Alumni Advise on Apprenticeships

February’s ‘Perspectives’ lecture focused on apprenticeships, with three Alumni speaking about their experiences, both as apprentices and as employers. The panel discussed the opportunities and challenges of apprenticeships, drawing upon their varied experiences, and the skills required to succeed.

On leaving School Lee Richardson (Class of 2000) read Chemistry and Management at Nottingham University with the dream of becoming a fighter pilot. However, his eyes had other ideas and were deemed not suitable for fast jets. Lee joined Lancashire Constabulary as a Constable in 2007. Following a number of uniform roles, he joined the Criminal Investigation Department, working on serious and complex crimes, often involving the most vulnerable members of society. Following a series of promotions he is now a Detective Inspector, heading the Force’s investigative training department and new recruit training, during an unprecedented uplift in police numbers.

Beyond the excellent teaching, Lee credits Bolton School with instilling in him standards and values that remain to him to this day. He is very self-motivated, but nevertheless learned a lot from Mr McNeil and enjoyed having Dr Mullins as his Form teacher during the Sixth Form. He has great memories of the trips to Patterdale Hall, and also made lifelong friends.

Patrick Hesson (Class of 2014) started his career with a legal services apprenticeship at a national law firm, helping insurer clients defend against fraudulent claims, alongside studying for a CILEX qualification at Manchester

Jobs for Geographers

October’s ‘Perspectives’ lecture saw four Alumni considering why students might consider careers associated with a Geography degree, the challenges they might face and what the future holds for the sector.

Paul Greenhalgh (Class of 2015) is now in his second year as a Geography Teacher at Berkhamsted School, having studied Geography at Cambridge. Answering the question of why pupils might find a Geography-related career fulfilling, he offered an ‘A, B, C, D’ answer: ‘A’, he said, was for the awe and wonder of the subject; ‘B’ represented working towards a better, informed world; ‘C’ was for how the subject is critically relevant, and ‘D’ was for ‘door opening’ as he pointed towards the many roles students from his course had gone on to, including in Urban Planning, HR, GIS, Counter Terrorism, the Civil Service, in Parliament as Assistants to MPs, in teaching, sustainable fashion, property and real estate and in a charity helping Afghan refugees. Paul acknowledged that it is impossible to predict the future, reminding the audience that twothirds of secondary pupils will work in jobs that do not yet exist, but he believes that Geography will certainly give you skills for the future – in areas such as critical thinking, evaluation, oral and written communication, GIS, IT, analysis, data collection and presentation. He concluded by saying that Geography is shaking off some of its negative connotations and is now a serious facilitating subject for university entry.

Metropolitan University. In a career change, Patrick then undertook a Cyber Security degree apprenticeship at an international bank. In addition to learning agile business processes in a software engineering role, Patrick attended university one day a week helping him secure a First Class Honours degree. He is now a Cyber Crime Investigator with Greater Manchester Police where he investigates cyber-specific crime and supports other units within the organisation.

Patrick’s experience at Bolton School has instilled in him multiple skills which he uses day-to-day, for example being able to adapt in difficult situations and to overcome tough challenges in a pressured environment.

His fondest memory of his time at School is playing rugby – to this day he talks about the tours organised by Mr Joseph! Academically, he was greatly inspired by Mr Lees; he was an excellent teacher (of Spanish) and someone for whom Patrick has the upmost respect.

Lee and Patrick were joined by Old Girl Emily Rajbhandari (Class of 2020), a part-qualified Audit Senior at EY. Emily began her career as a business apprentice, having applied to audit at EY, one of the ‘Big 4’ international accountancy firms, in the winter of Year 13.

Tom Mair (Class of 2018) is a Graduate Water Consultant with a large American multinational infrastructure firm. His work focuses on making sure that new developments are not in danger of being flooded or of causing flooding. Considering the question of why study Geography at university, Tom believes it holds appeal because it is a very diverse subject, with both human and physical elements. It is an applied science which deals with real world issues, and there is often the possibility of tailoring your degree to your interests as you go along. In Tom’s experience analytical abilities and communication skills are necessary in order to succeed in the field.

A useful question and answer session considered how students might secure work experience, how closely planners work with local agencies to mitigate flood risk, whether there is enough money in flood management, what A Level subjects complement Geography and top tips for applying to university.

Paul and Tom were joined by Old Girls Rachel Crompton (née Allen, Class of 1983), a Flood Risk Manager for a Lead Local Flood Authority, and Jennifer Joule (Class of 2010), a Senior Planning Officer at Teignmouth District Council.