International Relations Personal Statement

Why do you want to study this course or subject?

I have long been interested in world affairs; the interaction of its leaders, their different economies and 20th century history but had never made the connection to an interest in politics specifically until recently. An innate sense of moral justice together with a fascination for people, how they communicate and interact has seen me represent my form each and every year, become a School Council Member and finally be instrumental in creating and collating the Yearbook. I see obtaining a greater understanding of politics, not as a way of becoming a politician but to strengthen my communication skills and perception of people to use in say, speech writing, political journalism or even satirical comedy. Today’s constant global media presence in Politics makes it impossible not to be interested, informed or aware. My attraction in this area also inevitably draws me towards other cultures, and primarily that of my second language, French. Upon visiting France, I experienced the huge cultural difference, remarkable given the small distance between us which made me contemplate cultures miles away and all the countries I am yet to visit. It is my main aspiration to become fluent in French, as one of the most widely spoken languages in the world it will enable me to travel widely, understand and be understood and as one of the main languages of the EU & the UN it will be useful as part of my interest in Politics.

How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?

Writing is something I love and with a late attempt at writing, a friend and I penned a sitcom and submitted it to the BBC. To get feedback at all was an accolade and their constructive criticism has been invaluable to my writing. Analysing the written word too and reading authors such as Alan Moore, whose graphic novels like; ‘Watchmen’ are complex, brilliant and perversely realistic. I see the written and spoken word as being a powerful contribution to Politics, without which it would be impossible to articulate a reasoned or believable argument. Possibly my proudest achievement has been my success on stage performing in leading roles in seven productions in a variety of genres. The ability to learn vast volumes of text together with a good tenor vocal has made this one of the most rewarding aspects of both school and social life. I am currently involved in writing, producing and performing a brand new musical, for which I was chosen from nearly one hundred hopefuls. I look forward to it coming to fruition next Easter.

What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?

I also secured placements with Evans Vettori Architects whose business is mainly public sector. Then with one of the largest commercial law firms in Great Britain, Pinsent Masons in their Outsourcing, Commercial and Technology department where I enjoyed an amazing week following the infamous ‘Vodkat’ case and beta testing the new ITechLaw website on behalf of one of the Partners. As co-administrator of ‘911 Publishing’, we collated new subscription details and distributed large numbers of magazines to Porche lovers throughout the world. I was also keen to follow up on the annual advertising campaign for Derbyshire County Council Youth Purchasing Officers and much enjoyed my time with them, working with law enforcement officers and trading standards officers to stamp out illegal sales to the underage. My own personal interests include Rubik’s cubing, comedy, computing, socialising and film recently indulging in both French and English language films. I have been on many trips, both in and out of school to see films, theatre productions and live comedy. I find sport; chiefly football and running, fun and help relieve stress especially when playing in a team, as I have done for my whole school career.