Thanks to Ollie Morris (Devine 2015), Izzy Meadows (Wolverton 2020) and Joshua Powner (Manor 2008) for taking time out of their weekend to talk to our Year 13 students about their experiences of the world of work after leaving Clayesmore. Daniel Rimmer knew them all, of course, and introduced them with a range of suitably amusing and mildly embarrassing stories from the library of his own memories. 

Ollie left to study and play rugby at Hartpury, later embarking on a path that would lead him to travel the world as crew on a number of super yachts. He talked about overcoming the challenges of dyslexia, not being hugely academic and using his innate people skills to create and pursue opportunities with impressive persistence. Resilience and seizing opportunities characterised his advice. Josh also talked about life’s twists and turns, failures and opportunities through his story about apprenticeship and setting up his own business and the importance of nurturing those contacts one makes along the way. Izzy left just a couple of years ago and, remarkably, turned down all her university offers, rejecting the lure of a law degree for the unknown and a choice between a degree apprenticeship with Mini or Vodafone. Embracing the latter she spoke about the benefits of this non-traditional route and the exciting opportunities she had already been exposed to. 

Spanning the decades, each had a very different story to tell, though they were united in the fond memories of the school and in the advice they imparted to pupils.