On Sunday 19 February, alumna Sandy Powell OBE, became the first costume designer to be honoured with the Fellowship Award, the highest accolade bestowed by BAFTA. Having worked with everyone from Martin Scorsese and Julianne Moore to Leonardo DiCaprio and Tilda Swinton she has won three Academy Awards and now four BAFTAs across a career spanning over thirty years.

Fellows previously honoured for their work in film include Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Sean Connery, Stanley Kubrick, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Judi Dench, and Sidney Poitier, among others, highlighting the esteemed company in which she is held. But as the first costume designer in the Fellowship, Sandy continues our proud tradition of breaking boundaries.

In her acceptance speech, Sandy mentioned that she was “most grateful for the generosity and guidance [she has] received throughout [her] life”, before naming specific people such as a primary school teacher, her mum and her mentor, the late Derek Jarman.  We are proud to have been able to play a small part of her journey and our pupils have yet another source of inspiration to look up to when it comes to following their dreams and ambitions.

Speaking about the award, she said:

“I am hugely flattered to receive the BAFTA Fellowship and especially proud to be the first Costume Designer. I am lucky in that I love what I do and have been extremely fortunate to have collaborated with some of the most talented and inspirational people in the industry both behind and in front of the camera. I look forward to many more years to come.”