Declan came to Lancing in the Sixth Form from a state school in Durrington. He admits that he initially found the transition difficult and thought about leaving because he found it hard to balance his new life at Lancing with the rest of his life at home.
‘He will leave Lancing as one of its most talismanic students, a cornerstone of our community, with friends for life, having accomplished so much in such a (relatively) short span of time. For me, he embodies the potential as well as the success and fundamental rightness of the Foundationers programme; from the most tentative beginnings he has triumphed. Across a 20–year career as Housemaster I can think of few more impressive young men.’ Matt Smith, Senior Housemaster.
Declan talks about his time at Imperial: ‘Coming to Imperial has allowed me to further develop my passion and love for science. The Medical Biosciences course has enabled me to explore topics such as the wonders of endocrinology and neurology in the integrative body systems module and even coding in the statistics module alongside lots of other fascinating and exciting areas of research. It has been a real privilege to attend a university working on the front line researching COVID-19. I think Lancing’s bursary programme has definitely carved a path for my future which wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. I always wanted to go to university, but I never imagined I would get into one of the best institutions in the world.’