Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton LVO, MBE, DL, was the speaker this year for the Senior Prize Giving and Speech Day. Having had a fascinating career to draw upon, he was well placed to provide good advice to our senior pupils, (staff and parents too!)
His first career was in the British Army including the SAS, then serving as Equerry to Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. He co-founded and has since been a director of Objective Travel Safety, which provides risk assessment training for young travellers and journalists. He was appointed Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) for his service as Equerry to The Queen Mother in 1986, Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1990 for service with the special forces in Colombia and Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO) in the 2013 New Year Honours. More recently he served as Private Secretary to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.
Great advice for everyone to consider:
- Think of life as a series of chapters; try everything
- Try and be part of something amazing/first class. If you get the chance, seize it
- Take challenges day by day
- Never take anything for granted
- Be humble and show humility
- Always keep going – don’t look at what others are doing around you
- You might not be the best at something at school, but always keep trying – you will get there
- Never give up
- Aim at the stars and you might reach the moon – try things you don’t think you can achieve
- Make good friends - there will be times when you need them
- Have good manners
- Be respectful
- If you are panicking – count to ten
- Take the blame when things go wrong