Sophie Hallam  "a love of learning"

I drove by Thomas Tallis recently and saw that the bulldozers had moved in. It's been a while since I passed its gates and I remembered it then with the absolute best of memories despite its crumbling exterior (and my teenage self at that time). I was thrilled to see, as I carried on driving, the new Tallis 16+. It looks like an amazing building and I am so pleased that Tallis, with all it entails, will carry on within new walls.

I came to Tallis when I was 16, fresh out of my old school and looking for a new experience. I studied Art, Drama and English Literature. My art teacher, Mr Nicholson, was always there with a critical yet encouraging word as I dug into my memories and spewed them out via a massive canvas in our final exhibition. No idea was too big - Tallis made it happen. In drama, I developed a love of physical theatre; the works of Steven Berkoff and Kafka's Metamorphosis. Our teachers always took us to the most cutting-edge plays on the scene and their passion was infectious. I still look out for the likes of DV8 and Complicite so their influence carries on over 10 years later (thanks Miss Barton). Fondest memories are of our English classes where life was revealed in new ways - Carol Ann Duffy's Valentine still clings to me like a knife and McEwan’s A Child in Time continues to haunt.

After Tallis, I moved on to do a BTEC Foundation in Art and Design at Camberwell Art College, a BA in Media and Communications at Goldsmiths and am now studying an MA in Children's Literature & English Education - currently writing a story set in the heart of Kidbrooke with a Kafka-esque edge. So Tallis was hugely influential in shaping me to become the person I am now and definitely inspired a love of learning! Alongside my studies, I have developed a career in publishing (amidst less salubrious jobs) - both in the arts and in children's literature. A life-long commitment to working with young people and literacy was inspired by the opportunity to become a reading mentor at Tallis when I was in Year 12/13 (receiving an award of excellence from the Associated Scholarship for Special Educational Needs and a Greenwich Reading Mentor Certificate!) – an experience which has afforded me many other creative, volunteer opportunities with charities such as Springboard for Children and The Ministry of Stories.

In short, Tallis takes you in, chews you up and spits you out stronger, more aware, full of heady consciousness and ready to take on the world in new and exciting ways. Its ethos is creative, fair, challenging, autonomous, curious and open-hearted. I am indebted.