Qais, who attended Prince Henry’s from 2004 to 2009, is an Olympian and Commonwealth Silver medallist boxer, who recently won the WBA Continental Champion’s belt. He is now a professional boxer. Qais visited us in school in early 2020 to talk to our Sixth Form A Level PE and BTEC Sport students.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris Bevan always says that 'Prince Henry's was [his] catapult'. He credits Prince Henry's with helping towards his current career, as a Barrister. 

I joined Prince Henry’s in 2004. I joined the school in Year 9 after a very difficult start in life.  In fact, I was raised in care and as far as I could see I had no future, certainly not one as a barrister! This school changed that. In fact, joining this school was the start of something very special and personal to me. I was nurtured by the school to achieve my absolute best through the most difficult of circumstances. Throughout my time with the school, I took all the opportunities available to me, both academic and extra circular. I performed well in my exams and even took some lead roles in the annual school musical on a few occasions. At Prince Henry’s, I was transformed from a scared child without seemingly much hope into a confident young man with a belief that an entire future is out there, beyond those doors, ahead of me. Since leaving school I went on to university and eventually studied law. I then won the most prestigious scholarship from a barrister’s organisation, one of the Inns of Court, which fully funded me to train as a barrister [Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, Diana Princes of Wales Scholarship]. I still have some training to complete, although I now work as a Prosecutor for Leeds City Council prosecuting criminal offences in the local courts. Because you are reading this, my fellow student, you are looking for inspiration. So, I have this to say to you: Strive for the best and be your best. You have all the tools in your bag to do so. Use them. It is down to you and regardless of who you are and where you come from, your whole life is ahead of you. This school is yours, so allow it to help you. Dream big and go get it! Allow this place to be your catapult too.

Christopher Bevan

Dan is an ordinary lad from Otley, who became a Marine Commando. This is a 32-week process which culminates in the Commando tests: endurance crawls through two miles of tunnels, pools, streams, bogs and woods, then a four mile run back to camp and a shooting test, a 90 minutes speed march, carrying equipment and rifle, an aerial assault course in 13 minutes, carrying equipment and rifle, and finally a 30 mile march across Dartmoor, to be completed in less than eight hours, carrying equipment and a rifle. Dan’s interest in fitness started in his GCSE PE lessons at PHGS, and we are all incredibly proud of his achievement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Danny Care is a world-class Rugby player who has represented England at every level.

Born in Yorkshire, the young scrum-half began his professional career with Leeds Tykes in 2003 and went on to become Harlequins most capped player almost 20-years after joining them in 2006. His contributions to the team were instrumental to their victories across Europe and two domestic titles.

After multiple Rugby World Cups and Six Nations tournaments, Danny became just the sixth player to reach 100 Test caps for his country during England's win over Ireland in the 2024 Six Nations Championship.

Shortly after achieving this remarkable milestone, Danny announced his retirement from international rugby and was widely celebrated for not only his stellar England career, but also his unwavering commitment to playing the game his way. 

A keen all-round athlete , Lizzie only took up cycling when she attended a British Cycling Talent Team session at school to avoid a maths lesson and try and beat a schoolfriend who challenged her!

A vegetarian since the age of 10, she had tasted success in athletics, at 800 and 1,500-metre track races, and even played as a goalkeeper for her school football team.

Lizzie is one of the great success stories of British Cycling, developing through the ranks to become a dominant force in women’s cycling, and road world champion in 2015.

She had the honour of being the first British athlete to win a medal - silver - at the home London Olympics in 2012 and became one of the country’s most famous sportspeople.

But her many and varied successes aside from that include a gold medal in the team pursuit at the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, two wins in the season-long UCI Women’s Road World Cup and Deignan entered the new Olympic year of 2016 as reigning world, Commonwealth and national road champion.

In 2019, she performed admirably in front of home crowds as the peloton came through Otley during the UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire.

In September 2018, Lizzie gave birth to her first child, daughter Orla.

Katherine is a BBC Radio Leeds Sports Presenter. In December 2025, she spoke at our Annual Celebration Evening. This is her speech: 

"Thank you so much for inviting me to be a part of your prize giving evening and to help celebrate all your hard work and fantastic achievements over the last year. It’s an absolute honour to be asked to join you.

To be really honest, I’m very very nervous about this part of the evening! It’s really weird that even though I speak on the radio all the time and don’t think twice about it, it’s another matter entirely standing up in front of a room full of people who can actually see me! When I’m on the radio, I’m in a small padded room talking to myself, so my brain can’t compute that anyone is actually listening. It always comes as a surprise if someone mentions they heard me on the radio – really? How? So forgive me if I’m a bit all over the shop, but hopefully we’ll get through it together.

It was lovely a couple of weeks ago to come and have a look around Prince Henry’s and see how much it has changed over the years – and how in many ways it’s still exactly the same. A big thank you to Mr Clarkson for giving me the grand tour.

I started at Prince Henry’s in 1990 and left after A-levels in English, German, Geography and General Studies in 1996 - which feels like a lifetime ago now. In fact it’ll be 30 years next year, which makes me feel REALLY old.

My first form tutor was the fabulous Miss Phillips – but you will probably know her as Mrs Ellis. She was wonderful then and is still wonderful now. Her love of purple was in evidence even in the late 90s. I think we were her very first class as a newly qualified teacher, and incredibly we didn’t scare her off altogether. Our classroom was in the old part of the building, and it was great to go and look through the door the other day and bring back all those memories. I particularly remember that classroom for the day we stank it out with garlic. Me and my friend Caroline had made some extremely potent garlic bread in a cookery lesson – not sure what the official title is for that these days. Unfortunately the lesson was first thing in the morning, and we decided just to stick the bread back in our lockers in the classroom till the end of the day. Which meant that by three o clock that afternoon everyone’s eyes were watering and no-one could figure out why the whole room stank of garlic.

Other memories of Prince Henrys – I think I was in the chorus of one of Mrs Ellis’ Productions – The King and I. Very much hiding at the back and trying not to ruin everyone else’s wonderful singing.

I remember going on school residential, somewhere in the Yorkshire Dales I think- school trips seem to be a lot more glamorous these days and to much more exciting locations. We went on a caving trip that ended in having to climb up a swinging rope ladder after negotiating our way through the tiniest of tunnels, the thought of which still brings me out in a cold sweat to this day.

We had a sixth form Christmas fancy dress party where I’m pretty sure I went dressed as little bo peep for some inexplicable reason. And an end of year prom at the hotel on Otley Road just up from Golden Acre Park, back when school proms weren’t really a thing in the same way they are now.

I had a brief spell on the school netball team as wing attack, turns out I’m probably better talking about sport than playing it. And I wrote a couple of match reports on the school football team for the local newspaper, which was may have been the starting off point for what I do now for a job now.

After leaving Prince Henry’s I went up to St Andrews and did a degree in English Language and Literature. Not sure that ploughing through Beowulf in the original old English text has come in for much use to me over the years, but there we go. I did a work placement one summer with Match Football magazine and ended up as a junior writer with them as my first proper job. Doing that role helped me realise that it was the talking to people and interviewing bit that I really enjoyed, so I went back to university in Birmingham and did a postgraduate diploma in broadcast journalism – that lead to freelancing as a radio journalist and eventually a move into BBC local radio where I am today, as part of the sport team on BBC Radio Leeds.

We cover every single Leeds United, Huddersfield Town and Bradford City match, rugby league from Leeds Rhinos to Batley Bulldogs, Yorkshire cricket, and a whole host of other sports across West Yorkshire from the elite teams and athletes to grassroots clubs. It’s great to be able to champion some of the best upcoming local talent – the likes of gymnast Harry Hepworth who went to Prince Henry’s, and who I understand was back at school to give a talk recently.

I’m really lucky to be able to say I love my job. It’s such a privilege to cover some incredible sporting moments and talk to the players, managers and athletes who I know fans would love to be able to sit down with and pick their brains or call to account.  Why the heck did you pick him? What was that substitution all about? Who are you going to sign in the transfer window?

It can be a challenging job at times. It’s not exactly glamorous when you get back home from a drab draw away at Northampton Town at 1.40 in the morning, being sent on endless diversions on the M1 and you’ve grabbed your dinner from wherever is still open at a service station. And you’ve spent five hours in the freezing cold in a tiny press box with your knees under your chin because there’s no room to move.

But despite all that, it’s very good fun, and every day is different. You never know what might happen next.

One particular example of how the unexpected can happen…. If there are Leeds United fans here tonight, you may remember this. It was my first day back after a year on maternity leave and Marcelo Bielsa – Leeds United manager at the time - called a press conference. We had no idea why, but it was at the heart of all the “spygate” shenanigans where he’d been accused of sending spies to watch Derby County – managed by Frank Lampard at the time – doing their training session ahead of the teams playing one another.

When news of the press conference was confirmed, I went up to the Thorp Arch training ground with Adam Pope, our Leeds United commentator, to be an extra pair of hands should something crazy happen.

Some people thought Bielsa might be about to announce he was resigning, if he felt his integrity was being called into question. Bielsa didn’t resign, instead he gave a long and extraordinary analysis masterclass, showing all the journalists in the room the amount of preparation and detail he and his staff compiled ahead of facing every single opponent. He also said they observed ALL the rivals they played against and watched all their training sessions. Which lead to a £200,000 fine from the EFL for not treating other teams with "good faith". He finished this incredible lecture almost with a mic drop moment and left the room. It was an astonishing thing to witness, and a prime example of how any day as a journalist may turn out in a way you never would have expected.

We’ve had the call to say a manager’s been sacked at 10am on a Sunday morning.  Matches abandoned when you’re already halfway to the ground. Angry fans swearing live on air.

But it’s a fantastic job, and keeps you on your toes.

So if I could offer any advice as you head out into the world after Prince Henry’s, it’s to try and find a job that makes you happy. Work takes up a LOT of your time and a lot of your life, so if you can find a career that doesn’t really feel too much like work – and you get paid for it – it’s a real bonus.

You might now know what that is yet, and that’s fine. No-one has it all figured out straight away. Loads of the people I work with now came into the job after having a totally different career first. The thing you think you want to do now, might not be the same thing in ten years’ time. Don’t panic. You’ll figure it out.  

Any other words of advice? Try and get work experience if you can. It’ll help you suss out what you want to do in the long term and can make a big difference in making contacts with people who might be able to help you further down the line. Particularly in media jobs where there’s so much competition, if you can show you’ve taken a bit of initiative, got a bit of hands-on experience- whether that’s student radio, community radio, hospital radio, that can be a big advantage. Be willing to start at the bottom and work your way up. Shake people by the hand and look them in the eye. Make a round of teas every now and again, it goes a long way."

Abi has worked in the Media and Advertising industry for seventeen years, starting her journey at Virgin Media, moving to the BBC and then to Google where she has been leading partnerships with global advertising agencies and clients for over a decade. Her interest in Media was sparked at PHGS, where she graduated in 2005 and then went on to Goldsmiths University in London, completing an undergraduate degree in Media and Communications. The course was a combination of creative and business modules, where Abi got a taste of both sides of the media world. A highlight was a radio documentary she created about the North-South divide, which received first class honours.

“I graduated university in the thick of the 2008 recession. I had a short-term contract in a creative recruitment company and was exposed to the intense pressure professionals were under. It struck me that the main difference in success or failure was belief in themselves and their capability. It taught me that your attitude is everything and to be a success you had to fiercely believe in yourself.”

Abi ran agency and client partnerships at Virgin Media Television, then led the Youth and Children's Portfolio at BBC Magazines working with brands like Lego, Sony, Hasbro and Nintendo. She was awarded industry recognition for her collaborative, impactful and sustainable partnerships and became part of MediaWeeks 30 Under 30 in 2012. She is now at Google, and leads the UK partnership with the biggest advertising agency in the world whose clients include Sky, L’Oreal, Samsung and Disney. Her job is to guide them through the media and marketing landscape, ensuring Google is a key advertising and technology partner now, and in the future. Abi also cares a lot about enabling the next generation in the media industry, and designed a programme called Strive Leaders which was nominated for a Company Culture and Talent award in 2023. 

“I truly believe the best jobs of the future don't exist yet - with advancements in AI there is so much potential ahead”

Anne Longfield OBE has been the Children’s Commissioner for England since March 2015. She speaks up for children and young people so that policymakers and the people who have an impact on their lives take their views and interests into account when making decisions about them.

She has a legal duty to promote and protect the rights of all children in England with a particular focus on children and young people who are in or leaving care, living away from home or receiving social care services.

She has powers of data collection under section 2f of The Children’s Act (2014) as well as powers of inspection over any institution where children may be housed. These powers were added to the office from the original 2004 act which established the Children’s Commissioner’s role. The Commissioner is independent of Government, children’s agencies, the voluntary and private sector.

In December 2017, she spoke at our annual Celebration Evening:

At midday today, I tuned into Parliament TV to watch proceedings in the House of Lords – a debate introduced by Baroness Brenda Dean.  The debate was on the hundreds of thousands of children that I,as Children’s Commissioner for England, and my team,  have highlighted over recent months.  My role is a public appointment.  I am written into law and paid for by government but independent with a responsibility to be the eyes and ears of children in the system.  It is my responsibility to see where children are being overlooked and tell decision makers what needs to change These children are often hidden from view and highly vulnerable.  And it’s my job to shine a light on their often very challenging lives.

700,000 children today who are living in families where their parents have complex problems – addicted to drugs or alcohol, with mental health problems, with violence in the home.  

The half a million children, the population the size of Leeds, who are so vulnerable they are in the care of the state. The almost 50,000 children in gangs and highly vulnerable.  The list goes on – and these by the way, are conservative estimates.

Baroness Dean in the Lords debate today  likened it to a Dickensian state of being. Children who are having their childhood stolen and their potential held back as a result.

These statistics and data are shocking and important in themselves but these are real life experiences for too many children.  And these are the children that I – and my team are determined to help live better lives: Through new research, through great policy analysis, by taking and understanding children’s real life experiences, by working with the media and by persuading those parliamentarians who make decisions how important this is.  We are planning on changing the balance and to give these kids a chance. I want all kids to have the brightest future possible.

‘I’m talking about this very disturbing issues -  not to bring a cloud over a celebratory evening but to share with you my belief that I do this job because of the foundations that this school gave me some decades ago.

I firmly believe that my time at PHGS – studying History, English and Economics gave me the critical thinking, 

the breadth of horizon, an understanding of how our history has unfolded,  the skills and empathy with others you need to make a powerful argument.

And to strengthen my case on this even more, there is something else quite extraordinary to share.  In my office of 25 people, there is not just one person who attended this school but two.  Here with me this evening is also Jo Green – now my Head of news and media, formerly head of Labour’s press office and a highly skilled and highly regarded writer and media communicator.  

The debate that was held in the Lords today was held because the Evening Standard – the newspaper that sets the agenda for millions of Londoners and decision makers every day- ran a week long front page investigation on ‘lost childhoods’ – based on our report into vulnerability and the real life stories of the children involved.  Jo’s team secured the interest of the Standard which shows just how important his work is.

Now it is very common for people from the some schools to be in positions of influence at the top of government – it’s a well known fact that very recent cabinets have had a high proportion of ministers who attended Eton.  But I’m particularly proud that 10% of my team are Otliensians.  I think the experience and knowledge that we gained from our time at this school has given us a brilliant set of skills and life experiences we can use as a force for good.

Coincidently, Jo and I took the same subjects at A level and although his exams were a decade after me we had almost the same set of teachers. For both of us our time at this school allowed us to discover know who we are and gave us confidence in our abilities. It helped us to understand how we can use those skills to influence positive change in our society.  

Not everyone will choose to follow the career paths that we have taken, but I am struck by the similarity of the range of skills that I think we had the opportunity to gain with the skills that experts predict will be the most valuable skills for the future. 

We know that we are in a time of change – the digital world is developing at speed – most of you here today think that being able to talk to someone face to face at the other side of the world at the click of a button is perfectly normal.  Some of us remember when it wasn’t and its not that long ago. If Facebook was an human it would only just becoming a teenager and just old enough to use its own platform.  That’s something to think about when you consider the billions of users who now see it as a trusted part of their lives.

Artificial intelligence is racing towards us with all the exciting and unknown possibilities it entails.  There are predictions that robots will be taking over many of the jobs of the past.  The world will get faster and smaller and the possibilities will be even more unlimited and yet at the same time more uncertain.

So to deal with all this, the experts tell us that there are some skills that will be invaluable to individuals and society in the future.  They are:

A clear sense of self – who you are and how confident you are with yourself - in a world where individuality will become more important and we move away from one size fits all.

The ability to form networks – to build relationships and, friendships and people who can help

The ability to be flexible and deal and respond to uncertainty

And the ability to come up with solutions – be action orientated and think of new ways of doing things

The ability to look after the world around them – whether that’s the environment, the community, the street or block you live in.

Self confidence as an individual, good at making friends and networks, flexible, able to find new solutions to old problems and an ability to nurture the world around you. These are the things that are going to be prized over decades to come and these are the things that I think PHGS has been able to offer you.

I had the privilege to visit the school last month and talk to teachers and pupils about the work of the school.  I was really impressed by the achievements of children at PHGS and really grateful to the young people I met who talked to me about their concerns and priorities.

I know that you all stepping out into world of work and study and that you have an exciting adventure and journey ahead of you.   But it is your future and your society of the future ultimately and I would encourage each and every one of you to do all you can to influence that future in the most positive way possible.  PHGS has given you a brilliant kitbag and springboard for success and I hope you will benefit from this foundation in all that you do.

We get the society we choose and we all have the potential and responsibility to influence it for the better in any way we can.

Meanwhile, I, Jo and the rest of the team will be turning up the spotlight on vulnerable children with a determination to offer a brighter future for every one of them.  

As AA Milne the author of Winnie the Pooh said – you must always remember – you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.

Congratulations on all that you have achieved and all the very best of luck for all that is to come.

 

Britain’s best selling author on international affairs, Tim Marshall is the former Diplomatic Editor and Foreign Correspondent for Sky News. Renowned for his ability to identify the causes underlying world events, he has reported from over thirty countries including 12 wars and conflict zones and has published six books on international relations. His fourth book, Prisoners of Geography, became an iconic New York Times, and Sunday Times bestseller with over two million copies sold worldwide. His latest book is The Future of Geography about Astropolitics.

In 1999, Tim was one of the few western journalists to remain in Belgrade, reporting on the Kosovo crisis despite the NATO bombing raids. His book Shadowplay: The Overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic, was a bestseller in former Yugoslavia and continues to be one of the most highly regarded accounts of that period. In recent years, he has covered the conflicts in Iraq, Gaza, Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria. His 2004 coverage of the Iraq war, and his 2007 report on the Mujahadeen won him a finalist position in the Royal Television Society’s News Event category.

Tim has been shot with bird pellet in Cairo, bruised by the police in Tehran, arrested by Serbian intelligence, detained in Damascus, declared persona non grata in Croatia, hit over the head with a plank of wood in London, bombed by the RAF in Belgrade, and tear-gassed all over the world.

He is esteemed for his unique capacity to contextualise current affairs. He has extensively analysed, for instance, how geography influences the ways states behave and interact with one another. In his writing on Russian foreign policy, for example, he discusses how the flatland between the Baltic Sea and Carpathian Mountains – modern-day Poland – has for centuries made Russia vulnerable to invasion from Western armies. This has fuelled a historical view amongst Russian leaders of Belarus and Ukraine as buffer zones between Western forces and Moscow, and we can see this view rearing its head in the recent invasion of Ukraine.

Tim also draws from his insights into international relations to predict future affairs and crises, and his work increasingly comments on the intersection of technological advances with political developments. His upcoming book, another Sunday Times No1 best seller, The Future of Geography: How the Competition in Space Will Change Our World explores the geopolitics of space. He highlights that with sky satellites maintaining the world’s economy; space metals being worth more than most countries’ GDP; and people expected on Mars in the next decade, space will increasingly dominate military thinking. The leading superpowers of Russia, America, and China all have space commands and are developing warfighting capabilities for space.

His other books include Worth Dying For – The Power & Politics Of Flags, Divided – Why We Are Living In An Age Of Walls, and The Power of Geography – Ten Maps That Reveal the Future of our World.

Mark came to Prince Henry's Sixth Form because of the AASE Elite Rugby programme. At the end of Sixth Form, he applied to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He secured his first role, as Grenn in Game of Thrones, as he graduated. He is also known for roles in Run, The White House, Dark River, Criminal UK and Honour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Meet Thornton Tasker, a resilient individual whose journey embodies dreams, determination, and triumph. 

Born into a family of window cleaners in Otley, Thornton had faced a turbulent home life but remained a steadfast dreamer. Starting as a student at Prince Henry’s, his entrepreneurial spirit thrived with a vision for a national window cleaning business. 

Thornton triumphed over setbacks, building multiple thriving businesses from Tasker Brothers, Nationwide Window Cleaning and now to Your Local. Now, founding Your Local Window Cleaner, his dreams continue to flourish, having over 100 employees and a goal of gaining 20,000 customers in just two years. 

 Thornton's journey is a testament to dreaming big, navigating challenges, and staying true to one's vision. A window cleaner from Otley, a Prince Henry's alumni, and an entrepreneur with an unwavering spirit. 

Chloe Tear left Prince Henry’s in 2016, to study Psychology and Child Development at Leeds Trinity University where she received a First Class Honours degree. Chloe has cerebral palsy which affects the left side of her body and she became registered as partially sighted during her time at university due to a quick deterioration in her vision.

She started a blog, Life as a Cerebral Palsy Student, during a Year 10 IT lesson at Prince Henry’s and this formed the basis of her desire to raise awareness. Her blog later changed its name to ‘Chloe Tear’ when she left education. She’s a tireless campaigner, disability activist and public speaker who appears on radio and television as well pursing a freelance writing career. Her work has supported the BBC, Scope and RNIB while regularly supporting national campaigns in the field. Chloe is working to raise awareness of living with cerebral palsy and sight loss, with her focus on a need to change public attitudes towards disability.

In 2018, she was given a Prime Minister’s Points of Light award for raising disability awareness and has twice featured in the Shaw Trust Power 100 List which comprised of the most influential disabled people in Britain.

 

In 2024, Heather became the first Birtish and youngest female skipper to win an around the world race when, at 27 years old, she led her all-female team to victory in the Ocean Globe Race.

Growing up in Otley, the sea was not close by, so Heather began her journey, dinghy sailing at the local lake - Otley Sailing Club. Her first taste of offshore sailing was a voyage in Newcastle on James Cook, a sail training vessel for kids in the North East run by the Ocean Youth Trust North. This is where she fell in love with being out on the ocean and set her sights on a career in the industry.

Whilst she was studying for her A Levels at Prince Henry's Grammar School, Heather received a bursary to compete in the Pacific Leg of the 15/16 Clipper Round the World Race, where under the skipperage of Wendy Tuck, she had her first introduction to Ocean racing.

In 2021, she joined the legendary yacht ‘Maiden’ for her second world tour, raising money for girls’ education. At the beginning of 2023, Tracy Edwards asked her to step up to Skipper for the Ocean Globe Race. After seven months of racing around the world without the aid of any modern technology, Heather and her incredible team came home victorious as the first ever all-female team to win an around the world race.

Matt Walker has worked in Global Marketing for over 15 years with brands such as Heinz®, Evian® & Danone®. He is currently Global Senior Arla Brand Director, a brand sold in over hundred countries to millions of consumers globally.

Innovation & brand communication are the key tenants of his work in marketing.

In innovation, he  works on understanding consumers anyway & everywhere; launching products from Heinz Beanz Snap Pots® in your cupboard to fizzy milk in China.

In communication he works on connecting and relating to consumers. This has led him to sponsorships from Wimbledon to London Fashion Week; and on numerous advertising campaigns across different continents. This includes in 2009 the launch of the Evian Roller Baby® campaign; which entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest viral advert at the time, clocking up 45m views in its first weeks.

Matt also points out that there has been many failures along the way.

Matt says “I was always inspired by what is changing in the world and specifically with consumers, the world has changed massively in the last decade but at the heart of business is your consumers, identifying what they need and how you connect with them.”

His interest in consumers & marketing started when he took a GSCE in Business Studies then an A-Level in Business Studies & Economics at PHGS; before going on to study Marketing at University.

He says "If I was to go back and give myself one piece of advice at the start of my career; it would be to realise how important you are as part of the next generation. Companies want to look forward and they are only as good as their ideas, looking for the next generation of ideas & solutions; do not underestimate how important you or one simple idea can be to the future.”