Florence was a pupil at Babington House School from 2002 – 2017 and has gone on to study BSc Ethical Hacking & Cybersecurity at Coventry University.
We asked Florence about her time at Babington and life after leaving.
What is your favourite memory from Babington House?
This is a cop-out answer, but having spent the large majority of my life at Babington, there’s genuinely too many to choose! There are the summertime lunch breaks spent making daisy chains on the field, carols during the Christmas church services, and “splendid day” (extended day) club after school. A common theme in my wonderful memories of Babington was the chamber choir, which afforded me some amazing opportunities alongside my best friends. I was always amazed by how wonderful we sounded once Mrs. Whittaker had patiently perfected the harmonies. I remember we would sing in The Glades shopping centre every Christmas time to raise money for charity, which will always hold a special place in my heart. My proudest moment at Babington was being appointed as Charities Prefect, as I have always been very passionate about raising money and awareness for those in need. It was lovely to see my passion recognised, and I wore the prefect badge with honour.
Another wonderful memory was when Miss MacNeil gifted me a copy of Hamlet at the end of my English A-level course. It was such a lovely and personal gift (I still think it’s one of Shakespeare’s best plays) and it sits pride of place on my ever-expanding bookshelf.
Did you have a favourite teacher?
I have two…sorry! Firstly, Mrs (Agnes) Wyard. She nurtured my love of maths and logic and taught me how to approach problems in ways that I still use now. I am very sure that without her unending dedication and energy, I would not have achieved the maths qualifications that I did. We would often stay after the school day ended to go over past papers and practice questions, and I am so grateful to Mrs Wyard for giving up her free time for the sake of our education.
Secondly, I have to give my utmost thanks to Frau (Ellen) Douglas. She actually taught my brother, who attended Babington before I did, so she had known me even before she taught me. She then taught me German right the way through my time at Babington, and I ended up taking German for A-level because of her infectious passion for the language. I will never forget Frau Douglas’ unending kindness, which included the “Kaffee und Kuchen” time in my after-school lessons, and her unwavering patience when I got frustrated.
Honourable mentions go to Mrs Whittaker, Mrs Boyce (or Stirk in the earlier days!), Mrs Sturdy, Mrs Hotham, Miss MacNeil, Mrs Mosedale, and Mrs Gore.
What have you been doing after your time at Babington?
Project Manager at Instem. I co-ordinate the creation of custom software within the pharmaceutical industry to allow clinical trial data to be analysed anonymously. Some of our software was used in the development of recent COVID-19 vaccines, which was really rewarding!!
