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.