.

When you talk to Mr. Lucas about those things, is that a formal structured conversation or is it just something that comes up?

It’s a bit of both really. Whenever you talk to a teacher about something that doesn’t really relate to the lesson, you have to take it upon yourself to go and talk to them and ask and sort of find the way until you get the answer that you want and find the guidance that you want.

Because things like that, teachers don’t usually address it to the whole class, especially so early on, when there’s many people that will be dropping psychology for example. So, teachers wait a bit longer before they say, oh, this is what you should do and this is what you should read if you want to continue it [the subject]. I think showing eagerness and that willingness to continue has definitely helped me a lot and helped the teachers to give me the resources that I need.

Has any of the literature that’s been recommended to you helped you with your decision?

Yeah, definitely. For instance, we’re going to see the Handmaid’s Tale – which I’ve read because my mum is always very eager for me to read different books. I think it’s all about how in another world women have no control over themselves and there’s nothing they can do about it. That sort of got me thinking. There is some reflection of that in the real world; you get people like women and children in culturally based countries who don’t have that freedom. And I think there’s power in thinking that maybe there’s something that I can help with to change things like that, or I can look into it and find out what causes things like that. And I definitely think that’s motivated me quite a lot.

Have you attended any extra-curricular activities – like the societies – to expand your learning?

Yeah, definitely. In year 11 I did Phoenix Society [debating]. The Sixth Form dinner debates are a step up from that. And then obviously the Brantwood Society, which covers poetry and things like that. And that was definitely something that I wanted to do not just in lessons, but because I want to take my learning outside the lesson to see what I can expand onto.

Is sport important to you?

Yeah, definitely. I mainly do netball and hockey and then cricket in the summer term and running. They all tie in very well with each other because I do one each term. I run throughout the year sort of to keep my fitness up. I think sport is definitely a way to release stress. I know loads of my friends will agree with this. Being stuck in a classroom for six hours and then having the freedom to go away and run around and not having to think straight and the release of endorphins and all that is important. It really does help you concentrate a lot when you know that you’ve done your exercise for the day, it really helps.

When I leave I don’t think I will be able to do all of those sports. I think, for me, cricket is more of a social thing; I do it because I enjoy it and I do it with my friends but I can’t see myself continuing that when I leave. But I definitely think I’ll play netball. I really, really want to continue that when I leave and my running as well.

Which of the hark values do you most identify with?

I would say resilience. I think a lot of people at Sedbergh would definitely agree because at Sedbergh and school in general, it’s not easy and it’s never sort of going to be a straight line and there’s going to be loads of ups and downs, and I think you need to have that mindset to continue with it and to keep going when things get difficult. Otherwise, you won’t really get anywhere in life. If at every problem it’s sort of one step forward, two steps back, you sort of need to change that mindset and just keep going.

Are there any obstacles facing you personally, that you are looking out for on your journey through sixth form?

I think the biggest worry would probably be failing. I think definitely having that in your mind and thinking like, oh, I want to do this, but if that happens then what? All those ifs, buts and maybes definitely make it really difficult, but you just need to ignore those pointers. You need to look forward because there’s always going to be an oh, what if I did this and what if I did that? And that mentality won’t really get you very far.