If you’re anything like most of the rest of the world, you’ve probably spent some time in recent years streaming TV series from Amazon Prime, the BBC, or Netflix. You may even be guilty of binge-watching some favourites – Killing Eve, Big Little Lies, Game of Thrones all come to mind.

When at school, I was told by Dr Q, my French teacher, that things were not really going to improve in terms of my French unless I lived in France, got a French boyfriend, and got a French-speaking job. And that is exactly what happened: not as a result of her advice, or because I particularly wanted to be good at French, but just because things bizarrely turned out that way.

I was at Orwell from 1970 to 1974 and did not do too well in classes. I was one of those pupils who always had could do better on their reports and I had to give up Latin after being sent to the headmaster for singing in exams. I ran away from school and always felt ‘home sick’ – in my day we were 99% boarders.

I was a pupil at Orwell Park between 1970 and 1975. Today, I am the Director of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (GOSH). GOSH is the world’s leading hospital for children and specialises in providing advanced treatment for children with rare and complex diseases.

Neill Menneer is an award winning photographer who has been in the industry for over 40 years. He has worked for the country’s top magazines and design companies. Winner of gold awards for portraiture, landscape and boudoir, he is a highly respected and accomplished artist who, since he obtained his distinction for photography and became the winner of the Observer Photographic prize in 1980, has been winning ever since!

Like many of the most fortunate Old Orwellians, I was lucky enough to be taught by Bob Bass during my time at Orwell (1999-2001). Not only did Bob instil in me a deep love of learning Latin and finding out about the myths of the ancient world—he also gave up his spare time to teach me Greek on the side.