Lord Browne of Madingley Guest of Honour at King’s Ely Senior Prizegiving

John Browne, Lord Browne of Madingley, took a step back in time by returning to King’s Ely to be Guest of Honour at Senior Prizegiving.

Lord Browne, best known for his role as the Chief Executive of the energy company BP from 1995 to 2007, is an Old Elean (former King’s Ely student) and was among hundreds of students, staff, parents, dignitaries and friends of the school who came together for the service in Ely Cathedral on May 3rd.

The service, which is one of the highlights of the school calendar, is an annual celebration of students’ academic achievements and outstanding successes in everyday school life, such as music, art, drama and sport.

Academic Prizes are awarded to several students in each year group; there are awards for Most Improved Students and those who have provided an Outstanding Contribution to School Life. There are also King’s Scholar and Queen’s Scholar Prizes, Prefect Awards, King’s Ely International Scholar Prizes and Potticary Medals for the Heads of School; which went to Felix Hawes and Maria Campbell this year. The new Heads of School for 2019/2020, Sol Boon and Lottie Wilkinson, were also formally announced during the service.

Long-standing awards and medals which celebrate historical achievements at King’s Ely, such as the Bennett Prize, Dimmock Reading Prize, Shepherd Cup and Winkfield Cup, to name just a few, are also presented at Prizegiving, which is followed by a service of thanksgiving. Senior Prizegiving was even more poignant this year as it was the last one for King’s Ely’s Principal, Sue Freestone, before she retires in August after 15 years at the helm.

Lord Browne is a former President of the Royal Academy of Engineering and since 2001, has been a crossbench member of the House of Lords. He has also been Chairman of Tate Galleries, a Trustee of the British Museum, a former Partner of Riverstone LLC, which is co-owner of Cuadrilla resources, and a former Non-Executive Director of Apax and Goldman Sachs. Lord Browne received his undergraduate education at the University of Cambridge and later attended Stanford University.