Alumna Awarded Prestigious Law Scholarship
Carolina joined Raymond in Third Form keen to make a positive impact on every aspect of school life. Her days were full of sport, music, Duke of Edinburgh (she achieved her Gold Award), debating as well as CCF activities. She was a member of the Eunoia Society, which provides a broad range of academic lectures, talks and events to inspire our students to think creatively and activate within them a true passion for learning.
In her final year, she was appointed House Captain, a role which she cherished, was captain of the 1st XI hockey team, and, at Founderstide, won the Brock Senior French Prize and the Old Bloxhamist Prize for Raymond.
With outstanding academic results, she gained a place to read Law at Durham University. As part of the degree, Carolina spent a year abroad studying Law and Political Science at Sciences Po, Paris, which according to the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024, is the 2nd best university in the world for politics. Today she is training to be a barrister and recently, she was one of only a very few students who were presented with a Lord Denning Scholarship, by The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn.
What did you study at Bloxham?
For A Levels, I studied English, History, French and in Lower Sixth, I studied Psychology. I also did an EPQ which looked at whether a jury was the most appropriate method by which to try murder and manslaughter cases in the UK, in comparison to certain other jurisdictions. These subjects have been particularly helpful when seeking to pursue a career in law. They have most obviously helped with my writing and the efficacy with which I am able to get an opinion across. They also required research and reading, something that takes up a large percentage of your time as a law student and beyond. However, in addition to the usual ‘job skills’ my A Levels provided, they deeply enriched my socio-cultural understanding of different people, generations, and regions. It is important to be able to adopt different perspectives when studying and working.
What are you most proud of from your time at Bloxham?
I am proud not of a single event or achievement, but of my final year as a whole at Bloxham. I learned many good lessons (sometimes hard ones!) from managing how to study to achieve good grades in my A Levels, applying to universities and continuing my sports, to being House Captain, a prefect and being hockey captain all at the same time. As House Captain, I really enjoyed the interaction: it was nice to know all the girls in House from Third Form through to Upper Sixth. It was a privilege to be able to represent the needs, wants and ideas of the girls to my housemistress, the Headmaster and at prefect meetings. It was a difficult year, juggling everything and doing my best – and I am proud of how the hard work paid off.
Image above: 1st XVI Hockey Team (Carolina seated centre)
Image above: Debating (Carolina second right, with former MP Victoria Prentice)
Tell us about your fondest memories?
I enjoyed so much of school life but CCF was especially brilliant. It provided incredible skills that I still use today whilst studying and working. Being on time, having focus, maintaining a rigid structure, being prepared and working as part of a team are all elements that I use daily.
One of my fondest memories from school is of post-exam days in the Summer Term. I loved House Days, watching cricket with friends on Main Field and I particularly enjoyed Founderstide. This annual event was particularly poignant in Upper Sixth as it was a really special way to celebrate what you and your peers had achieved together, along with your parents and teachers.
Above images: Founderstide 2019
What is your proudest professional achievement?
Studying the Bar Course is an essential component of becoming a barrister, however it is very expensive. The Inns of Court provide prestigious scholarships that aid funding for this. I applied for one of these scholarship awards and I am fortunate enough to have been awarded the Lord Denning Scholarship (named after the famous lawyer who served as a judge for 40 years). It is a competitive award for which I had to make an application, undertake an interview, and give a presentation on an area of legal reform to panel members. Today, I am very proud to be able to put this scholarship on legal applications I make, and my name was even printed in The Times as a recipient.
Did you always want to work in the legal profession?
Yes, I decided that I wanted to read Law at university when I was aged just seven. I was fortunate enough to have many family friends who were lawyers and judges. They were incredibly smart people, and I was always inspired by their work.
I have always been interested in puzzles, such as sudoku, logic problems and I really enjoyed Maths, especially lessons at school with Mr Best. Although lawyers don’t need to be mathematicians, they do need the flexibility to calculate results via possible viable arguments and to employ lateral thinking to produce a solution and effective advice for their client. To be a lawyer is therefore to be an analytical person, and I enjoyed studying the law and the tools by which lawyers can solve legal problems.
What are you currently doing?
I am studying the Barrister Training Course in London and have become a member of The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn. Everyone who wants to become a barrister must not only have a law degree or conversion, have passed the Bar Court, and have obtained pupillage, but they must also be part of one of the four Inns of Court. The Inn of Court is like a member’s club for barristers, and each of the Inns provide a way of networking, socialising, and studying. In the coming years, I hope to undertake pupillage and work at the Traditional Chancery Bar – dealing with trusts, wills, estates, land, wealth, and asset management. I aim to become a King’s Counsel later on in my career.
Can you offer students any parting words of wisdom?
Not to worry so much. Before you get to university or start a new job, you are unsure of who you are going to study or work with, or who will be your ‘competition.’ I was always competing against imaginary students and worrying when trying to get a place at university. One of my best friends from Bloxham once told me: “If you could not achieve it, the opportunity would not present itself to you.” I remember this every time I worry that I won’t get somewhere; I won’t get the job I want; I won’t achieve the grades I want. The opportunity for me to do all those things is there, so I try and worry less.
Having left Bloxham five years ago now, I can appreciate how the School had everyone’s best interests in mind and ensured that if you wanted to succeed, you would.
Robert Hudson, Head of History, shares his memories: “Teaching Carolina History for her five years at Bloxham through Key Stage Three, GCSE and A Level was a real privilege, and what really set her apart from so many of her peers was the confidence she had in herself and her abilities. This never once risked bordering into arrogance, however she was always willing to stand up for what she believed in, and her ability to effectively and coherently argue and defend a point demonstrated the conviction that we want a Bloxhamist to be able to show. At the same time Carolina could also be incredibly flexible in her thinking. She wrote a fantastic piece of coursework in her Upper Sixth year.”
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