Maleha told the school about her route after PHS to the University of Southampton where she gained a First Class Masters in Aeronautics and Astronautics during which she joined, and ultimately held a command position for, the Southampton University Air Squadron. She faced many challenges in a male-dominated world but talked about the importance of resilience and persistence, her maiden flight, her dreams and aspirations which she first felt at age 15.

Maleha received a Bursary from the British Women’s Pilots Association and is a supporter of CAMFED – Campaign for Female Education. She taught in summer school in Saudi Arabia before taking her current role at the UK Space Agency working on community engagement. ‘Believe in your potential,’ she said. ‘And keep pushing boundaries.’

Lucy Foley, from the Class of 2004 was visiting the school to judge the prestigious final of the Girls’ Day School Trust public speaking competition. She arrived earlier in the day to spend time with the Sixth Formers.

Lucy left Portsmouth High School and read English at Durham and UCL universities. After graduating and still viewing herself as more of a reader than a writer, she went into publishing, latterly at Hodder & Stoughton as Assistant Editor. Here she realised her dream of becoming a writer:

‘There was something less intimidating about seeing first drafts than the glossy hardback that you pick off the shelf,’ she said. ‘It made me realise that a novel starts as just a Word document. It felt doable.’

Lucy’s career path armed her with all the understanding she needed to become an author and in 2015 her debut novel, The Book of Lost and Found, was published. This work of historical fiction and its two successors, The Invitation and Last Letter from Istanbul have been described as “sweeping, multi-generational epics.” Her first crime novel, The Hunting Party, reached number one in the Sunday Times’ paperback fiction list.

‘I try to have a clear idea of the start and ending before I begin writing a novel,’ she told the Sixth Formers. Publishers look for great characterisation; they want to feel as if characters “are someone they would recognise as they walk through the door”.’

Lucy added that crime fiction requires more careful plotting but to ensure that you “leave room for things that might surprise you”. She even confessed that the killer in The Guest List was originally another character.

PHS English teacher, Mrs Katie Wood, (Class of 1999) added:

‘As someone who has fond memories of Lucy from our schooldays, following her writing career has been an inspiring and thrilling process for me. Having her back with us, sharing her experience and insight so generously, was a wonderful and unique experience for the next generation of budding writers and avid readers at PHS – and we are incredibly grateful for her time and wisdom.’

Anjana, BBC Television Presenter, BBC South Today was joined by Lucy Foley (Class of 2004), best-selling novelist, and Cheryl Giovannoni, Chief Executive of the GDST and an audience of girls, teachers and parents as they took part in the final of the public speaking competition. Students are given a topic relating to societal issues of today and must give a confident argument of their view on that topic. They must also be able to engage with the audience and deal with challenging questions posed to them after their speech.

Anjana Gadgil, Portsmouth High School alumna from the Class of 1996, said:

‘This has been an inspirational afternoon. The girls have tackled complex subjects with so much confidence.’

Professor Whitmarsh is an environmental psychologist, focussing on how the public engage with climate change. Her research projects have included studies of energy efficiency behaviours, waste reduction and carrier bag reuse, perceptions of smart technologies and electric vehicles, low-carbon lifestyles, and responses to climate change.  She is currently Professor of Environmental Psychology at the University of Bath and Director of the UK Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations. She has been a Lead Author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and regularly advises governmental and other organisations on low-carbon behaviour change and climate change communication.  As part of COP26, she called for involving more women in the discussions and is focussed on female leadership around climate change too.