Join our panel of speakers as they discuss the opportunities and challenges of a career in politics and the civil service, drawing on their range of experience to reflect upon the diverse range of career choices and the skills required to succeed.
‘Perspectives’ is a series of free, public lectures hosted by Bolton School. They are free to attend and open to pupils in Year 9 and above, parents, alumni, and all other members of the School and local community.
Speakers:
Richard Walker - Class of 1985
Richard attended Bolton School from 1978-1985, and won a scholarship to read Geography at St Catherine’s College, Oxford University. In his gap year, through the school, he researched and wrote the pamphlet Why Handicap? for Bolton MP Peter Thurnham, and won an English Speaking Union scholarship to attend Cranbrook-Kingswood School, Michigan, USA.
After an MSc in Urban Planning at Oxford Brookes University, he now has 32 years’ professional experience in transport planning, working for consultancy Colin Buchanan (with spells in Sydney and Shanghai), Mayor of London Ken Livingstone and, since 2005, as a civil servant in the Department for Transport. In 2020-21, in the run-up to COP26, he was seconded to the DecarboN8 team at Leeds University, returning to DfT in 2022 to work on delivering the National Bus Strategy for England.
Nina Menezes - Class of 2002
Nina studied mathematics at the University of Edinburgh. This was followed by yet more mathematics studying for a masters at the Manchester University, and then a PhD in pure mathematics at St Andrews University. Following this, she moved to London to join the Civil Service as an operational research analyst. Since 2013 she has worked in a variety of departments and roles spanning operational research, data science and software engineering. She is currently a software developer in the Incubator for AI in the Cabinet Office.
Alexander Waudby - Class of 2012
After leaving school (class of 2012), Alex attended the University of Bristol to study French and German. He spent his year abroad teaching as a British Council Teaching Assistant in the Rhineland, and working in the arts sector in Paris. After graduating he spent time in Hong Kong teaching English, before undertaking a Blue Book Traineeship at the European Commission in Brussels during the height of Brexit negotiations. In 2019 he joined the Civil Service at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and now works in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on nuclear strategy.
Bethany Warke - Class of 2014
Beth works at The University of Manchester’s policy engagement unit, which aims to connect academic research to parliament and policymakers. She has prior experience in public affairs within the charity sector and working in Westminster for an MP. She graduated in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in Politics, with a particular focus on British political institutions and devolution.
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