Anna Smyth

I was at BHASVIC from 2001-2003. I did A Levels in French, Law, English Literature, and an AS level in Critical Thinking. I also did an AS level in Italian as an evening class at Varndean. Before that I was living in Australia; I went to a Steiner School in the Blue Mountains so BHASVIC was quite a change for me! I was lucky to have the most fabulous teachers at BHASVIC, including Neil Commin who encouraged and inspired me to apply to Cambridge – I had no self-confidence at that time and was gobsmacked when I was actually accepted.

After a gap year working as a chalet host in Meribel, I read law at Downing College Cambridge from 2004-2007. It was the best experience of my life and I loved every minute of it; the eccentric tutors, beautiful historic buildings, top class teaching and endless fancy dress parties. I made friends for life and ended up with a decent degree at the end of it. Cambridge opened so many doors for me; after graduating I got a job working at Allen & Overy, a big law firm in London which was an amazing (if intense!) training experience. I now live back in Australia and have a young family here. I work as a lawyer specialising in intellectual property at a firm called Gilbert + Tobin. It’s a job that challenges and interests me; I am forever grateful to BHASVIC and Neil for helping me get to where I am today.