music
Fiona Laughton (Bankes DH 2000) WHAT CAREER DID YOU SEE YOURSELF IN WHEN YOU WERE 16? It was hard to
imagine entering the working world when I was 16! However, having enjoyed playing the violin and piano from an early age, I did know that it would have to involve music. A LEVELS: English, Religious Studies and Music UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE: Music at University of Edinburgh CAREER PATH: At university, I won the Sir Thomas Beecham Scholarship for
Outstanding Performance in violin. The combination of my interest in violin performance and a Music in the Community module at Edinburgh, led me to apply for a Masters in Music Therapy Course at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. I also completed a Pitman’s Executive Assistant Secretarial course and a cooking course at Leith’s. These courses proved invaluable for finding student jobs! After graduating, I worked as a private Music Therapist and violin teacher and performer, as well as working as a Personal Assistant in London for several years. After meeting my husband, we moved out of London and I began a teaching role at Bradfield College, Berkshire where I completed my PGCE and specialised in teaching GCSE and AS academic music. CURRENT OCCUPATION: I am now Head of Junior School Music at Lambrook
School in Berkshire. My role involves teaching classroom music from Nursery to Year 4 and I run several choirs, and ensembles. As a full-time working mother, with my daughter currently at Lambrook, I am very happy and settled in my current role. Looking forward, I would love to become a Director of Music at a prep school and perhaps even go down the Housemistress route one day. WORDS OF ADVICE: It may sound like a well-used cliché but teaching really is
a rewarding career! No two days are ever the same and being able to inspire children, and to instil a love of music at such an early age is a privilege. I also love the fact that I am able to sing, and play my violin and piano as part of the job. Get as much work experience as you can in schools before applying to a teacher-training course. “Teaching” is not something that can necessarily be taught. Quite simply you won’t know if you can “teach” until you have stood in front of a class on your own and had a go!
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“It was hard to imagine entering the working world when I was 16!”