Foundation Diploma Art & Design student Laurence Watchorn has been offered the chance to study at The UCL Slade School of Fine Art. The 19 year old from Bromley, London has secured an unconditional offer to begin the 4 year BA Fine Art programme in September and says he is ‘chuffed’ with the opportunity.
The world renowned and prestigious redbrick university is consistently ranked as the UK’s top art and design educational institution and has an extensive list of notable alumni including cartoonist and stage designer, Sir Osbert Lancaster and famous painter, Cecily Baker.
Laurence admits that he ‘did not realise the gravity of it all’ and believes that his relaxed approach to the interview is what probably appealed to the panel.
“I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go to University yet and was considering a gap year but was encouraged to apply for Slade by my tutors,” he says “To be honest, I didn’t know how huge an opportunity this was and when I went to the interview, I was completely myself.”
He met with Heads of Departments in a drawing room, at the campus based in Bloomsbury, and had 10 minutes to present his portfolio, which was filled ‘predominantly with paintings,’ Laurence shared ‘with themes around emotion, unconscious thought and some comedic elements.’
After the brief meeting, Laurence was resigned to the belief that he had been unsuccessful and it was to his surprise that he received the offer to study a short while after.
He will also study a secondary subject as is mandatory at The Slade and says he will choose either ‘Philosophy or Psychology’.
His advice to his fellow peers and to all students is to “Just go with your instincts and don’t give up. If there is something that you are passionate about and cannot stop thinking of then it means that you should be perusing that path.” He also thanks tutors Doug Bowen and Joel McDermott who he says have been a ‘massive help’.
Kelly Jackson, Academic Leader for Art and Design adds that, ‘Gaining a place at the Slade is such a great achievement for Lawrence. We wish him the best of luck for the future and hope that he keeps us informed of his progress.’
Well done Laurence, from all at Croydon College.
