"By keeping yourself open to new opportunities you may find an unexpected route that is perfect for you."

Current Job Title & Employer:
Duty Editor, Formula 1

OB years:
2004-2011

Brief description of your path after Brentwood:

I studied History and Politics at the University of Dundee before gaining my Gold Standard NCTJ Diploma in Journalism at News Associates (London) in 2016. 

How has your career path led you to where you are now?

Following my diploma I joined TalkSPORT as a writer for the website, before moving on to become a local news reporter with EssexLive/Essex Chronicle/Brentwood Gazette in November 2017. After passing my senior journalism exams within Reach PLC (the publisher that owns these titles) I was promoted to Assistant Content Editor in June 2019. In March 2020 I was appointed Digital Content Lead to lead the new HertsLive site at its launch. These roles were my introduction to editing but I always had an intention to work back in sports journalism. In October 2021 I joined Reach PLC’s national titles (Daily Mirror/Daily Express) as a Sports Content Editor on the non-football sports team. In April 2023 I left Reach to join Formula 1 as Duty Editor for the official website where I, and the Senior Editor, manage our team and the written editorial/journalism content. 

Did you develop any particular skills or attributes at Brentwood that have helped your career?

I always enjoyed my politics and history classes at Brentwood which ultimately led me down the path I chose for university. Those classes also taught me how to write objectively - and gave me the building blocks for what would come later. My drama classes and LAMDA classes that I did at Brentwood have also helped me down the line, in terms of playing around with words and language as well as presentation skills. 

My love for sport has also always been a part of me and being a member of the fencing team throughout my time at the school is something I look back fondly on. 

Favourite Brentwood memory?

Definitely sporting - I will always remember winning my age group title at the Public Schools Fencing Championships in Nottingham in 2009 for the school!

Any words of advice for those graduating this year?

I would always say follow a path that you are passionate about, don’t be afraid to say yes to new things and always, always ask questions. As I was once told, the only stupid questions are the ones that don’t get asked. 

By keeping yourself open to new opportunities you may find an unexpected route that is perfect for you. I never planned to be an editor when I first thought about journalism - yet here we are!