Friends of Rugby High
Please Join Us!
We would like our former students to re-connect with us at Rugby High. We are interested in hearing about your career and would like you to complete ourJoin Us Form.
Join Friends of Rugby High School
Maybe you would also be keen to become a career mentor or be able to offer our current students work placements? Don’t worry if you are not working, we would still like to hear what you have been up to since leaving Rugby High.
As a Friend of Rugby High you shall receive a twice-yearly newsletter, and, in time, a chance to network with other Friends of Rugby High.
Take a look at the Career Profiles of some former students below.
We look forward to hearing from you.
School anthem
Do you still remember all the words to the school anthem ‘Unto Thee O Lord Do We Give Thanks’? Enjoy this performance of the anthem!
Alumnae stories
We love hearing from our fabulous alumnae and here we share some of their stories!
Amy Clement, Deputy Company Manager at Hamilton the Musical:
"I moved to Rugby High School for Sixth form in 2010, I was doing OK academically but nothing special. I left RHS in 2012 with 3 A's and a new-found confidence in myself. I am now about to start as Deputy Company Manager at Hamilton the Musical in London, moving on from Starlight Express. I will forever be grateful for my time at RHS and would recommend it to anyone. I genuinely believe it changed my path."
Assistant Company Manager @ Starlight Express
Co-Founder @ Her Game Too
Sarah Stokes (née Laughran): From Corporate Career to Kitchen Success
"I'm now based in Yorkshire and I launched my flavoured butter business, The Yorkshire Kitchen, with my husband, starting from a family recipe. After catching the eye of James Martin in our first year, while still holding down full-time corporate jobs, we now both work full time in the business, which is going from strength to strength.
After leaving Rugby High following top marks in my A-Levels, I went to Lancaster University to study Business Studies. Following my graduation, I honed my business knowledge, gaining experience in branding and digital marketing at large companies across the UK. But after meeting husband Jamie at University, and with two children in tow, we left our corporate careers to build a food business.
Born from a brandy butter recipe that we thought would be popular, we launched a range of sweet, flavoured butters that can be used with pancakes and pastries. After attending a few initial food festivals, we found we simply couldn’t make the product quick enough! We were selling out at every show we went to and the amazing response from customers blew us away!
From listening to customer feedback, we’ve now launched a range of flavoured savoury butters which can be used to cook meat and fish, stir into pasta, or simply spread on crusty bread. This range has become even more popular than the sweet butters, catching the eye of James Martin who cooked with them on his Saturday Morning show.
The business naturally grew quite rapidly over the first year, with Jamie taking the decision to leave his corporate job in this time. The business scaled up further in the second year, and I’ve now joined the business full-time. Last year The Yorkshire Kitchen signed up to a national distributor, won 2 Great Taste Awards for our butters and made appearances on QVC and ITV.
I commend my time at Rugby High School for helping me to build my drive, determination and ambition to succeed. I look back at my time at school with very fond memories and I have no doubt the school and the amazing teachers there played a big part in who I am today and where my journey has taken me.
With all hands on deck this year, we have big plans, hoping to expand our range of butters, increase retail stockists and explore exporting."
Check The Yorkshire Kitchen out here: www.theyorkshirekitchen.com
Emily North, Curator of Archaeology at the Yorkshire Museum, York Museums Trust:
"I attended Rugby High School from 2005-2012. The school taught me creativity, organisation, and people skills that still shape my life today. I also left Sixth Form with a wonderful group of friends and I love seeing them thrive as we grow older together."
"I’ve worked at the Yorkshire Museum in York for nine years and am now Curator of Archaeology. I’m privileged to care for and share internationally important collections dating from Prehistory to the English Civil War. I’m currently curating my first exhibition and earlier this year I met famous Classicist Professor Mary Beard (see pic)! I wouldn’t have this amazing career without the wonderful Classics and History departments at RHS.”
Carrie de Silva:
“I started at Rugby High in 1971 and left just before O levels with no qualifications, having run away from home to live in a London squat! But I went on to do O and A levels at East Warwickshire College and am now near to retirement as a Professor of Law having had an academic career for the past quarter century.”
“The firm foundation, the ethos and the memories of RHS have stayed with me, and provided a rock-solid foundation for future studies, once life got onto a more even keel. And not a Christmas goes past without me thinking of the music and artwork at RHS that made the season so special - it has stayed with me for life.”
Carrie de Silva LlB (Hons) MA FHEA
Visiting Professor of Real Estate Practice Law, Harper Adams University
Honorary Professor, Royal Agricultural University