On Thursday of last week, Steven Varty, a past student at BGS, spoke to a large group of Year 12s about the opportunities of a career in finance and banking. He discussed his successes and challenges as an Executive Director at Santander and spoke about the benefits of this industry.

Since joining the bank, his role has progressed to becoming the Sector Head of Trade & Working Capital. This informative talk opened the eyes of many students, demonstrating how rewarding a career in banking can be. Personally, as someone who was already hoping to follow a similar career path, I found Steven’s talk extremely helpful and reassuring, as he was completely honest about his experiences and how his career has developed since leaving Bexley Grammar School. This was very exciting to hear as I am someone who will be making decisions to hopefully pursue my own career in banking in just under a year. Not only was Steven’s talk beneficial for those already interested in banking, but many of my friends and other students in the year are now considering this future. Despite this talk having a focus on finance, Steven shared his knowledge of the recruitment process, including interview and application advice, making everyone at the talk feel much more educated and confident to make an informed decision when it comes to applying in the future. 

Megan Butler, Year 12