Inspiring the next generation of Kingsbury students was the order of the day during a school’s 50th anniversary celebration.

Kingsbury High School marked its annual ‘aim higher alumni’ day by welcoming back more than3 0 former students who help mentor, guide and motivate current students to career confidence and academic success.

The returning alumni are among 800 former students registered with the school to share their career experiences. They included Christina Kumar, who fights cyber-sex trafficking in the Philippine, Suraj Gosai, who runs a business serving the UK’s e-sports fanbase; James Hillier, an international election monitor and government lawyer Bindya Thakrar.

They were joined by doctors, psychologists, engineers, journalists, bankers, members of the armed and emergency services, as well as undergraduates and apprentices.

Andrew Mitchell, who is ‘aim higher manager at the Princes Avenue school, said: “It was fantastic to see such a large and inspiring turn-out of former students, perhaps the most varied line-up we have seen so far.

“All of our Kingsbury students were presented with a wealth of experiences on the day, and stories that will assist them as they make their own choices in the future.”

The school, formerly Kingsbury Grammar School until 1967, is one of more than a thousand state secondaries and colleges nationwide which have worked with the national education charity Future First to harness the experience of former students to motivate the current generation through ‘old school tie’ networks.

Christine Gilbert, a former Ofsted chief inspector and executive chair of future first, added: “Every state school student should have the opportunity to succeed in life after school, regardless of their background.

“If students see ‘people like me’ have succeeded, they are more likely to believe they can too. They work harder and have higher expectations of success. We want more schools to see the benefits of using their alumni as a powerful resource.”

The school would like to hear from more former students who can register by clicking the ‘for former students’ link at futurefirst.org.uk.