Last year's Head Girl reflects on life after King's

I finished at King’s last summer, and now I am studying Performing Arts at the Institute for Contemporary Theatre in Brighton.

I moved to Brighton in September 2020 to start my course, and I have been there for the majority of my time, even during the pandemic. It was such a weird start and being a fresher isn’t what it was supposed to be, however, I have met so many lovely people. Now that we are doing online learning until February, despite the isolation, I still have a good connection with the people who I have made friends with in these last few months.

Before the third lockdown I was in uni at least three days a week for up to 10 hours a day training and learning things that I never thought was possible for me to do. For example, I do tap dancing, jazz, ballet and I have done a week of Bollywood dancing too! My other lessons include music theory, acting and loads of singing. Due to the virus, we got put into little boxes for our dance lessons (lined up with sticky tape on the floor) and told to wear masks when not in them. To be lucky enough to actually be in the studio during these times has allowed me to socialise and meet new people.

Before all of the lockdowns hit, I was able to experience some ‘normal’ uni life, and went out to pubs, clubs and bars, got takeaways way too much and spent all my afternoons on the beach with the people I met. To know that as soon as this pandemic is over, then we can all get back to normal and enjoy the experience of being at uni and being independent.

Obviously, leaving King’s for my year group was very unexpected, as we didn’t finish properly, even though I have had chances to meet my friends during the little breaks in between lockdowns, it still wasn’t what it was supposed to be. I am so grateful for how much King’s did for us during the first lockdown and the School supported us as much as they could. Breaking off so early did not help the exchange between the transition of moving from school to university, however, with every other 18-year-old in the country, I was certainly not alone. My uni experience has been so different to all of my friends that I know, from either doing veterinary degrees, maths degrees, English and even those taking a gap year, I know that everybody’s experience is different. I can’t wait to get back to normal life, but I am so blessed to have the community at King’s and also the new people that I have met to help me get through the pandemic.

I have always wanted to be on the West End stage, but when I finish uni, I want to do a teaching degree and then teach either Drama or Music to others in the community that I was schooled in. So then I can keep my boarding school community and then get involved in so many other things too. 

Katie Proctor - Head Girl (2019-20) - Priory House