www.alumni.fhs-sw1.org.uk
Alumni Events 2023
Old Girls' Lecture with alumna,
Theatre and Television Director
Sarah Esdaile
Although not her first visit to Francis Holland in recent years,
Sarah felt ‘pretty overwhelmed’ as she addressed her audience
at 2023's Old Girls' Lecture, many of whom were old friends
and teachers she hadn’t seen since her school days. Especially
moving was her reacquaintance with former English and
Drama Teacher, Patricia Metham.
Speaking with warmth and humour, Sarah described how
Francis Holland encouraged tenacity, risk and resilience,
qualities that she honed and solidified during her school years
which have stood her in immensely good stead to forge a
career in the competitive and cut-throat creative industries.
It was during Sarah’s years at FHS that she first fell in love with
the idea of telling stories for a living. Two particular occasions
had a profound effect on her: the school play competition,
affording Sarah her first real attempt at directing, and a school
trip to see a production of Romeo and Juliet at the Young Vic.
“The seeds of that passion were sown in this very building, and
I am also grateful for that and for the privilege of working out
- by the time I was 18 - what I wanted to do with my life”, she
commented.
Sarah spoke candidly about her career, eruditely discussing
how pushing out of her comfort zone and making bold and
courageous decisions had gifted her the most rewarding
life experiences. She generated laughter from her audience
by telling stories from her days as Director on the set of
EastEnders and spoke of her prescient decision to move from
directing theatre to television, just before the emergence
of Covid-19. Sarah revealed the struggles she has faced as
a female director and, before taking questions from her
audience, her future aspirations as a film director and novelist
(preferably while living by the sea!).
Our heartfelt thanks go to Sarah for engaging our alumni,
parent, and pupil communities with such an inspirational talk.
Sarah (second from right) photographed alongside her
former classmates and former teacher, Anne Margetson
(centre)
Alumna, Dame Rose Tremain
engaged staff and pupils as special
guest of the Sixth Form Speaker
Programme
In April 2023, we were honoured to welcome Dame Rose
Tremain to our Speaker Programme. Upper Sixth pupil, Sofia G
wrote this account of the event:
“Rose spoke to the Sixth Form girls about her life and her
inspirations for her widely acclaimed novels. It was inspiring
to hear from an old FHS girl how her life at our school shaped
the person she is today. In particular, Rose emphasised the
encouragement she received at FHS to write, to channel her
young creativity and energy into stories. Rose told us all about
her process in writing historical fiction, how she writes so
descriptively and accurately about different settings, through
research and travel, and how she creates such compelling
characters. We were even lucky enough to hear the world
premiere of her book, ‘Absolutely and Forever,’ to come out
later this year. In asking many insightful questions, the Sixth
Formers received some hugely helpful tips for writing both
short stories and novels.
We are so grateful to Dame Tremain for imparting her wisdom
on us.”
The Dame Rose Tremain Short
Story Prize
Dame Rose returned to Francis Holland in July, having
previously agreed to sponsor a writing prize at FHS. Launched
in November 2022, ‘The Dame Rose Tremain Short Story
Competition' offered a £500 prize and drew entries from
across the Senior School. These were shortlisted, and the
winner and runner up chosen by Rose, who presented the
award in person at July’s Prize-Giving Ceremony.