Student Alumni Spotlight

Discover the stories of previous students who have turned ambition into achievement, and be inspired to imagine what’s possible for your own future.

If you’re a former student who’d be happy to share your career journey, please drop us an email at lithgowl@changinglives.education.

From Academy Life to the Met’s Major Crime Team

Hannah Burgess, who attended WLA from 2011 to 2018, began her post‑school life pursuing performing arts at a prestigious London college before discovering a completely different calling. Today, at just 25, she is one of the youngest detectives working on major investigations with the Metropolitan Police.

Memories of WLA

After spending seven years at West Lakes Academy, the school had a huge impact on my younger life. Most of my favourite memories come from the performing arts department with Miss Jackson, Miss Sunter and Miss Whitaker. I was an avid performer and took every opportunity to get on stage or take part in competitions like Rock Challenge. I also threw myself into athletics and cross‑country, I think I just had a lot of energy. And I can’t forget the English department on World Book Day. I’m fairly sure I was King Lear one year, although Lear’s downfall might explain why my memory of that day is a bit hazy.

Plans after school

After leaving WLA, I went to Bird College in London to study performing arts. I was doing 35–40 hour weeks of dancing, acting and singing, and eventually realised I didn’t love it enough to pursue it as a career. It was a difficult time because I genuinely had no idea what I wanted to do next. I considered gaining further qualifications and pursuing careers in nursing or midwifery. I also considered joining the army or becoming a firefighter. The reality was that I was completely unsure, and that was totally okay.

My Dad, who is a retired police officer, suggested I apply for the Metropolitan Police. We have similar personalities and deal with situations in the same way, so I thought if policing worked for him, maybe it would work for me too. I joined the Met at 19. I’m now 25.

A career in the Met

There have been many challenging moments in my career so far, and the emotional toll of what I’ve seen has definitely changed me, but for the better. I’m more empathetic, and I understand so much more about people’s cultures, backgrounds and personal situations. Working in London exposes you to everything: incredible diversity, amazing food and festivals, but also areas where nearly half of children live below the poverty line. When I worked in child protection, I remember buying food for children who hadn’t eaten that day. Those moments stay with you.

My most defining moment was passing the interview for the Major Enquiry Team. I was only 23 and knew I was young in service to be applying. I genuinely couldn’t believe it when I got the job.

Thoughts on becoming one of the youngest detectives working on major investigations in London

Policing is a strange environment; your colleagues might be 18 or they might be 60. You forget your age until someone mentions pop culture and you realise you have no idea what they’re talking about… or vice versa. It feels good to have achieved so much at a young age, but that doesn’t stop the imposter syndrome. I remember giving evidence at Crown Court for a serious sexual offence trial, then popping into a supermarket afterwards and getting ID’d for an energy drink. This world knows how to humble you.

Careers advice

My advice to current students is simple: speak to anyone and everyone. You can’t decide what you want to do without knowing what’s out there. If you’re interested in a particular career, reach out to the company or organisation directly, you might get to visit or even secure a placement. If you have no idea what you want to do, that’s completely normal. Go to careers fairs, open days, talk to people. Most adults still aren’t sure if they’re on the right career path. Remember you are in the moment you’re in so don’t worry too much about the future! Take each week as comes and just try your best.

Interested in a career in the police?

If you’re considering policing (detective or otherwise), I’d suggest doing any of the following:

• Speak to people. Communication is one of the most important parts of policing. Public speaking and one‑to‑one conversations are your bread and butter, so any experience you can gain in these areas is really valuable.
• Visit your local magistrates or Crown Court and sit in the public gallery. There are usually several cases running at once, and you can watch real trials unfold. It’s free, and you can stay for as long or as little as you like.
• If you’re 18 or over, contact your local station to ask about a ‘ride‑along’. This allows you to spend a shift with police officers and attend calls alongside them, giving you a real insight into the job.)

From the Classroom to the Cockpit: Daniel’s Journey

I wanted to be a pilot for as long as I can remember. I’ve always been interested in aeroplanes – my grandfather was a naval aviator and my favourite part of holidays abroad were the flights. I had my first trial-flight when I was 12 in a single engine plane at Carlisle airport, and my first visit to an airline cockpit on my 13th birthday.

I began studies at West Lakes Academy in 2013 and went on to eventually study History, Chemistry and Maths for my A-Levels. However, I finished in 2020 during lockdown before I could complete my final A-Level exams. I will always appreciate the support from some teachers despite the circumstances we faced in particular Mr. Price, my old tutor, Mr. Rush and Mrs. Fletcher, my history teachers, and Mr Simpson, my chemistry teacher.

Because of the Covid pandemic the commercial aviation industry and its training schools went into partial shutdown, so it wasn’t an ideal time to start my journey. Furthermore, Initial training was being done virtually which wasn’t my preferred way to learn, so I decided to defer starting and got a job to save money – it costs a lot to train as a pilot and I wanted to be sure that I was making the right choice.

Once things settled down after Covid, I applied to L3 Harris Aviation Academy, passed the selection process and started my training in May 2023. The training is split into four main stages. Ground school is first with 13 theory exams. It’s comparable to learning a degrees worth of knowledge in 6 months, and it was intense. Very long days in the classroom, and then evenings studying further independently on topics such as mass and balance, general navigation, meteorology and law.

After ground school I moved to Florida to learn the basics of flying in a small single engine aircraft using the visual references outside to help me fly and navigate, then graduating onto a multi-engine plane to get my commercial pilots license. Once I’d passed the commercial exam I moved back to England to begin my complex instrument flying, to learn how to fly when we can’t see anything out of the windows and having to trust the information the airplane is telling us on it’s screens.

Near the end of my training, I successfully applied to the easyJet graduate programme and was offered a job as a first officer based out of London Gatwick, which I started in May 2025. The first two months with easyJet were getting my type rating in the simulator for the Airbus A320 family which easyJet use. This is essentially the plane version of driving lessons and test, and after this I was able to fly the real plane for the very first time! I then began flying passengers around supervised by a training captain until I passed my final check flight, after which I became a fully qualified first officer. My ultimate goal is to one day become a Training Captain to help other people achieve their pilot dream too.

For each flight we arrive at the airport early to do the pre-flight checks and brief with our crew for the day. Because Gatwick is such a big base for easyJet I rarely fly with the same people so being able to communicate and work with a wide range of people is important. Once we are happy with the plane, the passengers are onboarded and off we go. Once we reach our destination we have about an hour to get the plane tidy and set up ready to head back home to end the day.

After this outline no two days are the same and the variety is one of the things I like most. I can be flying to Milan in the morning and Paris in the afternoon, over the Swiss Alps or the Egyptian Pyramids another day and in all kinds of different weather conditions. I also get the opportunity to work from other easyJet bases all around the UK.

For anyone interested in becoming a pilot, I’d say find out as much as possible. Use online resources such as aviation.insider, pilot blogs, visiting events like Pilot Careers Live and Training provider open days and talk to people.

There are multiple different routes to becoming a pilot. You can do an aviation based degree with private pilot training included through universities, you can train through a dedicated flight school or you can apply to one of the pilot cadet programmes that are run by major airlines. A lot of the airlines are starting to re-open their cadet programmes now too, including British Airways, easyJet, Jet2 and TUI. These schemes subsidise your training and then you repay it once you start working for them. Competition for places for both cadet schemes and jobs is fierce, so make sure you research the airline and prepare thoroughly. There is a high demand for pilots at the moment and it is a career with great opportunities.

Going to flight school rather than university was definitely the right choice for me. I had always dreamt of being an airline pilot and there is no direct route to do this through a university course. Not all career paths require a university degree.

Probably the best advice I was given and I always pass on is to simply follow your dreams, work hard and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it. I was told by one of my teachers that I’d never get a job if I kept looking out of the window, but now that literally is part of my job, with some of the best views in the world!

Celebrating Ailsa’s Journey in Sports Journalism

We are incredibly proud to celebrate the achievements of former student Ailsa Cowen, whose passion for sport and storytelling has led her to an exciting career in sports journalism. Ailsa shares her inspiring journey from her days at West Lakes Academy to becoming a BBC Sport Journalist, offering a fantastic example of where ambition and hard work can lead.

At West Lakes Academy, I studied English Language, English Literature, Art and P.E at A-Level. I’ve been asked before whether those were the “right” choices for journalism. Honestly, I think the best subjects are the ones you enjoy and feel confident in. Art and P.E might not look directly linked to journalism on paper, but I knew I could do well in them, and the grades I got helped me move on to the next stage. Having a genuine interest in sport has obviously been useful too.

At GCSE, I loved subjects like History, English and Art. But I definitely didn’t find everything easy. Maths, for me, felt like a completely different language. I scraped through my GCSE with a grade C and that was with a lot of extra help from Mrs Plews and Mr Moore, who must have the patience of saints.

Looking back, I think it’s important to say that not being good at everything doesn’t stop you from getting where you want to go. You just have to put the work in where it matters and ask for help when you need it.

School isn’t always straightforward for everyone, and it certainly wasn’t perfect all the time for me either. But the effort you put in does count. Even when it doesn’t feel like it at the time.

After sixth form, I went on to study BA (Hons) Sports Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire (now the University of Lancashire). The course gave me practical experience from day one. We covered live news days, worked in TV and radio studios and learned how the industry actually operates. For my final news day, I reported live from pitch side at Bolton Wanderers F.C., which was one of those moments where everything started to feel real.

I graduated with a First-Class Honours degree, which I’m really proud of – especially because it came from consistently putting the work in.

After university, I started freelancing with BBC Radio Manchester as a Broadcast Assistant, helping out on their Sunday football programmes. I also did commentary for Salford City F.C., Rochdale A.F.C. and Manchester City W.F.C.. That led to covering Premier League games for BBC Radio London, including fixtures like Liverpool F.C. vs Arsenal F.C. and Burnley F.C. vs Chelsea F.C.. Those early freelance years involved saying yes to opportunities and learning quickly.

I later worked as an Editorial Lead at Cognitive Publishing to understand more about the PR side of the industry. But sport pulled me back in. I freelanced for GOAL before landing a social media role at talkSPORT, where I helped manage and grow their online channels before moving across to the writing team. After that, I joined GRV Media as an SEO Writer, producing content across several sports brands.

As of December 2025, I’m working as a Digital Journalist at BBC Sport. I write news stories across a range of sports and help run live blogs for Premier League matches, the Women’s Super League and other major events. No two days are ever quite the same, which is something I really enjoy.

I grew up in West Cumbria with a dream of becoming a sports journalist. It didn’t happen overnight, and it definitely wasn’t a straight line. But by working hard, listening, choosing subjects I enjoyed and taking opportunities when they came up, I built my way towards it. If you’ve got something you want to do, stick with it. There’s no reason it can’t be you.