Sophie Mackie

Sophie joined the College in the sixth form, so not only did she face the challenge of integrating into established school life, but also of getting used to boarding – something that was entirely new to her. Far from being intimidated, however, she looked forward to her new environment, and soon found her feet. Of this period she says, “I hoped, when I joined, to make new friends, but I never realized that, during my time here, I would make some of the best friends I will ever have. I just can’t imagine not having been at Fram and experiencing College life like this”.

In her final year, Sophie became a College Prefect an Deputy Head of Moreau House, and feels that she gained courage from the responsibilities of her roles, and that the experience made her a more happy, thoughtful and organised person. She was also a Peer Mentor, part of the team which gives pupils of all ages someone to turn to in times of trouble or concern.

Sophie studied for A-levels in Photography, Theatre Studies and Business Studies. She said she thoroughly enjoyed all of them and gained many new skills that she hadn’t expected. For example, Photography encouraged her artistic skills and has become a new hobby. Theatre Studies was great fun, especially in the first year, and again introduced many skills both and added to her confidence. However, she said, “Business has been the biggest surprise of all. I really enjoyed studying business and it has made me decide to push myself to be in the business world! Overall, I really couldn’t say what subject has been the best, as although they haven’t been the most academic, they have all been challenging in different ways – and have been great fun!”

Outside the classroom, Sophie has taken her Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award, and hoped to complete her Gold award before leaving the College. As part of her award programme she worked in a local nursery school, from which she took great insights into how communication is such an important aspect of life. She also developed her photographic dark-room skills and other techniques. She’s played a major part in College dramatic productions, as a member of the backstage crew, and came front of stage for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which she thoroughly enjoyed being a part of and managed to attend every rehearsal. In addition, she joined the model United Nations team, and travelled to The Hague to take part in debates about the major issues facing the World.

Sophie has decided not to go to University straight from school – she feels the economics don’t necessarily justify this, and anyway she isn’t yet in a position to commit to a particular subject for study. She is, however, particularly interested in Events Management and Catering, and so will take a gap-year during which she hopes to gain a lot of work-experience with a range of events-management companies.

Looking forward to her three-year Moreau Scholarship tenure, Sophie says, “I do feel passionate about Fram and the time that I have spent with everyone at the school and I look forward to organizing events and social get together’s for my year regularly! After leaving Fram this summer I’m attending Ballymaloe cookery school as I have a real passion for cooking. Then I’m going to go travelling and work for food related businesses in Australia. Having gained so much confidence, I’ve decided to have a real go at starting my own business. You never know, this might be useful for some of the events I will organize! For me this is just the beginning of Framlingham College life!”