Chloe attended Greenfield between 2011 and 2019, and now goes to Farnborough Hill.
My time at Greenfield was just before the Covid-19 outbreak, and my year group was the last class to finish Year 6 at the Brooklyn Road site before it moved to Old Woking Road. I now go to Farnborough Hill, and I am really enjoying it there. Outside of school I love to do aerial gymnastics – I work with hoops, silks and the trapeze and have performed at Woking’s Party in the Park. I play the flute and piano – both of which I started at Greenfield!
My parents chose Greenfield because they loved the friendly feel; the children all seemed very happy, and my parents had to drag me out of the Robins classroom when we visited because I thought it was amazing! There was a real sense of community – all the pupils got to know each other through clubs, the playground, mentoring and our different interests. We were all friends with everyone! The older children would know the younger children and looked out for them. I liked having friends in different year groups and feeling that you knew everybody; teachers and pupils alike. All the teachers were really supportive, and I always felt part of a big family. I’m still in contact with all the girls from my class, even though one of us now lives abroad.
My favourite year at Greenfield was Year 6. I had just come back from living in Bermuda for two years and everyone welcomed me back, like I had never been away. I felt very loved and settled back in very quickly. During Year 6 I really enjoyed doing our production of Mary Poppins, Dragon’s Den and the school trips; especially Bushcraft. Dragon’s Den was great because we got to experience what it would be like to manage your own business, and I got to work with one of my best friends. Bushcraft was so much fun! We made a shelter out of sticks and leaves, and we were allowed to sleep in them. I was only brave enough to do it once. We played lots of games and learnt how to survive in the woods. We got to roast marshmallows too! Yum!
I also really enjoyed Drama – I loved rehearsing for Mary Poppins, my end of year production and loved playing Winifred and the Bird Woman. For the Bird Woman role, I sang a solo and some of my teachers told me afterwards that I’d made them cry (happy tears I promise!). I felt very special, and I will never forget having that opportunity to shine and to sing for an audience. I also sang a duet with one of my best friends and we loved that experience. I now do Musical Theatre and Acting classes at Guildford School of Acting.
A moment that I’ll always remember was when Mrs Steenekamp (the art teacher at the time) invited me to be an Art Scholar, but when we moved to Bermuda I was not able to do this with her. She told me to not give up on my passion and to continue to paint and explore design as much as I could. This meant a lot to me, because it made me feel confident in my abilities and it is wonderful when a teacher encourages your passions. When I came back from Bermuda, Mrs Goodwill (the current Art teacher) was so wonderful to me. She always made me feel like I was an artist and I loved her lessons and her encouragement has stayed with me – I am still very passionate about Art – I am going to be taking textiles and art for GCSE. Mrs Goodwill became one of my favourite teachers; she hosted a lunchtime Art club just for Year 6s and it was a fun, happy place to be. Being able to make art whilst chatting to a lovely teacher was a real treat – I’m thankful that all the teachers were always so approachable.
When I am older I would like to work with animals. I am keen to study zoology or oceanography in some way. I have always wanted to make the world a safer place for wildlife and help endangered animals particularly. I have wanted to do this since I was in Robins and we learnt about the Polar Regions! When I was living in Bermuda I spent a day learning about dolphins at the dolphin sanctuary and education centre and it was incredible.
My time at school helped me to learn to make friends wherever I go in life – Greenfield encourages kindness and understanding, and so whenever a new student joined, we would always try to make them feel welcome. Those skills helped me with making new friends when I moved to Bermuda for two years, and now at Farnborough Hill. It was a very special place for me – everybody wants you to try your best and be happy, it feels like a big family. The school trips are always lots of fun and you will make friends for life!
Chloe
