Scholar Success Stories

Laurence is a rising British tenor earning international attention for his powerful performances and engaging stage presence. Praised as “one of the country’s finest tenor voices” by Classic FM, he has won major awards across Europe and recently released his debut album, Awakenings as well as appearing on a new recording of My Fair Lady. He regularly performs with world-class orchestras across Europe, Australia, Canada and America. His recent work includes appearances at Carnegie Hall, the BBC Proms, top opera houses and festivals, and has ongoing collaborations with renowned conductors and ensembles.

Old Decanian Danni Gibson has become one of the standout names in women’s cricket. An England all-rounder, she has competed at the highest levels of the game and continues to inspire the next generation of young athletes. Her recent recognition in The Hundred reflects both her talent and the growing profile of women’s cricket. Danni’s journey shows how dedication, resilience and ambition can open doors beyond school, while highlighting the importance of nurturing sporting potential from a young age. She is an inspiring role model for pupils considering a sports scholarship at Dean Close School today and beyond.

George began his artistic career while still at Dean Close, drawing caricatures at local markets before travelling across the UK to sketch at events. After studying at the London Atelier of Representational Art, his work took him around the world, from painting remote landscapes in Venezuela, Brazil, the Pyrenees and Arizona to creating portraits of the Macuxi tribe in Northern Brazil. A winner of the Tuscany Plein-Air Scholarship, George has exhibited internationally, including a solo show at the Brazilian Embassy in London. His work has featured on Brazilian television, and his YouTube channel has attracted over 1.5 million views.

Emma is the founding Director of Yale’s International Leadership Center and a lecturer at the Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs teaching on great power competition and cooperation, grand strategy and Middle East politics. She is a trustee of the HALO Trust, a humanitarian NGO that clears landmines. She is the author of the highly acclaimed The Unravelling: High Hopes and Missed Opportunities in Iraq (2015) and In a Time of Monsters: Travelling in a Middle East in Revolt (2019). Emma served as political advisor to the Commanding General of U.S. Forces in Iraq and as development advisor to the Commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

Matthew won an organ scholarship to Magdalen College, Oxford. Following postgraduate study at the Royal Academy of Music and further training in Paris, he built a distinguished career at leading institutions including Westminster Cathedral, the Brompton Oratory, and Keble College, Oxford. He is now Precentor and Director of Music at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, directing its renowned choir. An acclaimed composer and conductor, Matthew’s standout achievement was being commissioned to write the 2022 Christmas carol for King’s College, Cambridge, alongside composing works for ensembles including The Sixteen and The Tallis Scholars.

A former pupil of Dean Close School, Jaz is now the owner of her own showjumping and livery yard in Gloucester. She has competed both nationally and internationally across Europe, earning placings and wins at major international shows in Spain, Holland and Belgium.

Jaz says: “I absolutely love what I do, and I truly believe that my time at Dean Close gave me the confidence, discipline and foundation I needed to succeed in my sport. I’m always striving to improve, progress, and achieve even more in my showjumping career.”

John spearheaded the digitisation of the dictionary text in the 1980s; as Chief Editor from 1993 he led its online launch in 2000, initiating the first comprehensive revision of its entire text. During his 20-year tenure as Chief Editor, until his retirement in 2013, he oversaw the complex revision of almost a quarter of a million words and meanings, and the addition of over 60,000 new terms, transforming the OED from what was becoming a Victorian fossil into the pre-eminent dynamic, modern, online resource for the history of the English language from the Anglo-Saxon period onwards that it is today.

Ashok is a distinguished British classical musician whose career spans performance, teaching and composition. As a pianist, harpsichordist and organist, he has appeared at leading international festivals, including the BBC Proms and Salzburg Festival, and performed in prestigious venues such as Wigmore Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie and Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie. He has collaborated with acclaimed artists including Dame Sarah Connolly and Mary Bevan. Alongside his performing career, Ashok teaches at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal College of Music. In 2025, he achieved a major milestone by composing the score for the film 900 Feet Up, earning his first credit as a movie composer.