A FORMER Harlow student is inspiring youngsters to follow their dreams as she prepares to work with the world’s top medical professionals.
Maddie Leadon left Burnt Mill Academy, in First Avenue, in 2010 with a crop of 12 A* GCSE grades and went on to earn her place at Corpus Christi College, in Cambridge, to study medicine.

The 22-year-old is now five years into her six-year course and is preparing to take a giant leap into her chosen profession.
As part of her course, she has been invited by Harvard Medical School, in America, to spend time in surgery and completing clinical research into vascular malfunctions in the brain.

She will also work directly with Canada’s chief medical examiner Michael Pollanen, shadowing his autopsy and crime scene investigation work and attending the world forensic science conference.

Maddie, the first person in her family to go to Oxbridge or to study medicine, is keen for others from her home town to see no matter where you start in life, you can reach the heights she has.

She said: “My various teachers at Burnt Mill helped me to achieve my grades. They helped me along the way, they knew my ambitions and were keen to encourage me to work to achieve my goal of studying medicine.

“I remember always being embarrassed to say they were my dreams as I knew it was such a hard thing to achieve and had a stereotypical view in my head that only grammar school students would get in.

“But, Burnt Mill never held me back, they always said to go for it.

“Never listen to anyone who says you can’t make it. It can be difficult sometimes, but as long as you put in the hard work and you really want to achieve, you absolutely can do it. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. I have often been asked what school I have come from, but I am proud of my background.”

Maddie’s trip abroad next summer will help her to decide what area of medicine to go into when her studies finish.

She said: “I am so excited for both trips. They will be completely different to each other and are both once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.

“It is going to be absolutely brilliant; not just for my future, but as an experience.
“I am hoping the trip will help me to decide what path to take next. I like the idea of becoming a neuro surgeon, but if I really love the forensic medicine I may go down that route.”