This week, we were honoured to welcome Dame Rose Tremain to our speaker programme. Rose left Francis Holland aged 10, in 1953, before boarding at Crofton Grange School. She was later a pupil at the Sorbonne and went on to study and teach at the University of East Anglia.

Rose spoke to the Sixth Form girls about her life and her inspirations for her widely acclaimed novels. It was inspiring to hear from an old FHS girl how her life at our school shaped the person she is today. In particular, Rose emphasised the encouragement she received at FHS to write, to channel her young creativity and energy into stories. Rose told us all about her process in writing historical fiction, how she writes so descriptively and accurately about different settings, through research and travel, and how she creates such compelling characters. We were even lucky enough to hear the world premiere of her book ‘Absolutely and Forever,’ to come out later this year. In asking many insightful questions, the Sixth Formers received some hugely helpful tips for writing both short stories and novels.

We are so grateful to Dame Tremain for imparting her wisdom on us.

By Sofia G, Lower Sixth