We were delighted to welcome back one of our distinguished alumni Dr Anthony Bracuti for a fascinating conversation about his journey since leaving Bede's in 2015. Anthony recently completed his monumental PhD in Honeybee Biology, provides an inspiring example of maximising potential and pursuing a passion ignited right here at school. He generously shared insights into the supportive culture and atmosphere at Bede’s, detailing how the high expectations, the emphasis on community and leadership, and the dedication of staff members helped guide him from Dicker House all the way through his doctorate. Today, we look forward to exploring how his foundational experiences here led him to the highly specialised and critical field of social insect research.

How would you describe the culture and atmosphere at Bede's during your time here? How did the school environment encourage you to pursue your interests?

At Bede’s, expectation of what I could be and achieve was always high. The staff, and really the entire school structure, seemed suited to my needs, with help and support always present but never forced. The culture of the school was, from my perspective, always about getting me to maximise my potential, both academically, where I naturally excelled, but also in gaining those soft skills that make you confident enough to step up to leadership, where I did not naturally excel. We were always strongly encouraged, not just to be our best, but to encourage those around us, especially the younger kids, to be their best too. I fondly remember both the older students when I first joined the school, and my own juniors at the time I left.

Is there a particular teacher or member of staff who had a significant impact on you, either through their teaching, mentorship, or pastoral care? What made them so memorable?

I think if I gave a full list, I’d be able to write a book. For a small list though, I think Jonathan David, my first year classics master, who unfortunately passed away in late 2024, taught me that your own education is in your own hands, he encouraged and guided me to maximise my own agency, which I have since taken with me to every aspect of my life. In a similar vein, Taf Mpandawana, who was my de facto housemaster in my final years at the school, encouraged me to become a leader, that leadership is a responsibility as well as a privilege, and that caring for the people around you is a part of being a member of a community, which he had built on the foundations provided by Richard Mills, who was the stalwart housemaster of Dicker from the moment I started at the senior school. I can’t think of a teacher at Bede’s who didn’t encourage me to be my best, but if I gave examples from all of them I wouldn’t stop, so I think I’ll stop there.

Given your eventual specialisation, can you identify any specific lesson, teacher interaction, or opportunity at Bede's that first sparked your interest in biology or, specifically, in insects and ecology?

There was no one specific event which caused me to want to walk the path I’ve begun to walk. Paul Childers at the Prep School first ignited my interest in science more broadly: his lab was filled with stick insects and corn snakes, leafcutter ants and mice. My interest in the molecular biology approach I took with insects was deeply inspired by the late Martin Costley, my old A-level chemistry teacher, whose enthusiasm for the basic processes of life led me to that approach with insects. Similarly, Anthony Hepworth-Taylor, who allowed me to come along to help him manage the school’s beehives at the senior school, cemented my love for social insects, which had previously been ignited by a prep-school trip to the South of England show, where I think I spent the entire time asking questions of the beekeepers. Julia French, who taught me Biology for the entirety of my time at the Senior school, also gave me some of the enthusiasm she brings to each of her lessons. Collectively, they, and the other many teachers who guided and helped me along the way, gave me the skills and confidence to pursue my career.

What was the university application process like for you, and how well do you feel Bede's prepared you for higher education?

In many ways the process was very easy, in no small part because of the advice and guidance I received while at the school. I received so much support with the applications, and the work which goes into preparing those applications (such as summer schools, volunteering, work experience etc.), that the process was considerably easier than many of the people with whom I ended up at university. Some parts of the transition to higher education were hard, but the house-based community aspect of the school really prepares you to be proactive with the more social elements of university, making the difficult transition to a wholly independent form of learning easier. Similarly, the most useful academic lesson I received at Bede’s was my A2 level chemistry project which played out very similarly to a dissertation piece at the undergraduate level. Being prepared for what it takes to manage your own project really makes a difference at university.

You completed a PhD in Honeybee Biology. Can you briefly outline your academic journey from leaving Bede's in 2025 up to the completion of your doctorate?

I attended the University of Sussex on an integrated master’s program in biochemistry (with summer research placements) from 2015 to 2019, where I also volunteered a great deal in LASI, a pre-eminent social insect research facility. After a gap year, I then went to the University of Leeds in 2020, to work in Elizabeth Duncan’s social insect research lab, after roughly 4 years of primary research I wrote and submitted my thesis Christmas 2024, and stayed in Leeds doing more honeybee research until my viva and graduation in Summer 2025.

What drew you to the niche field of honeybee biology, and what was the main focus of your PhD research?

Social insects, particularly eusocial insects, appear to break many of the fundamental underlying evolutionary principles which govern all life on earth (pointed out by Darwin himself when he devised the ideas). When you first encounter the structural theory which governs an ant colony, or a honeybee hive, the organised chaos of a social system collectively working in apparent random behaviours, but which, if you let your eyes unfocus, ignore the little details, and see the whole system, the randomness coalesces into a single, unified, efficient organism. I think that when I saw the complexity of social insects, I could do naught but be inspired. 

Now, my research was minor compared to the grand scheme of what we know about these insects. Honeybees always appealed to me, over other social insects, by their obligate relationship with humans. My research, which focuses on pheromonal communication, and how it relates to the maintenance of the order of these social systems by repressing reproduction in the workers, in order to promote reproduction of the queens, is really about trying to understand how such a complex social system was able to evolve out of their solitary insect ancestors.

Congratulations on completing your PhD! That is a monumental achievement. What are you most proud of from your time researching and writing your thesis?

Thank you! I think the work I am most proud of, is a little microcosm of what it is to be a scientist. 

In a moment of panic, while dissecting insects late into the night of a Saturday evening, I realised that one of the assumptions that we were making as a basis for conducting an experiment, might be considerably less certain than I had given it credit. As a result, I designed a series of experiments to investigate this element of the research and discovered that it was indeed much more complex than we, and the scientific community at large, had assumed. I then presented this research at an international conference in Switzerland and have now submitted it as a paper to a journal. The actual findings aren’t really important (although the panic is par for the course in science), it’s just a perfect example of how the scientific process really works, and that in having done this, I had achieved my dream of becoming a scientist, not just as an identity, but as a lived reality.

What are the major real-world implications or applications of your research findings on honeybees?

If you think of science as a pyramid, where the golden capstone is the real-world impact, and under which sits each brick, which are essential to the structure of the pyramid but which aren’t a capstone. In this model each bit of research is a brick, but each layer under the capstone requires a subsequent layer of even more research underneath it. In order to produce the drug, or the machine, or the farming methodology, you need to rely on experiments and each of these rely on experiments down to the bottom of the pyramid. The work which I have done (and hop to continue to do) contributes the underlying knowledge of how bees exist in the world, and within their world, and so therefore sits towards the bottom of the pyramid. It is possible that my research will inform our response in apicultural settings to climate change, particularly with how bees decide where and when to forage. It is also possible that my work will be essential in understanding how climate change will affect bees, as temperatures increase, and forage becomes much scarcer, and so therefore how we are able to respond to better protect these essential workers of our ecosystem.

Now that you have completed your doctorate, what is the very next thing you are doing? Are you moving into post-doctoral research, taking up a role in industry or conservation, or something completely different?

My hope is to continue in academic study, through post-doctoral research positions, and to continue working with social insects, which will require building upon collaborations for grants. But I keep an open mind when it comes to the future. My goal was always to complete a PhD in bee work, and if I stopped being a scientist today, I would be happy with what I achieved. The many skills and lessons I learned along the way, including from very early on at Bede’s makes me confident that almost no door is left closed to me.

If you could give one piece of advice to a pupil currently at Bede's, who is interested in pursuing a career in science or research, what would it be?

Diversify your skillset. In order to become a scientist, you will compete with people who have all got the top grades, gone to the best schools, have perfect track records (the PhD programme I applied to had upwards of 150 applicants for 2 positions). What sets you apart is doing all of the extra things. Talk to academics in your field of interest (they will answer your emails I promise), volunteer in research labs or conservation programs. Take part in the annual butterfly count, or volunteer in your local foodbank. Gain those soft skills that make a person interesting, in addition to all the knowledge that you need to carry around in your head. It will set you apart from all of the others who are looking at the same schemes. It also means that if you are unlucky, and don’t get to achieve what you were hoping to, you will end up an interesting person, with enough skills and experience to go in any direction you want.

If you were to sum up your entire experience at Bede's in just three words, which three would you choose?

Community, learning, leadership

What an inspiring reflection on an extraordinary academic journey. Anthony chose the words Community, learning, leadership to sum up his time at Bede’s, and it is clear how these values have propelled him forward, from his integrated master’s at Sussex to the completion of his PhD at Leeds, focusing on the complex pheromonal communication within honeybee hives. His advice to current pupils; to ‘diversify your skillset and proactively seek out experiences’ is invaluable for anyone considering a career in research. We are incredibly proud of his achievement and his commitment to contributing foundational knowledge to the field of apicultural science. We wish him the very best as he pursues post-doctoral research and continues to build upon the brilliant work he has already accomplished.