The Downton Abbey star Racquel Cassidy on convent school life in Hampshire and discovering her love of acting while watching black and white films
Where did you go to school and when?
I went to Yateley Hall in Hampshire and then moved on to Farnborough Hill, a convent school for girls.
What were your schools like?
I never really enjoyed school. In primary I got tonsillitis every two weeks so I could stay at home with my mum, until they whipped my tonsils out. Watching afternoon films with her made me want to become an actor.
Secondary school was probably a lot better than I thought it was at the time. I don’t think I was designed to sit and be quiet, and I was sent to detention a lot – where I had to practise sitting and being quiet. My gorgeous, health conscious, Spanish mum made me wear sensible shoes while everyone else was wearing winkle pickers, something I have never really recovered from. I have the fashion sense of a peanut.
I was an appalling mix of someone who wanted to do well but was a bit of a donkey. Luckily, I fell in with the right crowd, including my friend Paula, who became a special needs teacher. Before our O levels, when we hung out, she would force me to revise. I still remember opening the little brown envelope with the typed-out grades. I had to read them twice because we thought I must have read them out wrong. Even the dog couldn’t believe it. We all barked.
Did you love school, or hate it?
I loved my friends and some of the stuff we got up to. I really enjoyed sport and drama, but I always felt a bit clueless and kind of unsettled, but when I look back on it, maybe I didn’t do too badly and we were all probably feeling the same.
What were your favourite subjects at school?
I enjoyed biology because I had a great teacher, Dr Day. I also had a great physics teacher, and I always struggled with physics. But she believed in me, which encouraged me to believe in myself, and then I suddenly started improving. Education was a bit wasted on me. I would be much more interested to learn now. I’m better at sitting still too.
Who were your most memorable teachers and how did they influence you?
Sister McCormack was my favourite teacher. She was tiny, Irish and just lovely. We had great French teachers, Mrs Cooke and Mrs Rimmer. I think I did drama despite my drama teachers, a married couple who seemed to want to steer us all away from acting. I also remember there was a very tall history teacher with very broad shoulders called Mr Diskin. He was from the States and I don’t know how he found himself at a girls’ school in Hampshire. I think I made his life a misery in a kind of exuberant, immature, teenage kind of way. If by any chance you’re reading this, Mr Diskin, I’m really sorry.
I nearly considered a career in sciences, because of my physics and biology teachers. I think it’s all about belief, isn’t it? You really treasure the teachers who believe in you, and it’s taken me a long time, like many people and probably many actors, to get a grip on that belief in myself. An acceptance of self is key to living a good and happy life.
Where was your favourite place at school and what did you do there?
Farnborough Hill was an old building. Emperor Napoleon III’s wife, the Empress Eugénie, lived there at one point. I liked all the old bits of the school that you were forbidden to go into. In Sixth Form, some of us were invited into this club to discuss politics by an ancient teacher called Mrs Brister, and we would get to go up and down the forbidden staircase. In hindsight it was horribly exclusive, and for some reason which I still don’t get, I received an invite.
What beliefs did your time at school give you?
I went to a Catholic school run by nuns, so that was obviously a huge thing. Everything was religious, but I was already soaked in Catholicism – my dad was from Irish Catholic stock and my mum was Spanish Catholic. Their first dates involved going to mass together. But being at a girl’s school meant we never thought that being female should limit our agency in the world: we didn’t question our right to live independent, fulfilling lives.
What was your proudest school moment?
Probably singing a solo in the Christmas concert. I had only just joined and my teacher challenged me. I was so nervous, she told me to imagine everyone naked or as cabbages. I went for the latter. I managed the high notes and still remember the words to ‘Silent Night’ in German.
What was the most trouble you ever got into at school?
Once in my whole school life I broke the rules and left at lunchtime to meet some boys. We were caught on the way back in by Mrs Berry, our formidable PE teacher. She stopped me and asked if we’d left the school grounds. She knew I found it impossible to lie, so I admitted it and got us all detention. I’ve had to get better at lying.
Were you ever ‘too cool for school’?
I think you know the answer to that one. That’s a No. Never. I think everyone’s just trying to survive school, and we all find our way of dealing with it. I know a fair few who didn’t. Bless them.
What is your most vivid memory, looking back?
There are two. My beautiful mum paid for extra tennis lessons because she loved tennis, but sadly, despite five years of traipsing down to the tennis courts after school, I still couldn’t hit a ball over the net. Sorry mum.
The other was in Sixth Form, when we got to work on the school musical. Me and my friend Jessica Higgs, who I believe went on to be a headmistress, co-directed Follow The Star, a musical version of the Nativity. She was tall and got to play God, I was short and loud and got Herod. It was my one and only time directing and was great fun. I loved being hissed at and booed, weird as that sounds. The best song was Mary singing, ‘I’ve Always Wanted a Baby’. Not sure the nuns loved that one.
When and how did your love of acting begin?
Watching black and white movies with my mum. She would get up early, do loads of housework and then sit and have a siesta, in the afternoon watching a movie, and I would watch with her, only I’d stay awake. They were often Westerns because they were on repeat and mum loved a Western. Watching child stars like Deanna Durbin and Shirley Temple made me want to crawl inside the telly and from that moment I wanted to be on the other side of the screen. It took me ages after that to work out how you do it because I didn’t come from any kind of performing family background, but I was hooked from that point onwards. I was the youngest of three and I was encouraged to perform a bit to get attention and make my Spanish aunties laugh.
What other key influences/passions shaped you growing up?
My Spanish side has really shaped me. My mother’s older sister was a painter and a flamenco dancer. My mum and her were really close, with only a year between them. She was incredibly passionate and was a huge influence. She also painted me – I was her muse for a while – and I’ve got lots of portraits of me as a very young child. She taught me to dance sevillanas one summer. Every moment that she was in my life was a blessing. I used to call her my soul mother. Mum and dad were both great fun and very loving. I miss them terribly actually. Both were strong and determined. He was an athlete and an adventurer with an indomitable lust for life. I feel there’s a lot of backbone in my family.
What projects and challenges are coming up next for you?
It’s a difficult time in the industry, for all of us, and the challenge as an actor is how to hold yourself through periods of change – whether it’s in the industry, in the world, or yourself. With Downton out now, there are a few different roles coming up, which is a really lucky position to be in.
How would you sum up your school days in three words?
Kind of sweet.
* Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is out now.
Further reading: Isabella Pappas on school days at ArtsEd
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