One Bradfield, Two Individuals, Endless Opportunities

Upon arriving, Kia quickly realized her future was in the performing arts so she branched out by taking as many performance related opportunities as she could. With Drama she performed in the Greek Theatre in the musical Godspell, she joined choirs and formed a vocal trio, performing at the Jacqueline du Pré Music Building, Oxford, and played a pivotal role in staging and choreographing the annual Dance Show. The support she received from the staff in each of those areas is something Kia says enabled her to realise her dream of going to Drama School.

“I was auditioning all over the country to get into some of the top schools and the staff were so supportive, which wasn’t an easy commitment. Whether it was my Matron in House, my Head of Dance or my Drama teacher, they were always there through the rejections and acceptances. Having that support, when you’re not at home as well, I can’t thank them enough for it.”

In terms of setting them up for the future, one of their most influential experiences was doing the Extended Project Qualification at A Level. The academic research project provides the scope to pursue topics of interest outside of the curriculum and Taylor, knowing that he wanted to take on a healthcare related degree, researched births via mitochondrial transfers.

“It was my first opportunity to choose a subject that I wanted to focus on and found interesting. For me it was the confirmation studying a degree in Biology or Medicine or Healthcare was where my future lay.”

Taylor now works at a specialist healthcare consultancy. Having studied Biomedical Science at university he didn’t want to go into Medicine or research, instead entering WPP’s Healthcare Fellowship, trying his hand at advertising, PR and market research. From there he took a role at VMLY&R Health in the Medical Consulting team which specialises in market access and medical affairs for the pharmaceutical industry.

“Having teachers at Bradfield who I was able to ask whatever questions I had, allowed me to go beyond the subject. Through the co-curricular societies like Med Soc I enjoyed more informal discussions which meant I could explore my passion and got me to where I am now.”

Despite going to Drama School, and perhaps more influenced by her teachers, Kia is now pursuing a qualification to teach Primary Education. Similarly, her EPQ studies had an impact on her future career pathway.

“My EPQ was on Child Psychology and the development of the early years learning programme and it’s one of the reasons why I’m doing primary teaching now. I gained so much knowledge on theorists and practitioners who I am currently studying at university which has been great.”

Reflecting on what their Bradfield Scholarship and bursary meant they could achieve, both Taylor and Kia point to the plethora of skills and qualities which they developed throughout their education. One thing that has stuck with Taylor is something which is engrained in Bradfield’s ‘Education for Life’.

“The Headmaster once said that grades get you through the door but how happy and successful you are is dependent on a wider variety of softer skills. I don’t think I would have got them somewhere else.”

“If I hadn’t held leadership roles as a Prefect or with the Dance Company or pushed myself out of my comfort zone, I wouldn’t be doing what I do now,” adds Kia. “We’re both extremely grateful for the opportunities that we had. The successes we have both had after leaving is due to the experiences we had while we were at Bradfield.”