Motivational Monday - Carol Kerr

 Carol Kerr (1973)

What did you do after Mayfield?

After school I did a business and secretarial course for a year in Edinburgh, then worked for a year as Admin and Admissions Assistant at the Law Faculty, Edinburgh University. I then joined the Foreign Office (FCDO now) and had postings to Jordan, Ghana and Switzerland over a period of nearly 8 years. I then joined Savills at their HQ in London as their Staff Administrator/Recruitment/Training/Personnel Officer (there was only me!) just as the firm was rapidly expanding, so I had responsibility for the London offices and several outside London, all the way up to Scotland - I was replaced by 3 people after I left!

What did you do after Mayfield?

Miss Doreen Jones, Head of Geography, was probably my most influential teacher - she taught rigour and discipline within her subject, how to write an essay, use plain English, strive for accuracy and widen one’s knowledge - telling us to find our own examples of geographical features, not the hackneyed ones, and she used to drive us to Brighton University for lectures - she went the extra mile for us. She also had many interests outside Geography so she was a very interesting person to talk to. I kept up with her until her recent death and attended her funeral.

Your best memory of Mayfield?

Having fun with my classmates, mostly down at Aylwins and down by the lake; Mrs Dougall’s amazingly creamy scrambled eggs she cooked for about 30 of us in her special double-boiler; the delicious raspberries from the garden, served with lashings of cream scooped from the huge metal milk churns - this was a special treat for those of us left behind at the end of summer term when we were flying home but had to wait until the following day for our flights; we also spent hours imagining how to convert Aylwins back into a private home - which of course is what has happened to that fine Elizabethan house recently; wonderful times in Schola which gave me a love of choral singing, and I still have the LP record we recorded for the Faure Requiem performance; watching the Wimbledon final in 1970 in Aylwins between Newcombe and Rosewall, a thrilling 5-setter and someone toppling off the table which had been piled up with chairs for more of us to watch the match - the excitement was just too much for her!

Where are you now?

Recovering from hosting our "50 years since we left school reunion" - 39 of our year group assembled in May 2023 - a joyous occasion and many had flown across the world to be there. I am married with 2 grown-up daughters, living in Wimbledon after many years of travel for my job and then for my husband’s job in Hong Kong and Japan, happy to be UK-based now.

Advice you’d give to your younger self?

Choose A level subjects that you enjoy, don’t just go with the crowd. And don’t despair if you think the very worst has happened, it might actually turn out for the best in the long run - always have a glass-half-full attitude, not half-empty!