Lewes Old Grammar School hosted the first of its career cluster evenings for years 10-13 in late November, the central theme for this debut session being around finance, accountancy, management and economics.

Organised by Mr Alikhan, the aim of the evening was to learn more about paths into these career areas via some excellent guest speakers, each of whom has a LOGS connection.

The first speaker was David Haw, who left LOGS in 2016, read economics at the University of Bristol and was just finishing an internship for Civica within data analytics and operations. Jack Whyte spoke second – he is a physics graduate, also from the University of Bristol, having left LOGS in 2011. Jack qualified as a chartered accountant through the graduate programme and currently works for Deloitte as an assistant manager.

Following a short interval where students and parents could mingle with the guests and ask questions more informally, Sarah Butti was next to present. Sarah is also a former pupil and left in 2009, before studying business and finance at the University of Sussex. Sarah worked in various capacities for organisations such as Nestle and currently works as a financial controller for Dermalogica.

The final speaker was James Clarry, who is a LOGS parent and is the chief operating officer for Coutts and Co. James has had a diverse career spanning over 20 years and was able to offer a highly experienced perspective into this area of study. Representatives from the University of Sussex and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, Mona Issa and Nick O’Hara respectively, also very kindly attended the evening to field questions and provide literature for the event.

Said Mr Alikhan: “Each of the speakers were incredibly engaging and were able to tailor their presentations to the needs of our students. The guests gave a detailed insight into their day-to-day roles and were able to connect with our audience. Our students will have benefited greatly from our guests’ expert guidance and I really think that this event has served as a contribution to better understanding this area of study.”

Career cluster evenings will be held termly and the spring event will focus on the various opportunities in the field of medicine.