Cesca, lumna 2023

Cesca joined as a day girl in Lower 4 from a local prep school. With a love for sport, music, drama and the arts Cesca says, “I was drawn to Queen Anne’s because there was so much on offer”.

Cesca has taken to the stage many times in the past six years, involving herself in as many school drama productions as possible; most recently taking one of the leading roles, playing Warner in the Lower 6 production of Legally Blonde the Musical. If she’s not on the stage, you might find Cesca representing the school in a lacrosse match, perfecting her tennis serve or shooting goals on the netball courts.

I’ve always wanted to grasp as many opportunities as possible.

Academically, Cesca has an interest in humanities and English, and fondly remembers the annual Woman in Black theatre trip for the Upper 4s (year 9s) with the English department. After completing her GCSEs, Cesca stayed on at Queen Anne’s to complete Sixth Form.

“It was an easy decision to stay on to complete my A Levels as I could see there were so many opportunities on offer to me. I study English Literature, History and Psychology. Psychology was a new subject to me but it quickly became my favourite.

It can be quite daunting stepping up from GCSEs to A Levels, but as soon as I started Lower 6, there was so much support, I haven’t felt overwhelmed because I know there is always someone to talk to.”

Students in the Sixth Form are encouraged to seize opportunities that will provide them with experience. A lecture series in the Lower 6 sees the year group attend weekly lectures presented by staff and guest speakers on a range of topics, from career pathways, mental health, historical events, university and more.

“A new opportunity this past year was helping out with the children from the Reading Refugees Centre, we read with them and play games, it’s so great that we are able to give back to the community.”

Sixth Formers work to a timetable, much like the rest of the school. However, they have a greater number of free periods during which they can complete work or an extracurricular activity.

“You might think that when you get to the Sixth Form you’d be told to drop extra activities and focus solely on your studies, but that’s not true. At Queen Anne’s they acknowledge that you need to have a balance between work and fun.”

Alongside Grace, Cesca was Head Girl for the academic year 2022-2023. “I was over the moon when I was appointed as Head Girl. I know everyone is the Senior Prefect Team will work really well together. We want to make sure we are role models and that the younger years will hopefully look up to and speak to us with no barriers. We want to ensure there are bridges between the year groups, so that there is full integration. We’ll be encouraging the younger years to take every opportunity and will look into establishing new traditions and opportunities.”

Queen Anne’s is a warm and welcoming community where everyone is encouraged to do what makes them happy and what makes them feel fulfilled.