English Language, English Literature, Geography, Art and Design, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, German, Performing Arts
A Levels subjects studied:
Psychology, Drama and Theatre Studies, Mathematics (AS Level: Biology)
Journey since leaving Cockermouth School:
I first completed a BSc undergraduate degree at Newcastle University in Psychology which I graduated from with a 2:1 and spoke in the ceremony as the student orator. Whilst there I spent a year volunteering with the Alzheimer’s Society and volunteering for Support Through Court in the Newcastle civil and family courts.
I then moved to London and studied an MSc in Clinical Forensic Psychology at King’s College London which I graduated from with distinction. As part of this degree I completed a placement as an Honorary Assistant Psychologist working in a homeless hostel for men who had mental health difficulties, substance abuse difficulties and most were in some way in touch with the criminal justice system. Once I graduated from my MSc I started as an Assistant Psychologist working in a women’s prison (HMP Bronzefield) for the specialty personality disorder team and worked with women who had life or indeterminate sentences.
I am currently working as a Senior Assistant Psychologist for Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust and work with women sentenced to community orders who we assess for treatment under our service as part of a community sentence.
I am also applying for the first time for the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and once qualified (it can take several applications to get on) I hope to move into working with addiction and trauma.
Advice for current students:
Definitely never be afraid to ask others for help or opportunities, putting yourself out there can give you more support than you knew was available and can open more doors than are advertised out right. Make sure that you are leaving time to take care of yourself. If you don’t give yourself that time to breathe then it is so much harder to learn how to do that later on.
Martin Graham
Operations Manager
Olympus Terminals LLC, California
Dates attended Cockermouth School: 1999 - 2004
GCSE subjects studied:
Maths, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, English Language, English Literature, Geography, German, Physical Education.
Journey since leaving Cockermouth School:
I left Cockermouth School before going to Sixth Form after Carlisle United offered me the opportunity to go and play in their youth system. I made the life-changing decision at 16 years old to give football a shot at the expense of continuing my education and opening doors to higher education.
Although my time with Carlisle United ultimately didn’t work out (I never made it to a professional contract) it did give me the opportunity to go to the University of Bath, where I was able to get a BSc in Sports Performance and continue to play football. In the three years I was at Bath, I took the time to build strong personal relationships with my lecturers, who eventually became mentors. It was through this mentorship that a key advisor directed me into pursuing a master’s degree after graduating from the University of Bath with a 2:1.
Along with a good friend of mine, we were both lucky enough to secure full scholarships to complete our MBA’s while playing out what was to be the rest of our football careers, at a University in North Carolina, USA. At the end of our MBA programme I made the decision to stay in America and started an entry-level sales role whilst also offering football coaching in the evening and at weekends.
Following a series of opportunities, I have had the good fortune to establish my credibility within the oil and petroleum industry working in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and currently Long Beach where I am the Operations Manager for the largest importer of renewable fuels on the west coast of the USA. I manage a team of 25 employees who operate our facility 24/7/365 with a budget of $5.5 million.
Advice for current students:
Looking back through my life, sometimes I think I was lucky but what I did by building strong relationships, is give myself opportunity. There was a Roman philosopher called Seneca who said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” I took the time to ensure my relationships with people were my preparation, so that when opportunity presented, it felt like lady-luck was on my side. So, the short answer is – value your relationship with people, as they are your past, present, and future.
Nicky Gordon
Chief Executive Officer
Genesis
Group
Dates attended Cockermouth School: 1995 – 2001
GCSE subjects studied:
English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, German, French, Geography & Food Technology
A Levels subjects studied:
English Language, Business Studies, Physical Education
Journey since leaving Cockermouth School:
I left Cockermouth to join Sale Sharks on a professional rugby journey whilst completing my A2 levels at a school in Cheshire. I then went onto Leeds Metropolitan University, studying for a construction management degree and intending to play for Leeds Tykes, but injury curtailed my playing career.
After university, I joined a family groundwork and civil engineering company in Cockermouth, starting in a trainee surveying position and quickly moving into management. I was leading the business by the age of 27 and grew it into one of the largest regional groundworks business in the north west of England, opening a second office in Manchester in the process.
After 13 years in the groundwork business, I decided to follow my dreams of being a property developer and started Genesis Homes in 2017. Genesis has grown from a start-up to one of the largest housebuilders in Cumbria and Lancashire, delivering over 350 homes in the past 5 years and with over 1200 new homes planned over the coming years. The future ambition is to become a regional developer, with expansion into Lancashire and Cheshire, through organic growth and existing business acquisition.
Construction and development is such a satisfying career. Everyday offers so much variety and challenges to overcome. From creating and conceptualise vision through to the hands-on delivery of construction and seeing that vision become reality, and ultimately to placemaking and seeing people enjoy the homes and community created.
Advice for current students:
Commit to the things you love – there’s a world of opportunities out there and careers can be so varied nowadays. I always felt that my education to career path was quite rigid and I needed to follow traditional subjects and quickly learnt upon entering the ‘real world’ that I should have followed more of the things I enjoyed most.
Paul Sloan
Asset Manager
Locogen
Dates attended Cockermouth School:
2001 - 2009
GCSE subjects studied:
English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Physical Education, Geography, Food Tech, ICT
A Levels subjects studied:
English Literature, History, ICT
Journey since leaving Cockermouth School: On completion of my A-Levels I was offered a place at University, but chose to do an apprenticeship with B9 Energy as a Wind Turbine Technician whilst studying electrotechnical technology at Carlisle College. After 3 years, I received an NVQ level 3 in electrotechnical technology and was offered a full-time role at B9 Energy as a lead wind turbine technician. After 1 year in the role I was then promoted to Wind Farm Area Manager for Cumbria and Yorkshire, at the age of 22.
In 2016 I moved to work for EDF Energy Renewables as a Wind Turbine Engineer, working on more advanced/modern wind turbines. In 2020, I was then offered an Authorising Engineer role at Vestas (the world largest wind turbine company, based in Denmark), working with the largest, most advanced wind turbine technology.
In my current role as Asset Manager at Locogen, an award winning pioneering renewable energy company based in Edinburgh, I am responsible for ensuring optimal performance of the client’s wind farms, totalling 100MW. I am also responsible for managing our HV services. My role ensures assets achieve optimal returns for clients, while minimising administration overheads and ensuring regulatory compliance. My future ambitions are to progress within Locogen as part of the senior leadership team.
Advice for current students:
Explore other options as well as applying to university. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, even whilst doing my A-Levels, but doing an apprenticeship was the best decision I ever made during my education, which has set me up for the rest of my life in renewables, an industry which I love working in and am extremely passionate about. I would definitely recommend students look to the Renewables industry as a career, there is so much opportunity and progression (the renewable energy sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world). It also makes you more aware of your carbon footprint and the impact we are having on the environment.
Andrew Taylor
Nuclear Engineer
ITER – International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor
A Levels subjects studied: Maths, Physics, Geography, General Studies
Journey since leaving Cockermouth School: I left Cockermouth School in 2001 for The University of Sheffield, where I completed a four-year Master’s Degree (MEng) in Mechanical Systems Engineering. Upon graduating in 2005 I started a year of work experience back at home with the engineering consultancy Atkins in Westlakes (Whitehaven). During that year I worked on a number of projects designing systems to perform decommissioning tasks at the Sellafield nuclear site. I saved up over the year to go traveling the following summer around South East Asia.
I then transferred onto the full Atkins Graduate Engineer scheme in Derby with the Defence and Aerospace business, working on different projects from Rolls Royce jet engines to nuclear submarines; weapons test facilities top passenger trains. After a few years I transferred to the Atkins Sheffield business moving up to the roles of Line Manager, Senior Engineer and finally Principal Engineer. In 2012 I had the opportunity to take a 6-month secondment to Edinburgh to work with the Offshore Structures team, one of the highlights of my UK-based career, working in the high pressure and challenging North Sea oil and gas industry. In 2015, (with the encouragement of my wife) I took another opportunity to join the ITER Project on secondment in Provence, the South of France with my wife and 6-month-old daughter. I’ve since stayed in France, changed job twice, had another child and am now a Staff Member of the ITER Organisation.
For now, I am very happy where I am, and hope to be here for the long term. An engineering degree, which started with GCSEs and ALevels at Cockermouth School, has enabled me to pursue an interesting and varied career, and the opportunity to immerse myself and my family in a new culture, with talented people from all over the World.
Advice for current students:
Don’t be afraid to fail. Failure is rarely permanent and it’s how we learn our most important lessons. You can always try again. Don’t be afraid to push yourself out of your comfort zone in work and in life, but also learn to recognise when it’s time to relax.
Mark Sloan
National Sales Manager
Coles of London LLC
Dates attended Cockermouth School:
2004 - 2009
GCSE subjects studied:
English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Physical Education, IT, Design
Journey since leaving Cockermouth School:
After leaving Cockermouth School at the age of 16, I went straight into the professional set up at Carlisle United. After two years with my local professional team, I then went on to play full time in Belgium before heading to America to play at one of the best college football programs in the Nation, UNC Charlotte. Four years later, I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology & English and hung up my boots. I then went on to coach at college level whilst completing a Master’s degree in Business. I now work as a National Sales Manager for a distribution company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.
My current role consists of overseeing and running all sales related business across the USA for two luxury European brands, ST Dupont, based out of France, and Visconti, based out of Italy.
When it comes to future ambitions, I don’t worry too much about the future or what the future will look like. I simply focus on being the best version of myself daily, creating excellent habits, and continuing a positive frame of mind. When you do that, the rest takes care of itself.
Advice for current students:
I clearly remember being 16 years old and being pulled to one side and told that I need to give up on my dreams as a professional footballer because one day it will all come to an end and I will have no education or future ahead of me.
At the age of 30, I have played football professionally in two countries, played at the highest level of college football in America, completed a Bachelor’s & Master’s degree, which should have cost me $200,000 but because of my footballing history all my education was paid for, and now I work as a National Sales Executive traveling across America & Europe for business.
If I had listened to what I was told at 16 I wouldn’t have had the life I have had this far, but more importantly, I wouldn’t be who I am today. Use people’s words as fuel and always, always trust your gut.
