Fleur’s Academic Growth at Sedbergh

Fleur joined Sedbergh in September 2024—following in her father’s footsteps—and quickly immersed herself in the School’s lively academic and co-curricular life. Since then, she’s discovered fresh passions, honed important study habits, and pushed herself to explore new areas of interest. Her choice of A Levels—French, Digital Media, and Psychology—reflects both her curiosity and the confidence she’s gained here. Fleur credits Sedbergh’s supportive community and broad subject offerings for helping her adapt seamlessly to boarding, nurturing her evolving talents and motivating her to aim high in everything she does.

What do you hope to do at university? Are you hoping to do something that perhaps is in one of those fields?

I’m not too stressed about making a specific career choice yet; I’m not really set on what I want to do. For A Levels I wanted to do the things that I enjoy a lot and have a bit of a variety. I was told that I should choose the things that I enjoy doing the most.

So, I chose French – it’s useful for traveling and it also opens up a lot of careers in translating which I think is quite cool. I didn’t hesitate to pick psychology because I find it really interesting. Lastly, digital media, because technology’s only getting bigger, so it will always be useful. Especially if I want to be able to do film photography layouts, for example.

Would you say that you have a love of learning?

Yes, definitely, I’m interested in learning new things, but it has to relate to things that I’m interested in!

What do you think sparked your interest in digital media and psychology?

Well, my dad bought me a Vogue magazine when I was a bit younger and I only had one copy, but I flicked through it so many times and I just loved it. The photography, how the editors lay out and stuff. I always found that really interesting. So I was hoping to do that here – and I have been – which is really cool.

I never really knew much about psychology until I started it! But everything behind behaviour is really interesting.

Are there any study techniques or routines that you have found most effective for you?

It depends on the subject. Digital media is quite coursework heavy, but for psychology, I use flashcards on Quizlet a lot for key terms – it helps me commit them to my memory and then apply them in exams. Then I’ll do a mind map or write everything I remember down and then just look at the things I’ve missed and revise that in a different way.

That’s a technique that I used at GCSEs. I’ve tried lots of different techniques and I found that that’s what worked best for me.

Do you do sports at Sedbergh?

Since September, when I started at Sedbergh, I’ve started running; something I never really did before. I live in Bristol City, so I didn’t really enjoy running at home, but here it’s different. It’s so pretty. So, I’ve really enjoyed it getting into that and running the Epics and the Wilson Run, which is really cool. I also enjoy athletics; jumping events – long jump, high jump.

How do you manage your time so that you can get everything done?

I think you just have to stay organized and don’t procrastinate. For example, I have quite a lot of prep set every day, and every week, and I just get it done as soon as I see it because if I left it until the last minute, then sometimes I wouldn’t be able to do it because  I might get back to House too late. So you just have to get stuff done in the moment rather than saying that you’ll do it later.

Are there any academic hurdles that you’ve had to overcome? What would you say to pupils who find some subjects difficult?

Well, at GCSE I got a few low grades in my mocks, so I had to change my revision a bit for that. For me that was a motivation to keep revising, keep trying, and not relax too much before the real exams.

If you’re struggling, I think you just need to keep trying. Remember, teachers offer loads of help. If you contact them they’re so happy to help and do one-on-ones. So, accept any means of help you can get and just keep trying.

How have the teachers or resources at this school helped you to develop your academic talents?

The teachers and the attitude here is to get involved in everything. Try everything, something new, no matter what level you’re at. So everyone encourages that, including the teachers. Teachers encourage you so much to just message them and organize meetings with them if you’re struggling or if you’ve had a not-so-good result on a test. I just organize a one-on-one to go through it, which is so helpful because it’s so specific to you.

If you could change one thing about how you approached your studies in the past, what would it be?

I think I would start revising sooner. I usually give myself enough time, but sometimes I don’t and then I get a bit stressed. So, if I could change anything, I’d make sure I give myself plenty of time and not stress at the last minute!

How do you think that the skills you’ve developed here at Sedbergh will help you in your university career?

I feel like at Sedbergh you learn to talk to everyone no matter their background, where they’re from, what they like. You just get along with everyone. You’re also encouraged to get involved in everything and try new things. If you have that attitude at uni, you’ll have no trouble making friends and engaging with everything, so it’s really useful.

How have you found settling in? You didn’t come here from a boarding environment, so how was that?

I feel like the first week was a bit hard because all the old girls had come back and they’d all missed each other. So, they were all so happy to see each other, but I settled in so quickly. The girls are lovely and they just help you out. So yeah, it’s really nice. It’s such a nice environment and I feel like I’ve been here forever.