Christopher Bevan (Talbot 2002 – 2007)

After finishing at Ellesmere in 2007, I found that I had discovered what I really wanted to do with my life and began to pursue a career in film. In my final year of 6th Form I’d made a feature film called ‘CJ Simmons: Elite Mercenary’ in my spare time and found that directing was my main interest. After a false start on an English Literature course at the University of Birmingham, I withdrew and spent the next two years working in employment and continuing to develop my love of filmmaking before starting a degree in Film & Video Production BA at the University of Derby in 2009.

Here I was fortunate enough to meet likeminded filmmakers and began to set up my own fledging production company YSP Media, short for Yellow Shoe Productions which I had carried over from my time at Ellesmere. Over the next 3 years I began to experiment working in short films, music videos, documentaries and corporate videos resulting in being invited to take part in a Q&A and hold a workshop at the National Student Film Festival. I also started to expand my networking and through seeking out competitions and events I was lucky enough to attend the world premiere of Inception and the BAFTA Film Awards in 2011.

More recently I was selected as a director by the National Youth Film Academy as 1 of 4 directors in the north of the country on a 60 person Easter course which took place in Manchester with the another 60 studying in London. Overall there were 3,000 total applicants across the country for varying film production and acting roles and out of those 120 16-25 year olds were accepted following interviews to go on to study on the course. The NYFA is supported by BFI ‘Future In Film’ with the objective of locating, supporting and developing the talents of young filmmakers in the UK. The NYFA acceptance letter for the course mentioned that I had exhibited “huge potential” as a filmmaker.

In the last few years my films have been screened at festivals in the UK and abroad and I’ve nearly worked on nearly 50 films since I was 16. My latest projects as a director include a short film set during the UK riots in August 2011 called ‘Home Invasion’ as well as a drama about a down and out taxi driver who decides to make a change on one particularly catastrophic night. The film is called ‘Caught in the Headlights’ and was shot on a £2000 budget with half of this coming from contributions from fellow filmmakers and members of the public. Looking towards the future, I'll be hoping to work as an assistant on several feature films whilst starting plans to develop my own as well continuing my work in short films & music videos.

Peter Heath (Talbot 2002 - 2007)

After he left Ellesmere, Peter went to the University of Southampton and graduated with a Masters of Geology degree in 2010. Peter is now working temporarily as an intern within the Exxon-Mobil Corporation oil exploration department in Surrey. While at university he continued his interest in Scuba diving and also took up caving.

Last year he and four fellow geologists at Southampton represented their university in the annual AAPG (American Association of Petroleum Geologists) oil exploration competition, the Barrel Award, winning the European heat before going to Houston, Texas for the finals. Peter’s team came second, earning the university a prestigious award.

In December 2011 he helped raise over £3000 for charity by taking part in the Grim Challenge, an 8 mile run through mud at the Army Tank course near Aldershot.

Geoffrey Hill (Talbot 66-69)

Geoff Hill departed Ellesmere and returned to Nova Scotia with his family in August 1969. He took with him a life long thirst for learning.

Geoff’s study in the language arts during the 70’s led to a career in teaching. Valuable experiences at Ellesmere provided a model for developing a philosophy of educating the whole child. He later completed an M. Ed. in Educational Leadership at St. Francis Xavier University.

He is currently Principal of a modern school and has enjoyed a career in education for over 30 years. He has two adult sons who are in the early stages of successful careers. Geoff maintains a keen interest in environmental protection. Geoff has been active in service club work, belonging to the Kin Association of Canada. He has a passion for collecting history books which began with a project completed on the Spanish Armada while in the 4th Form at Ellesmere. He currently resides in Dartmouth, NS with his loving wife Wanda.

Kenichi Kikuchi (Wakeman 1985-1990)

After leaving Ellesmere in 1990, Kenichi went back to Japan and took a degree on international politics at university, then went on to an enterprise research firm as surveyor for some 10 years.

In 2001, Kenichi took a degree at University of Sydney (Australia) on teaching Japanese as a second language as well as ethnic studies by taking a special lecture course from UNHCR. He is now teaching and supporting non-Japanese residents just outside Tokyo, especially 2nd and 3rd generations of refugees from Vietnam and Cambodia evacuated to Japan in late 1970’s, as well as looking after their children. This skill is based on former lessons as he had Extra English during his college days and had been so inspired on how the college looks after those students from overseas in both a physical and mental point of view.

Kenichi is currently based on the outskirts of Tokyo, not far from Yokohama, but he frequently spends several months teaching at language schools in Ho Chi Minh City, Phnom Penh and Manila.

He is still in touch with many College colleagues through the web and is looking forward to visiting them once in every year. Kenichi is proud to wear the school colours from his former housemaster Philip Wood, school prefect tie from Mrs Anne Knowles and cufflinks on a special occasion. (They are all in perfect condition even after 20 years!)

Siobhan Connor (St. Oswald’s 1988 – 1990)

Siobhan left Ellesmere College in 1990, studied English and Drama at Goldsmiths and then did a postgraduate diploma in Broadcast journalism at City University.

Siobhan trained as a journalist and started her career in regional radio, before moving into television production where she worked for LIVEtv, the BBC, Five and Granada/ITV. From her years working in television and radio Siobhan established excellent contacts with the national, regional and music press. Siobhan left Granada /ITV in 1999 to become Director of Media & PR for Fleetwood Owen, an online auction house founded by Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac. This was based in the UK and US and in 2001 she organised a simultaneous live broadcast from the Hard Rock Café in London to the Hard Rock in New York, for the sale of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ Steinway piano, bringing both the Internet and live auction environments together.

Siobhan joined entertainment PR company Taylor Herring as an Account Director in 2002 where she has been responsible for devising and executing media strategies for a diverse roster of clients ranging from prime time TV shows, celebrities, charity to corporate clients and consumer brands. Siobhan has been the creative mastermind behind some of the most talked about publicity campaigns and stunts of the last nine years.

Clients include Al Gore, Robbie Williams, National TV Awards, HBO and Disney.

With over 14 years experience Siobhan set up as an independent PR consultant in July 2011, where she offers expertise in all areas of communication including; media relations, brand consultancy, stunts and guerilla marketing, broadcast consultancy, crisis management, celebrity endorsement, promotions, sponsorship management, events and personal PR.

Emily Lewis (Talbot 2005 – 2009)

Old Ellesmerian Emily Lewis graduated from the Army Foundation College in Harrogate having successfully completed fifty weeks of Military Training coupled with Vocational Education and Leadership and Initiative Training. Having achieved the rank of Junior Lance Corporal, Emily was one of six hundred and eighty Junior Soldiers who graduated at a Passing Out Parade on 12 August 2010 who will now make the transition to their respective Regiments and Phase Two Training. Her experiences in the Army Section of the CCF at Ellesmere College were influential in Emily making the Army her chosen career.

Princess Anne, Colonel in Chief of The Royal Signals was the reviewing officer for the parade and made presentations to prize winning Junior Soldiers. Emily was awarded the AGC Trophy, an award made to the best Adjutant’s General Corps Junior Soldier, a soldier who has “demonstrated leadership and command, contributed fully to their section and platoon and judged as being the best overall example of a junior soldier of that cap badge.”

Always willing to take part and try her best, Emily found the qualities gained from Ellesmere invaluable and applied equal enthusiasm to Army life. During her year at the Army College, Emily participated in Skiing in Italy, immersed herself in a Water Polo and Swimming Tour to Malta, gained her hockey colours and Captained a Hockey Tour to the Blackpool Easter Hockey Festival, improved her horse riding and horse management skills, won her first ‘Try a Triathlon,’ met the challenges of Battle Camp, tactical training exercises, early morning runs and tabs, completed chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear training along with rifle range exercises and military drill, and learnt to iron and bull shoes…! One of the highlights for Emily was an endurance competition in her final weeks at the college where platoon teams swam two hundred widths of the swimming pool, leopard crawled, ran log runs, equipment carries and fireman carries, and pulled a coach across the parade square.

Emily and fellow Junior Soldiers have not avoided thinking about the seriousness of becoming adult soldiers and during a visit to the war graves of Northern France were able to pay their respects and develop an understanding of the realities of war. Charities supporting soldiers and their families in times of current conflict have benefited from the college’s fund raising efforts and while preparing for their responsibilities as they enter a career in the British Army, Emily joined her platoon in a sponsored parachute jump raising over £5,000 for The Army Benevolent Fund.

Jenny and Sian Corish (1997 – 2003)

Jenny and Sian both took up rifle shooting as an after school activity at Ellesmere under the expert guidance of Philip Hillier. Since leaving Ellesmere they have both continued to represent Wales and Great Britain internationally competing at the last two Commonwealth Games.

On leaving school they went their separate ways to university. Jenny who graduated from the University of Bath with a degree in Natural Science is currently working as a technician in epigenetic research at the University of Cambridge. Sian meanwhile trained as a physiotherapist at Manchester Metropolitan University and is currently working for the NHS in Swansea.

The photo shows both of them at the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony in Delhi.

Kok Liang Chew (Woodard 1979 - 1982)

Kok claims that he did not do very well academically or sports wise in Ellesmere. He also says however that compared to what he was previously, Ellesmere instilled a sense of discipline and a can do attitude in him which have lasted a lifetime.

He obtained a BSc Econ in Economics & Law from Aberystwyth University. At university, Kok represented Aberystwyth in fencing and they came in as quarter finalist twice during the British Inter University fencing competitions. He also represented the University of Wales (All Colleges) in the Western Europe Universities & Colleges fencing competition.

Kok qualified as a Barrister at Inner Temple and practised for a year in London. He returned to Malaysia to qualify as an Advocate & Solicitor before setting up his own legal practice. Along the way, he collected a LLM and two post graduate diplomas in Arbitration law and Islamic law. In between running his practice, he joined the Territorial Army of Malaysia and went jungle bashing which was a great excuse getting away from the desk. His final rank was that of Major and he helped to set up Territorial Army societies in tertiary institutions to encourage students to join the TA.

He later left to work as a lawyer in Oman. Currently, he is working in Abu Dhabi but is planning to move to work in Singapore later. Kok is married with two kids aged 12 and 14. After visiting Ellesmere last year, his daughter now wants to go to Ellesmere - like father like daughter.

Brian E. P. Beeston (Meynell 1948 – 1958)

Brian graduated from Cambridge with a BA, the University of Pennsylvania, USA, with an MSc and Birmingham, UK, with a PhD, all in Materials Science. After working with AEI Scientific Apparatus (now Shimadzu Corp) in Harlow, Essex and New York and MRC (now Sony) in New York, he concluded his professional career as Technical Marketing Manager with Applied Materials, first in Horsham, Sussex and then in Santa Clara, California.

He is now retired in San Diego, CA, enjoying its superb climate, wide range of cultures and its hi-tech atmosphere. His most enduring memory of Ellesmere is his hat-trick, as a 13 year old, in the Under15s inter-house semifinal against Wakeman in 1953 when he snatched victory from the jaws of defeat taking the last four Wakeman wickets in seven balls. Does anyone else remember a hat-trick being performed on Top Field?

Helen E Baxter (Talbot 1999 - 2006)

Helen left Ellesmere College in 2006 and went to Oxford Brookes University where she gained a 2:1 BSc (HONS) in Business and International Relations. She decided to join the RAF in her final year at university, due to her family history in the forces and her participation in CCF whilst at school. Helen got accepted to join the Initial Officer Training course at Cranwell in May 2010 and undertook 32 weeks of military training alongside 78 other cadets. She graduated on the 16th December 2010 as a Flying Officer and is doing her trade training for the Personnel Support branch where she is due to graduate in early April and undertake her first tour.

Robert Napier (Talbot 1974-1979)

When Bob Napier left Ellesmere he went to study English Literature and Politics at Oxford Polytechnic. Commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1984, he is currently a Lieutenant Colonel on loan service as a Peace Support Advisor to the South African Defence Force based Pretoria with other responsibilities in Botswana, Zambia, and to the African Union.  He served for 4 years in Kuwait as an Instructor at the Joint Command and Staff College in Kuwait, and has also been posted around Germany, Holland and Spain, spending only 4 years in the UK in his 30 year career, 2 of which were at the Army Staff College at Camberley. He has seen active service in Kuwait (1991), Northern Ireland (1992), Bosnia (1995 & 1996), Kosovo (1999), Iraq (2003) and Afghanistan (2007).

Mike McMahon (Wakeman 1974 -1979)

Mike went straight from Ellesmere to the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst; quite a culture shock! During a career spanning twenty-six years he served in Northern Ireland, Germany, The Balkans, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Afghanistan, and reached the rank of Colonel. In late 2006 he joined the Australian Army as a Lieutenant Colonel for a complete change of scenery. Based in Sydney for the first couple of years, he spent some time in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan (again!). Far more importantly, he met Andrea (an officer in the Army’s Band Corps) and they were married in Melbourne in March 2009. During that year Mike’s responsibilities included assisting with the response to the worst bush fires in living memory. Mike was promoted to Colonel at the end of 2009. He and Andrea are now settled in their own home in Melbourne and are immersed in sport, culture and the arts.

David Massey (Meynell 1992-1997)

Just as Barack Obama told the United States, “Our destiny isn’t written for us - it’s written by us”, David set out to have a career in tennis after completing a four-year degree at the University of Bristol. Starting as nothing more than an unpaid intern for ATP, the governing body of men's professional tennis, David is now Vice President of ATP Europe. Based in the Principality of Monaco, ATP Europe serves as the European headquarters for the ATP World Tour featuring sixty-two tournaments in thirty-one countries.

Alastair Keeble (Woodard 2002-2007)

Alastair enjoyed many activities in the CCF, which certainly fuelled the taste for military adventure, and in December 2007 following a series of interviews he passed the physical Potential Royal Marine Recruit tests. In February 2008, along with fifty-two other recruits, his gruelling thirty-four week training started at the Commando Training Centre in Lympstone, Devon. He was finally “passed for duty” in November 2008, with only thirteen colleagues left of the original group. He is now based in Taunton, Somerset with 40 Commando RM. He has served in Cyprus, Turkey, Malaysia, and Brunei, where he completed eight weeks of jungle warfare training. He was deployed to Afghanistan during the early part of 2010.

Nicholas Jones (Lambart 1976-1978)

After leaving Ellesmere Nick joined the family business, prior to graduating from college in London. After meeting Karen, an American on holiday in London, Nick relocated to the United States to work in IT for GE. In 1994 he settled in Atlanta with Karen, now his wife, and their two children, subsequently graduating with an MBA from Liverpool University. He continues to work in IT, as Quality Assurance Director - Implementation and Compliance, for Global Payments, an International payment processing company. In September, Nick was proud to become a dual citizen of both the US and the UK at a ceremony held at the Georgia Capitol building. Nick wears his recently-acquired Ellesmere College cuff-links with great pride.

William Hart (Woodard 1985-1989)

William qualified with a degree in Medicine from London and worked in London, Bristol and Oxford whilst completing his basic surgical training. He then returned to Shropshire to complete his specialist surgical training at the Orthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry. (The only previous time he had been there was after a rugby injury following a match with the U14s.) After a further period learning specialist techniques for joint replacement surgery in North America and Canada William returned to the UK and settled into a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgery post at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton whilst also consulting privately in Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury.

Alan Halsall (Meynell 1966-1972)

After leaving the College, Alan qualified as a lawyer. He subsequently took over control of the family Toy Company where he stayed until 2006, when the company was sold to the management. In 2002 he purchased out of Administration Silver Cross, the famous Pram Company, and has been Chairman and sole shareholder since 2006. The company now supplies nursery products in about twenty-six countries worldwide and is the only pram manufacturer left in the UK. He has just finished producing a book on the Silver Cross brand, which sells on the website silvercross.co.uk.

Sir Noel Davies (Talbot ‘44)

Sir Noel’s career began with an engineering apprenticeship with Austin at Longbridge; from there he won a Technical State Scholarship to Imperial College and studied Mechanical Engineering. He joined Vickers, the shipbuilders, and became their Chief Engineer for the construction of the first British nuclear submarine propulsion plant at the age of 29. He worked for Vickers for forty years, rising to be Company Chief Executive in 1989, leading the team building the Trident nuclear submarines. He was President of the Engineering Employers Federation in its centenary year, 1998. He is now retired.

Oliver Condy (Wakeman 1988-1993)

Oliver has spent the last six years as the editor of BBC Music Magazine and currently lives in Bristol. His work allows him the privilege of interviewing the world's greatest classical music artists (he's pictured here with the late conductor Sir Charles Mackerras) and makes an appearance from time to time on radio and TV, recently learning the trumpet for a Radio 4 audio diary. Appearing, though, on 'Piers Morgan's Life Stories' in October is something he'd like to forget... Oliver still plays the organ and gives a couple of recitals every year, most recently in Norfolk which was attended by none other than Mark Jones, former assistant director of music at Ellesmere and Oliver's first organ teacher.

Dave Blakeman (Lambart 1977-1982)

After leaving Ellesmere in 1982, Dave received a Master’s degree at UMIST in software engineering. He later worked in Italy before setting up his own software business in 1996. His business now also has an office in Michigan, and last year he was invited to Downing Street for his export activities. He is married, to Caroline, with a teenage daughter, Sarah.

Robert Kelsall (Wakeman 1980-1984)

Robert Kelsall left Ellesmere and followed his dream to travel and work in hotels. Having studied Hotel Management in Brighton, and after various stints in multiple locations in Scotland, England and Wales, he was transferred to Jakarta in 1995. He subsequently married an Irish woman, adopted two beautiful Indonesian kids, and in 1999 moved with his family to Bali where he has since built his home.

He is now Vice President of Operations for Prime Plaza Hotels and Resorts and also manages the Bali Dynasty Resort.

Lt Col Nick Lock OBE MA Royal Welsh (Lambart 1979-1984)

Nick Lock left Ellesmere in 1984 to study History and Archaeology at Bangor University. Whilst at Bangor he joined the Territorial Army and met his future wife, Sarah. In 1989 he joined the 1st Battalion, The Royal Welch Fusiliers. Tours of duty followed in Northern Ireland, Berlin (where he was the Battalion duty officer the night the Berlin Wall fell), New Zealand, Norway and England. He was Operations Officer for the Battalion’s United Nations tour of duty in Bosnia in 1995 where it fought prolonged engagements with the Bosnian Serb Army in the eastern enclave of Gorazde.

Following a number of staff jobs he returned to the 1st Battalion as a Company Commander in 2002. During his command his Company exercised in Canada, fought fires in London during the fire strikes and deployed on operations to Iraq in 2004 during the Al-Sadr uprisings. Moving to Germany for a three-year tour of duty in 2005, he deployed on an operational tour in Kabul, Afghanistan. He assumed command of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh, (The Royal Welch Fusiliers) based at the Dale Barracks Chester, in August 2008. The Battalion deployed to Helmand Provence in December 2009 as the Aviation Assault Battlegroup where, commanding a Combined Force of Afghan, French and Estonian forces, it was the principle force element for Operation MOSHTARAK, the largest Aviation Assault Operation since the first Gulf War.

On its return from Afghanistan Her Majesty The Queen presented Campaign Medals to the Battalion at Chester Racecourse. Nick has been married to Sarah for eighteen years and they have one son, Jack who is eleven.

Kathleen Benner (Talbot 2005-2006)

Kate Benner graduated this year from Princeton University with a degree in Public Policy. She has moved to Washington, DC to work for the Office of the United States Trade Representative, which is a part of the Executive Office of the President and serves such purposes as advising the President on trade, monitoring the fulfilment of trade agreements and participating in trade negotiations.

In particular, she spends her time as a member of the Office of the General Counsel, where she assists the General Counsel and other lawyers and is deciding whether to pursue a degree in Law herself.

Emma Snow (St Oswald's 1995-1997)

Emma graduated with a Masters degree in Chemistry from Jesus College, Oxford, in 2001. Since training as a chartered accountant at a charity specialist City firm, she has worked for a number of charities and social enterprises, including international development charity Plan and Workers Beer Company, a fundraising organisation running the bars at major festivals including Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds. She is currently Director of Finance and Administration at the Refugee Council, the national umbrella charity for refugees.

Meanwhile, outside work, Emma completed a BA in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art and Design in 2008 and exhibits around London. She is also a trustee of human rights charity Anti-Slavery International. She got married in January this year.

Rosie Rickett (Meynell 2004 – 2009)

Rosie Rickett has the enviable job of training Michael Jung's Olympic Gold medal winning eventer, Sam. She has evented up to intermediate level and is now a working pupil at the Jungs' yard, near Stuttgart.

Michael Jung is the first rider to hold Olympic, World and European titles at the same time. Rosie was introduced to him by a friend, and went out to Germany for two months last October. The Jungs asked Rosie to stay for a year as a working pupil looking after the horses and working them in for Michael. While Michael is working away, she rides Sam and goes through his daily fitness routine with him, "Sam's lovely; very laid-back and chilled. He goes out in the paddock every day. He was very sharp when he was younger and Michael was the only one that rode him but he's a good boy now. "

Michael has ten Event horses, ten Show Jumping horses, three Dressage horses and several ponies. He currently has five members of staff who assist in taking care of, training and grooming the horses. "Everything in this yard is just so organised and there's never any stress. It's nice and peaceful and the horses are all very happy. When we've finished working them, there's a bowl of treats and they all get one. The horses are really fit; during the winter they go on the treadmill for half-an-hour a day in addition to being schooled and they do an hour a day on the treadmill in the summer. The facilities are amazing, there's a course of show jumps on grass and a cross-country course. Michael changes the fences and the courses all the time, so the horses are constantly jumping different courses."

"Michael competes regularly at pure Jumping and Dressage competitions which helps Sam with the eventing. He goes out competing against Dressage and Jumping riders - and he wins. He works so hard."

Henry Maybury (Meynell 2005 - 2010)

Old Ellesmerian, Henry Maybury, wowed the crowd and judging panel recently in the Open Mic UK Regional Showcase at the Birmingham NEC. He is now one step away from performing at The O2 in London!

Thousands of acts entered Open Mic UK 2012 and the best unsigned singers from across the country were chosen to perform at the live Regional Final shows. Henry performed in front of a live audience and professional judging panel on October 6^th at the N.E.C. in Birmingham. He is now set to perform at the Area Final for the chance to progress to the National Grand Final at The O2 in London on 19^th January 2013.

Those who made it through the audition stage took part in a live Regional head-to-head battle alongside the best talent in their area. Acts performed in front of hundreds of audience members and industry judges for the chance to grab a breakthrough recording contract.

After leaving Ellesmere College in 2010, Henry attended Hull University for a short period of time until deciding that the course he was studying was unsuitable for him. He applied to study Music with Musical Theatre at Chichester where he has been concentrating on singing, song writing and preparing for his big break! Whilst at Chichester, Henry has taken a keen interest in acting. In 2011, he was chosen to perform in the Chichester Minerva Theatre, with a company set up by the Chichester Festival Theatre, he is also being trained by professional actress, Rae baker.

Over the last 6 months, Henry's music has really started to take off, with his You Tube videos receiving over a quarter of million views, and obviously with the success of the Open Mic competition.

Majid Farzanehfar (Lambart 1970 - 1975)

Majid left Ellesmere in 1975 and went to study Architecture at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London where he graduated with a Masters (Honours) degree.

After graduating, Majid moved to Los Angeles where he immediately started his career with Fulks Architects and he soon became a partner. In 1987, Majid created his own company, Majid Farzanefar Design where he worked on 56 custom residential, commercial, cultural and office buildings. He decided to move back home to Tehran in 1994 and continued with the success of his business.

Majid's company in Tehran, Hedayat Parvaneh Tech, was founded to try and upgrade the architecture of 'otherwise modern' Iran. With an impressive portfolio of projects, Majid's company is going from strength to strength.

Peter Leake (Meynell 1969 - 1974)

Peter left Ellesmere in the Summer of 1974 when he opted to become a Commercial Apprentice at Austin in Birmingham. Here he obtained an HND and Diploma in Marketing with the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

He immediately started work with Jaguar on the order control side (taking dealer orders and turning them into cars), followed by a spell as a Fleet Sales Executive covering the East of England. In 1982, Peter joined Jaguar, as they started to pull away from British Leyland, as a Sales Training Exec, training dealers all over the world; "I did this from 1982 through to 1997, and it was probably the most exciting and enjoyable aspect of my working life - I got to see the world whilst working, and also watching Jaguar win the World Sports Car Championship in 1987, 1988 and 1991. These were great days for both myself and Jaguar."

During this period, Peter wrote and delivered all new products training for the dealers around the world - from product knowledge to selling skills, brand to customer care. New cars included the new XJ in 1986, the XK Sports in 1996, the S-Type in 1998 and the X-Type in 2001. From 1992 to 2012, he managed the Jaguar Academy that was responsible for all UK dealer training (non-technical), where he took Jaguar's training to No.1 in the motor industry as voted by the dealer network - a great achievement.

Peter took an early retirement package from Jaguar in August this year and has now set up his own company - Vantage PL Consulting Ltd - specialising in training and presentation skills.

Outside of working, Peter's social scene has been pretty hectic, too! When he was at college in Bromsgrove during his apprenticeship, he was asked if he would like to play rugby for the town side, which he agreed to and played for Bromsgrove RFC from 1977 to 2000, with just a short 3 year spell away in Lincolnshire where he played for Stamford RFC.

Peter enjoys motor racing, walking, working out and, of course, socialising - a good Ellesmere tradition!! He has stayed in touch with a couple of OEs but, like everyone, it isn't easy with OE's living in a variety of places worldwide. Peter has found the Antelope CITY drinks in London to be productive and has been reunited with several old friends.

Nigel Simpson (Meynell 1956 - 1964)

After an overseas international banking career with Bank of London & South America (latterly Lloyds TSB Bank plc) spanning 36 uninterrupted years working as an expatriate in numerous locations (some exotic, others less so!) throughout North, Central and South America, plus the Caribbean, culminating with 10 years based in Geneva, Switzerland heading up the world-wide International Private Banking activities of Lloyds in the capacity of Senior General Manager, Nigel took early retirement at the end of 2000. Almost immediately thereafter he assumed the Chief Executive position for Standard Bank Offshore Group, headquartered in St. Helier overseeing operations in Jersey, Isle of Man and Mauritius. In 2004, With half an eye on (eventual!) retirement, he relinquished the day to day general management responsibilities and took on the role of Deputy Group Chairman - a position he currently still holds.

Following so many years of a globe-trotting lifestyle, Nigel & Jocelyn (his wife of 42 years -met and married in Medellin, Colombia!) have decided once and for all to throw the suitcases away and have chosen Jersey as the ideal location to stay put for settling into eventual retirement. With two married daughters Julia, born in El Salvador, and Claire, born in the Bahamas, plus five granddaughters living reasonably close by in Dorset and Surrey, all available leisure time is well occupied by family visits, golf, skiing, bridge and, dare it be said, enjoyment of Jersey' excellent restaurant facilities!

Diana Flint (1970 - 1972)

Diana Flint was the first female pupil to attend Ellesmere College.

After leaving Ellesmere, she attended Reading University where she read Italian with History of Art, graduating in 1976.

Diana worked as a Picture Researcher for the art publishers; Thames and Hudson for several years before starting a family. She continued to live in London until 1997 as she brought up her two children, interspersed with spells working as a freelance picture researcher, and tutoring at an adult education centre. In 1997 Diana moved back up to Shropshire where she and her husband took over the family farm near Ellesmere.

Diana has been the country Chairman of the largest art charity in the country, The Art Fund, for over ten years, looking after the 650 Shropshire members. She has recently retired from that post as she is in nomination as High Sheriff of Shropshire for 2013-2014. "I am immensely looking forward to that role, and it feels somewhat reminiscent of the challenge I faced back in 1970 when I arrived as the first and solo female pupil at Ellesmere!

Marcus Mohr (Talbot 2001-2006)

When Marcus left Ellesmere College in 2006 he had just become interested in golf having been given his first set of clubs when he was 15. He began working at Portal Golf course in Tarporley as a trainee green keeper. Within 12 months of leaving school, and his golf having improved, he decided he wanted to become a professional golfer. This meant he had to leave that employment and began working at a golf course near Chester as a trainee golf pro.

Within a short space of time, Marcus' golf had improved to the extent that he knew that he wanted to be a playing professional golfer and his ambition was to play on The European Tour. He continued playing amateur golf throughout the UK and progressed to be an elite amateur golfer. Among his most proudest of achievements at this time were playing for Cheshire County for three years, winning the Royal St Georges Gold Challenge Cup (that got Marcus' name on the same board in the club house as Jack Nicklaus) and he had 19 top 10 finishes in amateur competitions.

Marcus turned pro in 2016 and qualified to play on The Alps Tour which is played all over Europe, in Egypt and one competition is held in the Caribbean. The top 5 in the 'Order of Merit' from this tour gain a full category on The Challenge Tour. In 2018 Marcus had 6 top 10 finishes including a victory in June 2018 in the Caribbean at the Open de Saint Francoise of Guadeloupe and a second place finish at the Obidos Intl. Open in Portugal. His stroke average for that season was 69.8 and he finished in the top 5, which meant he gained his playing rights to the Challenge Tour for 2019. Marcus has got through to Final Open, qualifying 4 times up to now either by qualifying at first stage or exemption via World Ranking.

As Marcus did not get into the top 50 Challenge Tour Order on Merit, he will be playing The Alps Tour in 2020 as he still has full exemption from his achievements in 2018.

Some people say starting late as a pro is a disadvantage - but Marcus doesn't see it that way. For him it was an advantage because he had to find a way to work harder and play smarter to catch the players ahead of him. Finding this formula for success has served him well on the tour and is evident in his steep progression to the Challenge Tour after just two seasons.

As the prize money is not lucrative on the second and third tiers of golf, to fund it Marcus also has to work. During the winter months he takes on any employment he can. This has included labouring, working in retail shops, night clubs, looking after dogs at home and caring for an autistic adult. In addition to this, in 2019 he set up a shares programme which was an inside the "ropes" look at life on tour.

Going forward, Marcus is focusing on promoting his social media, if you'd like to follow him you can do so searching @marcusmohrgolf on Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.

Catherine Wignall (Meynell 2000-2009)

Catherine attended Ellesmere from the age of nine and was one of the first students to study for the International Baccalaureate Diploma at the College. She developed her interest in writing while still at Ellesmere. She made a number of short films and directed the Meynell House Play for both her Lower and Upper Sixth years.

After leaving Ellesmere in 2009, Catherine took a gap year and joined the National Youth Theatre where she received training as an Assistant Stage Manager. This led to work experience in the West End. She also wrote and directed a play called 'Imitation of Life', which was staged in the Arts Centre, during this time. Catherine continued her involvement with theatre at the University of Warwick, writing and directing her own work, but gradually began to focus more on screenwriting and film.

Graduating with First Class Honours in English Literature, Catherine went on to become the youngest-ever winner of the national Euroscript-Underwire Screenwriting Competition. She secured work as a Production Assistant on advertisements and shows for ITV, and also gained worked at film festivals, as well as becoming a member of the National Youth Film Academy.

Her photography has been featured on websites and in publications, as well as in the opening credits for the Sky-HBO television show Strike Back: Project Dawn. She has also written for various websites, reviewing TV shows and producing articles on popular culture, developing an international following. Catherine has had several short films produced.

In 2017, Catherine was awarded a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship alongside a Fellowship from UCLA in recognition of her potential. She completed her Master of Fine Arts course in Screenwriting at UCLA Film School, in Los Angeles in 2019.

While she was studying, Catherine started to meet with many production companies, including NBC, HBO and Netflix, to name a few. In a meeting that took place in her last semester, she pitched a script to an Executive at Blumhouse. The script was called ChristMASS INVASION and was a comedy horror alien invasion Christmas movie that she was writing for fun. Blumhouse were blown over with the script which they have gone on to make in to a St Patrick's Day holiday horror movie called Crawlers.

Nine months after graduating, Catherine's first Hollywood movie is due to be released with several projects bubbling away in the background, we can't wait to see what Catherine achieves next!

Alex Lovén MBE (Wakeman-Lambart 1999-2004)

Alex left Ellesmere back in 2004 and went on to create Net World Sports, a multi-million pound sports supplies business based in Wrexham. The 'business' started here at College - Having bought a cricket bat online for £60 Alex emailed the manufacturers and asked how much it cost to make. They replied saying £6, so he bought 10 directly and began selling them to friends and teachers. A couple of years later, 17-year-old Alex began working seven days a week at a builder's merchants and had soon saved up £13,000. Eager to start selling, he ordered an entire container of sports nets and the risk paid off. By this point Alex was working 24 hours a day aided by his father's support with packaging. In 2009 Net World Sports became a limited company and the rest, they say, is history… Alex's business is now a leading international sports equipment provider with over 5,000 product lines which they sell to customers in more than 100 countries across the world. The company has grown rapidly in a relatively short space of time winning Alex a vast array of national and international business awards.

Ryan Morley (Wakeman-Lambart 2006-2010)

Ryan left Ellesmere in 2010, choosing not to go to university, he became an Intelligence Analyst within the Royal Air Force.

The intelligence world is something many are aware of, but few every interact with. Military intelligence is full of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Through the last 5 years, Ryan has found himself in the middle of key world events; from the hunt for Jihadi John, to the response following the Tunisian terror attacks and the airstrikes against Syria. Despite often being the youngest person in the room, Ryan has influenced the decisions of key decision makers, including the Prime Minister.

Now working in the joint cyber-communications group, Ryan has first-hand experience on how the world is changing during the cyber age.

Dr Robert Russell (Talbot 1970-1974)

Robert was born in Malaysia where he lived until the age of eight years when he left for boarding school in England. At 13 years he joined Ellesmere College as a Talbot boy. Robert really enjoyed his time at school, making new friends and learning and absorbing the new culture in which he found himself. He finished his secondary schooling at 19 years, having taken and passed his A Levels.

After leaving school Robert wanted to travel the world, and did so for several years, going to Europe, USA, Asia and Australia, taking up numerous part-time jobs along the way. At 23 years he finally embarked on tertiary education undertaking a three year course in Rural Estate Management at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, with a view to joining the family tea growing business in Malaysia.

Upon graduating Robert decided to work in Singapore instead, where he stayed until he married in 1984 and returned to the UK in 1985. Robert started a family and continued in property until the 1989 crash, when he decided that he would pursue a career as a Personal Development Consultant. After much formal training, he commenced working full-time as a professionally qualified personal development consultant in 1991, initially under his own trading name of Robert Russell, offering Hypnotherapy, NLP, CBT, Stress Management and EMDR. He quickly threw himself into his new passion and started taking further relevant courses, particularly certified courses in Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), in order to advance his knowledge and ability to help clients. By 1995 Robert was lecturing students in Hypnotherapy, NLP, CBT, Stress Management and EMDR.

After taking on numerous celebrity clients, Robert managed to showcase and discuss his work in the media through TV, newspapers and magazines. He then expanded his business further and in doing so set up Mindset Synergy to promote Hypnotherapy, NLP, CBT, Stress Management and EMDR, along with Business Motivation and Development, Goal Setting, Team Building and Sport Psychology. He progressed his career through contracts with several companies. He still sees individual clients and supports them on personal issues and continues to undertake student lecturing.

As Robert's work has progressed, he has set up Training Alliance Group (TAG) along with two other experienced personal development trainers. Through his various personal development ventures, Robert is enthusiastic about his work and his future in the years ahead.

Robert has been an avid supporter of the OE Club for many years and is a regular attendee of our London based events.

Kevin Dyas (Meynell 1977-1982)

Kevin is a consultant and entrepreneur working in the Water Treatment Industry. Since graduating in Chemistry from University of Manchester in 1986, Kevin has spent most of his career solving water quality problems in many markets including automotive, healthcare and education. His innovative approach to problem solving has lead to the creation of several companies who design, build and deliver products and services to these markets.

He is an advisor to a number of NHS hospitals. In 2012 Kevin was selected as the lead water quality consultant for the Olympic Games Athlete's Village, a project which helped him develop a new app for tap flushing! He also claims that a patent he authored for hospital decontamination had its roots in his O level Chemistry note book from 1978, copied straight from the blackboard of David Walker.

In his spare time Kevin enjoys being a groom to his daughter's horses, eating curry and attempting to pass his A level Maths.

Major Neil Eisenstein (Woodard 1992-2000)

Major Eisenstein is a trainee trauma and orthopaedic surgeon. He studied medicine at the University of Oxford and subsequently joined the British Army in 2007. He is undertaking a PhD research programme at the School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham. This research involves the development of a novel treatment for heterotopic ossification as well as advanced physicochemical analysis of mineralised tissue.

In addition, he is involved in a start-up project using technology for non-union prevention and fracture healing monitoring. He is also interested in shaping the civilian and military strategic approach to trauma care by developing the "left-of-bang" concept.

Lt Col Richard Jones (Lambart 1979-1984)

Even a brief overview of Richard's CV tells you that careers are no longer straight lines, from working on the family farm to winning the 'Best Officer Cadet' at Sandhurst at the age of 19 - to starting his army career as a Platoon Commander with the Ghurkha Rifles and with two terms in Afghanistan under his belt. During which time Richard managed to complete 6 year online degree in History and Humanities with Birmingham University.

Richard had a spell in the West Mercia Police Force, where he has worked in various roles in both CID and uniform, trained as an armed response officer and worked as a Detective on the Murder Investigation Squad. More recently embarking on a Masters degree in War Studies with King's College London, Richard completed this in 2012 and still found time to get married to Louise in 2008. In 2013 he returned to the Regular Army to run the Employer Engagement team for the Midlands.

Ross Jobber (Lambart 1977-1982)

Ross is a Managing Director at Citibank and the Deputy Head of European Research. He left Ellesmere in 1982 and graduated in Pharmacology from Kings College, London in 1987. He has spent his analytical career as both a UK specialist as well as a Pan European Technology analyst, having held these positions principally at UBS (1992-98) and Deutsche Bank (1998-2001).

He has also held a number of global and regional research management positions both at Deutsche Bank (2001-2009) and latterly at Citibank London.

Edwina Grosvenor (St Oswald's 1998-2000)

Since graduating in 2005 from Northumbria University where she studied Criminology and Sociology, Edwina has developed a career in prison reform. Her work has taken her all over the UK and around the world, visiting different models of criminal justice and witnessing first hand examples of best and worst prison practice. From the children residing in Nepalese prisons to the death row residents in the United States high security institutions, Edwina has made it her mission to act as a witness to prisons wherever she may be.

Between 2007-2011 Edwina supported and advised The Right Reverend The Bishop of Liverpool and Bishop of prisons, James Jones. She was on the Corston Coalition of Independent Funders, driving implementation of the report for Female offenders in 2007. Edwina sits on the advisory board to the Centre for Criminology in the Faculty of Law at the University of Oxford.

For the last five years, Edwina has sat on the Women's Advisory Board for Female Offenders under The Secretary of State for Justice, to advise the Government and oversee the reforms to the female prison estate. During this time, a progressive female offender strategy was published which emphasized the need to reduce the number of women in prison, to understand trauma in a gender specific sense and it also moved towards a recognition that the vast majority of women in prison should and could be better cared for in the community.

Edwina is the founder and Chair of One Small Thing, an organisation that works with prisoners and staff in both male and female prisons and in the community. One Small Thing was set up to encourage a better understanding of trauma within the prison system and how to deal most effectively with those who have experienced it. It is now reaching beyond the prison walls and Edwina is currently working on redesigning the Justice system for women in England and Wales.

She is a founding investor and Ambassador of the Clink Restaurant chain, which trains prisoners for work in the catering industry. The four large fine dining restaurants, which are open to the general public, are built in prisons and staffed by men and women who are still serving time in order to train them in the necessary skills to secure a job in the catering industry upon release. The Clink has a 90% success rate with its graduates. She is a trustee to the Centre for Mental Health and Patron of Paladin, which is the country's only national stalking advocacy service.