Alumni

Inspiring the Next Generation

Throughout the 2015-16 academic year, Old Girls working in a variety of different fields have offered their assistance to the current generation of Bolton School girls, sharing their expertise and offering careers advice. The Development Office and the Careers Department have been delighted to welcome these Alumni back to School for the benefit of current pupils throughout the School.

BEST Day

Careers Convention

The annual Business Enterprise and Skills Training (BEST) Day took place in September. It gave Year 12 pupils their first Sixth Form opportunity to enhance their soft skills by taking part in a series of workshops and working in small groups to complete business tasks. Robyn Lowe (Class of 2010) led one of the day’s workshops, during which she gave pupils an insight into creating their own personal brand. After obtaining a 2:1 in English at the University of Cambridge, Robyn is a now a Management Trainee at Imperial College, London, and is currently completing six-month placement, split between the Communications team and the Education Office. Robyn told us: “During my time at school, I enjoyed so many opportunities to learn skills which I could take into a professional environment. Having benefited from the support which was offered to me and my friends as pupils, I’m keen to pass on anything I’ve learned since leaving and I think days like the BEST Day are vital to build on the girls’ confidence, business skills and help prepare them for whatever comes next. I was impressed by all of the groups for their maturity, creativity and enthusiasm - it’s always a pleasure to come back.” Robyn talks to pupils

In October, the School’s bi-annual Careers and Higher Education Convention took place, one of the largest of its kind in the North West. At the event, almost 1,000 GCSE and A level students from across the region were able to meet with 60 employers and 30 HE institutions who had stands at the event, and attend seminars on a diverse range of topics relating both to university and employment. Old Girl Abbey Sweeney (Class of 2012) was an exhibitor at the Convention, representing ANS, the company she joined as a Business Enterprise Apprentice immediately after leaving School. Abbey is now a Project Manager within their Professional Services team, managing multimillion pound IT contracts for clients in the public and private sectors. Abbey enjoyed talking to Convention attendees about the ANS Academy, and told us: “It was refreshing to see how many students were actually interested in apprenticeships. I think with the current rise in university fees, teenagers are perhaps thinking twice about going to university and the risk of graduating without a guaranteed job, but with substantial debts. At the ANS Academy, as well as leaving with a qualification, there is a guaranteed job at the end of the apprenticeship, as well as the opportunity to pursue further study.” Old Girl Lorna Cruice (née Jackson, 1970-1977), Chartered Landscape Architect at Appletons in Bolton, also advised pupils at the event. After leaving School, Lorna completed a degree in Landscape Architecture and then a post graduate Diploma in Landscape Architecture, both at Leeds Beckett, with a year’s work placement in between at Merseyside County Council. Two years later, Lorna completed her professional exams to become a Chartered Landscape Architect. She has since studied arboriculture and ecology on an incremental basis, and is a member of the Arboricultural Association. Lorna told us: “Bolton School gave me the confidence to pursue my chosen career. I never had any doubts that I couldn’t achieve what I wanted to do, and my education in Geography still underpins some of the work I do. I really enjoyed meeting pupils at the Convention: it’s always good to speak with young people, and discuss their interests and aspirations, as it’s their generation who can make a difference to our environment with new ideas and commitment.”

Alumni Events

Young Old Girls have attended a variety of events around the country in the past year, including dinners in Oxford, Cambridge, at the House of Lords in London, and a university drinks event in Durham.

The Class of 2014 returned to School last summer to attend a special Reunion for their year group, where they offered Year 12 pupils advice and guidance on university life before catching up with friends and former teachers.

Dentistry Lecture

In October, Yusra Razzaq (1998-2005) returned to School to talk to Girls’ Division pupils in Year 9 and above about how her Design Technology studies helped her to become a dentist. After leaving School, Yusra studied Biology at Manchester Metropolitan University, achieving a 2:1. After deciding that she wished to pursue a career in Dentistry, she took a Gap Year to gain experience as a dental nurse; as a result of this, she secured a place at Plymouth University’s Dental School. She is now fully qualified and working at a practice in Middleton.

“I loved being back at school as I hadn’t been back since I left in 2005. The girls were very enthusiastic and I was nervous for them really; making career choices so early on. A lot has changed in the school, but the girls and familiar staff are still lovely”.

Yusra Razaq

Astrophysics Lecture

In December, Dr Sarah Hutton (1997-2004), Ogden Science Officer at University College, London, spent a day in School speaking with physicists from both divisions. After leaving School, Sarah studied for a PhD in Astrophysics at the University of Durham, after which she became a teacher via the INSPIRE course at Imperial College. Before taking up her post at UCL, Sarah taught at an all-girls’ school in St Albans, during which time she forged strong links with the Ogden Trust partnership, inspiring many girls to progress to A Level Physics and beyond. During her visit, Sarah gave presentations to two Girls’ Division Year 9 classes, reflecting on her career path to date in the field of Astrophysics, before addressing A Level Physics students from both Divisions. Sarah commented Sarah Hutton following her visit: “I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Bolton School. I have been back several times since I completed my first degree and each time has been great. The passion and curiosity evident in both Divisions and across the years was fantastic to see. I hope that the students were able to reflect on what a career in a STEM subject could mean for them and if I gave any of them the confidence to turn that thought into reality, then I will be delighted.”

News of Young Old Girls

Deanne Cunningham (1994-2001) Having worked in TV for the past seven years, Deanne has recently started her most exciting job yet - as co-producer of the new series of Cold Feet for ITV. Filming started in February with all the old cast, and potential for shooting in some familiar Bolton locations. Deanne told us, ‘It’s been twelve years since the original series aired, so it should be a bit of a blast from the past for those of us who watched and loved it back when we were at School.’ After several years of moving around the country to work on different drama productions, from Kent all the way to Edinburgh, Deanne is enjoying being back at work in the North West. Mariko James (1996-2003) After graduating with a first in Modern Languages from Durham University in 2007, Mariko moved to London to work for global risk advisor Willis in the City as a reinsurance broker; focussing on Japanese and Australian insurance company clients. She became a Divisional Director in 2014. Subsequent to qualifying as an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute, Mariko moved to Marsh & McLennan Companies in 2015, a global insurance broker and professional services group employing 57,000 people worldwide. She is currently a reinsurance broker and Assistant Vice President in the Asia Pacific department, which handles business from insurance company clients in a region spanning Japan, China, Southeast Asia, India, and Oceania. Suzanne Lewis (1998-2005) Suzanne has recently been appointed to her dream-role with the British Red Cross, working as a Senior People and Learning Manager across Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. Suzanne has delivered careers talks to Year 8 and Sixth Form pupils in years past and always enjoys sharing how her experience at School shaped her future. Gabriella McCoy (1998-2008) After studying Law at Nottingham University, Gabriella qualified at the end of March as the Banking and Finance Solicitor for Macfarlands in the City, London. Kate Bartle (2004-2009) Congratulations to Kate, who has recently graduated with a First Class Masters degree in Chemistry, from The University of Huddersfield. Kate has now taken up a post as a Laboratory Technician at Dr Oetker. She also got married over the summer.

News of Young Old Girls

Thorrun Govind (1996-2010)

Thorrun in 1996 when she started Bolton School and on her graduation day.

Thorrun recently graduated from King’s College London with a Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) degree. She has written for leading pharmaceutical trade journals during her time at KCL and has a continued passion for journalism that was fostered whilst at Bolton School. Thorrun is a prolific tweeter (@thorrungovind) on pharmacy which has helped her secure a pre-registration position at a national independent pharmacy chain. Thorrun was recently awarded a prize, as part of the SHLA Nada Anzak Champion for Change Essay Prize, for a piece on the NHS Five Year Forward View and how students can contribute. Shakti Patel (2004-2011) Last year, Shakti reached the final three for STA Travel’s 60 day adventure competition. The prize was a £15,000 trip across Australia vlogging, photographing and interning for the company. In the final stage of the competition entrants had to submit their best travel photo (see Shakti’s below – taken at the Whitsunday Islands, Australia) and from there the competition was judged on whoever’s photo received the most Facebook ‘likes’. Unfortunately Shakti was not pronounced winner, but well done to her for making it so far in the process!

Katie Clark (1997-2012) Earlier this year, Katie graduated from Lancaster University with a 2:1 in Geography. Her dissertation has also been nominated for a prize (Gender and Feminist Geographies Research Group). Katie now plans to start her primary PGCE course at Manchester Metropolitan University. Anna-Sophia Warren (2005-2012) Good luck to Anna-Sophia who is starting an MSc in Mental Health Studies at Kings College London in September, having graduated with a first class degree in Experimental Psychology from Somerville College, Oxford. Georgina Roden (Class of 2013) Georgina Roden, who is studying at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, has recently competed in her first Dressage International for Great Britain Under 21s. Many congratulations to her! Hannah Potts (2005-2012) and Hannah Cooper (Class of 2013) On 10th December 2015, Hannah and Hannah played on opposing teams in the 29th Women’s Varsity Rugby Match – Hannah Potts playing for the University of Oxford and Hannah Cooper for the University of Cambridge. Excitingly, this was the first year ever that the Women’s Blues match was played at Twickenham (previously it had only been the Men’s Blues and U21s teams); it was even filmed by the BBC. Congratulations to Hannah Cooper who was on the winning Cambridge side who triumphed 52-0. Commiserations, of course, to Hannah Potts! Chloe Wynne (2007-2013) Well done to Chloe, who has been selected to present at the prestigious British Conference of Undergraduate Research in Manchester in March, 2016, for her recent university project on Sexism and Formula 1. The annual conference is the largest of its kind in the UK and promotes undergraduate research in all disciplines. Chloe’s research focuses upon the different gendered experiences faced by women competing and working within Formula 1. Chloe has also written an article which explores the absence of women in prominent positions within sport, which appeared in Autosport magazine. Leda Hadjigeorgiou (2007-2014) Leda took a gap year prior to going to Oxford University in September 2015. Following some time spent excavating at Hadrian’s Wall and three weeks digging at the ancient site of Portus in Rome, as part of the University of Southampton’s ongoing excavation, she spent a month at Street Kids’ Community Village, a charity dedicated to helping street children in South India rebuild their lives. Working at SKCV had a profound impact on Leda and she told us, ‘One of the things I was most struck by was how very important donations were to the trust. I cannot emphasise enough, therefore, how important the work done by Bolton School girls is for this charity. What may seem to be just another bake sale could make a marked difference to the lives of these disadvantaged children in India.’ Natasha Lomas (Class of 2014) Bolton School old girl, Natasha Lomas, who left last year to take a music degree at the Royal Northern College of Music, has successfully auditioned for a place with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. It was a busy summer for Natasha as she left for Strasbourg in July, with her fellow Bolton School quartet members, to perform at the World Saxophone Congress quartet finals. They were the only British quartet to qualify for the finals. Natasha also toured around Scotland with the Halle Youth Orchestra in August for her last performance with them. Jennifer Pearson (2007-2014) Jennifer continues to enjoy her time at Cardiff University, throwing herself into her course. She featured on the BBC News earlier on this year as part of a news article on the Health Service in Wales and the training of the next generation of young doctors. Jessica Ryan (2000-2014) After studying at Acting and Musical Theatre at Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts last year, Jessica recently attained her first professional acting role playing the title role of Cinderella in StoryMagic Theatre’s Christmas pantomime. The production toured schools from November to December 2015, followed by several performances at Hebden Bridge Little Theatre.

Alumni Events & Dinners

Young Old Girls have attended a variety of events around the country in the past year, including dinners in Oxford, Cambridge, at the House of Lords in London, and a University Drinks event in Durham. The Class of 2014 returned to School last summer to attend a special Reunion for their year group, where they offered Year 12 pupils advice and guidance on university life, before catching up with friends and former teachers.

Thank you to all of those Old Girls who have given so freely of their time, knowledge and expertise to help current pupils. If you would like to offer your assistance, please contact the Development Office.