Olivia told the girls that when she was at Downe House, her ambitions lay in the world of acting and so after her A Levels, she went to the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London. However over time her thoughts changed and when an opportunity arose to be a runner with the acclaimed Casting Director, Lucy Bevan, she jumped onto a new career path and really hasn’t looked back since. Her recent credits include ‘The Mercy’ starring Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz, ‘Lime House Golem’, starring Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth and Olivia Cooke and ‘The Journey’, which starred Timothy Spall, Colm Meaney and the late John Hurt.

To give the girls a practical insight into the role of a Casting Director, Olivia brought along a stack of CVs and gave them the task of sorting out those which might be suitable candidates for a particular role in Cinderella. Olivia then gave feedback on who had actually got the part and explained how she works very closely with the producers and directors to make sure they find the right actor for every part.

In the Q and A session, Olivia advised the girls to take opportunities as they come along and to prepare really well for interviews so that they present as knowledgeable and well-informed. She also told the girls that it is not essential to go to drama school and that Casting Directors come from many different backgrounds.

Whilst at Downe, Olivia took the opportunity to take a trip down memory lane by visiting her old boarding house, Tedworth to meet up with staff and pupils. We are enormously grateful to Olivia for taking the time to come back and share her experiences with us.

In November 2017, the second DH LINKS Finance networking event took place in Canary Wharf. The event was kindly hosted by BNY Mellon at their offices at One Canada Square and we were thrilled to welcome 30 alumnae and current parents to the event, all of whom work in the financial services sector. Three members of our alumnae gave inspirational talks on their career paths since leaving Downe House. Our thanks go to Camilla Hughes (Brooks DH 1987) and current parent, Keryn Brock (Johnson DH 2002) and Jemima Atkins (DH 2012). A number of Sixth Form girls joined us at this event, giving them a wonderful insight into the world of finance. Many of them have gained excellent contacts and plan to apply for graduate and internship programmes in the next year or so. Our sincere thanks go to Mr Michael Cole-Fontayn for his ongoing support of DH LINKS and to Mike Woods (Associate at BNY Mellon) for opening the event and for hosting us so generously.

I very much enjoyed the event and I was honoured to be invited to speak.

Thank you so much for holding the event. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and thought the evening was extremely insightful.

Girls interested in careers in property, engineering and architecture got to find out more about future study and career paths when they attended a networking event to meet professionals working in these sectors. Kindly hosted by Clearbell Capital LLP in London, the event brought together property, engineering and architecture professionals from the Downe House community with a group of 15 Upper Fifth, Lower and Upper Sixth girls interested in making a career in those sectors. Mr West, a current parent and Partner at Clearbell opened the event with an overview of what Clearbell does and his own career path followed by short talks by the alumnae describing their careers to date and giving the girls advice from their own experience. After the talks, there was an opportunity for informal networking over drinks, which provided the chance for the girls to really quiz the professionals about opportunities in their sectors.

We were enormously grateful to Mr West and Clearbell LLP for hosting the event.

DH LINKS was delighted to be invited to the London offices of WRG, a live communications agency that shapes memorable experiences for some of the world’s most ambitious people and organisations. Their slogan, ‘Create Unforgettable’ could well be applied to the evening as the 25 Sixth Form girls were totally engaged and fascinated by what they learned about the processes that WRG use to create and deliver unforgettable content and experiences at live events and exhibitions, as well as producing video and digital content and engaging employees.

The evening opened with an overview from Andrew Gilkerson, the Client and Procurement Director who welcomed the girls and outlined the agency’s activities. The girls heard from a number of WRG employees about the logistics of making an event happen, from managing the content, building the stage and creating 3D environments to engage audiences. On the digital side, Client Director, Kath Goodson talked through how WRG engage audiences digitally and how to ‘Create Unforgettable’ messages. It was a really fantastic evening and an opportunity for the girls to gain an insight into the world of ‘live communications’. Our sincere thanks to Mr David Sharrock, COO of WRG and current parent, for hosting us so well and for making this event happen.

“The team and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting such an enthusiastic group of girls.”

In October 2018, the very first DH LINKS Events and Hospitality networking evening took place at The Imperial Hotel in Bloomsbury, which was hosted by current parents, Mr and Mrs Walton.

DH LINKS brought together alumnae, current girls and parents to talk about careers in the event and hospitality industries. Our four key speakers for the evening were: Lucinda Mumford (Baldwin DH 1996), Veryan Palmer (Armstrong DH 2002), Grace Regan (DH 2009) and Tori Boughey (DH 2009). Joining them were a group of current Upper Fifth to Upper Sixth pupils, all with a keen interest in exploring potential careers in these industries.

Our alumnae kicked off the event with an overview of their careers since leaving Downe House with time for questions from our current girls. After the talks, there was an opportunity for informal networking over drinks, allowing the girls to really quiz the professionals and make valuable connections.

DH LINKS is extremely grateful to Mr and Mrs Walton for hosting, the alumnae for giving us their time and expertise and the girls for participating with enthusiasm and curiosity.

“I found the evening highly interesting and useful as all of the alumnae had a different story, so you could
really see all aspects of a career in hospitality. They were helpful in guiding me through which A Levels I
should choose so that I can hopefully also pursue a career in hospitality.”
Hope, Upper Fifth

“I loved meeting the Upper Fifth and Lower Sixth girls at the recent hospitality event – it was so wonderful to be surrounded by such intelligent, passionate and interested students and I hope the information we shared was
useful. I wish the girls all the luck in the world!”

Tori Boughey, DH 2009

Upper Fifth and Sixth Form girls who are interested in pursuing careers in fashion, beauty and retail had the incredible opportunity to find out more about future study and career paths in these dynamic industries on Wednesday 14 November, when they attended a DH LINKS networking event at the Bluebird Chelsea in London.

Alumnae, parents and current pupils were given the opportunity to hear from an inspiring panel of speakers including our host for the evening, Lisa Montague (current parent), Ian Hardie (Sephora), Caroline Attwood (Ally Capellino), Vanessa Lunt (Fairfax & Favor), Charlotte Keesing (Walpole) and Katie Harland (DH 2007). Each speaker offered excellent advice and varied insight from their careers. Anna Neville (Lower Sixth) commented, “Meeting such a diverse range of people with a variety of careers in the world of fashion helped me understand how many different careers are possible. The most valuable lesson I took away from the event was that when considering internships, it is good to start small and gradually progress and to research and be passionate about your area of interest.”

Many of the girls gained excellent contacts and an insight into the world of fashion, beauty and retail. Our sincere thanks to host, Lisa Montague and all our speakers who generously donated their time and expertise to inspire future generations.

On Monday 21 November 2016, a group of Upper Fifth and Lower Sixth girls had the opportunity to explore what a career in corporate law might involve. The girls visited Mayer Brown’s London office in the heart of the city, where they heard from a variety of employees about their career paths and what their current roles entail. This unique event, hosted exclusively for Downe House, brought to life the world of work and enabled the girls to see first-hand what a large global law firm is like. Our sincere thanks go to Mr Alistair Graham, current parent, for making the event possible and hosting us so well.

“We all had such a great time at the DH LINKS event in London and it was really useful to be able to discuss different job roles within the legal profession. It was lovely to have a small group, and the conversations we all had at the event were incredibly useful.” Skye, Lower Sixth

“I now definitely want to pursue law as a career in the future.” Shalayna, Upper Fifth

“Not only was it a great networking opportunity but it was also interesting to speak to alumnae about their journey towards a career in law … I am so grateful for the work experience I may be able to take from it.” Bethany, Upper Fifth