Name	: Cal Halbert
Form	: V
Year	: 2009

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Belvidere?
Mr Thomas and I singing constantly on the Berlin Trip.

What did you enjoy about Belvidere School?
It's hard to put it down to one thing. All in all, I had a fantastic time but I will always be biased to Mrs Young and Drama!

What do you miss the most?
Having no major concerns, worries or problems to deal with and whenever there was one of these things, the fantastic support network at Belivdere, friends and staff alike!

Did you make friends at Belvidere who are still friends today?
A few, but I lost contact with the majority of people when I moved away.

What did you do after you left School?
After Belvidere I studied at Shrewsbury Sixth Form College. Once finished I move to Newcastle Upon Tyne.

Where are you now? What are you doing?
I'm now based in Newcastle Upon Tyne and working as a Comedian and Impressionist all over the country and globe!

If you could do it again what would you do differently?
I don't think so, hindsight is a remarkable thing, pointing out things left right and centre, but I doubt I would be the way I am without Belvidere School.

What advice would you give to students about making the most of their time at Belvidere/career/exams/gap year/ambition\etc.?
You can tell a lot about people from what they worry about, so don't panic about things. Also, there's no such thing as talent, hard work is all you need!

 

Name	: Rachael Hill
Form	: L
Year	: 2008

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Belvidere?
Friends I met there, Mrs. Barber, Favourite subjects such as- food tech/PE

What did you enjoy about Belvidere School?
Meeting a lot of new people from the surrounding schools

What student activities were you involved in?
Netball/trampoline club/ sports captain

What do you miss the most?
Seeing people less/having an easier work load then at uni

What memories stick out in your mind?
Form time/the last day- shirt signing/

Did you make friends at Belvidere who are still friends today?
yes!

What did you do after you left School?
Went to Sixth Form College, and now training to be a primary school teacher at Edge Hill University

Where are you now?
Living in Shrewsbury, working for a children’s charity (Home Start) and training to be a primary school teacher

What are you doing? (Is it what you thought you would be doing? Or what the School thought you would be doing?)
I thought I would go to college and uni, but I didn’t know it would be to do teaching

If you could do it again what would you do differently?
Just have an outlook which is more mature and positive about school- as I only realised after I left that I did really like my time at Belvidere

What advice would you give to students about making the most of their time at Belvidere/career/exams/gap year/ambition\etc.?
Don’t do subjects everyone does- do your own thing/ make the most of your time at Belvidere, although it feels a long time- the life after school is a lot more busy and more responsibility is placed on you.

Name	: Jack Harrison
Form	: I
Year	: 2008

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Belvidere?
The Sue Herbet centre- it was me and my friends’ shelter from the rain, ‘common room’, and venue for all manner of teenage ‘debates’ and fun.

What were the phrases, films, trends, etc. when you were at School?
Phrases such as ‘wicked’ and ‘cool’ seemed big, whilst ‘lol’ and ‘lmao’ were pretty cutting edge...I remember watching various films such as the Lord of the Rings, King Kong and the Mummy, all of which looked like they had amazing special effects back then, but which are dated now. Me and my friends all had regrettably long hair and liked to wear surf/skate brand t shirts most of the time, which also seems very dated.

What did you enjoy about Belvidere School?
I enjoyed the teaching style- being able to learn plenty, whilst having (some) fun in the process. Long cross country runs around the field in winter and sports day in the Summer were tiring but a good laugh. However, the things I enjoyed most were the spontaneous situations which arose from growing up in such a friendly and diverse environment.

What student activities were you involved in?
I played an instrument in the school orchestra and marching band, as well as playing in the band for the school plays. I completed my Duke of Edinburgh Bronze and Silver awards which were great fun. I went on as many school trips as I could, managing to make it to Berlin and Belgium on history trips, the year 7 French trip and skiing in the Italian alps, all of which were unforgettable experiences.

What do you miss the most?
Being a teenager in a swirling environment of multiple backgrounds, personalities, and ages, where every day brought some new experience or story.

What memories stick out in your mind?
Coming to enjoy P.E more and more as I found things I could excel at in amongst all the different sports- the 400m at sports day became my specialty! The initial anxiety and frustration of not understanding maths turning to satisfaction as I was taught to enjoy and properly use it will always remain one of my favorite progressions over my five years at Belvidere. Trying to come up with appropriate accents and modern reinterpretations of Shakespeare (the less said the better).

Did you make friends at Belvidere who are still friends today?
I am still very good friends with almost all of the friends I made at Belvidere- we all still regularly meet up to catch up on what we are now doing and reminisce about our time at school.

What did you do after you left School?
Immediately after leaving school I went to Sixth Form College, where I studied Physics, Chemistry, English Literature and History.
After college, I went to study History at the historic university of Durham.

Where are you now?
I graduated from Durham this year (2013) and have now secured a ‘training contract’ with a leading commercial law firm in London. I am currently studying a one year law conversion course in Birmingham. After six months off to go travelling next year, I will be moving down to London to do another seven month long course, before starting work for two years at my firm’s London office to ‘train on the job’ as a commercial lawyer.

What are you doing? (Is it what you thought you would be doing? Or what the School thought you would be doing?)
I am becoming a lawyer. I have always been interested in a career in Law: the school encouraged this interest, and helped me to get work experience at the Crown and Magistrates courts when I was 15, which was a very valuable experience. Throughout my time at school, no career was ‘mapped out’ for me- I was simply encouraged to pursue and achieve in as many of my interests and strengths as I could, which was a great approach to take, and one which enabled me to make up my own mind about where I would end up. Belvidere provided me with as much help in achieving my goals as I could ask for though!

If you could do it again what would you do differently?
I wish I had made more of an effort learning and continuing with the variety of foreign languages on offer at Belvidere, as these are fundamental to expanding the reach of later life. Like most people, I used to be a bit chatty in lessons- something I regret doing having now had the experience of often speaking in front of others and coaching sport- having a chatterbox makes life a lot harder. School is one of the few times you will have so many knowledgeable, friendly and accessible teachers all in one place, so don’t squander it chatting in lessons and making their life more difficult.

What advice would you give to students about making the most of their time at Belvidere/career/exams/gap year/ambition\etc.?
Everyone has different aims and ambitions, so it is difficult to make catch all statements to help out all students, but that is sort of the point: everyone has their niche and strength- use your time at school to find where you ‘fit in’. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and to try things you never thought you would enjoy in a million years. It’s often these sorts of things which will later come back to you as your most useful experiences. Whatever you end up doing, the early years from school to your first job are the some of the most important you will get; learning never stops and you’ll end up making the best friends and having some of the best experiences you’ll ever have along the way. So...make the most of it!

Name	: Marcus Taylor
Form	: V
Year	: 2006

What student activities were you involved in?
I was in the school orchestra, and went on several trips abroad with them. In the earlier years I also took part in some drama productions. Unfortunately I have no sporting activities or achievements to record!

What do you miss the most?
Short hours and long holidays!

What memories stick out in your mind?
Seeing all of my friends every day and not realising how difficult this would be once we all went our separate ways.

Did you make friends at Belvidere who are still friends today?
Yes, I still have close friendships with a number of former pupils

What did you do after you left School?
I went to 6th form and did my A-levels. Following this I went to Keele University and studied medicine for 5 years, graduating as a doctor in July 2013.

Where are you now?
Although I lived in Newcastle-under-Lyme whilst I was at university, I am currently living and working in Shrewsbury once again.

What are you doing? (Is it what you thought you would be doing? Or what the School thought you would be doing?)
I am currently working as a doctor at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. This is my first job after finishing medical school in July 2013. Being a doctor is what I always said I wanted to do, and people at school always encouraged me to pursue this career.

If you could do it again what would you do differently?
I would have tried to appreciate the carefree time I spent with all my friends a lot more.

What advice would you give to students about making the most of their time at Belvidere - career/exams/gap year/ambition\etc.?
Make sure you work hard and achieve your potential, but don’t neglect the extracurricular activities and friendships that make you a well-rounded and well liked individual.

 

Name	: Will Bond
Form	: D
Year	: 2007

When I left school I was desperate to move away, get stuck into a job and live like an adult, but I persuaded myself to get A Levels and my two years at Shrewsbury Sixth Form were over in a flash. Although I benefited from college socially more than academically, I loved studying English and the skills I learned have helped me in the real world ever since. We would throw college parties each term at The Buttermarket and it was here that I started to DJ. After my final exams I applied for a summer placement with BBC Radio Shropshire, where I wrote articles for their website and interviewed local artists on-air. Shrewsbury has a lot of undiscovered musical talent so the opportunity to reflect this was amazing.

My experience took me to London where I worked at a broadcast PR agency and then a radio newsroom specialising in travel news. Here I would investigate road incidents and write scripts for radio, so I was required to work with graphs, coordinates and traffic data. My Maths and Geography teachers would probably burst blood vessels at the thought of me dealing with this! Challenges aside, waking up at 4am each day wasn’t a novelty and I’d neglected my passion for music and creative writing, so I swapped the big job for many smaller freelance jobs.
In the last two years, I’ve been writing for music and fashion magazines alongside creating music and DJ gigs. I’m keeping radio as a hobby for now by creating Podcasts where I interview artists and feature their music. Last year I was lucky to DJ in Berlin and New York and doing this has helped me realise there is more to life than just work. I never studied languages at school, so now I’m learning to speak German, as I’d love to spend more time in Berlin and who knows where else!

A memory of school:
I’ll never forget the fun we had doing our school productions. There was Bugsy Malone where we were set loose with ‘splurge guns’ and by the end of the shows we were caked in foam and would fall all over the stage. As for Viva Mexico, I had to wear a gigantic sombrero and sing ‘la cucaracha’ with my best attempts to sound Spanish. We would end up in states of uncontrollable laughter during rehearsals, but everyone would put so much effort into creating the shows. Mr and Mrs Denscombe made everything look so professional with lighting, sound and costumes and then there was Mrs Young, who dedicated all her time to organising us and bringing the shows to life. When I left school, I realised how lucky we were to have so many teachers that would go out of their way to help us. I still have my ‘Year book’ from when I left Belvidere and to look back at what we achieved and experienced in five years still overwhelms me.

Name	:Phil Lowry
Form	:
Year	:1989

Went to Coventry University and completed a European Business and technology degree.

First job was selling finance for NWS bank. He then worked in recruitment for 3 1/2 years between Manpower and Extra Personnel.

In August 1999 with a small group of business partners, he set up Proactive Personnel

To date, they have 10 branches across the Midlands, North West and Shropshire with an approximate turnover of £30 million.

Memories of Belvidere : having a great group of friends and spending as much time as possible doing Sports.

In his spare time, he is obsessed with running, completing several half marathons and the Edinburgh Marathon. In August 2013, he will be running 120 miles over 5 days in the Rockies, Colarado.

 

Name	: Katie Prosser
Form	: D
Year	: 2006

I left Belvidere in 2006 to go on to Shrewsbury Sixth Form College where I completed my A levels.

I then accepted my offer for the University of Oxford (St Edmund Hall) where I completed a very enjoyable 4 year Masters degree in Biochemistry before deciding upon a career in law, with a view to specialising in the area of intellectual property.

I am currently half way through the necessary qualifications to do this, and will begin my training contract with Manches LLP in September 2014.