Friday 5th June 2026 saw the welcome return of the Creative Minds Festival across the College. Taking place every two years and being held in the Summer term for the first time this year, the festival brought together 11 former pupils from across the UK, who collectively travelled over 3,500 miles to deliver a spectacular day of panel sessions, assemblies and workshops for pupils across the College. 

The MacRobert Hall was filled with energy and strong Gordonian spirit as the festival began with a lively assembly delivered by Miss Jamieson, Chelsea Hawthorne, Class of ‘10, Katy Howarth, Class of ‘16 and Nicholas Runcie, Class of ‘19. Sharing their collective experience, they presented together to an assembly of nursery and junior school pupils, sharing memories from RGC, describing their careers beyond school and sparking some lively competition between their respective school houses.

The festival continued with a vibrant array of hands-on workshops that allowed P5 and P6 pupils to discover the history and heritage of Tartan, delve into the world of marketing at the Swedish furniture company, IKEA, and investigate how AI can aid in chemistry research.  

Mrs Johnstone, Teacher of Primary 5, commented: “Our Primary 5 pupils really enjoyed Chelsea's workshop, they especially enjoyed learning about the heritage of tartan and designing their own style of tartan. It is great to see such a super role model influence our pupils.”

Senior School sessions began with a panel session for a full S4 audience led by Mrs Smith, Head of Senior School, and Steve Parkinson, Class of ‘85, Brand and Marketing Director at Allwyn. Together with seven Gordonians, they shared their stories with the audience, discussing the power of storytelling and the relationship between AI and technology in today’s creative world.

This was followed by a panel session for a full S2 audience, who heard from London based Matthew Mawtus, Class of ‘03, Food and Beverage Director at the Hedonism Group,  Glasgow-based Joe Reid, Class of ‘17, Digital Transformation Consultant at BDO, and Bryony Shepherd, Class of ‘98, Head of Interpretation, at the V&A in London. Together, this panel explored the power of storytelling, discussing their favourite subjects whilst at school and the storytelling nature of subjects such as Art and History. This session highlighted the importance of making connections throughout your time at school and how your network can support you beyond school.

S2 Business pupils stayed on to be part of a dual-aspect panel discussion led by Mr Macpherson, Head of College, together with Joe Reid, Laura Blaikie, Class of ‘19, and Archie Love, Class of ‘21, who discussed their roles in investment banking and finance, explaining how creativity plays a role in their day-to-day roles inside an investment bank. The next lively discussion explored the world of creative marketing through two very different lenses, as Chelsea Hawthorne and Katy Howarth spoke about their respective roles at McCalls Highlandwear and IKEA. Chelsea and Katy both shared their experiences, taking to the stage to discuss their stories and how different their roles are within the creative marketing world.

Meanwhile, around the College, further workshops were underway in Art, Drama, Business Studies, Accounting, Economics, Chemistry and Music, bringing a wealth of experience and activities to classes through detailed and hands-on workshops. Edinburgh-based artist, Robbie Bushe from the Class of ‘83, held two “Fragments to Fiction: Building a Place from Pieces” workshops for S2 and S3 Art pupils, demonstrating how to build environments and spaces, creating relationships between visual ideas and expanding and developing concepts in a short timeframe.

Reflecting on the day, Robbie shared “It is clear that Robert Gordon’s College has adapted to the needs and desires of pupils' aspirations and this event is inspiring, exciting and inclusive. I was particularly impressed by the younger pupils who were very confident and asked insightful questions and some very funny questions.”

Also in Art, Bryony Shepherd impressed S2 pupils with her workshop in Interpretation, sharing insights and highlights from her exciting career journey, which led to her current role as Head of Interpretation at the V&A in London. Bryony’s workshop took pupils on a journey of discovery into storytelling through objects and artefacts.

S4 and S5 Music pupils were excited to see Dexter Fawcett from the Class of ‘17 return to school to lead workshops on storytelling, lyric writing and songwriting. Discussing his pathway since leaving RGC, Dexter explained his career as a ghostwriter for artists around the world and guided pupils through some of the processes of song and lyric writing.

Steve Parkinson inspired S5 Creative Industries pupils with his journey through school, musical theatre and marketing, leading him to his role at Bauer Media, working in the world of national radio, and ultimately his current role as Brand and Marketing Director at Allwyn, home of the National Lottery.

Staff and pupils were amazed to learn about the advances of artificial intelligence from Nicholas Runcie, Class of ‘19, who provided insight into the world of pharmaceutical research at the University of Oxford. Nicholas delivered a fascinating workshop to S4 Chemistry pupils, demonstrating how the use of AI supports his Chemistry research and included a demonstration of CODEX, exploring the ways in which AI can support the efficiency of scientific research.

Delivering a fascinating workshop to S4 Business Studies pupils, Matthew Mawtus shared insights into his award-winning hospitality career, which has brought him a number of accolades over the years, including winning the UK Young Waiter of the Year award whilst working with Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s and being awarded GQ Front of House Manager of the Year while working with Jason Atherton’s five-rosette team.

Our final workshop with Laura Blaikie and Archie Love sparked fierce debate amongst pupils about strategies and planning, as they delivered a captivating trading workshop to S3 and S5 Economics and Accounting pupils in the Stevenson Lecture Theatre. Their workshop was a new direction for the Creative Minds Festival, demonstrating that the creative mindset spans all industries.

The final panel session of the festival day saw all 11 former pupil participants come together in the Craig Centre for an energetic S1 presentation, aptly titled “What’s Your Story?”.

Each Gordonian was asked to bring a personal prop to reflect on their fondest memories of the College, creating a captivating session full of energy, humour and honest reflection. They shared advice for pupils currently in S1, spoke about the lessons and values from RGC that have stayed with them throughout their careers, and encouraged pupils to think about how they can become the best version of themselves in the years and decades ahead.

Creative Minds Festival 2026 was kindly supported by the RGC Parents Association, contributing to an incredible day celebrating the strength of being a Gordonian, as demonstrated by the wonderful former pupils who gave their time, expertise, advice and insights into a breadth of pathways beyond the College.