On Wednesday 4th March, we welcomed local schools and a fantastic lineup of speakers to Tormead as part of our Careers in Creative, Performing Arts, Design and Sport Networking evening.

From the delights of receiving new children’s books in the post daily whilst working for the BookTrust and working with amazing authors and illustrators as an editor, to the joy of travelling the world as regional director of marketing for Airbnb and speaking to Apple’s CEO Tim Cook about marketing Apple TV+ to European audiences, the participants in the Creative Careers room were inspired by our speakers to think big.

Our Performing Arts Careers lineup included an experienced actor, a writer/comedian, and a film/TV director and playwright who imparted excellent advice to those interested in pursuing a career making or starring in theatre, television or film. From the challenges of freelancing to making the leap and starting a business, the variety of work environments and exciting projects on offer were endlessly appealing. Standout advice included embracing your individuality as the key to success in the creative industries.

The variety of projects our Design Careers speakers – an architect, an interior architect and an urban designer – work on was impressive. From large-scale long-term projects mapping out new towns, to reworking and refitting office buildings to a high client spec, to creating inspiring and effective educational spaces for special-needs schools, we learnt that a career in design can take you in many directions. However, all three guests spoke about having people at the centre of everything they design, with the most satisfaction gained from seeing their work improve people’s wellbeing.

The variety continued in the Sport Careers room. From working to make people move better as a physiotherapist to helping them achieve more as a sports psychologist, from working to promote women’s rugby and cricket to heading up the men’s running business for Nike in Europe, our passionate guest speakers work in completely different roles but demonstrated that if you love a sector, you can find a place and an inspiring career.

A huge thank you to our community of parents and alumnae for giving up their time to impart their experience, advice and guidance to the next generation.

Fiona Thie, Director of Careers