In The Press
School's New Theatre to be Named After Tragic Sophie
From The Bath Chronicle Thu 10 Mar, 2011
A performing arts centre at a Bath school is being named after a former pupil who died at the age of 25 from a rare brain disease. The Sophie Cameron Theatre at The Royal High School will be officially opened at the beginning of May with a special performance of a play written by the school's former head teacher. Sophie, who lived in Lansdown, was only 17 when she contracted encephalitis lethargica, a viral infection that attacks the brain and central nervous system, causing the whole body to progressively shut down. She initially spent three months in a coma and when she did eventually start to recover she was still left with brain damage and severe disabilities, needing round the clock care. Sophie, who had been due to become head girl and had ambitions of pursuing a career in medicine, bravely fought her illness for seven years before her death in 2006. The Sophie Cameron Trust was set up to fund research into her illness and every year The Royal High School has held a spring concert to support its work. The new performing arts centre has been ceated from the former chapel building of the Old Royal School, which became part of the new school when it merged with Bath High School in 1998. Refurbishment began in 2009 and it was decided that the centre, which will be used for music and drama, should be named after Sophie. An opening ceremony will take place on 3 May when the school's head techer Rebecca Dougall will be joined by members of Sophie's family as well as other staff and guests who knew her well. A commemorative plaque will be unveiled and then there will be a performance of a new play by former head teacher James Graham-Brown. The Tamworth Two is a comedy about the celebrated pair of pigs who escaped from custody in Wiltshire a few years' ago. Mrs Dougall said the performing arts centre was a fitting tribute for Sophie. She said: "Sophie is remembered by those who knew her as a wonderfully talented and inspirational student. We are proud to honour her memory with this marvellous new facility for the school."
An 
A 