Beyond King’s

OV Jim Fawcett (Br 85-94 and Old St Alban’s), a France-based Flight Test Engineer for Airbus, has this month been recognised as a Fellow of the Society of Flight Test Engineers (SFTE), one of only three this year. This accolade is given to honour those who have served with notable distinction both within the field of Flight Testing and also served the Society.

This seemed a very apt opportunity to look at Jim’s career to date!

Jim started at King’s St Alban’s and continued to the Senior School where he was actively involved in all sorts of activities, from CCF (RAF section) to hill-walking, the 1st XII Cricket to helping with the lighting in drama productions, from the swimming team to Scouts. This balanced with his academic responsibilities as a Senior Scholar and School responsibilities as Head of House meant that Jim very much made the most of his time at King’s.

Jim has had a passion for aeroplanes since he was little, so it was no surprise that he wanted to forge a career in this industry. After leaving King’s, Jim studied Aeronautics and Astronautics with European Studies at University of Southampton before embarking on his career at Airbus.

For two years, Jim worked as a flight test support engineer, then an additional four years as a senior flight test installation engineer, working the flight test instrumentation installations, and serving as the head of the A380 FTI package.

He then joined EPNER (École du Personnel Navigant d’Essais et de Réception) the French test pilot school, graduating in 2008. Since 2012, Jim has been a development Lead Flight Test Engineer (LFTE) specialising in flight management systems, communications (voice and datalink), cockpit design, display systems, and radio navigation.

Jim is qualified to operate as LFTE on all Airbus aircraft types and has logged nearly 3000 hours on test flights. In addition to this, Jim is also a UK Chartered Engineer, fluent in English and French, with professional knowledge of German, and holds a private pilot’s license. Having been a member of the SFTE since 2011, Jim is also a member of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

Speaking of this latest recognition, Jim said, “When I joined the SFTE, I was barely five years into my career as a Flight Test Engineer. It seemed like a good way to meet like-minded people and to learn more about the exciting world of flight test. Now, 15 years later, those two concepts hold just as true. I am honoured that my fellow members of the SFTE have taken the time to listen to my contributions – formal and less formal! – and consider me to be worthy of recognition as a Fellow, even if in my mind’s eye I’m still the new guy in town who just paid his first membership fee.”

This month we turn the spotlight onto OV Hanna Khogali, who is putting her acting career on hold to return to her studies. Hanna has been accepted by the University of Cambridge to study for a BA in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Arabic) at Wolfson, starting in October 2024.

At King’s, Hanna studied Biology, Maths, and Further Maths at A-level, accompanied by AS-level German. From here, Hanna headed to Durham University to read Natural Sciences, although she decided within her first year that the course was not for her. Hanna’s heart took her to the Guildford School of Acting, where she studied Acting and Music, achieving a First in her degree. This led to a successful career as an Actor/Director, which she has hugely enjoyed.

Hanna’s theatre credits include You Bury Me (Paines Plough), Britannicus (Lyric Hammersmith), 71 Coltman Street (Hull Truck), Brief Encounter (The Watermill), Once (UK tour), Swallows and Amazons (York Theatre Royal), Moll Flanders (Mercury Theatre), Good Fit (Southwark Playhouse), The Lost Ones (Bush Theatre), The Collection (The Wallace Collection), Rags (Hope Mill – UK Premiere), Broken Wings (The Other Palace) and Daisy Pulls it Off (Charing Cross Theatre).

Recently she was the Associate Director of Instructions for a Teenage Armageddon at The Garrick Theatre and she is currently directing her first short film Debriefs.

Hanna had been feeling ready to return to academia for some time: keen to learn and fully immerse herself in a subject, applying herself in a way that she was neither ready for nor interested in at Durham.

She chose Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Arabic) to combine with the career she already has in the Arts and expand her work internationally. Another big factor for Hanna is that this is part of her heritage that she is exploring, and much of her growing interest has come from changes within her own family as well as her experience within the industry.

We wish Hanna all the best with her degree and future career.

OV Mike Coley (Ch 57-64) spent two years as a boarder in King’s St Alban’s before moving to Choir House for the next five years, during which time he specialised mainly in Hockey and Swimming.

At the end of July 1964, he finally left the School and prepared to emigrate to Australia, where he arrived in October to join his family, who had moved there throughout the year. As such, he regards 2024 as a major, 60th, anniversary of both leaving school and emigrating.

Mike spent 34 years working for the Commonwealth Government, mainly in Canberra, where he lived for 30 years. Perhaps ironically, as an English migrant, he spent 20 years on the commemoration and promotion of Australian arts and heritage, mainly at the Australian War Memorial (the major military museum), and in support for the film industry.

He moved with his wife, Wendy, to Gunning, a village on the highway between Sydney and Melbourne, 65 kilometres north of Canberra, in 1995 and, after early retirement in 1998, he took on a range of voluntary activities including shire councillor and secretary of a range of arts, health and environmental bodies. His health activity arose from his 1999 cancer, from which was cured by 2003. Sadly, Wendy developed dementia and died in 2021.

Mike’s major claim to fame is that for the past 20-odd years he has been Gunning’s snake catcher. As a bite from one of the local venomous snakes, Eastern Brown or Tiger, would often be fatal, his sanity has occasionally been called into question, but training and vastly improved first-aid have made all the difference. He is often asked by a new client whether he has ever been bitten, but his answer is that he is VERY careful. This activity led to his award of the National Medal and the State Emergency Service long-service medal in 2022.

Mike has visited King’s several times since he left, usually to reunions, and he was pleased to go to the recent Sydney reunion, though Sydney is not his favourite city, unlike Worcester, Canberra, and Perth, Western Australia, where his brother OV John (Ch 61-64) lives. Mike is returning to the UK in May and will visit King’s again to mark his 60th year since leaving!

It was wonderful to hear from OV Dave Morris (Cl 76-79 and Old Hawfordian) in response to our request for updates from OVs! In his words, “It doesn’t seem five minutes since I left King’s and headed off into the world, yet here I am: retired and a grandfather!”

He kindly shared a précis of his career beyond King’s:

“Choices you make through life send you on paths you won’t expect: some good, some maybe not so good.

“I was always a fidgety person, so sport (Rugby, Rowing, Athletics) was a must, while the thought of doing the same thing for 40 years did not appeal. Saying that, I had known from an early age that the Marines was for me, so I joined the Air Force!

“Why the Air Force? My reasoning was to avoid regularly getting wet and digging trenches. After Basic Training, I entered into Logistics. Best decision ever. Fast forward, and I found myself doing pre-Falklands tactical training, assault courses, and sitting in trenches – the irony! I volunteered for the Falklands when the war started, which is a 19-year-old’s mentality for you! However, I didn’t get posted until October 1982, which is after the war had finished, but did take part in air-to-air refuelling, on a Hercules, from a Victor Tanker and another Hercules. Still a great experience. I also even managed to get electrocuted by a Chinook helicopter doing an underslung load because I couldn’t find the crook to discharge the static!

“I met my future wife, Julie, at my first base and we married in 1986. Several postings later, I found myself at Odiham, home of our heavy lift helicopters. On one memorable occasion, I escorted a group of students on a Puma, for a recce flight, and I was the only one that was sick!

“In 1991, and following the births of our two children, I was posted to Kuwait for the conflict there, but it ended quickly, and I was sent to the Falklands again, the day before my son’s first birthday. This was the deployment that made me decide 12 years’ service was enough. Before I left, I did get to fly a Hercules on a Maritime Recce, though!

“I earned my Colours for Athletics, beating Mark Proctor (ex-Olympian) at Shot Put, beat Rory (England Rugby) Underwood’s Discus record at RAF Chivenor, and played Rugby until I left.

“When you retire from the Armed Forces, you are given training as “resettlement” to help you find employment as a “civvy”. As resettlement in ’93, I took my HGV1 license and management qualifications, and we built a house in Worcestershire. I did some driving and ended up in management in the transport office.

“Five years later I took a position as a production manager at a Droitwich manufacturing company. It had its moments, but wasn’t for me, so I decided to go self-employed and pursue a more outdoor life. I took my chainsaw license and started tree surgery and other aspects.

“As a lover of sport, I became involved in coaching the mini juniors at Worcester RFC, handing over to another OV, Stuart Preece (Ch 75-81), when I was asked to help with the World Rally Championship. My first event was in Monte Carlo, then suddenly I found myself in Argentina, New Zealand, Australia, USA, Canada, and round the world twice in two years. I especially recall Kenya, drinking coffee with Colin McRae and Richard Burns, who have both sadly passed away.

“This led onto a whirlwind of Formula 1, with BAR, Honda, Jaguar as Account Manager with HSBC sponsors. After participating in British Touring Cars and World Touring Cars and Historic Racing (a highlight of which was meeting Brian Johnson from ACDC, as a rock fan, superb) and even the German equivalent race series, it was time to retire.

“However, I still get calls now, and happily do the odd event here and there.

“I’ve always had a love of writing poetry and songs, even recording some of them for personal use. I wrote a song for a Commonwealth competition, for the Queen’s Jubilee, and as a result, had a mention in the Jubilee Beacons publication.

“For fun, I also do wood turning and chainsaw carving. My wife and I love cycling, walking, and spending time with our four grandchildren.

“I’ve met some amazing people over the years and had fantastic experiences. My key piece of advice? Never be afraid to take the opportunities when they arise!”

Carolyn joined King’s for the Sixth Form from St Mary’s Convent, following in the footsteps of her brother, OV Julian Thake (Cr 65-72).

While at King’s, Carolyn completed her A levels in French, Maths, and Computer Studies, balancing her academic studies with playing the clarinet in the School Orchestra.

On leaving King’s, Carolyn used her skills to start her career in IT, continuing in that sector in a variety of IT Management roles, which included being the Supplier Contracts Manager for a global IT outsourcing organisation. Due to the extensive travelling required in that role, Carolyn decided her final position before taking early retirement would be closer to home, and joined Wesleyan Insurance in Birmingham, before retiring in 2021.

Carolyn had continued playing the clarinet and then concentrated on the saxophone as a semi-professional Jazz and Soul musician throughout her adult life. She is now very happy to call it her profession, most recently playing at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival in 2022. In addition to her music, Carolyn is a volunteer for the Blue Cross animal charity and in what is left of her spare time, she is writing a book about her late mother, Hannah, whose Austrian Jewish heritage led to an incredible story and journey to the UK.

Currently living near Droitwich with her husband, Martyn, Carolyn is keen to re-connect with her fellow OVs!

As we will soon be welcoming the Year of 2014 back to King’s for their Ten Year Reunion, it seemed apt to see where the last decade has taken the then Head of School, OV Dr Corah Lewis (Ch 7-14).

At King’s, Corah made the most of all her opportunities; in addition to her Head of School responsibilities, she was a keen participant in the Choir, LAMDA, and playing for the First Netball Team.

Corah studied Maths, Art, Biology, and Geography for her A-levels and, after Results Day didn’t quite go to plan, she secured a place at the University of Manchester via Clearing. Corah went on to study Psychology and she continued her Netball by playing for the University. She undertook several placements during her degree, including working for a year at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health. After graduating with a First Class Degree, Corah became an Assistant Psychologist in the Neuropsychology Team at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Corah secured a place on the Clinical Psychology Doctorate course at the University of Oxford in 2020. Here she worked as a Trainee Clinical Psychologist in a number of teams, including an Autism and ADHD Child and Adolescent Mental Health Team, and a specialist Cleft Team. As well as placement time, Corah undertook three research studies in an area she is passionate about: Health Psychology. Her thesis explored stigma in Facial Palsy, therapy engagement in Non-Epileptic Attack Disorder, and parental decision making in Paediatric Craniofacial conditions.

Her next chapter is a new role in the Children’s Psychological Medicine team at Oxford University Hospitals, where her time is split between the Paediatric Diabetes Team and General Paediatric Team. Corah is also wedding planning, and looks forward to getting married in Worcester Cathedral this summer, back where it all began.

We look forward to seeing Corah and her cohort at their Ten Year Reunion in March!

We were so pleased to see OV Jack Everton (Cr 02-09 and Old St Alban’s) back at King’s recently. Jack has returned to Worcester to join his family’s company, Everton’s Wine Merchants, working with his father, OV Richard Everton (W 78-83 and Old Hawfordian).

Jack was especially keen on sport at King’s, which was reflected in his selection for the First Teams for Rugby, Football and Cricket. His fondest memory is winning the Modus Cup with the 1st XV, during which he scored a try, a personal highlight of the game. Jack was also involved with Young Enterprise and Drama, while studying for his AS-levels in Biology and History, and A-levels in Business Studies, Geography and Sports Science.

On leaving school, Jack embarked on his travels, including visits to France and Spain, before joining the world of work. He settled in London, working at the prestigious Hawksmoor steakhouse restaurant. This engendered his love for the hospitality sector, which instigated a move into the world of hospitality technology and using QR codes to help efficiency therein. A natural next step for Jack was to harness his skills in hospitality and utilise his now well-established network in London and beyond for the benefit of his family’s business.

Jack is the fourth generation at Everton’s Wine Merchants: the company was founded by Margaret Everton in 1918 and with each generation since it has gone through an evolution, which Jack hopes to continue when he takes over the reins from his father in due course. His current focus is to expand the business in the Midlands, in London, and beyond. There are two main “arms” for Everton’s Wine Merchants: wholesale suppliers, including being the sole supplier for Bottles Wine Bar in Worcester; and direct sales via their website for private consumption. The company also does wine tastings and supports events.

Jack credits his time at King’s, with a close-knit year group and good relationships with his teachers, for teaching him the benefits of forging relationships and nurturing them, a very useful skillset for building a business network and having happy customers. He also keeps in regular contact with many of his friends from the School, both in London and Worcester, and considers them friends for life.

The Everton family is keen to keep the strong connection with King’s going and will be offering OVs a discount on wine purchased through their website, so do “watch this space” for further details in due course. Readers may also be able to sample some of the Everton Wine Merchant stock at an OV event in the future!

It was wonderful to hear from OV Alex Borchardt (Cl 79-88), founder and managing director of Family Law Alternatives Ltd.

Alex’s company assists fathers and mothers in the UK, USA, Mexico, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, and Serbia who have been restricted from remaining as a part of their children’s lives. He is also chair of the Plymouth branch of Families Need Families, and UK Ambassador for the Fathers and Families Coalition of America, which includes delivering annual presentations in Los Angeles, as well as being involved in the International Council on Shared Parenting.

Alex credits his time in the Debating Society at King’s for becoming an eloquent and able public speaker, with the skills to get his point across in many different circumstances. In addition to Debating, Alex took full advantage of the co-curricular activities available, especially the musical offering: he was involved with the Keys Society, Choir, Orchestra, and the more exclusive Chamber Orchestra, playing the ‘cello. His creative nature was further indulged with running the Photographic Society, as well learning the art of video production as part of General Studies whilst in the Sixth Form (where they made a film about teenage pregnancy), and flexing his grey matter in the Chess Club. Ensuring a good balance, Alex was also a dedicated member of the Boat Club, thoroughly enjoyed Climbing Club (especially trips to challenging rock faces around the country) and has great and enduring memories of his time in the RAF Section of the CCF.

From an academic perspective, Alex studied Maths, Physics and Chemistry for A-level. It was Alex’s Physics teacher, John Roslington (Hon OV) who nurtured his love for the subject, which led to it being his chosen degree at Exeter University.

Prior to attending Exeter, Alex spent a Gap Year in Austria, where he worked for an import / export firm whilst attaining a German Diploma from the University of Vienna.

His studies concluded, Alex went into the world of work, starting as a Senior Consultant for the REL Consultancy Group, specialising in Working Capital Management with an international remit for clients including Philips, IBM and Honeywell, working in the UK, Germany, and South Africa. Alex’s career then saw him join Winterton Rudd International, based in Johannesburg, as a director, assisting clients including Primedia and Omnimedia with strategy and improving customer relationship management. The next step for Alex was to relocate to London to become a project manager and e-business specialist in the Risk Management Division of PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Following a particularly challenging divorce and suffering many years in the Family Courts battling to see his son (who ended up following the footsteps of Alex’s father, retired Pershore GP and Worcester Royal Infirmary paediatrician Felix Borchardt, by qualifying as a doctor this year), Alex became painfully aware that in contested court hearings, whilst trying to agree on parenting arrangements, it is all too often the unfairness of the archaic and bureaucratic family court system that is more the problem than the parents themselves, hindering parties in reaching amicable settlements. Countless children lose out on happy and settled childhoods, while the only winners are the overpriced lawyers, and it was clear to Alex that he had to be part of working towards a fairer future, where we will hopefully no longer have a million children in the UK who do not have a relationship with their father, and over 90,000 growing up in the Care System.

Realising that this is one of the most serious problems in human society, one that will not be going away any time soon, and finding a higher purpose in life that he felt he could not ignore, Alex embarked on a completely new direction with his career path. As a result, he entered the world of family law advocacy and has spent the past eighteen years assisting parents represent themselves as Litigant In Person in Family Court and, where possible, helping them to stay out of the invariably adversarial legal system, resolving their difficulties instead through mediation, encouraging all parties to prioritise the best interests of the children rather than fighting with each other unnecessarily. During this time, Alex worked for the charity Families Need Fathers, initially as their National Helpline co-ordinator, then Assistant Chief Executive and later Acting Chief Executive.

Alex has also spent this time campaigning for a fairer and less complicated family law system, often in Westminster, working with politicians and representatives of the judiciary in striving for a better system all round, taking inspiration from more progressive countries such as Sweden, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Thankfully, reform is taking place, albeit very slowly.

Having found his calling, Alex then founded Family Law Alternatives Ltd, which he currently runs.

After working in many countries throughout his career and still spending a considerable amount of his time travelling, Alex has happily settled back in Exeter, where he attended university over thirty years ago, and regularly visits Worcestershire, as his parents are still in the family home in Fladbury, where they have been for 50 years.

Alex made many great lifelong friends at King’s, with whom he is still in contact. He is always pleased to return to see the School as it is today, finding the continued evolution of King’s invigorating.

It is the start of a new school year, and we’re back with our Beyond King’s feature! On this occasion, OV Essi Sadeghi (Cr 88-95), Vice President and Director of Investment Solutions for T. Rowe Price, steps into the spotlight.

While at King’s, Essi studied Maths, Further Maths, French and History for A-levels. Balancing the academic with the wider life of the School, Essi was also very involved in many co-curricular activities, including Drama, the Chamber Choir, the Keys Society and representing King’s in Fencing.

On leaving King’s, Essi headed to the University of Exeter, where she received a BA degree in French and Russian.

Following university, Essi was recruited by Deloitte as an Assistant Manager, where she stayed for four years. In 2003, she moved to Lockton UK, working in their Corporate Risk Solutions Department as an Account Executive. Her next role was as Assistant Vice President for Private Equity at Marsh McLennan, where she remained until she moved to Kentucky in the USA in 2007 to take up the post of Managing Director, Workplace Investing, for Fidelity Institutional Asset Management. Essi was with this company for a decade, moving first to Massachusetts and then to Rhode Island, reaching the position of Portfolio Strategist. This led into Essi’s next, and current role with T. Rowe Price.

T. Rowe Price is an asset management firm with its headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland. Essi is an investment strategist, helping institutions manage their investment programmes across the capital structure. The work involves being able to consult on the macro-economic environment to help inform investment decisions related to her clients’ multi-asset class exposures, based on forward projected market views.

As a “side-gig”, Essi is also a company director for Rebel Energy in the UK (a renewable energy start-up company), where she sits as one of the board directors. Essi uses her skills to help provide strategic direction to the company’s growth, as they build their client base and scale up the complexity of their operations and the households they serve.

Essi is a strong advocate for local LGBTQ+ youth in the US, keen to support and help those who need it, having herself transitioned (male to female). She is looking to sponsor some internships at Rebel Energy company with a specific focus on LGBTQ+ youth to promote opportunity for an otherwise underserved part of the community.

And finally, while not involved in her entrepreneurial passions, she spends her spare time raising her three children, Oliver (14), Silvia (11), and Samuel (9), and staying active. She is a keen swimmer and hiker and last year completed her first 50k ultramarathon!