On Friday 1 November, thirteen former pupils returned to Robert Gordon’s College from across the UK for the 2024 Creative Minds Festival to explore the importance of creativity with pupils in junior school and senior school. The festival showcased the success of Gordonians and the impressive creative pathways they have taken in the world of AI, design, journalism, acting, songwriting, musical theatre, special effects, marketing and branding. The festival has been supported by the Robert Gordon’s College Parents’ Association as a key event in the school calendar for 2024.

Katy Gordon (Class of ‘16) impressed pupils in Primary 6 with her role in digital marketing working for the Swedish home furnishing company, Ikea. Katy set pupils fun tasks to explain her role as an Online Content Specialist and explained how her role strengthens the IKEA brand amongst its customer base. She shared how her strong passion for communication led her to working for Walt Disney, Apple and Ikea, and how she utilised her love of language and multinational business operations to follow this pathway beyond school.

Primary 5 enjoyed spending time with Jonny Reeks (Class of ‘20), a Theatre Automation & SFX Technician working in London’s West End as part of the production team for Back to the Future: The Musical. Jonny explained to pupils that during his time at Robert Gordon’s, he was involved in supporting the production of many school shows which led him to follow this specialist route into Automation and Special Effects.

Joe Reid (Class of ‘17) shared with Primary 7 that when he left school he moved to Glasgow to study Economics and Marketing and now working in the financial services industry, he is completing his training to become a Chartered Accountant. Joe explained to pupils that at school he developed a strong passion for media, theatre and radio which has led him to continue with his creative passion outside work in directing stage musicals in Glasgow.

Jane Tulloch, Head of Junior School, shared: “We have a fundamental belief that creativity is a character trait inherent in all children that under the right conditions can be explicitly grown, nurtured and strengthened. It is a critical ingredient for success in all walks of life.

“It has been incredible to see our youngest learners come together with former pupils for their meeting of creative minds and learn more about the importance of creativity. It was wonderful to hear our alumni share first hand that they too had sat in the seats of our pupils and then left the gates of Gordon’s having learnt about the importance of being imaginative, thinking outside of the box and following their passion. Our speakers have been fantastic and we have had a lot of fun hearing about the impressive roles they have.”

Senior School pupils in S4 spent the day hearing about the professional and personal pathways former pupils are following when they leave school. They learnt that for some creativity is a passion from within and for others it is a toolkit they apply whether working in creative industries, or using creativity in their organisation. Pupils were inspired by Steve Parkinson (Class of ‘85), Brand and Marketing Director at Allwyn and Gary Cameron (Class of ‘91) Managing Director at Marketing Concepts who brought great examples of how they apply creative skills in the field of branding and marketing. Steve shared insight into his career in national radio, musical theatre and the projects that he is now involved with the national lottery funds that his company Allwyn are responsible for managing and promoting.

Rachael Taylor (Class of ‘02) returned for her second Creative Minds Festival to share how creativity applies in the world of journalism and her passion for writing about luxury fashion and jewellery. Rachael was able to share her first hand experience writing for major global newspapers and magazines, and publishing books telling the story of the well renowned brands Tiffany and Cartier. Pupils were fascinated to learn about her experience in social media and SEO within her sector - from workbench to showroom - as well as discussing the origin of materials used in the design of high end jewellery products.

Daniel K (Class of ‘14) and Alan Duncan (Class of ‘88) shared their passion for music with Daniel’s pathway demonstrating his talent on and off the stage with his multifaceted musical career within jazz and Alan sharing how he combines his role in Data Science at Gartner with his passion for music outside work, fronting a band and local live performances.

Clare Smith, Head of Senior School, said: “The Creative Minds Festival has been really inspiring for us all and I hope that all pupils involved in the festival have generated new ideas and perspectives that will help them to think about for their future. Our alumni are fantastic role models to our pupils and we have been blown away by the impressive roles Gordonians go on to pursue. Increasingly, employers are identifying creativity as a key skill they look for in candidates. Focusing on this theme for a day has given our pupils the opportunity to consider what this means to them and I am delighted with the way they embraced the opportunity. There is an abundance of support available from our alumni community and we want pupils to be curious and ambitious about the possibilities ahead of them.”