Anna McClure worked for many years in education before returning to study for a music degree in 2013. She gained a first class degree in music from the University of Aberdeen in 2017 and was then awarded a scholarship to study for a PhD in Composition under Professor Paul Mealor and Dr Phillip Cooke, also at Aberdeen. She was twice finalist in the Ogston/Carlaw Composition Competition, and has also attended summer schools at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the University of Oxford, receiving feedback on her music from Sir James MacMillan, Judith Weir, and James Whitbourn.