This week we’re celebrating alumni who have just opened her first community bakery in East London, training and employing young people who are new to the workplace.

After leaving school, [Living alum name] studied Hospitality Management before spending ten years working in kitchens across London and Lisbon. She says the idea for the bakery started much earlier, in our school Food Technology room.

“I was never the most confident student, but I loved being in that kitchen,” she told us. “[Deceased alum name] was in the year above me and ran the Friday bake sale. She was the one who first told me I was good at this, and I never forgot it.”

[Deceased alum name], Class of 2007, sadly passed away in 2019. In her memory, the bakery’s signature loaf is named after her, and a share of every sale goes to the bursary fund set up in her name.

The bakery is now taking on its first group of five trainees, and [Living alum name] is keen to hear from any alumni who would like to volunteer as mentors.

If you’d like to get in touch, you can find her on the Online Directory or reply to this post.