Emily Tearle was appointed as King's first ever Head Girl for the 1992-93 school year. Thirty years later she helped to organise a reunion for her school friends. We were able to sit down with her to hear about her historic time at school and her fascinating career since leaving...

Hi Emily, first things first, when were you at King's?

1986 to 1993 (now years 7 to 13)

Which House were you in?

Serlo

What are your favourite memories from your time at King's?

I absolutely loved my time at King’s, mainly because of the people who were there with me. Whether it was our whole school assemblies in the Cathedral, or being part of the first ever girls' 1st XI hockey team, or pulling together on a gruelling DofE expedition, what gave me such fantastic memories were my friends and the staff. Thirty years on and all those feelings flooded back in October 2023 when I joined others from my year at school for our reunion. 

Tell us what it was like being the first ever Head Girl at King's? 

It was a huge honour and I was extremely proud to be made Head of School, as it was then called. We had a great year group and everyone was really supportive, although I do recall being dragged round the sixth form centre (then at the top of The Palace) in a large hessian sack used for house sports kit to celebrate! 

The local press took an interest so I spent a rather odd afternoon pretending to do various journalist-inspired “Head Girl” themed activities on camera much to everyone’s amusement - there was a lot of purposeful walking and vigorous writing!

How do you think that the position of responsibility at school helped you in your life after King's?

I think the experience gave me a real sense of responsibility and an early opportunity to work with “grown ups” to deliver important events for the school. My final year at King’s was also incredibly busy with four A Levels and captaining the hockey team, so I had to be really organised to make sure I didn’t fall behind. 

Do you have any particular highlights from your time as Head Girl?

Mr Lacey had only just joined as Headmaster and consequently, he invited me to deliver the reflections on the previous year at the annual Speech Day which was a first. That was an amazing experience - standing in front of a packed Cathedral reading my own speech is something I will never forget. 

What did you do after leaving school and where has your career taken you?

I read Law at Cambridge University and secured a training contract to qualify as a solicitor in the City, initially specialising in shipping litigation. I moved to my current firm, Travers Smith LLP, in 2002 and have enjoyed a very happy 20+ years in roles that have evolved from Commercial Litigator to Head of Knowledge Management. 

Good KM in legal practices is crucial. In short, a law firm doesn’t make widgets. Its value lies in the quality of its legal advice and the efficiency and consistency with which it can be delivered to clients. I focus on how we store, retrieve and disseminate knowledge and information internally in order to achieve this. Using my experience as a practising lawyer in the business, I help deliver a co-ordinated approach to the introduction of new technologies and processes, especially when these impact search and retrieval of knowledge. I am also responsible for the firm’s intranet and lead on our information architecture and governance.

How did you find your recent reunions?

This year, it has been fantastic to reunite with old friends. In October, the school kindly hosted a 30 year reunion for us, providing afternoon tea and a tour of the School and Cathedral. It was fascinating to see what had changed, but also so much fun to recall stories and events from our time at King’s. Huge thanks to George Smith for organising, to David Evans for his exceptional tour and to John and Mrs Webster for accompanying us. 

A few weeks later, I had the pleasure of attending the King’s London reunion where I caught up with more of my contemporaries and also made new friends from other year groups. George was an excellent host and we all had a lovely evening. 

What does the future hold? (Both in work and outside of work)

At work we are really busy. It is impossible to ignore the potential impact of the latest developments in AI technology on legal services delivery, but we are looking for ways to harness that potential to improve efficiencies and free up lawyers’ time to focus on the tricky stuff. It is an exciting time to be in Knowledge Management as good governance of our stored content will directly lead to better quality results from AI-driven solutions. 

Home life is just as busy. My husband and I both work full time and with our daughter about to finish her own school journey with A Levels in the summer, we have been thinking and planning for university, whilst my son’s senior school experience has only really just begun. Add in a menagerie of pets (two cats and dog) and there is never a dull moment. That said we are all looking forward to holidays next summer when the hard work will be done and we can regroup as a family before the next chapter begins. 

And finally, if you could give one piece of advice to the current crop of sixth formers about to join the real world, what would it be?

I am always keen to talk to sixth formers about life in the City, particularly from the perspective of a working parent. That said, based on my own experiences, my advice is to be open minded and look out for opportunities - you never know when the chance to broaden your experience with a new assignment, or role or even completely new job, may arise. When I qualified as a solicitor, the roles I have since held within Knowledge Management did not exist, but by spotting the business need, identifying the opportunity, plus a good dose of enthusiasm and persuasion, I have been able to carve out a new and fulfilling career.