Lower Sixth student Poppy reflects on her love for textiles, university ambitions, and a standout achievement at the Royal Academy of Arts.

For Lower Sixth student Poppy, textiles is more than just a subject — it’s a passion that has shaped her Downe House experience and is certain to feature in her future beyond school.

Poppy is currently developing her A Level Textiles final piece, inspired by the theme Age and Decay. She’ll soon begin bringing her vision to life — an exciting next step in her creative journey.

Textiles is a huge part of my life at Downe and a passion that I will have forever,” she shares. “Even if I don’t study it directly at university, I can’t imagine walking away from fashion altogether.

Her dream is to study Fashion Design at Parsons Paris — one of the world’s top fashion schools in one of the industry’s great capitals. She’s also exploring options closer to home, including Central Saint Martins and University of the Arts London. With A Levels in Textiles, History of Art and Business, she’s keeping her options open:

I can see myself ending up in the fashion industry — whether as a designer or on the marketing side of a fashion brand. I just enjoy it too much to leave it behind.

That deep enthusiasm and artistic talent have already gained remarkable recognition. One of Poppy’s textile pieces — created as part of her GCSE coursework — has been selected for the Royal Academy of Arts’ Young Artists Summer Show. Chosen from thousands of national entries, her work will not only appear in the online exhibition opening on 15 July, but has also been selected to appear in the RA galleries themselves — an incredible achievement.

Describing the piece, Poppy says:

Inspired by the layered textures of lichen, bark, and moss, this jacket explores the quiet complexity of natural surfaces. Using hand knitting, woven forms, natural dyeing, and free machine embroidery, I built up depth through fabric layering and heat distortion techniques. The piece reflects how nature grows and weathers over time — subtle, textured, and always in process.

This moment marks a well-deserved milestone for Poppy — and an inspiring example of where dedication, creativity and curiosity can lead.