Tower and Town, August 2018

  (view the full edition)

St John's Students: Where Are They Now?

No. 2: Lilli Loveday

I was at St. John’s from 1997-2004 – starting secondary school at the same time the first Harry Potter book was released and Harry began Hogwarts! St. John’s ‘set me up’ in ways innumerable: I studied Latin until A Level, and went on to do this at University. I joined an exchange to The Gambia, and went on to work there. But, I also gained confidence and a sense of ‘belonging’ from my friendships.

I met three of my (still) closest friends in Year 7. We were together in Y Tutor Group (considered the ‘uncool one’!). But the four of us were less bothered about trying to ‘fit in’ - we had each other, spending (literally) ALL our time together! We enjoyed studying, and took extra subjects at GCSE and A Level. We’d pride ourselves on knowing the latest Harry Potter trivia, which (obviously) made us infinitely cool (or at least once everyone had caught on to the Harry Potter buzz!). And, after finishing our GCSEs, we were the first ones in our year to go to Glastonbury (definitely making us ‘cool’!). We liked to think we ‘pushed the boundaries’/didn’t always toe-the-line. In reality, the height of our rebellion was probably creating a football field out of empty ink cartridges/paper and sticking it to a classroom table!

We formed a Debating Society and an Amnesty Society. I wrote letters during lunchtimes and debated the death penalty/fox hunting (remarkable, as I was incredibly shy as a child). I learnt the importance of knowing the other side of the argument. I learnt the value of being a voice for those whose voices aren’t heard. One (perhaps less planned) outcome of this new-found voice was that, along with my trusty Y Tutor Group trio, we championed the ‘rights’ of our fellow classmates. When we were unhappy about decisions about the Common Room or that the Leavers’ Ball date clashed with Glastonbury – we let senior staff know!

Raising others’ voices is a huge and ever-present driving force behind what I have gone on to do in my work. I work in international development, and currently manage a nine-country research programme (Real Choices, Real Lives) for Plan International which tracks girls as they grow-up and provides evidence for policy/programming.

Sarah Bumphrey