Annique returned to Rugby High in December 2025 to deliver a speech at the annual Prize Giving and Certificates evening. Here is her fantastic speech:

"Good evening, and thank you for such a warm welcome back to Rugby High, a place that was my second home for seven memorable years. A place filled with friendship, ambition, and discovery.

It’s a real honour to be here with you this evening to celebrate your successes and achievements. I hope you leave tonight feeling proud, encouraged, and supported.

When I arrived here in 1998, I was a shorter-than-average, quieter-than-average girl with many passions - dancing, singing, swimming - but certainly not a prodigy in any of them. In fact, a theme throughout my education was that I was the pleasant student who consistently received an A for effort… while my achievement grades left generous room for improvement.

It didn’t take long for me to realise I was now surrounded by some of the brightest girls in the area - a slightly intimidating environment when you’ve come from a village primary school with eight classmates. I remember thinking: How will I ever keep up? Am I good enough to be here?

What became apparent, though, was that if I had any chance of growing, improving, and succeeding, Rugby High was exactly where I needed to be.

Our beloved history teacher, Mr Stanley, would frequently remind us that we were “la crème de la crème” - the best of the best - and that achieving an average grade here actually meant you were doing pretty well. That certainly came as a relief to me. Gradually, my achievement grades began to creep up to meet my effort grades.

This school nurtured me. It encouraged me to stretch my mind and expand what I believed I was capable of. I was introduced to Latin, German, Design & Technology; whole worlds I didn’t know existed. And more than anything, I learned how to believe in myself, and how to enjoy learning.

I was never particularly gifted in any one subject, but looking back I think that worked in my favour. It meant every decision I made – GCSE subjects, A-Levels, university courses - was driven by passion, not pressure. There was no obvious path for me. Just a corridor full of open doors, inviting me to choose whichever excited me most. At the time I envied the friends of mine who had a clear vision of their future and chosen vocations. But what I’ve since learnt is that there is no right or wrong – only what’s right for you.

My parents were delighted when I told them I was applying to university, but rather surprised when I announced that I wanted to study Drama. Not because they wished I’d choose a “proper” subject, but because I was still that quiet girl who hated being the centre of attention and went bright red whenever I had to speak in front of a group. And as you may have noticed…I still haven’t quite conquered this!

“Are you sure?” my parents asked, gently. “Yes,” I said. Because drama was my favourite class. It was the lesson I looked forward to the most every week, which may or may not have had something to do with the fact it was my only lesson with boys from Sheriff…

But it became the first in a long thread of brave, unpredictable decisions that have shaped what my life looks like today.

And generally speaking I’d done my research. I dragged my dad around universities across the country to see what they had to offer – that was until we went to Bath (where I rather fancied living) and tried to find the university’s Drama department, only to discover they didn’t even have one! Eventually I found a drama degree at Manchester Uni that leaned far more towards theory than performance. It was probably the least dramatic drama course you could imagine - more like studying English Literature, but with plays instead of novels.

I’d deliberately chosen a path where ending up on stage wasn’t the only aim. It meant I could immerse myself in theatre - its stories, its structure, its meaning - without having to be under any kind of spotlight. And that choice made all the difference.

I started my career as a stage manager, a job I didn’t even know existed until a university course mate invited me to stage manage a student show. I had absolutely no idea what I was signing up for; I just knew I wanted to be involved without having to be on stage.

Once I got a taste for stage management, I realised I’d discovered my dream job. I even went on to study a Master’s at Welsh College in Cardiff where I realised Stage Management wasn’t just a job, it was an entire career path.

Theatre, like so many industries, is full of roles you never see. It isn’t just performers onstage. It’s administrative, technical, creative, highly skilled work. In fact, around 90% of the people who make theatre happen aren’t even visible to the audience, but without them, nothing would happen at all.

That was a huge lesson for me: whatever field you’re interested in, it’s always worth looking beneath the surface. The job you love might not be the obvious one.

I spent almost ten years as a freelance stage manager in London, working backstage to ensure productions ran smoothly and safely, from timeless classics to hit West End musicals. I learned to communicate with everyone, from famous actors and demanding directors to burly crew. I even had to dress as an Elizabethan wench while stage managing at Shakespeare’s Globe.

At one performance, an audience member rushed towards me and I braced myself for what I thought was an autograph request having been mistaken for one of the actresses…only to discover it was Mrs Dermott-Bond with a group of Rugby High students in tow. Mortifying for me in my very unflattering costume, I wasn’t sure if it was reassuring for the girls to see that you really can grow up to do anything, or on the other hand, that you may turn out to be an Elizabethan wench.

From there, I moved into office-based roles in theatres. Then, at the age of 33, I took a risk. I handed in my notice and gave up a secure job. It took me a while to realise I had taken a wrong turn and was missing the buzz of live performance. I quit without another job lined up - a huge leap of faith for a single woman living in London, but I chose my happiness.

And it turned out to be the best decision I could have made. I soon got a role coordinating the Olivier Theatre Awards at the Royal Albert Hall - a job I nearly didn’t even get at first! Someone else turned it down, and I was next on the list. A twist of fate that opened the door to the world of live broadcast events.

Which brings me to what I do now.

As a TV Production Manager, I organise major events and content shoots. I schedule. I negotiate contracts for crew, creatives, contributors, and artists. I manage budgets worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. I oversee risk assessments, safeguarding, logistics, accreditation, accommodation, travel - the list is endless. I manage teams. I problem-solve. I plan. I adapt.

I frequently collaborate with the likes of the Metropolitan Police, the Ministry of Defence and even the Royal Household. Only yesterday I was wandering the corridors of Windsor Castle planning an upcoming televised event – certainly not your average day in the office.

My job requires calm under pressure, clear communication, initiative, acute attention to detail, fairness, diplomacy, and a lot of common sense.

These aren’t skills you learn from a textbook or in a classroom. They’re skills you learn from people, places, and experiences. Skills I started developing right here at Rugby High. Because of the encouragement I received. Because I felt like I could do anything. I had learnt how to have courage and how to use it. And as a young woman, that was invaluable.

No, I don’t speak Latin daily, but Latin taught me curiosity, research skills, poetry, and history (and made me appreciate spa trips with my mum after all those visits to Roman baths).
English taught me to express myself, to fall in love with characters, to dream of writing a novel, which I still plan to do if only I had the time.
Maths - very much not my strongest subject - now helps me manage complex budgets.
And Physics… well, physics taught me that there are some things I will probably always be rubbish at. But do you know what? It’s never stopped me.

There will be things in life you may simply never be good at - and that’s okay. You don’t have to be good at everything to succeed. Try hard, be open-minded, stay curious, and trust that one day it might make sense in real life… or that you’ll find something else you’re much better at.

Rugby High offered me adventures - from Milton Keynes and Wales to diving in Honduras and sailing around the Caribbean. It’s great to see the Duke of Edinburgh Award is still going strong! There’s a reason your school calendar is full of trips and opportunities. You never know what will inspire you or shape your future.

School theatre trips gave me the confidence and curiosity, at 16, to jump on a train to London with one of my best friends to see a show at the National Theatre. Again, perhaps just a tiny bit influenced by the fact that a couple of those Sheriff boys had mentioned they were going… but ten years later, I walked into that very theatre as a member of staff.

And then there are the friendships. I can’t possibly stand here without talking about them.

In 2005 when I was 17 and fresh out of A-Levels, I boarded a plane to Lanzarote with eight of my best friends. Little did we know that having a surname that began with a letter from the end of the alphabet would determine our fate, but there we all were, the P’s, R’s, S’s, W’s and Y’s of the alphabet. The girls of 7HR. Excitedly boarding a plane for our first ever parent-free holiday abroad.

Twenty years later, this summer, I boarded a flight to Spain… with, you guessed it, the very same girls. As you can imagine it was a slightly different holiday this time round with a lot less partying and sambuca, and much more relaxing and reminiscing on the beach. After all, we’re now a group of responsible adults that includes doctors, lawyers, PR managers and mums. But they are still my girls and will forever remain my family. We’ve been through everything together: weddings, babies, heartbreaks, successes, losses. They are the people I celebrate with, and the shoulders I cry on.

We often talk about our time at Rugby High - undoubtedly the time of our lives - and how lucky we were to have gone here. One of my friends once said when celebrating a success at work, “Well, I didn’t go to Rugby High for nothing,” and it stuck. To this day, whenever one of us does something brilliant, we congratulate them with the same sentiment: “Well… you didn’t go to Rugby High for nothing.”

So I hope that you, like me, find friendships here that last a lifetime, or give you the confidence to help forge new ones, wherever your path leads you.

Most of all, I urge you to take risks. Be inquisitive. Ask questions. Say yes to opportunities. Do the things that excite you.

I recently read about something called the “GPS theory.” When you miss a turn, your sat nav doesn’t judge you. It simply recalculates. No matter how many detours you take, it finds another way forward. Life works like that too. Mistakes don’t delete your destination, they simply change the route. Don’t be afraid if your route changes.

And if you don’t have a clear path, don’t worry. Your dream job may not even exist yet. When I was leaving school, entire roles and even industries were only just beginning - diversity and inclusion, safeguarding, sustainability, social media, AI. Follow your interests. Identify your skills, your passions, the things you are naturally curious about.

My old piano teacher used to say, “One who makes no mistakes makes nothing.” And it’s so true. In fact, I no longer regard them as mistakes, just brave decisions that don’t quite go to plan. But your life will be richer for having made them.

To me, success is waking up excited about what lies ahead. It’s learning the skills you need to do something you love, and indeed to never stop learning.

I feel lucky to be part of a generation where marriage and parenthood are not the only markers of success, especially for young women. Following your heart and believing in yourself is an achievement in itself.

I wish you all every success. You have learned from the best, alongside the best. You are the crème de la crème of the future. Go and seize it, even if you don’t know exactly what it looks like yet.

And remember…you didn’t go to Rugby High for nothing.  Thank you."