Alex Gregory MBE
Double Olympic Gold Medallist, Rowing
(born 1984, The Richard Pate School 1991-95)
Alex spent his early years at the Richard Pate School from where he went on to Bredon Hill Middle School and then graduated at the University of Reading.
He gained a place in the Great Britian coxless four rowing team in 2009 and at both the 2009 World Rowing Championships and the 2011 World Rowing Championships the team won gold medals.
At the 2012 London Olympic Games, the coxless four team of Alex Gregory, Tom James, Pete Reed and Andrew Triggs-Hodge won the gold medal at Eton Dorney. In August 2012, to celebrate his gold medal at London 2012, a post box was painted gold in Cheltenham. Alex was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to rowing.
He visited the Richard Pate School in September 2012 and inspired everyone at the school with the story of his journey to Olympic victory.
In 2016, at the Beijing Olympic Games, Alex won his second Olympic gold medal in the the coxless four. The other three rowers were Mohamed Sbihi, George Nash and Constantine Louloudis.
Martin Horwood MP
Member of Parliament for Cheltenham
(born 1962, Pate’s Junior School 1968-71)
Martin Horwood is the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Cheltenham.
Martin attended Pate’s Junior School (as it was known as then) before moving on to Cheltenham College and then to Queen’s College, Oxford where he read Modern History.
He was elected at the 2005 general election as a Liberal Democrat MP, winning the seat with a majority of 2,303 over the Conservatives. In July 2005, he was appointed to the Shadow Home Affairs team, before being promoted to Shadow Environment Minister.
In May 2010 Martin was re-elected to parliament, beating the candidate for the Conservative party by sizable majority. He co-chairs the party’s international affairs committee and works in many cross-party parliamentary groups.
Find out more at www.martinhorwood.net
Simon Danielli
Scotland International Rugby Player
(born 1979, The Richard Pate School 1987-90)
Simon was born in 1979 and attended the Richard Pate School before moving on to Cheltenham College and then read Philosophy and Theology at Trinity College, Oxford University. At Oxford he was awarded two rugby union Blues playing in the Varsity Matches against Cambridge.
Simon represented England Under 21s, and then in January 2003 he opted to play for Scotland (where he was born). He made his international debut against Italy during the World Cup warm-up match in August 2003, scoring a try. He played for Scotland in the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
Simon scored a try in his Murrayfield Six Nations debut against England in 2004. He dropped out of the international picture in 2005, but was recalled to the Scotland squad for the 2006 Six Nations championship. He also played club rugby for the Borders and Ulster.
Vivian French
Children’s Book Author
(born 1945, Pate’s Junior School 1953-56)
Vivian attended Pate’s Junior School (as it was known as then) before moving on to Cheltenham Ladies College and then to the University of Exeter to read English.
After careers as an actor and a storyteller, Vivian published her first children’s book in 1990. She has since published about 200 bestselling books for children of all ages, with sales of well over a million, including the wildly popular Tiara Club series, Oliver’s Vegetables and Tales from the Five Kingdoms.
Vivian also conducts writing workshops for both children and adults, teaches at Edinburgh College of Art, and mentors new writers and illustrators.
Find out more at www.vivianfrench.com
Jon Foster
BAFTA award-winning writer and children’s animation author
(born 1981, The Richard Pate School 1986-93)
Jon Foster was born in 1981 and attended the Richard Pate School, Dean Close School and then studied English and History at Trinity College, Dublin.
Alongside writing partner James Lamont, he has written two seasons of The Amazing World of Gumball for Cartoon Network for which he won a BAFTA Children’s Award in 2011 and 2012, The Armstrong and Miller Show for BBC One (BAFTA winner 2010) and School of Comedy for E4. He co-created Bryony Makes a Zombie Movie for BBC Three which was BAFTA and Rose d’Or nominated in 2009.
Emily Pidgeon
International 5000m and Cross Country Runner
(born 1989, The Richard Pate School 1996-2000)
Emily was born in 1989 and started competitive cross-country racing during her time at the Richard Pate School.
She was 5000m champion at the 2005 European Junior Championships, silver medallist at the 2005 European Junior Cross Country Championships, finished fourth in the 2006 European Junior Cross Country Championships and was bronze medallist in the 2007 European Junior Championships.
At the World Cross Country Championships in 2007, Emily finished 17th; the second British runner and the second European.
Amy Weaver
Youngest female trainer in UK horse racing history
(born 1981, The Richard Pate School 1986-93)
Amy was born in 1982, attended the Richard Pate School and after senior school went on to the British Racing School at the age of 16.
Amy was granted her racing licence in June 2008 at the age of 26, becoming the youngest female trainer in UK horse racing history. She had her first winner shortly afterwards, on Monday 21st July 2008.
Amy started out at Malborough House Stables, and then moved on to Woodlands Stables in Newmarket. In 2009, she had 7 winners, and followed up her success with 8 the following season and 11 the year after.
Find out more at www.amyweaverracing.com
Ben Powell
Jazz Violinist
(born 1986, The Richard Pate School 1994-98)
Ben Powell’s abilities as a multi-stylistic violinist have allowed him to perform with some of the world’s greatest artists such as Paul Simon, Herbie Hancock, Gloria Estefan and Stevie Winwood. He’s performed at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics and the BBC Proms.
Ben joined the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, allowing him to perform classical repertoire at a professional level while pursuing his jazz studies at Berklee and has gained a reputation as one of the leading jazz violinists of his generation. May 2012 saw the release of his latest CD ‘New Street’ which features The Ben Powell Quartet and Ben’s personal tribute to his mentor Stéphane Grappelli.
Find out more at www.benpowellviolin.com
Nick Runciman
Professional Rugby Union Player
(born 1985, The Richard Pate School 1992-97)
Nick is an English rugby union player, who has played scrum half for London Welsh and prior to that for Worcester Warriors for a number of years having previously come through the academy at Gloucester. He joined Gloucester from London Welsh in 2011 and rejoined London Welsh in 2012.
Nick has represented England at Under 16, Under 18 and Under 21, as well as the Barbarians.
Find out more at www.nickrunciman.co.uk
Laura Anstee
Cellist
(born 1978, The Richard Pate School 1986-90)
Played cello on Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds.
Laura completed her musical training at the Royal Academy of Music. Since then she has collaborated with contemporary composers such as György Kurtág, Arvo Pärt and Judith Weir and has performed with various contemporary ensembles such as the Opera Group who perform yearly in the Linbury Studio at the Royal Opera House, the Goldberg Ensemble, the Bournemouth Symphony’s Kokoro ensemble and with the English National Opera’s choral group Knack. In addition to contemporary ensembles Laura has worked as a section cellist with the BBC concert orchestra and the St.Martin-in-the-Fields orchestras – the Belmont Ensemble and the New London Soloists Orchestra.
Jessi Pywell
Conductor and Soprano
(born 1988, The Richard Pate School 1995-99)
Jessi is a conductor and soprano. She read music at Leeds before going to Cambridge University to study choral conducting.
Jessi runs a professional chamber choir called the Delphian Singers who are a dynamic, young chamber choir based in London. Together with Toby Young, she founded the group in 2011, and it has since made a name for itself performing a wide range of music from the Renaissance to the present day.
She has sung all over the country as a soloist and consort singer, and she also supports several large choruses for big occasions such as the BBC Proms and the Three Choirs Festival.
Karl Rudski
Professional Rugby Union Player
(born 1980, The Richard Pate School 1987-91)
Karl has played as forward for Harlequins, Pau (France), Bayonne (France), Northampton, Esher and London Scottish rugby clubs. He has also represented England at U21 level.
Phil and Tom Lucas
International Rugby Sevens Players
(Phil born 1988, Richard Pate School 1992-99
Tom born 1990, Richard Pate School 1995-2001)
Phil and Tom Lucas play for the Barbados National Rugby Sevens team, and were in the team who won the Bowl trophy at the 2013 Rugby World Cup qualifiers held in Ottawa, Canada. They played for Barbados in the 2014 Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens competition in Glasgow.
Jimmy Williams
Professional Rugby Union Player
(born 1989, The Richard Pate School 1997-2000)
Jimmy has played at scrum half for Rotherham Titans after having previously played for Birmingham Solihull and RFC Lydney. He has represented England Counties and Gloucestershire
Sarah Hopkinson
Middle Distance, Cross-Country and Steeplechase Runner
(born 1991, The Richard Pate School 1995-2002)
Sarah set national and international records at 1500m and the mile at the age of 11. After leaving the Richard Pate School she went on to compete at national level at both middle and long distance events.
