A Fond Farewell

Today, 1 April 2022, we bid a very fond farewell to some familiar faces in our Foundation Development and Alumni Relations Team: Development Director, Liz Elliott, Head of Alumni Relations, Sophie Borrillo-McLellan, and Database Administrator, Cath Williams.

After over five years with The King’s School, both Liz and Sophie are leaving King’s. Cath, who has assiduously looked after the alumni database for many years, will also be leaving. Please join us in extending our thanks to them for all their hard work and commitment over the last few years; we wish them the very best of luck in their future careers.

Since Liz started at King’s in 2016, she has become a well-respected and very popular member of the King’s family. As an OV herself, Liz already had so much knowledge of King’s and the work of the Development Office. Organised, warm, genuinely interested in people and invested in having a positive impact and making a difference, Liz has brought in significant money throughout her tenure; money that has gone straight into funding places at King’s for children who would not otherwise be able to come to the School. Bursaries are something Liz feels incredibly passionate about and the Open The Door Campaign has been hugely successful under her stewardship. She has worked incredibly well with so many in the King’s community and the large volumes of expressions of sadness on news of her departure from Governors, Trustees, staff and OVs speaks volumes of her hard work, popularity and successes. We as a Foundation have benefited from Liz’s focus and her hard work, her natural empathy and her innate understanding of how to work with people and how to forge relationships. Our thanks to Liz, for everything she has done for King’s. Liz made a huge difference in her time here and we wish her all the best for the next exciting adventures, whatever they may be.

Liz told us, “I have thoroughly enjoyed the last five years at King’s; coming back to work at ‘my old school’ was a real treat and it has been an absolute pleasure to work in such an inspiring atmosphere here at King’s and to meet so many OVs throughout my time here. When I first joined the School, I noticed the overwhelming friendliness of everyone who works and studies here and I mentioned in my first Development Trust Report that, ‘the pupils thrive in an environment where they are encouraged to think creatively and to challenge their own perceptions of what they believe they are capable of achieving. The teachers here at King’s really do care about the well-being of their pupils.’

“Throughout my time working here, I have been privileged to witness the kindness of the King’s family – both here in School amongst the teaching and support staff and also amongst the wider King’s family of OVs and former staff and parents. The generosity to the Bursary Campaign has been incredible and I would like to personally thank all those individuals who have given in support of this critical and important programme. Your money really does make a difference to the lives of young people who come to King’s from disadvantaged or challenging backgrounds. Thank you.

“I have also been blessed to work alongside a wonderfully warm, enthusiastic and talented team, whose commitment, enthusiasm and sense of humour I will miss so much.

“King’s is a very special place and those who form part of its family can know that there is always a place for them here in the heart of Worcester.”

Sophie joined King’s in 2017 from Malvern Theatres, where she had been a much-respected member of their development team. It was clear from the start that Sophie was ideally suited to the role of Head of Alumni Relations; her enthusiasm and commitment have been second to none. During her time at King’s she has created a comprehensive series of events, which run throughout the year and have been hugely popular and very well attended.

Sophie’s re-branding and refreshing of the Connect magazine has also gone down well. The lively and entertaining reporting of OV News and social media stories have also been a part of Sophie’s success story.

Sophie is a popular member of the King’s staff and her enthusiasm, professionalism, tenacity and sense of humour will be very much missed; we wish her all the best in the next stage of her career. A large number of OVs have similarly responded to news of her leaving with poignant and heartfelt sentiments.

Sophie added, “It has been a huge privilege to have this role for the last five years. The greatest pleasure of course has been meeting and working with the wonderful King’s Worcester community: OVs, Hon OVs, staff, pupils and parents. I am so proud of what we have achieved in this time and immensely grateful for the support and generosity given to the Development and Alumni Relations Office and to the School. From philanthropic gifts supporting life-changing bursaries at King’s to careers advice and mentorship, so many have given back in so many ways for which I am truly thankful. I wish everyone all the best and look forward very much to keeping in touch with King’s as I move on to exciting new adventures.”

Cath started at King’s in 2012 in the School office, joining the Development team in 2013. Cath has been a very valuable member of both teams, as well as roles including invigilating and being a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Assessor. She has been a fantastic team player and supported King’s for the last 10 years. Cath’s work on keeping the OV database clean and up-to-date has been absolutely essential and one of the brilliant things about Cath is her incredible attention to detail. We don’t think she really fully appreciates what an amazing job she does – nor how much she will be missed, not only for keeping everything shipshape and accurate, but also for her wonderful caring and thoughtful nature. We all wish Cath a well-earned retirement. Thank you, Cath; we feel lucky to have had you on board.

Cath responded, “Thank you so much for the opportunity of working with such wonderful people over the years. I wish everyone well.”

Going forward, there will be some changes within the Foundation Development and Alumni Relations team, which includes recruiting a new Head of Alumni and Business Development and, once appointed, we will share their details with you. We are pleased to say that Amanda Sutcliffe, who is the current Development Assistant, will become the Alumni Relations Co-ordinator. Amanda has great passion for what she does and will continue to support and look after our OV community.