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Anna Clark

My CV

  • Education:

    I went to a bunch of different schools, because my family moved around so much!

    Reception: St Martin’s, Crewkerne, Somerset
    Year 1 (La Classe des Grandes): La Fontaine, Cagnes-sur-Mer, France
    Year 2 (CP): Cours Champollion, Villeneuve-Loubet, France
    Year 3 (CE1): Le Plan, Roquefort-les-Pins, France & Bousfield School, Kensington, London
    Year 4 & 5: Llandogo Primary School, Monmouthshire, Wales
    Year 6: Osbaston CIW, Monmouth, Wales

    Year 7: Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Girls, Monmouth, Wales
    Year 8, 9 & 10: Monmouth Comprehensive School, Monmouth, Wales
    Year 10 & 11: Ysgol Uwchradd Tywyn, Gwynedd, Wales
    Year 12 & 13: Penglais School, Aberystwyth, Wales

    I moved schools in March of year 10 – this was an absolute mess! I broke my metatarsal (a bone in my foot) a week after I started at Tywyn, and ended up not in school until May! So I only actually ‘started’ my GCSEs in May of year 10.

    I did my undergraduate degree in Maths at the University of Ulster, in Belfast.

    I’m currently studying for a PhD in atmospheric physics at the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge.

  • Qualifications:

    GCSEs:

    A* – Biology, chemistry
    A – Maths, physics, English language, Welsh
    B – English literature, history, astronomy

    A-Levels:

    Maths – C
    Physics – C
    Further maths – E
    Welsh Baccalaureate – counts as an A, it was an absolute lifesaver!

    As you can see, my A-Levels weren’t great. I’m REALLY bad at exams, and I had a number of health problems between year 9 and my second year of university. Thankfully, Ulster were kind enough to give me the opportunity to prove that I am more than my grades say that I am, and I was able to attend university despite not actually doing well enough to ‘get in’.

    At Ulster, I got a first class degree in maths. The course was very programming-based and had a lot of coursework 🙂

  • Work History:

    When I finished university, I went back home to my parents in north Wales, an area that famously has no jobs. Whilst I was applying for jobs that my qualifications were necessary for, I was also trying to apply for local jobs. It took me nearly a year of applying non-stop to finally get a local job – and in fact, I found out I had both my local job and my PhD on the same day!

    I had to wait from March until October to start my PhD, though, so in that time I worked as a bartender at a caravan park in my village.

  • Current Job:

    Currently, I’m a PhD student at the British Antarctic Survey. I study atmospheric physics in Antarctica! I mostly sit at a desk all day doing calculations, though…

  • About Me:

    I’m 24 years old, and I’m from north Wales! I’ve lived in a lot of different places, including France and Belfast, but I currently live in Cambridge, where I work at the British Antarctic Survey, studying how the atmosphere works.

  • My Typical Day:

    I mostly work on a computer. I work weird hours – from 10.30am to 7pm – and I try to split the day up into ‘chunks’ as much as possible. I try to always put meetings in the morning to help me wake up. I have lunch with the other students at 12, and then we all have tea together at 3. Between lunch and tea, I read and learn, and after coffee, I do actual productive work like programming and writing 🙂

  • What I'd do with the prize money:

    I lived in a lot of different places when I was growing up – including in France! – and went to THIRTEEN different schools.

    I’d like to go back and visit each of these schools, to talk to the students the same age that I was when I went there, and tell them all about Antarctica – and find out how places I’ve lived have changed!

  • My Interview

    • How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

      Welsh, Hufflepuff, clumsy :)

      What did you want to be after you left school?

      A meteorologist

      Were you ever in trouble at school?

      Oh, all the time! I was TERRIBLE at doing homework and kept losing all my books!

      Who is your favourite singer or band?

      Aviators

      What's your favourite food?

      Pasta~

      If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!

      1. I wish I had a dog! My parents have a collie called Badger, but I don't get to see her very often :( 2. I wish I was less clumsy! 3. I wish I liked coffee - I really need the energy sometimes!

      Tell us a joke.

      What's the difference between a hippo and a Zippo? One's really heavy, and the other's a little lighter!

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