“It is not an exaggeration to say that my Emanuel education has been one the most influential aspects of my personal development, if not the most influential. In turn, therefore, the impact of being awarded a bursary was utterly transformative, as without it such an education simply would not have been possible.
It goes without saying that the academic training I received at Emanuel was second-to-none, and this has benefitted me in more ways than I can count. Perhaps most notably, Emanuel enabled me to gain a place at Edinburgh University, but the benefits did not stop when I walked over the bridge and out of school for the last time. In fact, the rigour and depth of an Emanuel education have come into their own at Edinburgh, where I am able to continue my studies with confidence, my learning fully supported by the ‘building blocks’ of both knowledge and technique which I developed at school.
What is truly special about Emanuel, however, and perhaps the thing that I am most grateful for, is the rounded education which all its pupils receive. Whether this is on the sports field, or, in my case, on the stage, the amount that extra-curricular activities play a part in day-to-day school life is something which should be celebrated, and something of which I appreciate the importance even more now. Extra-curricular activities at Emanuel have shaped my character; performing on stage and public speaking has boosted my confidence (which in turn has enabled me to actively pursue a career in broadcasting) and volunteering at a local primary school during Sixth Form helped me to develop leadership skills.
This latter point brings me on to another of the things I am most grateful for; the school fosters an ethos of service and giving back, and there seems to be an organic symmetry here; not only did I benefit from an education which I wouldn’t have been able to access without a bursary, but I also benefitted from being able to live out this ethos in gratitude and by taking part in the act of giving back myself. My bursary was truly a life-long gift for me and I would urge anyone who is able to support the Emanuel bursary scheme so that future children can access all that Emanuel has to offer, as I hope to do in future.”