here, Nicky has involved herself in the strategic planning of so many areas of school life. Some of the higher profile areas include the running of all Careers events, in par- ticular the jewel in the crown – the Careers and Courses Convention; organising the Apprenticeship Fair through SSLP with JAGS and Charter; developing OA events with the alumni team and expanding the College’s Profession- al Insight Programme; and her significant involvement in Medical admissions with the brilliant Dr Cue. However, beyond organisation and memory is Nicky’s gift of kindness. There are many pressures in working at a high-calibre school such as this, not least in the High- er Education team where advice and decisions really matter. For the boys and staff who worked with her, Nicky’s open-door policy and unfailing warmth meant a great deal. She has been a charismatic and life-affirming colleague who has served Dulwich with decency, fairness and good humour for nearly 12 years. Though her desk is but a ghost of its former self, Nicky’s achievements will live on in the boys and the colleagues she has inspired. ◉
Not only did Sam take to it like a duck to water, he was actually extraordinarily good at it and rose to the heady rank of Fives Captain, bringing with him a whole retinue of friends, all of them bristling like meerkats each Wednes- day afternoon having arrived early for the session. I was constantly nagged about running extra sessions after school because they had become fanatical about the sport. This was all Nicky’s doing. It is a shame that some at Dulwich, perhaps, will not have worked with Nicky professionally: some may only know Nicky through her weekly Careers newsletters which are published for the Middle and Upper Schools. For col- leagues who work in the Lord George Building, Nicky is certainly known; most of us in the LGB have talked to Nicky on a daily basis, not just because we’ve been seeking information but because there’s a guaranteed welcome, a smile and always faultless advice. Nicky will leave behind her an absence which will be difficult to fill. For me, Nicky has been the bedrock of the Higher Education team over the last decade and the ablest of collaborators since I changed my role at the College. In fact, it was a conversation with Nicky back in 2017 which led me to apply for my current role, believing that if all people in what was then the Careers Department could be as helpful as Nicky then it wouldn’t all be so threaten- ing. Back then, Rachel Mcilwaine, my august predecessor, had given me a memory stick of literally hundreds of documents in various stages of completeness, all of which seemed not a little intimidating. It was Nicky who helped me find a route through it all, while also offering sage advice on personal taxation matters and showing me how to set up a marquee. Nicky possesses many gifts, two of which are her won- derful organisation and exemplary memory. The one thing which drives the Higher Education team is data, and Nicky has been on top of all of it. There are many wings of the College which inundate us with requests for information and Nicky could normally turn things around within 30 minutes, adding any number of extra insights which the originator of the request perhaps hadn’t thought of. She could also normally recall any student we had spoken about over the last few years, remembering their specif- ic circumstances or the nature of the parental enquiry. Coupled to this, she has a rare gift, now honed over the last few years, in being able to write university references for pupils applying for any subject specialism. In her time
227
VALETE
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker