Tracy Cook
1. When you were at Brighton & Hove High School, and what is your fondest memory of school?
I started in the Junior School aged about eight and left in 1981. I have very fond memories of whiling away periods 4 and 5 in the Sixth Form Common Room, which back then was a tiny room wedged between classrooms on the top floor of the Temple building. It felt so grown up to not have to be in a lesson and to be able to chat to friends over a black coffee! (Obviously we never managed to bring in any milk.)
2. Who was your favourite teacher and why?
Without a shadow of a doubt it was Mrs Hancock. I still can’t call her Joy, her first name, although she asked us to, once we had left school. She enthusiastically taught us A Level History and brought it alive as no other teacher did, treating kings and chancellors like characters in a big story called the sixteenth century. She’d kick start a lesson by challenging us with a tough question about current affairs and honed our analytical skills with brain-frying essay questions. She also encouraged me to apply for Oxbridge, which I would never have done without her. In her honour when we had finished our A Levels, we donated the ‘Inky Blots Prize for Historical Enthusiasm’ to honour her. I think it ran for a few years after I left…
3. What were the benefits of being in an all-girls school?
Oh huge, I think. It’s a place to grow up without being subject to the male gaze. There was no need to make yourself ‘smaller’ intellectually, or in any way, to impress boys, and I felt very much encouraged to find out who I was and to grow into myself. There was no question that as a young woman you were encouraged to believe you could do what you wanted in life, if you tried hard enough. At the same time, it felt very caring. I had a major spinal operation for scoliosis in the lower sixth and was in hospital for seven weeks. School tried really hard to support me when I returned in a neck-to-hip plastercast.
4. What did you want to be when you ‘grew-up’?
I always loved reading and writing stories. As a small child in Upper Two I remember we had to write a story about what we wanted to be and I said I wanted to be a writer and live in a country cottage. (Still haven’t got the country cottage though!) This then became wanting to get into journalism as I grew older. At university I grabbed as much journalism and broadcast experience as I could and then applied for every graduate journalism scheme and local radio station in the country! I ended up on the BBC Production Trainee scheme producing documentaries – which was really just another way of telling people’s stories. I later went into freelance features journalism.
5. What do you do now, and what are the most rewarding and challenging parts of your job?
Now I am lucky enough to write full time. I write historical fiction and just love doing the research, which with Wings Over Valletta, meant visiting and reading about fascinating places like Malta. The inspiration for the book actually came when we went into the former Crusader tunnels, deep under Valletta’s bastions, to see the World War Two top secret Fighter Command, which is now the Lascaris War Museum. The hairs on the back of my neck rose as I heard about the role the civilian women had played in plotting aircraft battles. I knew I had to write about it.
I also find the process of writing incredibly absorbing and satisfying which is really important. You need to enjoy the journey of writing as it is actually very hard to get a book published and there are no guarantees. I have two unpublished novels in my desk drawer, like many other authors I know. The most challenging part? Writing is a lonely business, so I make sure I have a good network of friends and activities to keep me going.
6. What are you most proud of so far?
Aside from my two now adult children, it has to be seeing Wings Over Valletta actually for sale in a bookshop. It is literally a dream come true from the days when I was eight years old and dreaming of becoming a writer.
That and several documentary series, like Children’s Hospital and Law Women, that I produced for the BBC.
7. What was the best piece of advice you were given whilst at Brighton?
Persistence wins. That’s probably one from Mrs Hancock.
8. What advice would you give to your 18 year old self?
Stay true to yourself. Don’t give up. Be kind.
9. What book, film or piece of music would you recommend to your younger self and to your fellow alumnae?
The whole point about books is that there are so many – you can so easily escape into other lives, other places, other times. Wild Swans by Jung Chang had a big impact on widening my understanding of the human spirit when I was younger. More recently I loved Pachinko by Min Jin Lee and Go As A River by Shelley Read – but just keep reading. There’s a whole world in every book.
10. How would you like to be remembered?
As kind and joyful. She lived every day to the full.
Tracy Cook
Class of 1981
