Where Are They Now?

Where Are They Now?

Sean attended the Senior School between 1992 and 1999 finishing up as Head Boy. Away from studying he enjoyed working on the School newspaper and representing the School at rugby, chess and debating. He remembers fondly Mr Cohen's trips to Paris, rugby tours and a School visit for seemingly no particular purpose to the States. Sean left Ewell Castle with A-levels in French, Maths and History and went on to study Law at St. Edmund Hall, Oxford University.

He has worked since as a barrister at 9 Bedford Row, London, specialising in the prosecution and defence of allegations of serious crime. He's glad to report that he has not come across anyone connected with the school in his line of work.

Being defeated as the Conservative candidate in the school's 1997 mock General Election did not put him off politics leading to him being elected as an Epsom & Ewell councillor and contesting the 2010 General Election, this time for real. Now living in central London his connection to the school is maintained by serving as a Governor.

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Former pupil Christopher (Kris) Ickemeyer – Pupil 1985-1994

When he left Ewell Castle he went to the University of the West of England to study Building Services Engineering. However, he enjoyed his time at School so much that some would say that he never left, as he's regularly back in his professional role as owner of TCS Solutions Ltd a mechanical services and engineering company which maintains the School boilers, heating and plumbing!

Some of his favourite lessons included German with Mrs Young and DT with Mr Thompson as well as Mr Bland, if you were in the same Sixth Form DT classes as Kris you may recall a few planned as well as last minute trips to exhibitions in London and further afield! Then there was the storm of ’87 which took down a few of the specimen trees in the grounds one of which flattened Mr Backs’ car. Mr Miller and the team were kept busy clearing trees and sorting out the grounds for some time.

When he was at School, the blazer had just changed from striped burgundy to the royal blue with the red and blue braiding trim, Christine ruled the kitchen and school dinners were cooked in what is now the administration office and were served in the Castle Hall, what is now the staff work room used to be the Sixth Form Common Room. The annual firework display was held in the playground of the Junior School in Chessington Lodge and the lake still had water in it and although by then it was no longer used for swimming it never stopped boys larking around trying to push others into it. Some members of staff such as Mr Hadden, Mr Beaumont and Mr Thompson all lived on site but the boarders had long gone.

Other funny memories include the Deputy Head Mr Knock shaving off his beard for Comic Relief, theatre productions and History Reviews with Mr Cohen and Jane Heart, School trips to Boulogne and Paris with Mr Cohen as well as his French lessons. These sometimes involved the unusual task of having to stand on desks reciting French verbs and other vocab even when the Principal walked in with a prospective pupil and his family. Such a thing would seem unimaginable in most schools, but then Ewell Castle School is not and never was ‘most schools’! You can get in touch with Kris at kris@tcs-solutions.co.uk.

Srdan studied A Level Maths, Economics and Business Studies whilst at Ewell Castle School and was a key member of the ECS Tennis Academy. Srdan successfully gained a Tennis Scholarship to study Business Management with a minor in Accounting at Union College in Kentucky (USA) and continues to excell in his tennis. Throughout last year he played position 2, having recorded 16 wins and just 2 losses. Last semester he continued a great run and streak to go on to win ITA regionals in singles.  Follwing his win at the Regionals, he went on to the next stage which is the ITA Cup.  This is where each winner from the regions compete for the title (best 8 in the country).  He ended up 5th ranked. With this new ranking he is currently ranked 7 in the USA.  His dedication to his tennis hasn't stopped him succeeding in his studies.  During his first semester he secured a GPA of 4.0 and in his second semester a GPA of 3.8 having one B.  We'll be continuing to track Srdan's progress and will keep you posted.

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Where are they Now? - Former pupil, Olympic Champion John Naber

Future Olympic champion, John Naber, attended Ewell Castle in the late 1960s, prior to his family’s return to their native United States of America.  John recalls his days at Ewell Castle very fondly, even though his American accent made him stand apart from the other students.  On his first report card, the teacher wrote to his parents: “Your son, John, has excellent leadership skills, but we wish he would not use them to cause uproars during recess."  He enjoyed swimming in “the pond” and still remembers stepping into the communal showers in the school basement after football practice, while still wearing his soccer cleats with five-pound clogs of mud on each shoe.   Mr. Keys' history lessons on the chalkboard taught John how to focus his attention on difficult tasks over a long period of time, which he put to good use as a competitive swimmer with four hours of daily training.

After earning four gold medals and one silver at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Naber embarked on career as a sports broadcaster and motivational speaker.  He has covered over 30 different sports for television and radio, filing reports from ten different Olympic Games.  His most recent visit to Ewell Castle occurred immediately after the Closing Ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games.  He is the author of two Olympic related books, and was inducted into the International Swimming and the US Olympic Halls of Fame.  Naber was twice elected as the President of the US Olympic and Paralympic Association (USOPA is the US Olympic and Paralympic Alumni) and currently is the President or Chairman of three different Olympic related non-profit organizations.  He lives with his wife of 38 years in Pasadena, California, and still finds time to swim a couple of miles 2-3 times a week. 

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