Generous Joe Fowles

It was an absolute pleasure to see OV and former Head of School Joe Fowles (Cl 05-12 and Old St Alban’s) back at King’s this term.

Joe was on a brief trip back to the UK from his now home in Australia, where he has recently taken up the post of Chief of Staff for a member of the Australian Parliament.

Joe very kindly came back to School and, drawing on his own career and experiences, spoke eloquently and at length to some of the current King’s Sixth formers.

His visit began with a trip to Mr Zarro’s L6 Economics A Level class. Joe, who did Economics for A Level before going to Oxford to read Economics and Management, shared his love for the subject with great enthusiasm. He did acknowledge that while not all the areas of the A Level syllabus had grabbed his attention as much as others, each different area was important and had helped him enormously throughout his career. The global financial crisis had hit while Joe was himself in the Sixth Form, and he can see how the impact of the change to austerity economics is still being felt now. The L6 present were full of enthusiastic questions, ranging from Joe’s Australian experiences (spiders and ‘budgies’ included) to how Economics A level or Degree can be used in a career, which Joe advised was a great springboard to many career options, including management consultancy, as his own career shows.

Morning Break saw Joe heading to meet with three Oxbridge applicants and Dr Ronan McLaverty-Head (Hon OV). The students enjoyed sharing their ambitions with Joe, who gave advice to each of them. Two key takeaways were to practice their interview, with friends and family, and, most importantly, to make sure they have something that will make them stand out: a specific reason or niche angle for their interest in their chosen subject. Joe explained how that will make the candidates more memorable!

With no respite, Joe rushed to the staff Common Room to catch up with his former teachers and Hon OVs Simon Cuthbertson, Gilly, Tom Sharp and Dr Dorsett, before returning to No 12 College Green where Richard Ward’s U6 Politics group were waiting to see him.

Having started his career as a Management Consultant, Joe had recently moved into Politics as he wanted to do something to help tackle climate change; he had seen that often the economists would look at the financial impact of decisions, but the climate impact would be ignored. Joe believes that with his experience as an Economist and passion to help tackle climate change means the political landscape is where he needs to be.

As with the L6 Economists, the U6 Politics group had a raft of interesting questions for Joe. The core takeaway he gave them, though, was to ensure they have experience of the ‘real world’ before taking up a political career. He has seen first-hand too many whose political career began straight from university, sometimes earlier, giving them little variety in their experience and a disconnect from the people they represent.

Joe’s consistent message to all the Sixth Formers was to remember the value of hard work and persistence – whether for their Oxbridge applications, the next essay, or life in general – as it always pays dividends in the end.

Thank you, Joe, for your time and advice!