'Many of my successes are down to the foundations laid at school'

IT’S been more than 50 years since Mark Dolder first walked through the gates of Dame Allan’s to join the Boys’ School at the tender age of 11.

Little did he imagine as a schoolboy in the 70s that he would go on to hold influential management roles for some of the largest retailers in the UK before running a multi-million pound international company, headquartered in his native North East.

His achievements in business belied his academic attainment on paper, yet Mark credits his defining schooldays for laying the strong foundations on which he was able to grow and succeed.

“I was the antithesis of the academic poster boy,” he laughs, “Yet, I now understand what Dame Allan’s did for me. With age comes clarity, and I appreciate that many of my successes are down to the foundations laid at school.”

A pupil between ‘71 and ‘78, Mark admits they were ‘complicated’ years as he navigated his way through life while his mother Patricia Dolder – herself and her sisters also Allanians - became unwell with aggressive multiple sclerosis. 

Mark’s father, professor Kenneth Dolder – an academic and renowned physicist who led ground-breaking research into plasma physics – relocated the family from Morpeth to Castle Leazes, in Newcastle, to be close to the school and Hunters Moor Hospital (now the site of Dame Allan’s Junior School and Nursery) where his mother, a former dentist, was cared for.

Dame Allan’s became Mark’s place of solace and he threw his energy into sport, excelling on the school playing fields. By the time he was in the Sixth Form he had firmly secured his position on the 1st XV rugby team, coached by Phil Balmer, and the cricket team, coached by Bill Moses.

“I loved sport at school, it was character building; you learn so much about teamwork, winning and losing,” he reflects. “I remember playing against RGS in a special ‘100 years of rugby’ fixture in 1977 and it was, quite honestly, one of the most exhilarating and exciting games I have ever played!”

While Mark didn’t naturally shine academically, his time at Dame Allan’s defined him. Today, he recognises the true value of the rounded education he received.

“The school not only understood my personal circumstances and supported me, but developed my self-confidence to help me grow into the person I am today,” he says. “My years at Dame Allan’s taught me personal discipline, self-respect and high standards. The strong values I grew up with are still evident today.”

Mark’s oldest son Chris, now 29 and working in London in the eCommerce software market, attended the school, while his younger children, Matthew and Jasmine, are currently in Years 6 and 10 respectively. His three nieces and nephew are also Allanians. “Dame Allan’s has motivated and challenged our children in different ways; it has supported them, just as it supported me 50 years ago, and my mother and aunts before me,” he says.

Two years after Mark left Dame Allan’s he secured a highly sought after place on the Marks and Spencer’s management training scheme - the best training programme of its kind in the 80s. “There were over 4,000 applicants for 60 places,” remembers Mark. “I can thank Dame Allan’s for teaching me the skills to communicate, which definitely helped secure me a spot on the scheme!”

He worked for 14 years across 14 stores in operational store management, culminating in taking operational responsibility for M&S’ second largest store in Manchester. From there he became Sales Director of Norweb Retail, growing the business from £90m turnover to £270m turnover in three years and establishing it as the third largest electrical retailer in the UK.

In 1997, he moved back to the North East and became Operations Director for Edinburgh Woollen Mill with responsibility for 300 shops in a variety of different sectors.

Today, Mark is the CEO of Cramlington-based, multi-million pound bean bag maker Bazaar Group, founded 17-years ago by his wife Jayne who spotted a gap in the market. Together they have grown the business to a turnover of £13m, and intend to double its workforce within three years and increase sales following the opening of a second manufacturing site in Germany.

“When I reflect on the direction my life has taken, and the choices I’ve made, I realise the huge impact my time at Dame Allan’s has had on me,” says Mark. “It’s taken a while for the penny to drop, but I now appreciate the true value of my education, which helped develop the confidence and social skills that took me to senior positions in the business world.”

Such is Mark’s gratitude, he took the decision earlier this year to ‘give back’ and, with the full support of the school, has generously funded an exciting new lecture series to bring some of the most inspiring and engaging speakers to Dame Allan’s.

The Lectures launched in October with a motivational talk by award-winning international speaker Marcus Child, then further strengthened its popularity with a fascinating visit from behavioural economist Roger Martin-Fagg in November. There is already an air of anticipation ahead of February’s lecture by Dragons’ Den star Sara Davies MBE, entrepreneur and founder of Crafter’s Companions, a multi-million pound business with a global distribution centre in County Durham.

This academic year’s programme will close in March with a talk by professor Ruth Gregory, an Allanian and notable physicist who specialises in the field of cosmology. Mark plans to back The Lectures for three years in the hope it establishes itself as a popular, firm fixture in the school calendar.

He explains: “I  appreciate how much my time at Dame Allan’s has contributed to a successful career that now affords me the privilege to give something back, and I wanted to offer something that both compliments the curriculum and helps grow the person beyond the academic.

“This lecture series has been conceived to inspire today's students. If anyone in the audience thinks bigger, aims higher, or exceeds the expectations they have set for themselves as a result of hearing our speakers, then the project will have been a roaring success!”

Mark has worked closely with the school to ensure the lecture programme hits the right note. He first scoped the project with Principal Will Scott before developing the programme with Head of Sixth Form Paul Terry, who has led The Lectures internally with operational support from Katherine Leonard, Development Officer, and Rebecca Miller, Head of Admissions and Communications.

He says: “Talking with students and watching their interactions with the speakers has given me a great sense of satisfaction that I hadn't anticipated, and this has been mirrored when engaging with the progressive and talented leadership team at school.

“It really is a joy to see at first hand the guiding principles of Dame Eleanor Allan being taught in such a contemporary way in the tremendous facilities that the Schools now offer. Consequently, I can thoroughly recommend this experience to any other Allanians who feel the urge to give back.”

Lectures are open to Allanians, parents and pupils in Years 9-13. For more information or to book a place at a future talk please visit the events page.