Alumna Interview with Andrea Florence, Executive Producer at Aquila Films

For our Alumna of the Month interview, we spoke to Andrea Florence (nee Foord), Executive Producer at Aquila Films.

Andrea joined Bromley High School in 1970 and left in 1977, after studying A level Physics, Chemistry and Biology. She read Natural Sciences at Cambridge University.

Please can you briefly describe your current role?

As an Executive Producer I create science and wildlife programmes for broadcasters and platforms worldwide including BBC and National Geographic. This involves researching and pitching stories, pulling together crews, and directing cameramen in the field and editors in the edit.

After studying Natural Sciences at university, I spent many years travelling to remote locations across the globe to capture breath-taking visuals and compelling stories. Three years living on a river boat in the Amazon, several years in the rainforests of Indonesia and Belize resulted in a raft of films including blue chip wildlife shows, powerful environmental documentaries and even a wildlife series presented by Johnny Rotten.

How did Bromley High School help shape your future career?

Bromley High School gave me a fantastic academic grounding and instilled in me a passion for science and wildlife. The teachers inspired me to follow the sciences and encouraged me to apply for Cambridge University.

What aspects of Bromley High School did you most enjoy, and find most rewarding?

I had so many fun and memorable times while at Bromley High School, all made possible by the dedicated and inspiring teachers. There were exciting trips to Kew Gardens, castles and museums, and ambitious productions of plays, musicals and fashion shows. I remember the great comradery with my peers and how once a week we all headed off by train to reach our playing field and play hockey (this was long ago when the school was still in Bromley but the playing fields were in Bickley). All these activities added up to give us all rich skills beyond just the academic.

What is your favourite memory of being at Bromley High School?

I have a strong memory of a time after exams (it was ‘o’ levels back then!) when we were allowed to pick a course or activity outside of school for a week. I chose an amazing field study course run out of Flatford Mill in Suffolk and stayed in the actual medieval building depicted in John Constable’s ‘Haywain’ painting. After our week away from school we all had to give a presentation to the rest of the year about our experiences and what we had discovered. What a great grounding for public speaking, something Miss Reid, our headmistress at the time, was very keen on.

What value do you get out of your connections with your fellow alumnae?

It’s great to follow what other alumnae are doing and be inspired by such an amazing cohort of women.

How have you benefited from being part of the wider GDST community?