In this section
Former Pupils
We are always keen to hear about the successes and adventures of our former pupils. If you would like to share your story, please complete Alumni profile.
In this section
Sports
David Duckham – Class of 1957
David Duckham was an English Rugby Union player who won 36 caps between 1969 and 1976; playing on the left wing he scored 10 tries.
Hannah Evans – Class of 2002
Hannah Evans left King Henry VIII School in 2009 to attend Oxford University. She then took a PHD in High Energy Physics at Selwyn College, Cambridge. Hannah was selected to row for Cambridge in the 2015 BNY Mellon Boat Race. Hannah previously won a Silver medal in the British University & Colleges Sport International Team of 8, plus cox.
Andy Goode – Class of 1991
Andy Goode is a retired Rugby Union player. Formerly a member of Leicester Tigers and then Wasps. he now works for the media.
Benjamin Basil Heatley – Class of 1944
Benjamin Heatley, known as Basil, was a British athlete who won an Olympic Silver Medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He had previously broken the world record for the marathon at the Polytechnic Marathon in England, running 2:13:56 to take the record by 32 seconds.
Remi Mobed – Class of 1996
Former Captain of Rugby Football whilst at King Henry VIII School. He is currently lead physiotherapist for the England Football Team.
Graham Wheeler – Class of 1955
Graham Wheeler represented England and Great Britain at Orienteering, including the 1972 World Championships.
Peter Whittingham – Class of 1986
Peter Whittingham started his career at Aston Villa, where he played over 50 league games and represented England Under-21s. He joined Cardiff in 2007 and established himself as a club legend with 459 appearances and 98 goals before leaving in 2017. Sadly, Peter died at the age of 35 from a head injury he suffered after a fall.
R E S Wyatt (1901 – 1995)
Bob Wyatt played cricket for Warwickshire, Worcestershire and England, winning 40 caps, 16 of those as Captain. He is probably remembered as the first England Captain to employ the controversial ‘bodyline’ tactic against Australia. Warwickshire’s home ground, Edgbaston, has a stand named in his honour.
Music & Drama
Bob Carlton (1950 – 2018)
Bob Carlton is the Artistic Director of the Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch. He is perhaps best known for writing the Olivier Award-winning Return to the Forbidden Planet
Jerry Dammers – Class of 1965
Jerry Dammers was the founder and keyboard player of the ska band, The Specials. Jerry wrote “Ghost Town”, which captured the mood of the economic doldrums of the 1980s. He also contributed in founding the 2 Tone record label. Jerry wrote the song “Free Nelson Mandela” which had people round the world chanting the name of the then jailed anti-apartheid leader. He was widely agreed to be one of the most influential musicians of the late 20th century thanks to his socially-conscious lyrics and anti-racist messaging.
Paul Daniel – Class of 1969
From 1990 to 1997 Paul Daniel was Musical Director of Opera North and Principal Conductor of the English Northern Philharmonia. He was Musical Director of English National Opera from September 1997 until 2005. In February 1998 Paul Daniel received an Olivier Award for outstanding achievement in opera, and in 1999 received a Gramophone Award for his English music series on the Naxos label. He was awarded the CBE in the 2000 New Year’s Honours list and in September 2005 presided at the Last Night of the Proms.
Martin Marquez – Class of 1975
Martin is an actor who has appeared on stage and television. His tv appearances include The Bill, Hotel Babylon and Eastenders. On stage he has appeared in Anything Goes and Billy Elliot the Musical. He has also performed as part of a comedy team, The Brothers Marquez, alongside his brother John.
Simon Over – Class of 1975
Founded the Southbank Sinfonia, for young musicians. Former Head of Music/Organist/Choirmaster at St Margarets, Westminster. He founded the Parliament Choir.
Brendan Price – Class of 1958
Brendan Price is an actor whose film credits include Savage Grace and The Sleep of Death. His television appearances include Man at the Top, The Sweeney, Doctor Who and Robin of Sherwood.
Michael Bowen Tooby – Class of 1968
Director, National Museum and Gallery, Cardiff since 2000. Founding Curator of the Tate Gallery St Ives and Curator of the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden 1992–1999.
Applied Science
Dr Alison Dougall – Class of 1975
Alison was one of the first 30 girls to attend the school in 1975. She is an academic consultant at Dublin Dental University Dental Hospital and is a Special Care Dentist with responsibility for medically complex patients and people with disabilities. She was inaugurated as President of the International Association of Disability and Oral Health (iADH) at its general assembly meeting on 3 October 2020.
Literature
Peter Ho Davies – Class of 1977
Peter Ho Davies is a contemporary British writer of Welsh and Chinese descent. His novel The Welsh Girlwas longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2007 and his collection of short stories The Ugliest House in the World published in 1997 won the John Llewellyn Rhys and PEN/Macmillan Prizes in the UK as well as the 1998 H L Davis Award for Short Fiction. Many of his other works have also received awards, both in UK and USA.
Philip Errington – Class of 1984
Read English at University College, London. Joined Sotheby’s in the Department of Printed Books and Manuscripts in 1999. Now Director working on English Literature, Children’s Books and Illustrations. Also Visiting Research Fellow within the Institute of English Studies, University of London, 2001–2003 and Honorary Research Fellow within the Department of English, University College, London from 2004. He has published widely on the writer John Masefield.
Philip Larkin (1922 – 1985)
An English poet, novelist and jazz critic, Larkin spent his working life as librarian at Hull University. Following the death of John Betjeman he was offered the Poet Laureateship, but declined the post. Larkin is commonly regarded as one of the greatest English poets of the latter half of the 20th century.
Eric Malpass (1910 – 1996)
Eric Malpass was an English novelist noted for his humorous and witty descriptions of rural family life, writing 15 novels. His work acquired its most devoted readership on the Continent, particularly in Germany.
Media
Roger Harrabin – Class of 1966
Roger Harrabin is a BBC Energy and Environment Analyst, best known for being a pioneer of climate change reporting. Roger is also an Honorary Fellow of St Catharine’s Cambridge.
Rachel Millward – Class of 1988
Founded Birds Eye View, a collective for women film-makers. She is highly respected in the profession. One of the patrons is Joanna Lumley.
Law & Politics
Louise Delahunty – Class of 1971
Louise Delahunty was one of the first 4 Girls admitted to King Henry VIII Sixth Form in 1975. Louise is now a leading international lawyer in criminal and defence investigations. She is a former chairwoman of The Law Society’s Money Laundering Task Force and past member of the Government Money Laundering Advisory Committee. Her experience encompasses global, multi-jurisdictional investigations, dealing with regulators including the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and financial institutions such as the World Bank.
Jonathan Ockenden – Class of 1976
Jonathan organised G8. He works for the Global Policy and Institutions sector of the Committee for Macroeconomic Policy and International Finance at HM Treasury. He represents the UK at meetings on Global Policy.
Elizabeth Preston – Class of 1991
Elizabeth was an Officer of the House of Commons, based in the Department of the Clerk of the House. She was UK Delegation Secretary for the NATO and OSCE Parliamentary Assemblies.
Centuries Ago
William Dugdale (1605 – 1686)
William Dugdale was an eminent historian and antiquary. His works include Monasticon Anglicanum, The History of St Paul’s Cathedral and Antiquities of Warwickshire. During the Civil War Charles I deputed him to summon to surrender the castles of Banbury and Warwick. Following the Restoration, Dugdale rose through the Royal Household to the position of Garter Principal King of Arms.
Jack Fisher (1841-1920)
Jack Fisher was a senior Naval Officer at the start of the 20th century and was largely responsible for the reforms prior to the Great War including the introduction of the Dreadnought battleships. He retired in 1910 but was recalled to the Admiralty on the outbreak of the First World War. However, disagreements with a young Winston Churchill over the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign brought about his resignation in mid 1915.
