Hugo: Academic Ambition Meets Athletic Drive
This summer, Hugo achieved strong GCSE results while continuing to train and compete as a committed athlete. As a boarder, his days often begin with early training, followed by lessons, academic study periods and afternoon sport. It makes for a full schedule, but one he manages with routine, support and self-discipline.
In this interview, Hugo talks honestly about preparing for exams, how boarding life helps him stay organised, and how he balances schoolwork with sport. He also shares what he has discovered about his own interests and the path he is now shaping in Sixth Form and beyond.
Q: How did your teachers help you prepare for exams — was there a particular approach that really worked for you?
A: Lots of teachers provided extra sessions during the Easter holiday and then in the evenings after school in the lead up to exams, which helped break up the individual revision and provided opportunities to ask questions.
I think there is the opportunity to fit more teacher-assisted study time into your day at Sedbergh compared to other schools, since boarding pupils can access teachers who are around long after the standard school day is finished. This ensures your work (especially in the lead up to exams) can be checked quickly and feedback can be given which is extremely valuable when time is limited and there are lots of subjects to revise for.
Q: How did boarding life help you balance your academic work with everything else you do at school?
A: Living at school means you have lots of time in your day to complete your academic work, and you can quickly get help from teachers if you need it. Therefore, the opportunities to get work done in the evening (prep) means you also have time during the day to socialise and do whatever sport are signed up for that day.
Q: Did you discover any new interests, subjects, or skills that surprised you?
A: In part of the GCSE History course called ‘Superpower relations’ I learned how the individual personalities of leaders can have huge impacts on relations between countries and on international events, which initiated my interest in Politics and Diplomacy.
Q: How did sport fit alongside your studies?
A: As someone who takes their sport seriously, balancing revision, training and recovery is a challenge. However, I don’t think there is a better environment in which someone can pursue both sport and academics in terms of convenience of facilities, time available and support at your disposal. Personally, during exams my days became very busy from early morning swimming and gym to lessons, ASPs and then afternoon training and prep (this type of day is not unusual at Sedbergh!).
Q: What A Levels subjects have you chosen for Sixth Form, and why?
A: I’ve chosen History, Geography, Economics and Business for my A-Levels. I’m going to use the opportunity of studying four subjects and then dropping one to decide whether I want to do Economics or Business since I haven’t done them before and I’m not sure which I’ll prefer. Like most people, I’ll do an EPQ in addition to those subjects, on a subject similar to the course I’d like to do at university to aid my application.
Q: Do you already have an idea of the pathway you’d like to follow after school (university, apprenticeship, career area)?
A: At the moment I’m looking into two different paths for when I leave Sedbergh: the first is applying to an American University where I can try and pursue a running career utilising the pro-like set-ups, which seem standard compared to the UK, while also getting a good degree alongside the sport. The other option would be staying in the UK and likely applying to Bath, Loughborough or Birmingham where there are also very good athletics set-ups while getting a degree in a course like PPE or international relations.
Q: What advice would you give to younger pupils just starting their GCSE courses at Sedbergh?
A: Lots of the content for GCSEs is factual and can be memorised, so figuring out your best personalised methods of revision can make the process of learning 10 courses much easier.