Beyond King’s

OV John Sear’s (Ch 72-82 and King’s St Alban’s) interest in science was literally ignited during his first ever Chemistry lesson at King’s: zinc filings heated with sulphur over a Bunsen Burner, followed by aluminium powder and iodine produced a spectacle of fireworks and purple smoke which was unforgettable.

When not in the lab, John was very sports-oriented while at school, playing and part of the school teams for Football, Rugby and Tennis.

Having achieved four good grades at A Level, John joined Imperial College, London to study Biochemistry, where he was also Captain of the Tennis Team.

John’s subsequent career has led to over 30 years of project management experience, delivering multi-million-dollar transformational projects for businesses in a variety of sectors including superannuation / wealth management, manufacturing, utilities, insurance, gaming and telecommunications, and the public sector. This includes working with international organisations such as Price Waterhouse, BNP Paribas Security Services, Macquarie Bank, JP Morgan, Bankers Trust, and many Private and Public Sector organisations in Australia.

During his career, John moved from the UK to Australia, where he settled in Sydney with his family.

Having gained a great deal of experience in big Blue-Chip companies in recent years, John provides digital transformation delivery services to organisations through his own company. His most recent role was Program Director for NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, where he has been delivering digital transformation projects for the State Government to allow citizens to interact more with government departments via online solutions.

Currently he is more involved in voluntary work focussing on environment and underwater ecological systems. John curates an online project run by the Australian Museum that is hosted on a global citizen science platform called iNaturalist. He is also an Ambassador for CoralWatch, an organisation that promotes awareness of the importance of coral reefs and uses citizen science to monitor coral health. John has developed an identification guide for fish and corals in Sydney and commenced data capture for corals there following two recent bleaching events.

The love of travel that brought John to Australia has not diminished over the years and, from trips to Turkey and South America whilst at university, a love of the road less travelled has seen him mountain-biking in Madagascar, solo trekking many times in New Zealand, several times in Papua New Guinean jungles, two months traversing Borneo, and many other trips to Pacific islands, usually for SCUBA diving holidays to satisfy his passion for underwater photography.

Recently back in the UK for his 40-Year Reunion, John was also at the inaugural OV Overseas Reunion in Sydney. It was through this latter event that John realised he was living only 400m down the road from OV Peter Watson (S 38-41) and they are now in touch!

OV Alexandra Phillips (Cl 93-00) has just been appointed as the new Head of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Department of Worcestershire law firm, mfg Solicitors, leading a 13-strong team. This seemed an opportune time to reflect on her time at King’s and how her journey since then has lead to this latest promotion.

Alex was boarder at King’s, easing into the boarding life having spent the term prior to joining King’s with Mrs Appleby, one of the School’s French teachers, while her father finished his last posting with the Army. Moving to boarding school, in England, having lived the majority of her life in Germany and Cyprus was bit of a culture shock, but this was short-lived, thanks to the warm welcome she received from the School. Alex has particularly fond memories of Second Master (at the time) Tim Hickson (Hon OV), who championed and supported her initial progress at King’s.

Although not naturally academic, Alex’s teachers recognised her potential and King’s taught her that, with a lot of hard work, determination and the right support, you can achieve anything to which you set your mind.

Alex joined the Rowing Club as soon she was able to and made lifelong friends as a result. In her final year, she was appointed Deputy Head of Boats, to help represent and look after the girls’ crews. Alex recalls some great memories of travelling on the minibus to regattas most Saturdays, eating jelly babies and singing along to songs played by DJ Sterckx (their coach’s nickname) to get them race-ready!

Following King’s, Alex went on to study Geography and American Studies at Swansea University; she chose Geography because it was a favourite subject at school and American Studies for something new and different. She had always had an interest in the law, and shared student accommodation with three law students, which heightened this.

After graduation, Alex took a year out to travel the world, work and consider her options before deciding to do the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) at UWE Bristol. Since then, Alex has never looked back and, after completing her Legal Practice Course (LPC) and riding out the 2007/08 recession, Alex joined mfg Solicitors in 2010 as a paralegal in its Family Department. As a result of her work, Alex was offered a training contract and qualified into the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Department in 2013. One year later, she was named Young Solicitor of the Year by the Worcestershire Law Society. In 2017, Alex was appointed as one of the youngest ever presidents of the Society and that same year she climbed Kilimanjaro with another Law Society committee member, raising £20,000.00 to support a new maternity bereavement suite at Worcestershire Royal. She remains an active member of the group, which promotes and supports lawyers across the county. Alex became a senior associate in 2020, a partner one year later, progressing to her latest appointment as Head of Department this year.

Alex has maintained a close friendship with a great group of friends made at School, who still get together at least three times a year.

Alex notes how she made a lifetime of memories at King’s and learnt life lessons that she can honestly say got her where she is today, in particular the importance of having and showing respect to everyone you come across both personally and professionally, .

OV Lizzy Bennett (Ch 08-10) has had a particularly interesting career path which has led to her new role at CVC Capital Partners, following great success and enjoyment as a Senior Equity Operational Risk Analyst for Vanguard’s Investment Management Group (IMG).

After completing A Levels in Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Design & Technology at King’s, Lizzy pursued qualifications and a career in teaching, gaining an initial First-Class Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Education from the University of Birmingham, and then completing the funded Postgraduate Teacher Status course at the University of Worcester. Lizzy started out as a teacher and Early Years Manager for sixty 2–4-year-olds at the British School in Amsterdam for two years.

This is when Lizzy’s career focus started to shift, and she joined the consultancy firm, Renoir Consulting Ltd, as an International Management Consultant. She worked on projects in Dubai, and Cebu in The Philippines, where in her spare time alongside travelling, Lizzy taught herself coding and gained additional project management qualifications. Despite thoroughly enjoying the consulting, family reasons arose and Lizzy felt it important return to the UK. She went back into education, and was awarded a scholarship to study a Master’s in Investment Risk and Finance at University of Westminster, which she achieved a high distinction grade for in 2019.

Alongside her studying, Lizzy additionally worked part-time as a contracted developer at Vanguard Asset Management. Following the completion of her Master’s, she was hired onto Vanguard’s London trading floor to work in the Risk Management Group. Lizzy enjoyed progressing her Risk Management career at Vanguard and building up a valuable collection of skills and knowledge of the financial markets and trading procedures, especially for equity trading.

Lizzy continued to develop and use coding in her role, an almost essential skill for any students interested in pursuing a career in the financial sector. She was nominated for Vanguard’s Global Innovation Award after she designed and built a bespoke technological solution to identify potential global operational trading faults/errors, helping Vanguard save millions. Lizzy was also selected for Vanguard’s internal programme for talented mid-career women, and has led front-office efforts such as the global Trade Execution Management System review, been a European Business Continuity co-ordinator, and Cyber Security Risk lead for IMG.

Lizzy joins CVC Capital Partners in March, currently Europe’s top Private Equity firm, and one of the world’s biggest that is still fiercely private. It is an exciting opportunity where Lizzy is looking forward to working with CVC’s risk director to build and implement risk frameworks, developing technological solutions, and creating procedural efficiencies to advance Risk Management in Private Equity. This new role is, however, is JP Morgan’s Investment Bank’s loss, a firm who were equally keen to tempt Lizzy away from Vanguard.

Lizzy added, “Looking back, it’s funny to realise how my creativity and determination to develop and build started when I was physically creating in the DT room at King’s, and winning the DT awards in both Lower and Upper Sixth. I would like say thank you to my old DT teachers, especially Chris Wilson (Hon OV), who spurred me on!”

Lizzy also sits on the Employability Advisory Board of the University of Westminster as her way of giving back and helping the next generation of finance graduates. Lizzy is similarly supporting current King’s students who are interested in Finance as a career, for which the students are very grateful.

OV Jamie Davies (S and Os 80-85) still vividly remembers his first day arriving at School House as a boarder at King’s School: there were tears when his parents left but he soon settled in and enjoyed boarding-life. He recalls that there was never a dull moment, and he has fond memories of his Housemaster, the late Marc “Boggy” Roberts (Hon OV). A key lesson from King’s that Jamie still carries with him is never to take people at face value, be very welcoming to everyone, then get to know them well.

Jamie secured A Levels in Maths, Physics and Chemistry, while also enjoying the co-curricular activities the School offered: CCF (marksman), photography and being an active member of the Boat Club. Although he didn’t represent the School in sport, the foundations were laid during his school days and he admits to getting much better at rugby after he left. Following school, the University of Brighton called, where he read International Business & Marketing.

Since university, Jamie has led a varied career, both in the type of role but also in terms of location: he has travelled and worked in Australia, Dubai, France and Italy, and has seen much of the world. He held a number of corporate roles while living in London for many years, although he is now based in the Cotswolds. In 2005, Jamie set up his own Political Party and was interviewed by Jeremy Paxman. He has also written a feature-film screenplay called DARE and is waiting for the call from Hollywood!

More recently, Jamie founded and currently runs StockPro Capital, which is a boutique finance house for global investors.

However, Jamie admits his greatest achievements in life are his children, Florence and Henry, and being a dad is probably what he is best at.

Jamie’s best friends remain those he made at King’s, and they still regular chat and meet up, even if only virtually.

Reflecting on the impact that his time at King’s had, Jamie added, “If you are lucky enough to go to King’s, embrace it for all it has: it gives a great head-start in life. Not in an elitist way at all, but it allows you to forge life-long friendships. I seem to remember that Tatler magazine in 1985 listed “going out with King’s boy” was on their must-do list, although it didn’t seem to work for me at the time!”

At King’s, OV Olivia Hussey (née Salmon, Os 06-08) was a House Prefect and was heavily involved in sport, playing netball for the 2nd VII team as well as being a keen rounders player and skier. Following her A Levels of History, English Literature and Business Studies, Olivia went on to study History at the University of Nottingham. After graduating, Olivia worked at Teach First and Great Ormond Street, before settling at the Houses of Parliament in a variety of roles from 2014-2019.

Olivia left Parliament in 2019 to move to the Cabinet Office and a position in Cyber Security. This included working in information assurance and latterly a role in security culture, providing security advice to some high-profile public inquiries and helping the government prevent security leaks.

In 2021, Olivia moved from London to Bristol and currently works at HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in Cyber Security Policy.

Many longstanding friendships were forged while at School, and Olivia is still in regular contact with her King’s friends, seeing most of the Year of 2008 at a series of weddings, including her own this year.

OV Lawrence Gill (Os 03-05) joined King’s in the Sixth Form to study English, Drama, History and Music for A Level and take advantage of many of the other opportunities King’s offers, particularly Young Enterprise, Archives, and rowing. He felt that his time at King’s encouraged an outward, resilient and flexible outlook, which has helped him in his career, especially when projects didn’t go to plan! After a gap year working with horses in New Zealand, Lawrence went to Cirencester Agricultural College and gained a degree in Rural Land Management.

Initially, Lawrence went to work with racehorses, but after a couple of years he joined the team at specialist Insurance company KBIS, where his equine knowledge, financial skills and ability to talk to people were essential prerequisites of the job. He was headhunted by Howdens and enjoyed his time living in London on the Thames in a houseboat before returning to the Cotswolds five years ago, after being offered a job as director of KBIS. Lawrence has just taken up a new post as executive director within the company and took over the running of the company from December 2022.

OV and actor Oliver Brooks’s (S 96-01) love for theatre started at a young age. A particularly memorable event during his time at School was his Drama Exchange trip to Worcester, Massachusetts.

While at King’s, Oliver played rugby for the School, balancing the sport with his studies. History was a favourite subject of Oliver’s, along with learning about architecture. Having Worcester Cathedral so close and an integral part of school life was an honour Oliver confesses he did not appreciate enough during his time at King’s.

To follow his dreams, Oliver chose Performing Arts, Theatre Studies, Stage Design and Fashion & Textiles for A Level, before joining the then Birmingham School of Acting – currently known as the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. There he achieved a First in his BA Hons in Acting.

Oliver’s career launched at The Swan Theatre, Worcester where he performed for many years, during the times when they had a wonderful rep company. He also performed in many pantomimes with Shakespeare at The Commandery.

Moving to London, Oliver played Edna Turnblad in Hairspray The Musical for Royal Caribbean Productions; he was also the first understudy and played Miss Trunchbull in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s West End production of Matilda The Musical. He had great fun playing the revealing Scotsman in a JACKPOTJOY commercial, working alongside the legendary, and greatly missed, Dame Barbara Windsor.

During Lockdown, Oliver teamed up with fellow OV Ben Humphrey (Cr 93-04) to set up a series of live, online cabaret nights to bring the talent of the West End and Broadway into people’s living rooms. The proceeds from the ticket sales were donated to The Theatre Artists Fund to support all of those within the theatre industry who had been so badly affected by the pandemic.

Following the COVID restrictions being lifted for the Arts, in January 2022, Oliver joined the world premiere cast of But I’m A Cheerleader to critical acclaim – a beautiful queer musical based on the original movie (of the same title). It was produced by Bill Kenwright and Paul Taylor Mills at The Turbine Theatre, a lovely new off West End venue next to Battersea Power Station in London.

In May this year (2022) Oliver finished the run of But I’m A Cheerleader and went straight into rehearsals for Heathers the Musical Movie, a filmed version of the stage show. It was very exciting opportunity and he worked with the original writers, Kevin Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe, as well as being directed by Hollywood Director Andy Fickman.

Oliver is now currently performing in the West End stage production of Heathers at The Other Palace.

Oliver’s ties with King’s remain strong, having made many close friends for life while at School.

It was studying Business Studies at King’s for A Level that gave OV Toby Lamb (W 99-06) his interest in how companies work and the foundations for his career.

At School, Toby was a Monitor who was incredibly active in the School community. A participant in the Young Enterprise Scheme, a member of the Himalayan Club and completing his Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Toby favoured teamwork and problem solving. These experiences at King’s similarly helped guide Toby’s career choices.

After leaving King’s, Toby studied Business Economics at Exeter University. From there, he launched his career in banking and strategy with Santander in London. While with Santander, Toby moved to the USA to live in Boston for a couple of years, which was another great experience.

In 2015, Toby returned to London to join HSBC’s Internal Consulting Team. He has been with HSBC ever since and is currently focusing on the bank’s strategy for small business banking

Toby’s connections with King’s remain strong and he is still in regular contact with a close group of OV friends, meeting up for football games, holidays, and everything in between. In his spare time, Toby is a keen runner, choosing routes along the Thames and into the Chilterns, and he will be running the London Marathon this year in aid of the Shine Charity.

Phil Mackie (Cl 73-84) followed in the footsteps of his father, Alec Mackie (Cl 47-56) when he arrived at King’s, and a further generation of Mackies have also been King’s pupils, with his three daughters also attending the School.

Phil is the BBC’s Midlands correspondent; he has worked for the corporation since 1992 when he was a trainee reporter. In 1998 he was appointed as Radio 5Live’s West of England reporter, moving to the West Midlands in 2004. In 2009 he added network TV duties and since 2018 has been the network’s correspondent covering the whole of the Midlands.

During his career, Phil has reported from more than 20 different countries, including being in Kabul 2001, covering the Tsunami in Sri Lanka in 2004, the elections in Iraq in 2005, the Arab Spring in Egypt in 2011, and in refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon.

Whilst at King’s, Phil was selected for the School at Hockey and Cricket, playing for the 1st XI, as well as the undefeated Under 14s of 1980. He also performed in Edward Kemp’s play The Iron & the Oak in Sixth Form. Phil’s A-levels were English, History and Economics. Following King’s, Phil studied History at University of Kent, after which he traveled for a year and then, on his return to the UK, began his journalistic journey, initially at BBC Hereford & Worcester.

In terms of advice to any budding journalists, Phil says, “Be enthusiastic, be nice to people, don’t say no to anything at the beginning, always say yes, and be willing to learn and to try things out.”

Phil manages to balance his demanding BBC career with a 43-year stint playing for Worcester’s Old Vigornians Cricket Club (OVCC), as a right-arm seamer, middle order batsman, and also often as captain. He is the current Chair of the OVCC and is looking forward to organising the Club’s 75th anniversary in Spring 2023.