Alumni Visit - Abigael Williams
In December, we invited Abigael Williams to speak to students about her educational and career journey after leaving Sheldon School and Sixth Form. Abi spoke to both the Year 12 Assembly and the Year 11 GCSE Drama class.
Abi attended Sheldon from 2014-2021, receiving excellent results Psychology, Sociology and Drama at Sheldon Sixth Form. She then went on to join the Acting programme at Bath Spa University. It was at university that Abi became interested in learning stage combat. She has now built a successful career as a freelance fight director for stage, television and films. She has worked on everything from small, independent theatre productions to major productions like The Witcher and Alex Rider. This was a career path that Abi didn’t even know existed as she sat for her A Level exams.
During the Year 12 assembly, Mr Spiers, Head of Sheldon Sixth Form, explained that he invited Abi to speak to the group to illustrate the breadth of opportunities available to students once they leave the school. About 90% of students nationally apply for 10% of courses available. He encouraged students to research the many niche courses and specialisations available that many are not aware of.
Abi reiterated this message by encouraging students to follow their interests and explore what they love learning about to open up opportunities and career paths suited to their skills and interests. “Don’t worry about where you are now,” she advised. “Go to uni, do what you enjoy and figure it out from there.”
Mr Spiers reminded students that Unifrog is a great resource for researching courses and taking quizzes to interrogate what you may be interested in studying. It’s important to find out as much as you can about all the different options available. Afterall, you don’t know what you don’t know about!
In the afternoon, Abi visited the Year 11 GCSE Drama class where she reconnected with her former teacher, Mrs Collins, and spoke to the class about how to navigate a career in the arts. She explained that the film and TV industry is booming in the Southwest, with many productions occurring in Bath, Bristol and Cornwall (home to many pirate-based productions, which is great for a stage combat expert!) It is a good time to get into the industry if you want to stay local and have the flexibility of travelling around the region, as well as to London.
She explained to students that there are many alternative careers for drama students beyond actor and director. She spoke to students extensively about how to craft a career as a freelancer. She stressed that it is important to know your worth as an artist and professional so that you are compensated fairly. Abi was also very candid about working as a female in a male dominated industry and how increased representation makes for a better, safer working environment.
Abi shared her highlight reel of her favourite productions and gave a brief overview of the safe choreography of stage combat. If any students are interested in learning more about how to get training and certification in stage combat and sword work, we can help put you in touch with Abi.
We’d like to thank Abi for taking the time to speak with students and share her experience after leaving Sheldon. We are very lucky to have passionate and talented alumni that return to our school to help inspire younger students. If you attended Sheldon School or Sixth Form and would like to join our Alumni network, please click here or email alumni@sheldonschool.co.uk. We love hearing from you!