Over 100 senior boys and parents attended The John Lyon School’s first-ever Finance Careers Evening.

Organised by Head of Careers Jo Morris and former JLS teacher Brian Holgate, the event featured five Old Lyonian delegates, all of whom work in finance.

They were introduced by the President of the Old Lyonian Association, Mike Christelow, of HSBC Banking, who was a pupil from 1966-1973.

Each delegate spoke about his current position in the finance world and the route he had taken to reach it. Then the meeting broke up for students to ask their own questions.

The delegates were (with their dates of leaving):
• John Marsden (1969), Venture Capitalist
• Andy Marsden-Jones (1973), Regulatory Compliance
• Paul Simons (1993), Investment Management
• Matthew Ball (1994) Actuary
• Des McEwan (1998), Audit Management.

The event in the Boyd Campbell Hall also featured a stand from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The parents who came were very appreciative. “We thought it was a very useful evening,” and “it is good for the JLS boys to see where people just like them had got to,” were typical comments, while “please can we have more events like that on other careers?” was a frequently asked question.

The students were equally enthusiastic. One Sixth-Former with a university place to read Economics and Management said: “I hadn’t realised how many possibilities would be open to me on graduation.” Another said he enjoyed the opportunity to talk to people who are experts in their field.

Mrs Morris was very pleased with the way the convention had gone: “I would like to thank the Old Lyonians who made the time to give the boys a very interesting and stimulating evening. I hope it will be the first of several similar events.”