Emily Sands

Emily Swati Sands, commonly known as Miss Sands, is one of the recurring characters in the first and second season while a main character in the third and a minor character in the fourth season of Sex Education. She is portrayed by Rakhee Thakrar.

Emily is an English teacher at Moordale Secondary School throughout the first three seasons. She is very supportive of Maeve and recognizes her talent and intelligence. She's also very helpful to her other students, like Adam, whom she helps wiith finding something he enjoys doing. Emily starts dating her colleague, a science teacher in season 2, with whom she decides to move in with in season 3. Emily loses her job at Moordale Secondary due to the closure of the school in the season 3 finale.

Throughout the Series[]

Season 1[]

Noticing that one of the Maeve's essays is very similar to another student's, she warns Maeve of getting expelled, knowing how much potential there is in Maeve and not wanting it to be wasted.

Some time later, Miss Sands approaches Maeve and admits that she knows that Maeve was the one who wrote Adam's essay, which won the school essay competition. Emily also pays Maeve some compliments about her view of thinking and wants her to think about applying for the Moordale Aptitude Scheme.

After Maeve admits that the drugs were hers, Emily is in the commission that is supposed to make the decision if Maeve stays at school. Unfortunately, despite Emily's biggest efforts, Maeve gets expelled.

Season 2[]

When Maeve's trying to get back to Moordale, Emily stands up for Maeve and threatens Michael that she'll tell the chairman that Adam won the essay prize by cheating, if he doesn't let Maeve back.

During the course of season 2, Emily and her colleague, Colin Hendricks, get into a sexual relationship and begin to see each other frequently. They soon encounter problems as Colin struggles with dirty talk as he doesn't like to demean Miss Sands as he words it and in one of their earlier encounters calls her a 'lovely female dog' after Emily asks he call her a 'naughty bitch'. This ends the encounter and Emily goes home. Colin asks Otis for help with dirty talk. Otis tells Colin to 'write a script and practice speaking the words until they feel comfortable' and to meet her halfway. While Colin follows this, he goes too far and starts saying he will make treat Emily badly and make her lose her job. This of course ends the encounter.

Things continue like this until Otis gives Colin some new advice which is 'tune into her orange'. He and Emily sit down and he asks why she likes dirty talk and help him to understand. It is here that Emily tells him it doesn't matter what he says just *how* he says it. Colin now understands an begins naming random and whacky kitchen objects in a smooth monotone. This turns out to work and the pair have successful intercourse and their relationship improves.

Emily is the guardian of the Aptitude Scheme. For the first class in the term, she wants the students to bring their 10-years time essays. Maeve, being embarrassed with what she wrote there, tells Miss Sands she forgot to bring it. Later, at the fun fair, Maeve admits that she wrote the essay and gives it to Emily to read it. After reading it, Emily says that Maeve can have more expansive dreams than four chairs and some windows and tells Maeve to think about it.

Emily is also the guardian of the Quiz Heads, who later wins the National Students Quiz Championships.

Season 3[]

As of season 3, Emily has worked at Moordale for 7 years, which means that she started working there since 2014.^[1]

During the school trip to France, Colin proposes to Emily, but she rejects him by saying they've been dating for less than a year. But, instead of this, she suggests moving in together, which cheers Colin up.

Emily tries to support Adam by giving him extra help in an attempt to help him move up a set. After Adam does poorly on an exam, Emily encourages Adam to find other pursuits. Adam ends up participating in a dog show with his dog Madam and invites Emily to watch. She cheers from the sidelines and claps when Adam is given an honourable mention for having the best debut performance.

Season 4[]

Emily attends Maeve’s mother's funeral with Colin and expresses her pride in Maeve. After Moordale Secondary School was shut down, she went to university for Master's study in literature, which she says was inspired by Maeve.

Relationships[]

Romances[]

Colin Hendricks (boyfriend)[]

Main article: Emily and Colin

Colin, also known as Mr. Hendricks, are romantically and sexually involved, most likely meeting due to both being educators. There is a strain in their relationship when Colin has trouble with dirty talk as he can't bring himself to degrade Emily when she consents to it. After speaking with Otis, he improves, but the things he says aren’t very arousing to Emily. He then gets different advice from Otis and asks Emily why she likes dirty talk and to help him understand. It is at that point he begins naming random kitchen objects in a slow baritone which works for Emily and their relationship recovers.

It is clear they are happy with each other and enjoy being together, whether it is romantically or sexually.

By the start of season 3, it appears Colin and Emily have begun experimenting as Colin now plays his drum set whilst the two are having sex. Throughout the season, their relationship remains mostly the same albeit for good and by the end of the season they have agreed to move in together.

Emily and Colin also attend Maeve's mother’s funeral, showing her their compassion.

Friends[]

Maeve Wiley (friend; student)[]

Emily sees the potential in Maeve, she can see how intelligent she is when others don't. When Maeve is at discussion of being expelled, she stands up for her. Emily always helps Maeve remember just how talented she is. She supports Maeve whenever she can and sees through the troublemaker cliché of Maeve's personality. Emily is a caring teacher, seeing wasted potential and helps Maeve see just how intelligent she is.

Maeve is Ms. Sands’ most favored student due to her nature as a “brilliant writer”, and the latter even helped the former to get re-enrolled into the school after she was expelled. Ms. Sands later recruits Maeve for the school’s Aptitude Scheme and Quiz Heads team to help increase her chances of getting into a prestigious university after her secondary studies. In season 3, Emily wants Maeve to apply to the Gifted and Talented study programme in the US, which later she does.

Thanks to Emily's encouragement, in the season 3 finale, Maeve leaves to America, to develop her potential even more.

A couple months later, Miss Sands goes to Maeve's mother’s funeral, after which she reveals that teaching Maeve was one of the biggest privileges of her tutoring career.

Maureen Groff (friend)[]

Maureen and Emily have known each other for a long time, as Maureen was the wife of Emily's boss, Mr. Groff. The two didn't have much interaction throughout the series. The moment when they directly interacted with each other was during Midgeville County Dog Trials, where Adam and Madam were participating. Both of them came there to support him. At first they didn't notice each other, but then Maureen approached Emily and sat beside her. The two started talking and enjoyed themselves. After Adam was awarded as the best debut performances in a long time, both Maureen and Emily were proud of him, applauding him.

Personality[]

Emily is most likely the only person aside from Otis who sees the potential in Maeve. As a teacher who cares for her students, she is the only member of staff who stands up for Maeve when she is at risk of being expelled. Emily doesn't let Maeve put herself down for her writing and for the way she feels she doesn't belong in upper-level classes.

As head of the Quiz Heads, she supports the members at their competitions and cheers for them when they win. It is apparent she is an educator who cares for her students, one who wants them to succeed.

When slut-shamed by Kyle, whom she thinks is one of the girls (Olivia, Maeve, Viv, Lily, Ola and Aimee) who wrote the message on the girls’ locker room mirror, she doesn't let herself be pushed around, forcing each of them to stay after school until one of them admits their actions. She wants them to learn and think about what they did before figuring out Kyle was the culprit all along. Although, after a while of nothing, she has a rendezvous with Mr. Hendricks as she is seen with him romantically after giving the girls what she thinks is an impossible task for them for more time with Colin - what the girls think they have in common.

Appearances[]

Memorable Quotes[]

Gallery[]

Sex Education Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Emily Sands.

Promotional Images[]

Episodic[]

Episode 3

Episode 4

Episode 6

Episode 8

Episode 2.1

Episode 2.2

Episode 2.4

Episode 2.6

Episode 2.7

Episode 2.8

Episode 3.1

Episode 3.2

Episode 3.4

Episode 3.5

Episode 3.7

Episode 3.8

References[]