Interviews with alumnae: Julia Rawlinson

We got in touch with some ex-Putney English students to find out how their experience of the subject at school influences their lives.

What A Levels did you take?

English, Geography and Biology

When did you graduate from Putney? 

1987

What was the best part of English A Level for you?

I remember going to see Hamlet the summer before I started my A Levels and responding strongly to it on an emotional level, but feeling I was missing a lot of its deeper meaning. I was so happy to learn it was one of our A Level plays, and loved looking at it more closely. And I still remember snatches of the poetry I learned at O and A Level – I love having them tucked away in the back of my head so they surface every now and then and make the world that little bit richer.

Which book, poem or play that you studied at school has stayed with you the most? Why?

I’ve already started to answer this – Hamlet, as it had so much wonderful depth to dive into, and some of the poetry. Some phrases from Thomas Hardy’s poems in particular still surface at odd moments – 'An August Midnight' when I see a fly rubbing its hands; 'The Darkling Thrush' on winter walks; 'We Sat at the Window' on rain-drenched days.

Did you go to university? If so, what did you study?

I studied Geography at Southampton University – I loved science and nature as well as English and mixed Arts and Sciences at A Level.

What elements of English crop up in your career these days?

I didn’t follow an obvious English career, but I have ended up with one – I write picture books and poetry. When I left Putney High, I did a Geography degree and worked in a couple of unrelated jobs, although I did find ways to make use of my writing – one of my jobs was for the Data Protection Team at Barclays Bank and I ended up writing their awareness leaflets and training manuals. While I was working for Barclays, poems I’d written in my spare time started finding their way into children’s poetry anthologies – the first were published by Macmillan and Scholastic in 2000. When I had my children, I started writing picture books, too – the first, Fred and the Little Egg, was published by Little Tiger in 2005. Fletcher and the Falling Leaves, published in 2006, launched the Fletcher’s Four Seasons series which is still going strong – Fletcher’s wonderful illustrator, Tiphanie Beeke, has just started the artwork for the eighth Fletcher book, Fletcher and the Stars, which will be published next year. I also write other picture books, a mermaid middle-grade series for a Japanese publisher, short poetry eBooks and poems for anthologies.

How does having studied English affect your approach to life more personally, do you think?

I love living in three different worlds – the real one, the one from the book I’m reading and the one I’m writing about. Books let you live endless lives, walk in other people’s shoes and travel this world and beyond, increasing empathy and understanding and enriching life in so many ways.

What’s your favourite book you’ve read this year and why? 

I loved Tsunami Girl by Julian Sedgwick – it utterly transported me, taught me a lot and was a wonderful mix of manga and prose. The Japanese mermaid series I’m writing has manga-style illustrations, so it’s something that’s come into my world by chance, which I’m enjoying discovering more about.

Many thanks to Julia for answering our questions!