I was always interested in the sciences and it was natural to choose medicine as my lifelong career.  Despite a love of dance music, and a first ever live DJ gig in the Williams Hall at MTBS in 1996, the DJ career never went global!  After graduating from the University of Liverpool in 2002, I started my medical training as a junior house officer at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital (RLUH). To complete basic training, I rotated through a wide variety of four month rotational jobs in hospitals within Manchester and Liverpool.  After working at Liverpool Cardiothoracic Centre (now Liverpool Heart and Chest) and in the then newly formed chest pain unit in the RLUH, I chose to pursue a career in cardiology.

I completed membership for the Royal College of Physicians in 2005, and accepted a cardiology clinical fellow post at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire.  Spurred on by an interest in heart failure and implantable cardiac devices, I moved to one of the largest international heart failure units at Castle Hull Hospital, Kingston-Upon-Hull.  I worked as a research fellow under the supervision of Professors John Cleland and Andrew Clark, and have recently completed my doctoral thesis (MD).  After starting cardiology speciality training in 2010, based in East Yorkshire, I am now half-way to consultancy.  From 2013 onwards I will be moving for the penultimate time to train in adult congenital heart disease based at Leeds General Infirmary, then to the USA or Canada and beyond!

Damien Cullington

Tim Roberts (1975 Leaver) – Managing Director, Good Measures Limited

With Tim’s background in ecology, he has successfully managed to combine a strong scientific and environmental understanding with those of a seasoned management consultant operating internationally. Tim has spent over 29 years communicating employee initiatives in the UK and further afield, including 17 years as founder and managing director of Talking People (1991 – 2008) and Wyatt (1987 – 1991, now Towers Watson). He has provided internal communication and employee research services to over 100 clients with some partnerships exceeding 26 years, including multinationals/household names in the financial services, consumer, retail, pharmaceutical, (petro)chemical and heavy engineering/manufacturing as well as public sectors. Overall, over 60% of projects focused on pensions alone.

Many of these projects were trailblazers (e.g. the first, global all-employee share plan – Guinness; women serving on board operational ships – The Royal Navy; the modernisation and harmonisation of all group employees’ terms – Lloyds TSB Group; and, balanced-risk pension arrangements for Barclays, Centrica, Bank of Ireland and the UK civil service).

Tim also communicated the first DC pension scheme in the UK for Chase Manhattan Bank in 1987. He also sponsored many trends in employee education and wealth creation leading to multiple, international awards including 13 for Barclays afterwork and over 15 for AstraZeneca’s LifePlanner. Tim has also worked with the UK government on major workplace/public education exercises and personally invented the Combined Pension Forecast (CPF) for Alistair Darling MP, then Secretary of State for Social Security at the DWP.

After reading Environmental Science at London University, Tim became one of the first corporate ecologists in the UK with Redland (now Lafarge). He was then a pioneer environmental consultant with Environmental Resources Limited (now ERM).

Old Boy Philip Ingham (1973 Leaver) made a spontaneous visit to his Old School recently as part of a visit to the UK from his home in Singapore. It was the first time that Philip had been back to Merchant Taylors’ Boys’ School in many years.

Philip is Lee Kong Chan School of Medicine’s Vice-Dean for Research, Professor of Developmental Biology and the inaugural Toh Kian Chui Distinguished Professor. Philip made the trip over to the UK as he has been awarded the highly prestigious Waddington Medal.

The Waddington Medal is the only national award in developmental biology in the UK. It is awarded for outstanding research performance as well as services to the subject community. The Medal is named after Conrad Waddington, who was a leading British embryologist and geneticist highly influential in the development of both subjects during the 1930s through to the 1960s. Nominees are outstanding developmental biologists who have made a significant contribution to UK developmental biology and who are still currently active in the field. Previous winners include Professor Jim Smith, Director of the UK Medical Research Council’s National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), in 2013, and Professor Alfonso Martinez Arias from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Genetics, in 2012. The medal is awarded annually at the British Society for Developmental Biology (BSDB) Spring Meeting, where the recipient presents the Waddington Medal Lecture.

I remember reading articles written by alumni when I was still a pupil at Merchant Taylors’ Girls’ School. The smiles of successful doctors, lawyers and vets beamed out from the pages of the school magazine. Their careers were impressive, but they weren’t pathways I aspired to. I hated (and I mean absolutely despised with a vehement passion) every single P.E. lesson I ever had, so I couldn’t relate to the women who had gone on to great sporting achievement either. I found out later that it didn’t matter – just because I wanted to do something that no one else had done before, didn’t mean it wasn’t possible.

My career in fashion journalism started in the classrooms of five teachers. Miss McWatt was happy for me to spend my lunchtimes sketching fashion illustrations in her studio. Mr Donnan taught me how to write news stories (I still have a piece I wrote age 13, pretending to be a reporter for The Sun newspaper, which is part of the News Corporation that I now work for!) Madame Mistry, Mrs Whalley and Mrs Doyle taught me French and Spanish, the languages I would go on to study at Durham University and still use today when dealing with foreign fashion houses. It was an amalgamation of their skills, and of their encouragement, that allowed me to forge a career that none of us had any experience of.

It wasn’t hard, however, to come by the experience I needed.  Fashion is an industry where you learn the ropes by shadowing as many people as possible, and enthusiasm will get you everywhere. I interned at magazines in my breaks from University term time, and it helps if you can write as much as possible on small platforms too – whether that’s a blog, a website, or contributing to independent magazines. My first paid writing job paid me just 1p per word! After leaving University I went on to obtain a Master’s degree in fashion journalism from London’s Central Saint Martins, whilst doing a full time one year internship at ELLE magazine. It took me a while to get a ‘proper job’ as a fashion writer at The Times, but persistence paid off.

The skills and values instilled at Merchants can be applied to any career – little things, no matter how unusual, do grow in harmony. At school, I wasn’t one of the cool kids; I certainly never imagined I would have the chance to sit front row at Milan fashion week. But that’s the great thing about growing up – who and what you become, is entirely up to you.

(2006 Leaver)

Medicine Presentation – ‘You can have it all’

Dr Vidhi Taylor-Jones (MTGS 1990-97)

Merchant Taylors’ Girls’ School were delighted to have former student Dr Vidhi Taylor-Jones deliver a presentation to Year 11 and L6 girls about medicine. Vidhi is passionate about girls having careers in medicine and she dispelled any myths about what a career in medicine would be like. Vidhi spoke at length about the broad and diverse range of careers in medicine, and gave useful advice about work experience and UCAS applications. Vidhi is a Consultant Anaesthetist at Aintree Hospital and Medical Instructor at the Centre for Simulation and Patient Safety.

After leaving Merchant Taylor’s Lindsay studied Hotel and Catering Management in Manchester, following that with many years running restaurants and latterly a wine bar and private room in Mayfair.  It was during this last position that Lindsay was inspired to further her knowledge of wine by attending two courses run by the Wine and Spirit Education Trust, which she loved!

In 1989 Lindsay married and moved out of London to live in Warwickshire and decided to further a career in the wine trade.  She joined Grants of St James Specialist Wholesale division selling wine into the restaurant trade, where her knowledge of that industry proved very useful.

Whilst pregnant in 1994 she took voluntary redundancy from Grants when they were taken over by Matthew Clarke.  Not wishing to work full time whilst her children were young Lindsay decided to become self employed working out of someone else’s portfolio.

In 2007 Lindsay and her family had the opportunity to spend five months living near Barcelona, which was the perfect opportunity to develop some relationships with Spanish wineries.  Lindsay and her two daughters learnt Spanish, though the girls found it easier than Lindsay did and it certainly made her wish that she had been offered the opportunity of learning Spanish in place of French at Merchant Taylors’!

Having returned to the UK, Lindsay set up Wine Poole which she has continued to grow steadily and organically.  In addition to importing direct from four wineries in Spain, Wine Poole also buys from three major UK importers plus two specialist importers of New Zealand and Argentinean wines.  They supply local hotels and restaurants as well as individuals all over the UK through their website.  Lindsay runs a number of local wine clubs and they hold two large open tastings each year.

Wine Poole allows Lindsay to indulge her passion for tasting wine, with managing a flourishing business and having close contact with local hotels and restaurants, an industry which is still close to her heart.

Contact:

Lindsay Poole (nee Ryder)

1976 Leaver

Wine Poole Ltd

Tel:  00 44 1926 490970

[email protected]

www.winepoole.co.uk

Philip is navigating his way to the top
Former pupil Philip Cave has been recognised by his sponsor company, Princess Cruises, for his dedication and achievements throughout his training.  Philip, who is the youngest officer in the fleet, is currently studying at Fleetwood Nautical College.
The maritime industry is of crucial importance to the UK. It brings £14 billion per year to the UK economy. An essential part of this is the vibrant maritime training programmes available to train new seafarers.
The award aims to encourage and recognise quality within the maritime industry. Nominations are made by nautical colleges alongside the trainee’s sponsoring company. The winner is decided by a panel of judges, including representatives from the MCA and other industry figures.
Philip said:
“Ever since I was invited onto the bridge eight years ago whilst on a cruise, I have wanted to be a Deck Officer, and qualifying as a 3rd Officer makes me feel that I have achieved my goal. I would like to thank my lecturers for their tireless and continuous support and Princess Cruises for giving me a First Class Cadetship. I know I have a great future to look forward to as a fully qualified officer with the company.”
Philip Naylor, Director of Maritime Safety and Standards at the MCA, said:
“In presenting this award to Philip Cave, the MCA is absolutely delighted to recognise the enthusiasm, commitment and positive attitude that he exhibited at all stages of his training. These are qualities that will help to shape the future leaders of our maritime industry in the UK and which will ensure that we can maintain the UK’s position of global leadership in maritime business.
“I would also like to offer Philip my very best wishes for an enjoyable and fulfilling career at sea.”
James Hallé, HR Manager at Princess Cruises, said:
“During the last three years, Phil has been an absolute pleasure to deal with. A model cadet, Phil always conducted himself in a professional manner and has attained high academic results through nothing other than hard work and determination.
“Phil has been favourably reported upon during each of his ship appointments and I believe this is down to his respectful and courteous manner. Phil has developed in to a competent Junior Officer who will go from strength to strength. We are all very proud of him and wish him every success in his on-going career.”

The award was presented at the Marine Society and Sea Cadets Ninth Annual Court in London yesterday by Shipping Minister, Stephen Hammond MP.

It’s been five years since Merchants’ alumna Ilsa Parry won the BBC Design for Life T.V. show on BBC2. Aired in 2009, the programme saw 12 young product designers battle it out to win a placement with world renowned professional Philippe Starck.

Being crowned the winner meant that Ilsa spent 6 months working in the Starck agency in the heart of central Paris, launching her career at the top end of the scale working on projects for some of the world’s most revered furniture and product brands.

Since returning, Ilsa has been busy working freelance on a range of projects for private clients whilst running her design-led product realisation and retail business REthinkthings LTD. The brand has grown over the last four years to employ five staff and three interns and has assisted 60 designers to create over 100 new products for market in various sectors, through licensing and sales.

Ilsa’s vision was to set up a company that collaborated with young UK design professionals to realise creative and ambitious design-led products for the home and gift industries:
“I wanted to provide an opportunity for those design professionals finding it difficult to catch a break, as well as encouraging consumers to aspire to possess products with more meaning. I was lucky when attempting to launch my own career as I had a fantastic opportunity to learn quickly. Working with Starck provided me with the press interest to assist me with marketing my brand and my vision, both cheaply and effectively. So many new graduates are finding it increasingly difficult to launch their careers. They too strive to make a difference to peoples’ lives through design, and often already have the creativity and technical know-how but lack the commercial acumen, contacts and industrial knowledge, to see their ideas through to reality.”

Ilsa is continuing to grow her brand and is focussing much more on the future of the industry by seeking to realise CAM (Computer-Aided Manufacturing) based downloadable products and “make-it-yourself kits”, with an increased focus on family time, product value and visual communication as an engagement tool. She hopes to eventually secure larger premises in the Liverpool area and to encompass a broader range of hireable employee skillsets for bespoke projects, to compliment the creative product range currently on offer.

Ilsa Parry
(1999 Leaver)

The trophies Ilsa designed for the Liverpool Music Awards

Ilsa Parry

Jonathan Stone (2005 Leaver) was interviewed on the Radio 4 “Today” programme on Friday 30^th August 2013 about his work with community based monitoring of volcanoes.
The interview came about as a result of work that Jonathan was presenting at the Royal Geographical Society Annual Conference.

Jonathan’s research involves something called ‘citizen science’, where he works with volunteers to collect data. By using kites and quadcopters with cameras attached, people living around volcanoes can not only provide valuable data, but also learn about the risks that they face. The project is about empowering people to get involved with monitoring volcanoes, so that we can increase our understanding of how they work and how they affect the population around them. Many of the volunteers were 6^th form students from a school in Montserrat, West Indies.

It is worth noting that the first time Jonathan flew a kite like this (powerful enough to lift a camera) was with Dr Patchett and a few others from his physics class after games on a Wednesday….!

Follow Jonathan on Twitter: @jonathanstone10

Francesca Defty was a student at MTGS who finished Sixth Form in 2010. Since then, she has gone on to become an international model and recently gave us an update on her incredible achievements:

My modelling career has allowed me to travel all over the world and I am on the books at several International agencies which has allowed me to live in Barcelona, Milan, Sweden, Madrid and most recently Capetown, South Africa. I am currently based and living in London and making New York my next venture!

I have been fortunate enough to work with many brands and clients including El Corte Ingles, Asos, Bershka and shot several editorial features such as the one featured in the Sunday Express as well as Harpers Bazaar, Glamour, fabulous, Cosmopolitan and Company magazine.

I feel very lucky to be able to travel and be a part of the fashion industry especially as I chose not to go on to university. I really value the experience I have gained through working in fashion and the artists I get to meet on a daily basis. I know I am lucky to have a career in such a competitive field and I’m looking forward to finding out where it will take me next!

The photographs below are taken for a Wimbledon shoot which appeared in The Sunday Express last month: