Karena Walsh, contributed her memories of Stratford for the 60th Anniversary book, 60 Years A Growing, which was launched in November 2015.
After six years at Stratford College I was sad to leave my school days behind. I can safely say that the friendships I cultivated there are still my closest today. I feel lucky to have attended a school which fostered
my sense of self-worth and nurtured my confidence. I studied French and Classical Civilisation at Trinity College and once I completed my degree I received a summer internship from the San
Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
A year later I was awarded a scholarship from the Classics Department at Trinity College which enabled me to complete a Masters in the subject. A few weeks ago I submitted a 20,000 word thesis on Socratic Philosophy.
I have no idea what the future has in store, but I have little fear due to the repertoire of life skills and the solid personal foundation I built during my years at Stratford. It has always been a dream to pursue a career in creative writing. Now that I have obtained qualifications I may consent to doing just that!
One of my strongest memories from Stratford takes place during fifth year English class. On completion of an assignment, Ms Reynolds acknowledged my efforts and asked me if I ever envisaged becoming a writer. As a teacher addressing a student I felt she was not only appraising my academic abilities, but was recognising and encouraging my creativity. This rare balance is, for me, what makes Stratford College an exceptional school.
In April 2015 Karena was awarded her Masters in Classics, see the Past Pupils blog. Read the 60 Years A Growing eBook for more Stratford memories.
Karena Walsh
The 1st years completed a zombie lab today where they used their scientific methods and thinking to identify patient zero from the zombie suspects. Using measuring skills, pH, observation skills and much more they successfully identified the source of the outbreak!
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The TY Horticulture class were out in the Autumn sunshine planting Spring bulbs using the chaos planting method. This is when a multitude of different spring bulbs (Hyacinths, Daffodils, Tulips, Crocuses, Narcissi) are mixed together and randomly planted so that we have a mixture of flowers and patterns emerging in the spring. It mimics nature and so is more enticing to pollinators and native insects that need the food in Spring.
Stratford is celebrating Maths Week 2026 (12th - 18th October) with daily activities around the school, at breaktimes and in Maths classes! The tutor-time daily quiz is proving to be extremely competitive as each form group tries to solve it and then run to find Ms Matthews in order to win the box of chocolates!
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