- Home
- Support Us
- Testimonials
- Alesya Capelle
Testimonials
Back
Alesya Capelle
Old Reedonian and former Foundation Pupil
Just before I applied to Reed’s School, my mother, my little sister and I were made homeless; we’d lost everything and had nowhere to go. After moving from relative to relative and living in emergency accommodation, we moved back to London to live with my mother’s partner in a one bedroom flat. Although it was good to have a base, the situation became challenging, as my mum’s partner suffered a series of strokes that left him severely disabled. My mother became his full-time carer, which often resulted in me and my sister becoming her second priority. With no money and no space, my mother struggled to juggle the needs of those around her.
This is when I applied to be the Reed’s Foundation and when my world completely changed. This is when the hopelessness and fear and instability melted away.
As a boarder, Reed’s went beyond being a school. It provided me with the best education and opportunities I could have ever asked for, but also provided me with a home. I don’t think I can ever articulate what it feels like to go from the poverty, debt collectors and crime, to the security, stability and support I received living at School. This was a place of happiness, a place I could relax and more importantly a place where I could grow into a young adult with a bright future ahead of me. I was given the same opportunities as everyone else to focus on my academia and change my future, allowing me to fulfil my dream of working in broadcast media.
My mum often tells me that the day I got accepted into Reed’s was the day she won the lottery. And while for years I thought she was referring to money, I have realised as I have gotten older, that she was in fact referring to fortune. And this certainly resonates with the ethos that is Reed’s Foundation, and the words of its founder ‘a good education is a fortune a child can never spend’. These words represent the foundation of who I am today.
