Nicole Donnelly, a Decade On From Redhill

I left Redhill in 2012, so 10 years ago now – scary! Straight after Redhill, I went to King Eds in Stourbridge to do A Levels – I did English Literature, History and Law. I absolutely loved my time at King Ed’s, as I was surrounded by like minded people studying the subjects I enjoyed most. I’ve always been very academically driven, so A Levels were definitely a natural step for me.

After my 2 years at King Ed’s, I went to University of Bristol and studied a History Degree. GCSE and A Level History really helped me discover my passion for the subject and I absolutely loved my degree and time at uni in general. I feel very lucky that some of my best friends now are friends I made at uni.

I now work in law for a company called DAC Beachcroft within their credit hire team. My job is essentially dealing with legal claims issued against insurance companies after road traffic accidents. I started as a very inexperienced Paralegal in 2019, and I’m now an experienced supervisor, with a team of 5 people who report directly to me. It’s a very niche area of law and certainly not something I expected to be doing – to be honest, I hadn’t even heard of credit hire before I interviewed for the job!

As a supervisor, I love the people side of my job. I’ve always been very personable, so I enjoy having a team of people who I can support and I find it very fulfilling seeing my team grown and develop in their careers. My work involves a lot of analysis and negotiation – I always enjoyed debate and interpretation when I was studying History, so my career in Law helps me to continue using and developing these skills.

One of the biggest perks of my job now is that I have really good flexibility with working from home. Since Covid, our company has allowed us to work from home more or less 100% of the time. Not having to commute to and from work every day has been amazing for me, and is something I really count myself lucky for.

The decision to study History at A Level and then as my Degree was very much influenced by my time at Redhill. My History teacher, Miss Rudd, was so incredible and always encouraged my historical curiosity and questions. I’m pretty sure she told me in Year 11 that she’d never had a pupil who had asked so many insightful questions which even made her think about the answers. Miss Rudd once joked to me in a GCSE History lesson that I would go to Bristol Uni and study history… Lo and behold, that’s exactly what I did!

Aside from that, I generally had a very supportive set of teachers at Redhill, who kept me grounded and supported me if I ever doubted myself or didn’t have confidence in myself, so I definitely have Redhill to thank for reaching for my goals.

I have several hobbies that are mostly craft related. Since the first Covid lockdown, I’ve got very into knitting and cross stich. I’m currently knitting a blanket for my cousin who is having a baby soon, and have recently made a cross stitch kingfisher for my Mum (who loves kingfishers) and also cross stitched a lovely wedding present for my best friend.

I also love getting out on walks, and enjoy National Trust days out with my Mum. I’ve always liked walking – I did Castle Award and D of E when I was at Redhill – but lockdowns have definitely given me a renewed appreciation of the outdoors and fresh air.

I’m still in touch with a few of my friends from Redhill. A lot of us are spread out across the country now, with quite a few people having moved to London after uni. However, we still keep in touch as much as we can around our busy working lives, and try to catch up when everyone is back together in Stourbridge. Luckily, one of my closest friends from Redhill – who was also my best friend at primary school – is still in Stourbridge and we try to have fairly regular catch ups.

As nerdy as this might sound, something I really miss about Redhill is learning! I also miss being surrounded by friends every day. That’s definitely something I can appreciate now I’m working. Especially working from home, I can easily go a whole week without seeing anyone other than my family. At school, you don’t have to make a huge effort to keep in contact with / keep up to date with your friends and their lives, as you see them and talk to them every day. Once you all go your separate ways after school, everyone is doing their own thing so there’s an added challenge of coordinating meet ups around busy schedules! However, true friends will always find time for each other, no matter how infrequent it may sometimes be! I appreciate Redhill for giving me lifelong friends and also so many memories!

I would love to shout out to Miss Rudd, who really encouraged my interest in History and was a huge influence in my decision to study History at A Level and Degree.

I’d also shout out Mrs Hastings (typing that felt weird, it’ll always be Miss Warren to me!) for being an amazing music teacher. Music was a huge part of my life at Redhill and I was in choirs, wind band and orchestra. Thinking about it, that’s another thing I really miss about Redhill. I miss the fun and excitement of music concerts, there was something so special about everyone working together to pull off some amazing performances.

Also to my GCSE Maths teacher, Mrs Freeman. Maths was never one of my favourite subjects – I was always an Arts and Humanities student – but Mrs Freeman really took me under her wing in Year 11, looking out for me and supporting me when I was feeling stressed and was lacking confidence in myself. I somehow came out with an A* in Maths, which I 100% could not have done without such an amazing teacher.

Last, and by absolutely no means least, a very special shout out and thank you to the amazing Mrs George. I had Mrs George for English in Year 7 and 8, and I’ll be completely honest in saying I was far from the perfect student at times, and I didn’t always make things easy for poor Mrs George. I then had Mrs George again for English in Year 10 and 11 and I can safely say she is the most AMAZING teacher I ever had the pleasure of being taught by. There was always such a positive energy in Mrs George’s lessons, and she is just such an inspiration. I’ve got back in touch with Mrs George in recent years, which definitely highlights the lasting impact she’s had on my life. Mrs George, if you’re reading this, just… THANK YOU!

What would your message of advice and encouragement be to the Year 7s of 2021-22?

Enjoy Redhill, make lifelong friends and lots of memories.
Don’t be scared to be yourself.
If there’s a subject you really enjoy, embrace it – don’t be scared to be passionate about certain subjects!
Get involved in extra-curricular activities.
Most importantly, be kind to yourself and don’t put too much pressure on yourself like I sometimes did. Your years at Redhill are important, but you’re absolutely not expected to leave school at 16 with the rest of your life planned out. Take opportunities and take your time – there’s no rush to decide what you want to do!

What are your plans for the future? What are your goals?

I’m actually hoping to move to Colchester in Essex within the next 12 months. My boyfriend lives there and we’re currently saving for a house – that’s a very scary and grown up thing to say… Goals? Honestly, my main goal is just to be the best version of myself and to be happy and healthy. I do want to keep progressing my career, and my 5 year work goal is to be a Team Manager, with more responsibility and expertise. However, I’m really trying to prioritise my well-being and happiness above all else, so my main goal is just to focus on myself and my happiness.