Sixth Form pupils Zara (Upper Sixth, Q) and Gwennie (Upper Sixth, Q) had the opportunity to visit New York over the summer to take part in The Vogue Summer School.

Both girls have since had the opportunity to work behind the scenes at London Fashion Week. The experience was funded through the Cheltonian Endowment Trust (CET) Lower Sixth Travel Award. Read all about their experience in the article below.

Written by Zara (Upper Sixth, Q)

The Vogue Summer School was an amazing experience. We went to New York for two weeks for the Vogue styling course which was happening alongside two other Vogue courses of business and media. We had an amazing teacher called Ben Perreira who is a professional stylist and has worked with many celebrities and famous brands such as Kim Kardashian’s and Louis Vuitton, as well as another teacher who has worked in Vogue for many years alongside Anna Wintour. Everyday we had guest speakers who were all professionals in different aspects of styling including directors, makeup artists, photographers and many more. We also went on visits to Vogue headquarters in the world trade centre which was incredible, and we even got to use the Vogue studios to style and produce photoshoots with models and professional photographers!

Another amazing place we visited was The Met where we saw the newest exhibition of clothes. We went to many other galleries and places around New York including tourist spots like Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge, a Broadway show, Times Square and the Statue of Liberty.
My favourite experience was being inside Anna Wintours office within the Vogue headquarters as well as looking around the famous ‘Vogue closet’ where all the accessories for the photoshoots are held. Also, meeting loads of new people from all over the world.

From this experience our teacher got us in contact with an English stylist who invited us to help dress models for a Richard Quinn Fashion show this past London Fashion Week. It was incredible to experience the atmosphere and intensity behind the scenes of a fashion show. It was definitely a memory I will never forget. Excitingly we have been invited back to London Fashion Week in February and I cannot wait to experience it all over again!

The Lower Sixth Travel Award

Each year, the Cheltonian Endowment Trust (CET) offers Travel Awards designed to foster independence and career preparation. Applications are open to all Lower Sixth pupils and awards are made following an interview process with a panel of three CET trustees. Typically, about 30 pupils apply for a grant and about half are successful. Destinations may be as far as India or Tanzania, or applications can also be for UK-based courses and experiences. The Travel Awards are funded by the Cheltonian Endowment Trust (CET)