Beyond King’s

This week we had a very poignant Remembrance Day Service in Worcester Cathedral and we were honoured to welcome back OV Lt Col Rob Poole (H93-98) as our speaker. Rob was one of the last boarders and loved his time at King’s. He was in the CCF, played rugby and was constantly involved in the numerous activities that King’s offered.

Rob was sponsored by the army through St George’s Hospital Medical School, London, qualifying in 2003. Following a year of house jobs, he became a Regimental Medical Officer to 1PWRR and deployed to Iraq. In 2009 he completed his GP training and since then has been a front-line medical officer. He has served with the Welsh Guards whilst on ceremonial duties in London.

He has been a Senior Medical Officer of a large garrison and medical centre. His most recent assignment is working in the Ministry of Defence as part of the team in charge of medical operations and plans.

We are back after half-term and this week our former pupil is Operations Manager and Creative Designer, Melanie Thorn (Ch 96-03).

As a student at King’s, Melanie was an active member of the school community taking part in activities including Rowing, Theatre and Dance, Orchestra, group ski trips and was later Head of House. Melanie went to the University of Gloucestershire where she studied Fine Art and then went to complete a Masters degree in Urban Design at Birmingham City University.

Melanie was a gallery assistant at John Noott Galleries in Broadway for several years whilst also developing her own creative design business offering graphic design and wedding styling. Continuing in her artistic endeavours Melanie assumed the role of Wedding and Events Co-ordinator at Compton Verney before moving into the position of Operations Manager at Dovecote Events where she manages the logistics of the business development, including the organisation of corporate events and weddings and is in charge of creative design for marketing, publications and business branding.

This week we are delighted to feature Product Designer Mike Soper (S 06-13) as our former pupil. At King’s, Mike was part of the Cathedral Voluntary Choir and was involved in the CCF. Mike went to study Product Design Technology at the University of the West of England.

While studying, he also competed in the RSA (Royal Society of Arts) Student Design Awards, winning the ‘Wearing Intelligence’ brief. The prize for this award was a three-month placement at Kinneir Dufort which was extended to 6 months. Following this, Mike spent a short time freelancing before joining Arno GB, a German owned retail design firm based in Bristol, where he worked with brands such as W H Smiths, Electrolux and Dyson.

Mike is now a Product Development Engineer at Limbs & Things, a company designing anatomically and clinically accurate products which aid medical students in their education and training. Mike also mentors pupils in secondary schools in the Pupil Design Awards and has offered his support to the King’s Careers department if any prospective design students need advice on getting into the design industry.

This week we were delighted to welcome Rupert Monkhouse (Ch 05-12) back to school to talk to pupils at King’s St Alban’s about his job as a dentist. Rupert attended King’s St Alban’s himself before moving up the senior school where he took part in D of E, Young Enterprise and eventually became Head of House.

Following King’s, Rupert went to King’s College London to study Dental Surgery. Alongside dentistry, Rupert is passionate about swimming and was a swimming coach for the British Swimming and European Junior teams.

Rupert is now an NHS general dentist and enjoys being a Hub lead for Teeth Team, a children’s education initiative which helps educate children about looking after their teeth.

We were delighted to welcome OV Derek Bell MBE (S 56-58) back to King’s last week as the newest member of the Barnabas Group. At King’s, Derek enjoyed Maths, Physics and playing for the 1st XV rugby team. After leaving school Derek was encouraged to enter racing and he won his first race at Goodwood in 1964 in a Lotus Seven.

Derek won Le Mans 24 hours five times, in 1975, 1981, 1982, 1986 and 1987. He also won the Daytona 24 three times, and the World Sportscar Championship twice. He also raced for the Ferrari, Wheatcroft, McLaren, Surtees and Tecno teams in the Formula 1.

Derek is now a speaker and sports commentator and he remains much in demand at racing events around the world. In 1986 Derek was awarded an MBE for services to motorsport, in 2012 he was inducted into the Motor Sport Hall of Fame of America and in 2014 he was presented with Honorary Life Membership of the AA in recognition of his 50 years in Motorsports.

At King’s, Alison Gray (née Rogers) (Co 81-83) was a fun and well-liked member of school life. At King’s she enjoyed Art, History and English Literature and always planned to work in the hospitality industry. On leaving King’s Alison went on to gain an HND in Hotel Catering & Institutional Management at Westminster College, London. She worked as an operational General Manager for 9 years, primarily in leisure and major events, before joining a start-up business at the All England Club, Wimbledon in 1999.

This signalled a change in career for Alison, as she chose to specialise in the field of human resource management. Completing her CIPD accreditation in 2006, she subsequently worked as a Human Resources Manager and Business Partner for companies including the Compass Group and Cancer Research UK, a role she undertook as part of a sabbatical. Since 2011, Alison has worked for Delaware North Companies UK where she is currently Director of Human Resources.

Outside of her professional life, Alison volunteers as a BACCHUS Mentor at Oxford Brookes University, linking postgraduate and final year students with experienced professionals from the hospitality and tourism industries. She is also Deputy Chair of the London Advisory Board for the Springboard Charity & Springboard UK, a charity focussed on helping to nurture and motivate young unemployed individuals, developing skills and helping them to find career opportunities. Reflecting on her time at school Alison says, “I think King’s has always been a great place for people to make life-long friendships”.

OV James Bailey (Cr 84-93) organised the recent very successful OV Golf Day. At King’s, James played for the 1st XV rugby team and was also a keen rower along with other sports. On leaving King’s, James went on to Royal Holloway, University of London to study Geology. For a brief spell following university James pursued playing rugby for London Irish RFC. In 1997 he entered the oil and gas business working in CGG and then Baker Hughes as a processing geophysicist. This included working out of locations in Jakarta, Cairo and Houston.

After 15 years he left a Region Manager role at Baker Hughes to work as Consultant Geophysicist in BP Exploration Operation Company. Specialising in borehole geophysics and seismic data he advised on data collection and processing including stints working offshore. Since 2015, James has moved back to the fold in Worcester and now works from his home office as Geophysicist at VSProwess. He enjoys the perfect work life balance of business with some travel and seeing his two girls who are now enjoying their start at King’s Hawford.

Last weekend we were delighted to welcome back to King’s the Year of 2014 for their Five Year Reunion. Our former pupil this week was their Head of School, Corah Lewis (Ch 07-14). Corah made the most of all her opportunities at King’s taking part in Choir, LAMDA and playing for the 1st netball team.

After King’s, Corah went to The University of Manchester to study Psychology where she continued playing netball for the university. Corah undertook several placements during her degree, including working at the Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health. After graduating Corah begun an exciting role as an Assistant Psychologist for the Neuropsychology Team at the Chalfont Centre for Epilepsy and UCLH NHS Foundation Trust.

We are delighted to feature Henry Shouler (H 49-56) as this year’s first former pupil of the week. Henry played for the 1st XI Cricket for the 1954, 1955 and 1956 seasons and was actively involved in a number of other sports, also playing for the 1st XI Hockey, he was a member of the Athletics  team, Captain of the school Badminton team and was awarded colours playing in the 1st XV Rugby.  Henry was Head of Hostel House and a School Monitor, he was on the VI Form club committee and was an enthusiastic member of the School Debating Society, famously being defended by the then Headmaster, Mr Kittermaster for the ‘charge’ of stealing the remains of King John from Worcester Cathedral!

After school Henry spent two years in National Service, the majority of the time being spent in Malta.  Throughout Henry’s career he has been involved with many businesses, initially working for Spillers and running factories in Plymouth and Birkenhead.  On leaving Spillers, Henry worked for Oldacre Holdings Plc (the largest manufacturer of animal feed compounds) becoming Chief Executive, prior to the company being listed on the London Stock Exchange. Henry has also held directorships and Chairman and deputy Chairman roles in a variety of different organisations (ranging from recruitment and English wine to pre-built hospital facilities); he continues his directorships of a number of companies in which he maintains an active interest.  Henry remains committed to the advancement and promotion of research and education in agricultural sciences.