A talented singer-songwriter and performer has plenty to be thankful for after starting a coveted place at a prestigious London university this month.

Formerly a student at Springwood High School, Iamyrl Falculan was delighted to be accepted to study Music at Royal Holloway.

“I love to compose and I love to song-write,” she said. “I also like performing as well, so what’s good with the degree is I can do a mix of those. I can do performance stuff, composition modules, and also theory – I love music theory as well.”

The 18-year-old honed her musical skills during her time at Springwood.

She continued: “Extra-curricular at Springwood, I did concert band, I did sinfonia, and also played the violin. I’ve done stuff like piano recitals, singing recitals, and I had my violin, piano, and singing lessons here too.

“I was part of a musical theatre production. I also went to Disneyland with the school and performed there, which was nice, and I had lots of memorable moments with my friends.”

She added: “I’m a particularly shy person, but I’ve grown in confidence when it comes to performing, so even if I do get nervous, it doesn’t ruin the performance entirely, and I know how to be brave and just focus on the performance rather than the people watching.

“I think I’ve also grown a lot in musical skill as well, because obviously I’ve had to practise. I’ll miss my friends and some of the teachers at Springwood, but I’m looking forward to new experiences and meeting new friends.”