HENRY SMITH CLUB DINNER SPEECH FROM SAYINTHEN

(RGS 2002-2009) BURSARY STUDENT

Sayinthen attended Reigate Grammar School on a bursary following a move to the UK from Sri Lanka several years before. His time spent at RGS allowed him to go on to study medicine, which progressed into a flourishing career. In addition to this, Sayinthen grew a property portfolio which took him out of medicine and on to a new career path….

Once my grandparents had deemed he was a suitable age to get married, which to my surprise was 32, they called him back to Sri Lanka where my grandfather asked if he would like to see a photo of his bride. To this, he replied, “If I say no, do I get to say no to the marriage?” while I grew up. As a family we would have conversations over dinner about the benefits of studying there, and this was used as a motivating factor to encourage both my sister and me to study harder for the 11+ entrance exam, but there was never a realism to the thinking that myself or my sister could actually attend the school.

To which, my grandfather, a civil servant with a reputation for being straight talking and firm, replied, “Absolutely not”. So in this way, he naturally got to meet my mother for the first time at the wedding Manniverai, which is the equivalent of the Altar in the Tamil culture.

This story starts off in the 1980s in very different circumstances to which we stand in today. My parents grew up in a small town called Jaffna, in the North of Sri Lanka. This small country, despite its infinite beauty and rich culture, had unfortunately been plagued by a bitter civil war which started in 1983. At this time, my father had been studying Law in the capital city of Colombo, but as tensions started to rise, leaving Sri Lanka to support his other family members was seen as the best option as his studies were increasingly disrupted by the tensions in the country.

Having secured a nursing training contract in the UK, he arrived at Gatwick airport, and began to work at the Royal Earlswood Hospital based in Redhill, and he naturally then based his residence there.

Although joyful an occasion, the circumstances before the marriage were far from pleasant. My mother had taken shelter under a building once the bombing in the area had started hours before her wedding. A village lady who was with her ran out of the building to “safety”. When the bombing had ceased, and my mother left the building, the corpse of this village lady was seen on the public roads.

It was this adversity that pushed my parents to leave their beloved home town and wider family to pursue a safer life in the UK.

From a young age, my parents prioritised education for me and my sister above all else. Although they often would argue about financial matters, no book or tuition lesson was ever too expensive. Education was perceived to be a means by which we could gain stronger futures.

Studying at Reigate Grammar School was perceived as completely out of reach

Nevertheless, my father thought it was worth attending the 11+ exam to see if I managed to get in and then see what happened. He was always a strong supporter of, “If something is worth pursuing but looks unachievable, still apply for it as you never know what might happen – the only way to guarantee not getting the goal, is to not try at all.”

Whilst sitting the exam, my parents became aware of the bursaries that were available. At this time, my parents told me the only way to attend was to get an academic bursary – well, at least that is what they told me, perhaps in an attempt to make me study harder in general!

A combination of my academic score and my modest parental income meant I was awarded a financial bursary from the school, without which I certainly would not have been able to attend.

The opportunities the school provided enabled me to have a truly world class secondary school education. The opportunities went beyond the classroom. I could take part in sports and activities like the Royal Air Force Cadets which I would have not had, had I studied elsewhere.

The summation of these skills and knowledge, allowed me to subsequently gain admission to Imperial College London to study medicine. I chose medicine since I enjoyed it and was told I had a natural knack for solving problems.

I viewed medicine as the ideal career to apply this knack, as every patient would have a raft of issues that needed to be solved. I thoroughly enjoyed working as a doctor, and I would find myself spending many hours after work reading, researching, and learning about articles and interesting papers which supported my learning.

Although simultaneously, I started to build a part time hobby. In the 2010s, as the financial recession took a strong hold, property prices which were at an all time high in 2008 had fallen considerably. With property ownership having been perceived as outside the realms of possibility while I grew up, I recognised that a fall in property prices was perhaps an opportunity of a lifetime to enter the market.

Through savings, student loan, grants, scholarship funds for entering university and part-time tutoring jobs, I was able to put them together for my first deposit of £13,500 to purchase an ex-council flat on the top floor of a block of flats in Redhill. And here is where the luck came in, polar to everyone’s expectations, the property market turned the corner faster than expected in the early 2010s. This meant, that not only did the property produce a healthy cash flow, the value also rose surprisingly quickly. This meant that I was able to refinance, buy another property, and continue to keep on building this part-time hobby.

10 years forward, alongside my medical career, I was able to grow a modest property portfolio and learn the nuts and bolts of business. I owe credit to having been able to balance this due to the skills I learnt through studying at RGS, and the emphasis on the importance of extracurricular activities. This again would not have been possible without the generosity and opportunity created by the bursary programme.

And, following 10 years of building a business part-time, I decided that building businesses was where my passion and natural skillset lied. So, with heavy heart, I decided to give up my medical career so I could give the focus and attention that growing a business deserves.

So now to what I am working on now... Good businesses require solving problems for your customers. After being involved in 30 property transactions, it became clear that buying and selling a home remains an antiquated process fraught with difficulty and obstacles.

It is unacceptable that of the 3.6 million conveyancing transactions that occur annually, 1.2 million fail to complete causing disruption and difficulty to the lives of home movers.

To tackle this multi-faceted problem, we built a team of five talented humans, who have become close friends of mine since. This team is now a startup called Homey.

“If something is worth pursuing but looks unachievable, still apply for it as you never know what might happen – the only way to guarantee not getting the goal, is to not try at all.”

For the first time in history, the legal process of homebuying will be transparent, stress-free, and efficient for all involved.

So far, we’ve been fortunate to have been backed by some of you in the room, notably by Sir Peter Gershon. I would like to thank the members of the Henry Smith Club for being supportive in the introductions, advice and generosity given thus far.

To end, I would like to circle back to the beginning. I am truly grateful to have had the opportunities and experiences that I have had and remain conscious that much of this may not have been possible had I been born and raised in Sri Lanka.

So I remain in debt to those who brought me up, those who have supported me in my journey – notably RGS – and look forward to trying to change the world in a positive way.

WITH THANKS TO ARCHIVIST, PETER BURGESS