My Bursary Story - Lucy Conroy (ON 19-21)

All the world is a stage for Old Novo Lucy Conroy (ON 19-21) who recently joined the prestigious Italia Conti drama school in London to study for a degree in musical theatre. The 21-year-old came to the Royal Grammar School on a full bursary.

“From the moment I stepped onto the stage at Newcastle’s Theatre Royal as an excitable seven-year-old, I knew that performing was where I belonged.

Back then, it was ‘The King and I’ and I was just a child with endless energy, but something clicked. My parents channelled my hyperactivity into something constructive by signing me up for performing arts class. Little did they know, they were igniting a lifelong passion.

Since that first musical, my journey through the world of performing arts has been nothing short of exhilarating. I've performed on so many stages – in shows like Chicago, The Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz - adding another chapter to my story with every performance.

For me, the stage is so much more than just a platform for entertainment; it's a place I can channel my energy and creativity. I feel a sense of purpose and fulfilment that I am making a difference to people’s lives in my own way.

"There are so many doors waiting to be unlocked, and so many big dreams to be fulfilled, and RGS bursary donors are key to that".

- Lucy Conroy, ON 19-21

Every day in the world of musical theatre brings something new and exciting. Whether it's diving into a fresh script, collaborating with talented artists, or bringing a character to life in front of a captivated audience, there's never a dull moment.

Musical theatre is not just a career for me, it's a calling - a fundamental part of who I am.

Without it, I wouldn't be me, and the RGS played a huge part in getting me here.

I grew up in Stakeford, which is smack bang in the middle between Bedlington and Ashington, and in so many ways it is a very small place.

Many friends who were content to stay in Northumberland their whole lives, were sceptical of my great big plans and dreams. Me, barrelling in, going: ‘I want to go to London, I want to do this. I want to go drama school. I want all the big things’ meant there was a sense I was getting too big for my boots; that I should stay in my lane.

I didn’t want to stay in my lane, I just didn’t know how to get out.

Ever since I was a toddler, I’ve never been one to be told ‘no’. If you tell me ‘no, you can't do that’ it makes me more determined to do it. I want to prove people wrong and I also want to show people that anything is possible. I have no doubt that there are hundreds – thousands - of unbelievably talented kids in the north-east who don't have the means to go out and do what it is that they're dreaming of. I want to be the one that says: ‘you can do it’ and give them somebody to look at and think ‘well, if Lucy can do it, why can't I?'

One of my singing teachers who was also tutoring me in English, knew about the bursary scheme at the RGS. His grandmother used to teach at the school and they could see I had academic potential. As soon as me and my mum knew the scheme existed, we started to believe me coming to the RGS could be a reality, and the more I found out about the school the more I fell in love.

Coming to the RGS was key to getting out of my lane and it all came together piece-by-piece.

Waiting to hear if I had a place after my interview was horrifically nerve-wracking, so I was so relieved to be offered a place in December 2018. It was the best birthday present I could have asked for when I found out I had a full bursary the day before my 16^th birthday a couple of months later.

Walking into the school for the first time was strange because I had to battle feelings that I didn’t deserve to be here. My Sixth Form blazer was from the Next outlet shop, and my trousers were hand-me-downs from my grandma. Everything was patched together and for a long time I felt out of place. I sounded different, I felt like I looked different, and I felt like everybody knew I was there on a bursary.

Miss Davison (head of drama) was the first person to make me feel like it was okay. One day I was in tears outside the drama room and we had a really long chat. She said to me: “You deserve to be here as much as any of those other students - it doesn't matter how they sound, how they look, how much they have in their bank account. You have demonstrated you should be here, so go out there and take up the space you've earned”. So I did.

I initially had very clear ideas on the drama schools I wanted to go to after A-levels and I stuck to that plan.

Then one night I had a dream about Italia Conti and I woke up with a very spooky feeling that I should have applied. Unfortunately, I had missed the deadline and I took that as a sign it wasn’t my time. I just had to wait until the next opportunity. It gave me a chance to refocus, get my health in order, and attack auditions better than I've ever done before.

When I walked through the doors of Italia Conti for my recall audition I had a really bizarre feeling. My entire body was screaming: “This is it! This is the place that you have been meant to be all this time.”

"Sometimes I don’t think bursary donors know and appreciate just how much their kindness has changed somebody's path and somebody's life. One hundred-per-cent they did that for me. I wouldn't have had any of the opportunities I've had in the past few years if it hadn’t been for the RGS. I wouldn't have had the means to achieve my dreams of going drama school, and to work professionally in musical theatre.”

- Lucy Conroy ON 19-21

I waited nine days to find out if I had been successful. My phone was glued to my hand the whole time - except when the email finally came through! I was elbow deep in a bowl of soapy dishwater when I saw my phone flash and I just started to cry because to finally have the email I had been waiting years for was the most surreal feeling in the world.

Even though I left the RGS a few years ago the school has continued to support me.

Mike Downie, the fantastic head of careers here, guided me through the whole University process. He helped with my personal statement and my UCAS applications, even things like watching my audition tapes to making sure I came across okay. One of the most remarkable things about this school is that you don’t leave the community behind when you move on.

Sometimes I don’t think bursary donors know and appreciate just how much their kindness has changed somebody's path and somebody's life. One hundred-per-cent they did that for me. I wouldn't have had any of the opportunities I've had in the past few years if it hadn’t been for the RGS. I wouldn't have had the means to achieve my dreams of going drama school, and to work professionally in musical theatre.

If I am ever in the in the fortunate position to do so myself, I will donate to the bursary fund. I want to give back because there are so many children in the North East who are brilliant at what they do - sport, tech, business, law, whatever - and they should have as much chance to succeed as anyone else. There is a huge problem with generational poverty in the North East and I think breaking that cycle is so important by showing kids there is life beyond ‘their lane’ and life beyond what they've seen around them.

There’s so many doors waiting to be unlocked, and so many big dreams to be fulfilled, and RGS bursary donors are key to that.