The Dame Allan’s 1705 Magazine
Launched in December, Dame Allan’s Connect is a targeted mentoring initiative that brings Allanians and pupils together through subject-specific engagement. Beginning with engineering, the pilot reflects a deliberate move towards focused, experience-led guidance in a continually evolving careers landscape. Dame Allan’s Connect Engineering futures, built on experience
Dame Allan’s Schools has launched Dame Allan’s Connect, a new mentoring initiative designed to strengthen links between Allanians and Allanians and current pupils through targeted, discipline-led events. Piloted in December, the first Connect event brought together sixth formers with clear ambitions in engineering and related STEM fields and recent leavers studying engineering at university. The decision to begin with engineering was intentional. As one of the more popular pathways for high-achieving pupils — and one of the fastest-evolving sectors in terms of skills, applications and career routes — it provided a clear test case for a different kind of engagement. Rather than a broad careers talk, Dame Allan’s Connect is designed as a focused forum for conversation, with recent leavers supporting pupils through insight and direct, lived experience. The guest speaker was Dexter Bell (2024), now a second- year engineering undergraduate at the University of Cambridge. Returning to school less than two years after leaving, Dexter delivered a short presentation on his own route into engineering before spending the majority of the morning in discussion with pupils. “Coming back to support the school felt like a meaningful way to give something back,” he says. “I would have really valued the opportunity to talk to an engineering student at Cambridge when I was a pupil, so being able to share advice and answer questions felt rewarding.” That sense of immediacy — advice offered by someone only a few steps further along the same path — was central to the format. Dexter was joined by a group of recent Allanians studying engineering in different forms and at various institutions, including Lauren Rolfe (2025), a first-year engineering student at Newcastle University with ambitions to work for the European Space Agency; Lucy Marsden (2023), a mechanical engineering student applying her skills to biomedical research; and Elizabeth Pattison (2024), currently studying chemical engineering with a growing interest in sustainable fuels.
Collectively, they represented a wide cross-section of engineering pathways — from aerospace and thermofluids to biomedical devices and renewable technologies — demonstrating both the breadth of the discipline and the value of hearing directly from those navigating it in real time. For Dexter, the relevance of this kind of encounter is clear. “When I was in Year 13, I hadn’t met somebody who had studied engineering at Cambridge,” he reflects. “I had many questions about what the application process involved and how to best prepare for it. This kind of engagement would have been extremely beneficial to me as a pupil.” That gap between aspiration and access is something Dame Allan’s Connect is designed to address. While university admissions are based on academic merit, the reality of preparation — from understanding course structures to securing meaningful work experience — is often shaped by informal advice and personal networks. “Opportunities to do work experience placements can often be provided by family friends,” Dexter says. “These placements can be very valuable for engineering applications. For those who don’t have those connections, it's great to know the school could help build a network of people able to offer them.” It’s this kind of thinking that underpins the programme. Run by the Dame Allan’s Schools Development Office, Dame Allan’s Connect aims not only to support current pupils, but also to offer continued value to young alumni as they transition from school into higher education and employment. Katherine Leonard, Development Manager at Dame Allan’s, explains: “We’re very conscious that the careers landscape is changing constantly. Our aim with Dame Allan’s Connect is to create something that feels relevant, focused and mutually beneficial — where Allanians can give back their time in a productive way, and where pupils and recent leavers can access insight that’s current and specific.”
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