Women’s History Month Round-Up

This March for Women’s History Month, we have been celebrating the achievements, successes and fantastic careers of some of our LHS and OLCS alumnae. Here is a round-up of all those we have featured.

Dorothee Pullinger (LHS 1912)

Dorothee Pullinger, MBE (LHS 1912) was a pioneering automobile engineer and businesswomen. She was awarded her MBE for her work in WSW1 and managing 7000 female munition workers.

At the age of 25, she became a founding member of a women’s engineering society and the first female member in the institution of Automobile engineers.

You can read more about Dorothy in the 2019 Beyond the Barrier Magazine.

Katie Boulter (FFD 2008, LHS 2014)

Katie Boulter (FFD 2008, LHS 2014) is a professional Tennis Player who has been playing since she was five years old. She has played in Wimbledon, the US Open and has recently competed in the Australian Open.

Jo Jackson (LHS 2003)

Jo Jackson (LHS 2003) has written an article about pivots in life, learning that life is not a linear path and how to accept change when it might seem daunting. You can read this on our website.

After LHS, Jo went to Warwick university and studied International Business with French; following this, she accepted a graduate job and progressed in the corporate world for years afterwards. In 2020, Jo did a career pivot and is now happily working as a life and leadership coach.

Emma Purcell (LHS 1989)

Emma Purcell (LHS 1989) was named as Leicestershire Law Society’s Barrister of the Year!

Since leaving the High School, she has had a fantastic career specialising in Family Law. She has also been involved with the LGS Parents Association for eight years.

Read more about Emma here.

Rebecca Maudling and Laura Gelder-Robertson (LHS 1995)

After nearly thirty years, classmates, Rebecca Maudling and Laura Gelder-Robertson (LHS 1995) reunited. They came together, along with 65 others, to plant trees as part of the Million Tree Pledge.

You can read more about this story here.

Sophie Costello (LHS 1996)

Congratulations to Sophie Costello (LHS 1996), who celebrated her company, Costello Medical achieving B-Corp Accreditation in 2022! Sophie founded the company with her husband in 2008 after her brother suffered a life-changing injury.

Read more about her inspiring career here.

Chanju Mwanza (LHS 2012)

Chanju works as an Education and Climate Change Policy and Advocacy Advisor for a charity that works to advance children’s rights and equality for girls worldwide.

Since finishing school, Chanju has had a varied career path, ultimately motivated by working on issues that she cares about most. She has worked as a content creator for a feminist organisation, writing predominantly about social justice and racial equality in the UK. After university, she launched the Zambian Narratives project, which aims to create bilingual, culturally relevant children’s books in Zambia’s seven national languages.

Read more about Chanju here.

Liz Warner (LHS 1982)

Liz Warner (LHS 1982) founded and ran Betty, an award winning tv production company. After this, she was CEO of Comic Relief between 2016 and 2019. Currently, Liz is the CEO of Different Kind, which is a company that sources and sells ethically produced products.

Brogan Sommerville (LHS 2014)

Last year, Brogan Sommerville (LHS 2014) made the final of The Great British Sewing Bee, and we were lucky enough to sit down with her and chat about her success on the show, her aspirations for the future and the exciting year she has had!

You can read the whole article in your alumni magazine, Beyond the Barrier, which will be coming soon!

Isobel Thornley (LHS 1912)

Isobel Thornley (LHS 1912) was a British historian of medieval England. After leaving LHS, Isobel earned her BA at University College, Nottingham in 1915 and her MA at University College, London in 1917, where she studied under Albert Pollard, founder of the Institute of Historical Research.

She then became an assistant lecturer at UCL before spending a year as an assistant professor of history at Vassar College in the US. Isobel died in February 1941, aged just 48, when a bomb hit her home during the London Blitz. She is immortalised both in her legacy at UCL helping students achieve their PhDs and in the LHS hall.

Sophie Hahn (OLCS 2015)

Sophie Hahn, MBE (OLCS 2015) is a parasport athlete who competes mainly in T38 sprint events. She is a Paralympic Gold Medallist and World Record holder in the T38 Women’s 100m. Hahn claimed her first major medals in 2013 at the World Championships in Lyon, where she won T38 100m gold and 200m silver.

Loughborough Amherst School named the Boarding House, Hahn House, after Sophie. She officially opened Hahn House in September, 2019.

Louise Trinkle (LHS 1989)

Louise Trinkle (LHS 1989) has flown high after leaving Loughborough High School. She had a career buying and selling aircraft and working with several major military and civil aerospace companies.

In 2005, she emigrated to Australia and retired in 2007 after becoming unwell with a hereditary illness. Since then, she has raised her twins and fulfilled a lifelong ambition to play the saxophone in a concert band!

You can read more about Louise here.

Dr Elizabeth Ashley (LHS 1983)

Dr Liz Ashley (LHS 1983) is a Cardiothoracic Anaesthesia and Cardiothoracic Intensive Care consultant at St Bartholomew’s Cardiothoracic Centre in London.

She has been a consultant for 25 years – since 1998. Her previous consultant posts have been at University College Hospital and The Heart Hospital, and before that, King’s College Hospital!

You can read more about her here.

Jane Littlejohn (LHS 1978)

Jane Littlejohn (LHS 1978) has recently retired from her role as Partner and Head of Estates at Boodle Hatfield. She had an incredible and long career with Boodle Hatfield; after starting there during her training, she realised how much she enjoyed the firm, and so she spent the entirety of her career with them.

Since retiring, Jane has been enjoying her interests in gardening and ballet.

Read more about her career, her career advice, her time at LHS and what has inspired her here.

Miss Bristol (LHS Headmistress 1920-40)

Miss Bristol was the Headmistress of Loughborough High School from 1920 – 1940. In that time she made a significant impact to the school and the girls. She grew the size of the school, she inspired the girls to stay in school and go on to higher education.

She also introduced some of the most enduring traditions at the High School including the Carol Service with Tableaux (in 1925) and the School Houses (Burton, Fearon, Storer and Hastings).