Alumni

Noadswood Alumni 🎓

We've reached out to our old alumni over the last year and it has been so fantastic to speak to lots of our ex-students again. So many wonderful experiences, careers, experiences have been shared and with all of them a common thread of how they built friendships and relationships at school. If you would like to share with us too, please email alumni@noadswood.hants.sch.uk. Below you'll find some of our Noadswood alumni

Steve Barnes

Attended Noadswood: 2005-2010
Currently: studying for a Ph.D. in Chemistry Education

Bio:

Ten years on I look back at my time at Noadswood very fondly. My best memories are undoubtedly the opportunities I was given to act. I will never forget gracing the stage in productions of Bugsy Malone and Wicked, trying to make as many people laugh as possible! After Noadswood, I studied A levels in chemistry, physics, maths, and drama at Brockenhurst College, before going on to study chemistry at the University of Southampton. I’m currently finishing up my Ph.D. in chemistry education, where I have researched the impact of teacher knowledge on the teaching of A level chemistry whilst also developing resources to enhance students’ scientific understanding. Though my university studies have kept me relatively local, my research has taken me to exotic locations such as Barcelona, where I have presented my work to world leaders in science education. Whilst also at university, I have thrown myself into general knowledge quiz writing and competitions, and have represented the university in nationwide tournaments, including as captain on the TV programme University Challenge!

Moira Ann Harker

Attended Noadswood: 1989-1994
Currently: Mental Health - Positive and Safety Coordinator

Bio:

Moira explains that during her time at Noadswood she did not get A Stars in her GCSEs and  had to work hard to get to where she is today overcoming her own mental health problems. Due to being diagnosed with anxiety and depression, she did not go to university but got a job in care before working with the Autism services. It was within this role that Moira felt she was able to be caring and empathetic towards those in her care. This spurred her on to go to college where eventually she did a foundation degree working with children.

For the past 7 Years Moira has worked in the NHS Adolescent Mental Team, firstly, as a health care support worker and now as a positive care and safety coordinator. In Moira’s words ‘I’m the voice to the unheard patient. I’m their helping hand when this gets too much, I’m their cheerleader and guess what? I am still that person with anxiety but I’m not letting that get the better of me.’


Sarah Ratcliffe

Attended Noadswood: 2006-2011
Currently: Head of Marketing (Construction)

Bio:

“I became one of the youngest Chartered Marketeers in the country. I speak regularly in schools about the industry, trying to demonstrate that it is not just a hard hat industry and present ample opportunities to anyone”. Sarah left Noadswood with a good range of GCSE grades which provided her with access to Brockenhurst College. After finding the jump to from GCSE to A Levels difficult she re-took the exams in some subjects and took up Business Studies and completed that course in one year. After putting in lots of hard work and “many days in the library” she got good results and went on to study Business Management at University of Southampton. As she graduated in the recession, she was fortunate her uncle offered her a job working for his company as a Marketing Assistant. Something Sarah had never considered but loved. She spent the first-year learning lots about the industry and went back to college to undertake 2 years of further study to get her chartership. After 7 years in my first job she was approached to be the Head of Marketing for a large UK construction company. 

Luke Hannam

Attended Noadswood: 2009-2014
Currently: Cabin Crew for British Airways

Bio:

Luke left Noadswood and went on to study Travel and Tourism for 2 years. Whilst travelling to New York on holiday he started talking to the cabin crew and this inspired him to apply for the job. Following the application process and the intensive training Luke got the job as cabin crew for BA. He has travelled the world going to 27 countries on 51 different routes. He has climbed mountain in South Africa, gone on safari, climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge as well as seeing many famous landmarks to name but a few. Luke said “It’s been one of the best decisions I ever made being able to get paid to travel, it is hard work at times, my body clock is all over the place but once I get to all the amazing places and get to spend time there it makes it all so worth it.”


Adrian Bell

Attended Noadswood: 1990-1995
Currently: Partner in a Law Firm

Bio:

Adrian left Noadswood and went to Brockenhurst College before going to the University of Warwick. Following on from this he secured a job in a law firm and is now a partner in a law firm with responsibility for the offices in Asia and the Middle East. Despite living in London, his parents and some of his friends still live locally so he is back a fair bit.

Peter Loader

Attended Noadswood: 2005-2010
Currently: Architect

Bio:

Peter had the time of his life doing a BA in architecture in Canterbury. He said that skills from product design / DT and art class of course were perfect for this course and he has fond memories of Art and History lessons at Noadswood. Peter went on to work for Hampshire councils’ in-house architects in Winchester. Which he said were ‘really good for socially minded, local projects, ‘ and he was able to work on the new cafe/visitor centre at Lepe Beach, which he said ‘was amazing to be able to have a positive impact’ on somewhere he grew up. After two years at work on the cafe and various Hampshire schools Peter went back to university to get his Masters, this time at Glasgow school of art and is now working in London.


Mitchell Raynsford

Attended Noadswood: 2006-2011
Currently: Strength and Conditioning Coach

Bio:

“Honestly, my time at Noadswood was brilliant and I truly enjoyed my time with both the friends I made there and the teachers that took me through my education from year 7 to 11. I did not fully realise how friendly and inclusive everyone at this school was until I spoke with friends I made in college and uni about their school experiences. To this day I still hang out and chat with hundreds of friends I made at Noadswood and can’t see that changing anytime soon!” Following school Mitch went onto college and then a Sport Science degree at the University of Brighton knowing he wanted to pursue a career in supporting elite athletes. After a super busy third year he took a year out to backpack around from Asia to New Zealand. An experience he states was ‘unbelievable.’


Mitch completed his Masters in Sports Physiology before taking on his current role as a Strength & Conditioning Intern at the University of Warwick. As he progressed through education, he created networks with and coached National and International athletes, Premier League Football, England Golf, GB Triathlon and England Volleyball athletes. “The foundations I developed as a pupil at Noadswood has set me on a solid path to pursue to career I’ve aimed to achieve since Year 11. I love the route my life has taken and appreciate those I met through school and onwards.”

Seb Miller

Attended Noadswood: 2008-2013
Currently: Research and Development - AI

Bio:

During his time at Noadswood Seb wanted to be a doctor. Following on from his work experience placement he decided he didn’t want to go into medical field as such but it did reaffirm his love for science. Following Noadswood Seb went onto Brockenhurst College and took A-levels in Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry and Physics. Seb went along to the Oxbridge outreach events and applied to do Maths at Trinity College, Cambridge. He exceeded the entry requirements and went on to do Maths. During his time in Cambridge, Seb got involved in running the Oxbridge outreach events that he had benefited from a few years ago, and ended up personally sitting down to talk to around 2000 students over the three years to help them with applications, A level choices, etc. He even ended up on Channel 4 talking to Professor Green (the rapper) about white working-class students in Cambridge. 

Unsure of what career he wanted, Seb was recruited to join a research and development team doing AI research and he loves it. “As it turns out, deep down all of AI is just a big set of geometry problems, and I love shapes.” Seb works on Computer Vision, similar techniques that make iPhone face unlock work, or things that make portrait mode on your new Google pixel look so nice. His dream is to end up at Google/Facebook/Microsoft to make progress within the field. 


Stacey Dart

Attended Noadswood: 2007-2012
Currently: Police Officer

Bio:

“It is safe to say that when I look back now, my time there (Noadswood) has had a lasting impact on who I am today.” When Stacey was at Noadswood she loved music or drama and had no interest in P.E or maths! She was convinced she would be a singer or star in the West End. Fast forward to today and she is now a Police Officer.  Relying on a little math to calculate the intoxication levels of a drink driver one minute, chasing a suspect with a knife the next. It’s definitely not the career path she imagined for herself. 

Stacey points out that some of the things you learn at school you never think you’ll use again. “Trust me, you will.”

Thomas Smith

Attended Noadswood: 2006-2011
Currently: Architect

Bio:

We actually won the big Australian museum competition which I worked on. This is the link to an article about it: https://www.archdaily.com/930445/moreau-kusunoki-and-genton-design-a-new-hyper-platform-for-sydney


Alex Cacchi

Attended Noadswood: 1999-2004
Currently: Technical Director - Cyber Analytics

Bio:

Alex left Noadswood in 2004 before going onto college and then the University of Southampton. Alex credits the following teachers for giving him the passion for these subjects; Mrs Phillips (Maths) and Mr Frank Lane (Physics).

Sarah Goulding

Attended Noadswood: 2012-2017
Currently: Dairy Farmer, New Zealand

Bio:

“I am hoping to show anyone struggling with thinking about their next steps after school, that it really is possible to go anywhere in the world with a bit of resilience and will to work.” Sarah really enjoyed her time at Noadswood, channelling a lot of effort and energy into sports clubs and teams. She was very proud to represent the school in various events, and found it was a great release during her final year studying for exams. Sarah was fortunate to pick GCSE subjects she enjoyed, worked hard in and had the advantage of knowing what she wanted to do in the future. Sarah said that “the path I have taken is definitely very different to the rest of my year group and peers, but being at Noadswood really helped me put into perspective that you don’t have to follow the same route as everyone else.”

Following Noadswood, Sarah went onto to Sparsholt College to study agriculture. This opened lots of farming contacts and provided her first job on a dairy farm. During her second year of college she worked at Nunton Farm and her boss encouraged her to apply for a scholarship that would give her the opportunity to work on a dairy farm in New Zealand. Sarah succeeded in her application and her dream to learn from the best became a reality. So now, Sarah is 5 months in working on an excellent 600 cow farm and loving every second and her biggest message to all is this, “Follow your heart, and never give up trying to achieve your goal, yes it will be hard – nothing worth it is ever handed to you on a plate, so keep going.”


Abigail Mann

Attended Noadswood: 2005-2010
Currently: Legal Technology Assistant/Designer

Bio:

Abigail left Noadswood in 2010 and is now a Legal Technology Assistant/Designer, designing and developing software for Paris Smith. 

Hannah Pitman

Attended Noadswood: 2005-2010
Currently: Teacher

Bio:

When I left Noadswood in 2010 I went to Brockenhurst college for two years and struggled with the transition to A Levels and also felt like I'd become a small fish in a big pond as Brock is such a large sixth form! I came away with no A Levels (only AS maths, psychology and French) due to these struggles as well as a lack of ambition. I became an administrator in a local estate agency and absolutely hated it! I missed learning and found the working environment dull. After a year I returned to college, Totton college this time, to complete an Access to Higher Education course in Sciences and applied to Universities to study Neuroscience. I chose to study Neuroscience at The University of Bristol and had a whale of a time! It felt like the right decision to return to education; I felt challenged in the best way again! After four years I completed my degree and achieved a 2:2 which I was very happy with (the degree was HARD!!) During my studies I had done a lot of outreach with one of my lecturers at local schools and found it to be the most enjoyable aspect. I even based my final year dissertation on sixth formers using technology to study and how this was affecting their attention and sleep (how blue light affects melanin levels). This lead me to apply to study a PGCE course at Bristol uni and I got a place! After a year of teacher training, I am now a science NQT at an Outstanding local secondary school and absolutely love it! 


Samantha Lane

Attended Noadswood: 2004-2009
Currently: Researcher at the Drug Safety Research Unit

Bio:

“I am a firm believer that anything is possible with a bit of hard work and determination.” Throughout school and college Samantha always wanted to be a Vet. Samantha completed an undergraduate degree in Veterinary Nursing Science, graduating with a first-class degree in 2015. During this time, she developed a strong interest in infectious disease and public health. After graduating Samantha followed this passion and went on to obtain a Masters Degree in Biomedical Science, specialising in Medical Microbiology. For the past 3 years Samantha has been a researcher at the Drug Safety Research Unit, where she is involved in assessing the safety of medicines in real-world use and their impact on public health. Her employer encourages further education, so during this time she has also completed a Postgraduate Certificate and is two-thirds of the way through a part-time Masters Degree in Epidemiology. 

Eric Hounslow QFSM

Attended Noadswood: 1959-1963
Currently: Retired (formally Assistant Chief Fire Officer for Hampshire)

Bio:

“My Noadswood years were very happy and in so many ways, set my course for life and instilled traditional values which have endured. Among a host of memories and on a lighter note is having a set of shoes kept at the school - for it was forbidden to wear outdoor shoes in the school for fear of marking the new flooring!”

In 1963, aged 16, Eric successfully applied to be come a Cadet with the Hampshire Fire Service. After a series of accelerated promotion courses and College Training he eventually secured his ‘dream job’ as Area Commander for Southampton and the New Forest. He retired after 35 years’ service as the Assistant Chief Fire Officer. He has also served as a Regional Advisor to the BBC, Chairman of the BBC Radio Solent Council, member of the BBC TV Board and as a Regional assessor for the Children in Need awards. In 1993 he was awarded the Queens Fire Service Medal for Distinguished Service in the New Year’s Honours list and went on to travel the world following his retirement in 1996.