Ken Soon Tan (‘94)

Dr Ken-Soon Tan is Director of Renal Medicine at Logan Hospital in Brisbane, Senior Lecturer in Medicine at the University of Queensland, and a clinician scientist. Ken left Oakham in 1994 to study Medicine at the University of Cambridge. After graduation, he worked briefly in the UK before returning to Australia to complete his training as a kidney specialist and clinical pharmacologist. This included a memorable stint in Central Australia, based at Alice Springs Hospital, where he also assisted with Flying Doctor retrievals.

Ken’s Bursary Story:

It was a lucky coincidence that I ended up at Oakham. Whilst taking the Royal School Music exams in Malaysia, my examiner was kind enough to recommend me to a couple of his former colleagues, one of whom was Graham Smallbone, the Headmaster of Oakham at the time. An impromptu audition for a Music Scholarship was arranged and a recording sent back to the UK. It still seems amazing that on the basis of this, I was awarded a Music Scholarship. Further support followed in the form of a (Jerwood Foundation) bursary and then a Form 6 (Jerwood Foundation) Academic Scholarship, which meant that my final two years at Oakham were free.

The support was incredible when I was at Oakham. People always went out of their way to help and encourage you, and you learnt to take up all of the opportunities offered to you. Oakham gave me this sense that you can just go for things, even if the odds seem against you. That was the sort of can-do attitude that the School cultivated; it’s the sense of grasping an opportunity and just going for it. And I learnt that sometimes the results really will surprise you. Oakham instilled that in me and it’s still with me today.

Supporting Bursaries

I’m very invested in supporting bursaries and scholarships. It’s impressive to see what the Foundation has achieved, especially with its offering of bursaries and it means a lot to me to see this as I know it will offer pupils the same “leg-up” I was privileged to receive. I like to think that people should try and give back where they can. We as a family all do our part and donate to what we believe in; as such, I am committed to supporting the Foundation, and I’m proud to be part of the 1584 Society.