Please see below some inspiring stories celebrating the remarkable achievements of our Old Decanian community, and the many varied paths our alumni have gone on to take.
From career milestones and creative accomplishments to service, leadership, enterprise and personal achievements, these stories reflect the talent, determination and contribution of Old Decanians around the world.
We would love to hear more about the successes of our Old Decanians. If you have a recent story, achievement or milestone to share, please contact us at lobarton@deanclose.org.uk.
It was a pleasure to hear from Emma Sky OBE (Shelburne 1986), a leading British expert in conflict, reconciliation and stability, whose career has taken her across the Middle East, including serving in Iraq as political adviser to US Generals Ray Odierno and David Petraeus.
Reflecting on the influence of her time at Dean Close, Emma shared:
"Dean Close taught me that quitting is not an option.
I learned that lesson long before I found myself in Kirkuk in 2003, having survived a rocket attack on my house in my first week, with my guards resigning because it was too dangerous to protect me. Somehow, in that moment, the resilience built up through years at Dean Close kicked in. I didn't quit. I found a tent on the airfield and got back to work.
Some of the teachers who shaped me most are with me still - in memory if not in person. Brian Wilson, my Latin teacher, marched me steadily through Caesar's Gallic Wars and on to Virgil's Aeneid. In his study, we had long discussions about Dido and Aeneas - the tragic weight of duty and destiny. He made the dilemmas of the ancient world feel urgently relevant to our own. We called him "Sarky," but his care for us was never in doubt. He gave me my Latin name: Caelum. I rather liked it.
The CCF, too, turned out to be more useful than I could ever have imagined as a teenager. When I arrived in Iraq with no briefing and no plan, the only prior experience I had of the military was as an army cadet at Dean Close. It wasn't nothing.
That grounding in the classics - in questions of duty, sacrifice, and what we owe to others - turned out to be surprisingly good preparation for a career spent in Israel/Palestine, Iraq, and Afghanistan, trying to help end conflict.
My path was never planned. But Dean Close gave me the curiosity to engage with the world, the stamina to keep going when things got hard, and the sense of purpose to ask: how can I contribute to something bigger than myself?"
Emma’s story is a powerful reminder that we never quite know where our education will take us. There are many paths to choose from, and it is truly inspiring to hear how Emma’s time at Dean Close helped shape a life of courage, curiosity and service.
Jack worked as a director on the Netflix documentary series ‘Critical: Between Life and Death’, filming the life-saving work of doctors, nurses and surgeons over 21 days as they treated severely injured patients in London’s network of trauma centres. The New York Times described the six-parter as a ‘powerful and unflinching hospital docuseries’. Following that, Jack spent a year embedded with detectives on Channel 4’s ‘24 Hours in Police Custody’, filming complex investigations into murders, drug trafficking and organised crime.
“My love of writing, music and film really began to develop at school under the encouragement and enthusiasm of my teachers in the English and music departments.”
An inspiring example of where a Dean Close education can lead.
Flo Edwards appeared on the latest season of 'The Apprentice'. Her journey to the show began in early 2023 when watching season 17. Encouraged by family and friends to apply, she went through a rigorous interview process to gain her spot, beating thousands of other candidates to get herself a seat in the boardroom.
In the 12 week long season, Flo was on the winning team for severn out of ten tasks and was honoured to make the final five, earning a prestigious spot in the interview episode. Having learned a lot from her experience on The Apprentice, after launching an Executive Search consultancy, Flo made her decision to step away from recruitment and follow her true passion in life: art.
Charlotte Ivers is a British journalist. She is currently the restaurant critic for The Sunday Times. Charlotte writes for other sections of the paper, covering anything and everything, from the story of Europe’s biggest company to the hunt for the Loch Ness monster. Previously, Charlotte was a columnist for The Sunday Times, and political correspondent for Times Radio, where she was named one of the Radio Academy’s 30 under 30 in the industry.
Charlotte has made television appearances on Question Time and Have I Got News For You.
Harriet Abbott (Fawley 2017), who commissioned at Sandhurst in August 2025 - with her photograph appearing in The Times the following day!
Harriet has joined the RLC (Royal Logistic Corps) and, at her commissioning lunch, found herself seated beside a fellow Old Decanian: Brigadier Jonathan West (Field 1994).
A wonderful example of the Old Decanian network in action, and of the many paths our alumni go on to pursue with dedication, leadership and service.
Laurence Kilsby an outstanding Opera singer studied as an ABRSM Vocal Scholar at the Royal College of Music in London, and at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
Highlights of his 2024-2025 season include engagements at the Opéra national du Rhin and Opéra Comique, as well as concerts with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Reinhard Goebel, the BBC Symphony Orchestra with Hannu Lintu, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France with Leonardo García Alarcón, the National Symphony Orchestra of the Irish National Radio and Television with Peter Whelan, and Ensemble Pygmalion with Raphaël Pichon.
Laurence Kilsby began his training as a chorister with the Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum and won BBC Radio 2’s Young Chorister of the Year award in 2009, before making his solo debut at the Royal Albert Hall.
Gabbie Sills (Shelburne 2018) has gone on to build an exceptional career as a Theatre Producer, working across a range of Olivier Award-winning productions in the West End, Off West End and on UK tours.
It’s inspiring to hear where Gabbie’s passion for Drama and the Arts first began:
“While at Dean Close, I was heavily involved in drama and the arts throughout school, not only performing in shows, but also choreographing, writing, directing, designing, and organising (what I later discovered was producing!).
Now I work as a theatre producer on a range of Olivier Award-winning shows in the West End, Off West End and on UK tours, and I even run my own business. The incredible access to the arts at School, alongside the skills, resilience, and drive I developed at Dean Close, continue to shape my work and fuel my innate passion for the power of live storytelling to change lives.”
We are proud to see an Old Decanian at the forefront of shaping and inspiring the future of the theatre industry.
Dani Gibson is a professional cricketer who has made significant strides in the world of women's cricket, representing England and playing for renowned teams such as the London Spirit, Western Storm and Adelaide Strikers.
Dani made her T20I debut for England against Australia in July 2023. She was awarded her first central contract with England in December 2023, and played one match during England’s tour of India that same month. She has recently returned from the 2024 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Dubai and Sharjah.
Jacob Payton (Field, 2020) has gone on to build an exciting career as a GB and England hockey player.
It is fantastic to hear where Jacob’s passion for the sport first began:
"I developed my passion and love for hockey competing with my friends at school and was always taught to never give up under Gary Tredgett's coaching!"
Jacob Payton won the Men's Junior Performance Player of the Year following an excellent season with Great Britain EDP, England U21 and Exeter University where he was crowned BUCS champion.
He is now thriving within the GB squad and is working towards selection for the FIH Pro League 2026 in London at Lee Valley Hockey Centre, as well as the World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium at the end of August.
Freddie Thomas, has come through the Cherry and Whites' Gloucester pathway, starting at under-13 level in their academy before breaking into the senior team.
Freddie is one of five Gloucester players that was included in Warren Gatland's 35-man Wales group for the autumn internationals alongside fly-half Gareth Anscombe, scrum-half Tomos Williams, centre Max Llewellyn and wing Josh Hathaway. Freddie has just been selected to represent Wales in the Guinness Six Nations 2025.
