Kate Redshaw OB 1986

As a Governor at Bristol Grammar School, an OB, parent and most recently the first Alumna to hold the honour of President of the Old Bristolians’ Society, Kate is a well-known and highly respected member of the BGS family. Professionally, Kate is Head of Practice Development at Burges Salmon having joined the law firm in 2000. She specialised in employment law from qualification, gaining wide experience of handling contentious and non- contentious matters, primarily for employers. Kate’s role now focuses on developing client and business development initiatives and client relationship management.

Kate regularly blogs as well as contributing articles for leading HR publications including Employers’ Law and Personnel Today and is also a member of the Employment Lawyers Association.

What are your best memories of BGS?

I joined BGS in Sixth Form with my year group being the last year only to become mixed in the 6th form. Having been a boarder at an all girls school in Edinburgh, BGS was, shall we say, a little different! My overriding memory is how much fun I had. That’s not to say I didn’t take my work seriously (in case my mother is reading this) but I was surrounded by bright, witty and entertaining people and we whiled away many an hour in the JCR laughing ’til our sides ached.

Saturday morning school (mainly watching films), the snack bar in the corner of the JCR and nights out at Mistys and Vadims also spring to mind (if you know, you know). The library also bowled me over – I remember when I walked in for the first time thinking it was bigger and better stocked than many a public library – it was there I discovered Virago books – a lifelong love.

And it was at BGS that I first became Kate – until then I had always gone by my full name of Catherine but within in a week or so of arriving I was told by one of the boys that ‘Catherine’ took too long to say so Kate it was and has been ever since!

Can you remember any teachers at BGS who had an impact on you?

My favourite teacher was Mr Ham – he taught us French and wasn’t averse to the odd sarcastic aside. We all thought it hilarious to call him Monsieur Jambon – time and time again – not annoying at all. There were definitely some teachers I was less keen on – but we’ll gloss over them!

Mr Avery was headmaster at the time – such a calm and dignified man – he really set the tone of the school and I was pleased to be able to attend his recent funeral and hear all the wonderful tributes about him.

Why did you choose law?

I wish I had a brilliant story to tell for this one about how I was inspired by a stellar human rights lawyer or a desire to right some terrible miscarriage of justice. However the truth is that I knew I didn’t want to take any of my A level subjects to degree level and I was left with law as the only available option! As luck would have it, it’s turned out ok.

Could you have chosen another path and what might that have been?

I remember at one point wanting to be a theatre or film director – having been inspired by the house drama competition perhaps? It was a real treat to meet OB Lucy Raffety recently who worked as series producer on Casualty. She very kindly let me hold her BAFTA which is the closest I will ever get to one!

What has been the most significant highlight of your career?

As an employment lawyer, the pandemic had huge implications. Our clients needed urgent advice on totally unchartered issues such as the furlough scheme, lockdown and working from home and issues around vaccines. Our team worked tremendously hard to support our clients throughout it all so I was proud as punch when we were awarded ‘Employment Law Firm of the Year’ by HR publication Personnel Today for our efforts in supporting our clients through COVID.

What is the best thing about working and living in Bristol?

Bristol is a great city – I love its vibrancy and its laid back vibe and it has some really great restaurants as well.

What motivates you?

I’m really lucky – I really enjoy my job (I honestly love employment law) and, although it may sound clichéd, I really do work in a fantastic, funny, supportive team. We have each other’s back and we want to do our jobs really well. That’s a great environment to work in.

How do you relax?

Nothing particularly out of the ordinary here – I love reading and going out with family and friends. Although I wouldn’t necessarily say it was relaxing I do quite like going for a run – which would definitely surprise anyone I was at school with – one of my favourite things about BGS was that I didn’t ever need to do any sport!

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Ah there’s so much but probably ‘don’t worry so much about what other people think – they will be far too focussed on themselves to be giving you a second thought.’