A Time to Celebrate

Our Guest of Honour at last year’s prize-giving Celebration of the Year was Sunaina SraiChohan, Class of 1998. She is a Crown Court judge and Director of Practical Guidance at online publishing and legal tech business Lexis Nexis. Sunaina gave such an inspiring address to pupils that we asked permission to share some of it here.

“Being at LEH, with all its opportunities helped me learn who I was and reinforced what my parents had told me all along – that I could achieve anything I wanted. So, I’m delighted to be able to ‘return the favour’ and come to speak to you, LEH’s future stars – and you really are that – as you celebrate this school year.

And what an important thing that is – celebration – and that’s what I want to talk to you about today– about how important it is to celebrate yourself, to celebrate others and to celebrate all the possibilities that lie before you.

Let’s start with the idea that you should celebrate and acknowledge your successes and your failures. Now, when I say celebrate, I’m not suggesting you have a party every time you fail at something but what I am saying is make sure you learn from it. And that way it stops being a failure because it taught you something.

I remember when I first learnt how to ride a bike, I thought I was going to do it straight away but I just wobbled and fell off. We probably all have a memory like that but if you think about it, after you’ve fallen you don’t just leave the bike there and say, no, not for me. Instead, you have another go.

Over and over, changing the way you do it each time… until finally you get it and you’re riding a bike. So, when I say celebrate your failures, I mean celebrate what they teach you.

And as for celebrating your successes, well that should easy, but we don’t do it enough. Telling someone about the prize you won at Prize Giving or the medal you won at Sports Day might feel easy but what about the day-to-day successes? What about the smaller things, the non-academic things, the challenges you have set yourself and achieved? Don’t play them down. Don’t minimise your achievements because you’ll be doing yourself a disservice. I say: “Own it. Heads up and be proud of yourselves”.

Now let’s look at celebrating others. If I had to choose, this would be my favourite because you can have such an impact and it is so important. It takes minimal effort, but to the person you are celebrating, it can be metamorphic. I want you to ask yourself: how often do you tell other people when they’ve done something well?

It’s easy to like a video on Tik Tok or a post on Instagram – you can just scroll through quickly liking everything, but I mean in real life? If you already do it frequently… great. Do it more. If you don’t, then start. It can feel a bit awkward and it’s easier to stay silent but don’t let that stop you. Instead, be generous with your praise.

Now, there is no point me giving you advice if I don’t act on it myself, so in the spirit of doing just that, I want to celebrate some of the incredible women who were in my class at school. There is Georgina Nelson who is the Founder and CEO of Tru Rating. She was listed recently as one of the top 50 female entrepreneurs by Beauhurst and her company just won an award for best data and analytics company of the year.

There is Sapna Dattani – I remember she was always top of the class at maths. She was brilliant. She is now Head of Tech Strategy at Citi. There is Catherine Wiltcher who is a USA Today bestselling author. There is Sophy Silver who is Director of Communications at Tik Tok.

And finally, my very good friend, Kate Jillings who is the founder of Toucan Tech – one of the UK’s top scale ups. She has recently returned from a trade mission connecting London’s female founders with investors and tech firms. Such a luminous and accomplished set of women and that is just five of them –there are so many more.

So next time you are fortunate enough to be in the position where you can change someone’s day from bad to good, take it. Be the person who steps up to support. I urge you to lift each other up. When you can see someone has done well, lift them up with your congratulations. When you see someone struggling, lift them up with your words. When you see someone needs support, lift them up with your actions. as broad as you want it to be, nothing is off the table, and you can change your mind as you go through life.

I used to be a tax lawyer, I became a commercial lawyer, I am a judge in criminal law. I’m a Director of a legal tech business. And one day I might decide to add actress to the list. Truly. And that’s because all of these things have something in common – they are things I am passionate about and that is what is key. If you choose something you enjoy, you will be good at it.

Don’t limit yourself in anyway. Do you want to be a pilot? Go ahead. Think you know nothing about flying? Not yet. But you will. Do you want to be a physicist, a fashion designer, an artist, a mathematician, a teacher, a judge? Do you want to help solve climate change, work at the UN, support women’s rights, lift children out of poverty? You can. You genuinely can.

Now, let’s move on to the celebration of all the possibilities that are open to you. This is genuinely an incredible school and each and every one of you has worked hard to be here – you deserve it. So, the question is: what will you do with your education? What will you be and what will you achieve?

Some people hear that question and think they need an answer immediately. They don’t. This question is not meant to constrain you. It’s meant to energise and inspire you. Your response can be

And if those sound overwhelming to you and you want to do something on a smaller scale. That’s fine too. Limitations work both ways. You don’t have to limit yourself to something big – something small and meaningful will do too. What you need to remember is that absolutely anything is possible with imagination, self-belief and courage.

So, what is the message from me to you today? Celebrate yourself, your successes, and your failures.

Lift up and support others and open your mind to all the possibilities before you. As our school motto says ‘Hope Favours the Bold’ so be as bold as you can be.

Will NHS Social Prescribing Help Young People?

Dr Daisy Fancourt, Class of 2008, is running the first-ever NHS trial to assess if young people experiencing anxiety and depression will benefit from activities such as dancing, surfing, rollerskating and gardening, which are prescribed by their GPs.

As part of the study, funded by the Prudence Trust, the NHS will offer these activities to 600 11-18 year olds in England and Wales who are on the waiting lists for care for moderate mental health conditions.

Daisy Fancourt, who is an Associate Professor of Behavioural Science and Health at UCL, says: “Young people’s mental health is one of the greatest challenges facing the NHS. Currently, many young people referred to child and adolescent mental health services face long waits, during which time more than three-quarters experience a deterioration in their mental health.”

She explains: “Social prescribing has been rolled out nationally by the NHS since 2018, but unfortunately many children and young people are not engaging in social prescribing and the evidence base for this population is still in its infancy.”

If the trial proves a success, and participants feel less anxious, depressed, and lonely, the scheme could be rolled out across England to help the thousands of children and young people on mental health care waiting lists.

The Seaweed Diet That Can Save the World

Sustainability entrepreneur Vivienne Hay, Class of 2010, is passionate about combating climate change. Currently based in San Francisco she is now Vice President of Product at Blue Ocean Barns.

Her company has come up with an innovative natural solution to drastically reduce the amount of methane produced by cattle. Methane is a green-house gas that is 25-75 times as powerful as carbon dioxide and is the biggest unsolved mystery to combating climate change.

In a rare win-win-win for the planet, Blue Ocean Barns has developed the most effective burp suppressant for cows made from Brominata, a special seaweed supplement that allows cows to retain more energy from their feed instead of burping it into the atmosphere.

Vivienne explains: “Adding just a handful of this seaweed to cows’ usual feed can have a massive impact, cutting their methane emissions by up to 80%. That’s the equivalent to three tons of carbon dioxide a year, which is the same as taking a car off the road. When you think that there are 100 million cattle in the US, that’s a huge impact.”

With responsibility for the formulation of the product and for working with partners to develop on-farm demos to feed the seaweed to cows, Vivienne is fulfilling a childhood dream. “When I was a growing up, I always wanted to be an inventor, but I never imagined that I would one day be an inventor of a proprietary method of growing seaweed!”

Success for One of our Youngest Entrepreneurs

Bella Burns, Class of 2019, is still at university but she’s already launched her own company and is developing an app which she hopes will bring sports gaming and quizzing to a whole new level. She is currently studying Psychology at Sussex University.

“Taking a gap year was the best decision I ever made!” says Bella. “I’ve always taken the unconventional route in

Making Art Interesting for All

Alumnae friends Georgie Turner and Sophie Doyle, both Class of 2017, have created a hit podcast called Artsing About, which aims to bring art to the masses and make it fun, interesting, and informative for all.

They are currently working on the second series. “We both started our Art History journey in the Sixth Form at LEH under the brilliant tutelage of Ms Lindsay, who ignited our love of the subject,” says Georgie, who works at Twickenham Film Studios as a Coordinator (post production). Sophie is now an actor and writer and also works as an Office Assistant at a company called Meminioc.

Georgie explains: “People often say to me ‘I really love art, but I don’t know anything about it and wouldn’t know

Dame Lesley Regan Takes a Lead on Women’s Health

life with everything I’ve done but I truly believe without all the experience I was able to gain then I wouldn’t be where I am today: developing my first start-up company. Namepix is a sports quiz app game with a twist! It was an idea that came to me during COVID when I suddenly had a lightbulb moment after watching reruns of some Manchester United games.”

Discovering her passion has given her a renewed sense of purpose and vision. “I truly never knew the challenge that being a founder of a company would bring, however I have loved every single second in the world of entrepreneurship, and I can truly say it has taken over my life; but, I have never been more motivated. “

Bella is now at the stage of pitching and raising investment to build the app. “It should be launching in a few months so I’m very excited. I absolutely loved my time at LEH, and I truly do feel very blessed to have the teachers that I did because even when I didn’t believe in myself at the time, they always supported me and encouraged me and held me accountable for everything I did at school and without those interactions I really could have lost my way!” where to start looking’. To me, this is such a shame. We want to dispel the myth that the art world is for a select few and make it available to everyone. Artsing About is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all major Podcast Streamers.”

Dame Lesley Regan, Class of 1974, has been appointed as England’s first ever Women’s Health Ambassador to drive system level changes to close the gender health gap.

Dame Lesley, who is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Imperial College, was appointed to the role by the Department of Health and Social Care. She said: “Having spent my career working with and caring for women, it is a great honour to be appointed as Women’s Health Ambassador for the first government-led Women’s Health Strategy in England.

“I am thrilled that women’s health is getting the attention I think it really deserves. I’m a great believer that when you get it right for women the whole of the rest of society benefits.”

She brings with her a raft of expertise spanning a 42-year career in women’s health with particular interest in miscarriage, gynaecological surgery, and the menopause.

It is an honour to be appointed Governor of LEH. I look forward to the role immensely, and just returning to the school for interviews last year, and again to meet Mrs Hanbury, renewed my sense of pride, and brought those memories back to the fore. A very happy place it was for me, as a pupil back in the seventies and eighties! Miss Candy was my Head Mistress. A tall, elegant figure, as she strode along the corridors, we would enjoy seeing her break into a smile as she passed by.

It was in Holles Connect where I first read that the school was looking to recruit new Governors. This piqued my interest… Hope Favours the Bold I thought, go for it! Education and lifelong learning are my passion, and I often think back to school days with gratitude. This was a potential chance for me to learn new skills, to hopefully contribute some value, and to rekindle a strong connection with my school.

Being shown around the school again was a delight – my, how the school has grown, although the ‘bones’ of it remain the same (the traffic light

Allison Heau Appointed Governor at LEH

system at Mrs Hanbury’s door is still there). Memories of playing lacrosse but not being allowed to approach the Hampton School fence (there was certainly no gate) dropping a Ammeter in the lab at the front of the school (Mrs Haynes was not amused and told me it would ‘go on my parents’ school bill’), pinging rulers under the lids of wooden desks in Latin, eating tasty school lunches in the Great Hall, hanging out on the balcony in the Upper Sixth common room, wearing ‘own clothes’ and feeling cool, hating doing lengths in that fantastic swimming pool. The only class we had in common with Hampton School was ‘car maintenance’, so of course we all suddenly developed an interest in car engines.

After leaving school I read French and German at the University of Bath – I adored languages, and French teachers (Mrs Hannah, Mrs Bacon), and German teachers (‘little’ Miss Thomas, Miss Benke and Mrs Sutcliffe) were stellar at nailing fluency and accuracy (repetition, repetition, repetition). We watched animated films for each language, most definitely the latest technology at the time. Those teachers deepened my love for the languages, cultures, and countries.

I now work for the University of Cambridge. Leadership development and management education became my passion when I worked at an international Business School, INSEAD, in Fontainebleau, France, for several years. My roles there spanned from programme management, design, and development of programmes for corporates and individuals, to marketing and business development. I adored living and working in France, I count it as my second home, my son was born there and is bilingual.

At the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, I am the Director of Open Programmes, and the Cambridge Advanced Leadership Programme, the flagship programme in the portfolio for Executive Education. I am responsible for managing the Open programmes business unit to ensure profitable growth, as well as for the successful operations, delivery, overall strategy, and vision for the business. We live in Cambridge and my son Louis is studying at university.

I look forward to my new role this year, and to working with a very talented group of Governors. I also look forward to meeting pupils, teachers, and parents. My curious mind, seeded and encouraged at LEH, will continue to grow – I hope I don’t bore you with the questions.

Dr Becky Taylor, Class of 1992, has returned to LEH in the newly-created role of Director of Outreach and Co-curricular.

Her new position sees Becky take a lead on the strategic development of LEH’s public benefit activity and overseing clubs, CCF, DofE and trips. Becky also has the rather thankless role of running the school calendar – no small task when there’s as much going on as there is at LEH!

Becky says: “I hope to be able to expand and enhance our public benefit work, with a real focus on the positive impact that has on our own community and those we work in partnership with.” “My interest has always been in student experience, both academic and co-curricular, and institutional strategy including partnership and outreach activity. I am also passionate about institutional culture and its influence on student and staff wellbeing.”

After University, Becky ran an equestrian training centre, before moving in to teaching in further education and then moving to the University sector. Most recently she was Dean of Enhancement at Hartpury University.

Holles Connect – Join the Conversation

The LEH Alumnae community is a strong, supportive network of Remarkable Women, all here to cheer each other on. There are many ways to stay in touch – We can’t wait to hear from you!

Becky joined LEH at the beginning of the Autumn term and says: “I teach on enrichment programmes and also supervise pupils undertaking an EPQ and they are some of my favourite times of the week. In many ways as an alumna I feel a strong affinity with the pupils, however I am also aware that in some areas life is very different for the pupils now compared to when I was at LEH, not least the pressures that come from social media, something I think the pastoral team here offer brilliant support with.”

How have things changed in the 30 years since she was a pupil? “Well, the uniform for a start!” laughs Becky. “No more grey flannel A-line skirts for the seniors and red corduroy hats in the junior school!

“There is also far more emphasis placed on the holistic student experience and wellbeing in all schools, and I believe LEH does this particularly well. The sense of community, and everyone being supported and valued, is palpable. Also working with communities outside LEH means we are all more aware of the world around us and I think better prepared to live fulfilling lives outside and beyond school.”

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Lady Eleanor Holles Alumnae alumnae@lehs.org.uk www.hollesconnect.org.uk