“Dame Allan's gave me the confidence to believe in myself and to take on the world."

Dame Allan's - where to begin? Everyday was special and most of all enjoyable. I got on well with all of the teachers who had the pleasure of teaching me and I still keep in contact with several of them now, which reflects what great relationships we established. A few years ago I even took Mr Hudson and his family up for a flight over the North East in my aircraft, which was good fun! 

Being good at sport, I was a big fan of Mr Chuter, Mr Benn (and Mr Hudson) and the quality of sport that I was able to access at Dame Allan’s. I had actually never played rugby until Year 7 and on my first games afternoon I went from the D group straight to the A group, which ultimately led to me going on to play rugby at a high standard. 

When it came to academics, I struggled at school in all honesty. As mentioned, I was great at sport, however in lessons I often found it hard to do well. During my GCSE's the teachers were fantastic and got me up to an A and B standard, which was incredible and a credit to their teaching ability, as I would never have thought I was an A student, but the time they spent getting the best out of me was fantastic. 

I left school after my GCSE's, not because I did not do well but because higher education was not for me and I decided this regardless of my results. All my brothers went on to higher education, however I wanted to follow my love of flying and aviation. Now, I’m proud to say that I lead a successful aircraft sales and acquisitions company, Moon Jet Group. I was plane obsessed from a young age - I began learning to fly in Year 9 and was always distracted by planes, even playing a rugby or cricket game I would stop and tell everyone what was flying overhead. 

Dame Allan's gave me the confidence to believe in myself and to not be afraid to take on the world . At school, you were always pushed to be the best version of yourself by teachers and the whole school just projected a level of success at all times. I also learnt accountability, the school made me appreciate that if you work hard and put the effort in, you can get the results and that it is you alone who can determine your success. 

I apply this mindset to my business and credit my time at Dame Allan’s for the small success I have enjoyed so far on my business journey.

When I left school at 16 I was completing my pilot licence, however during the process I got asked to sell a private jet for a local owner and managed to sell it. What I earned financially from the sale was more than what a pilot would make in a year - so this distracted me and opened my eyes up to the secretive world of aircraft trading. 

I work with all sorts of clients, from ultra high net worth owners, to banks and corporations. With my other business, I work with over 50 airlines worldwide on their commercial aircraft trading and fleet requirements. It is niche and I love every minute of it; being plane mad allows for it not to feel like work.

So far, my biggest career triumph was selling that first aircraft, it is like scoring your first 100 in cricket - until you have done it, you don't feel you are worth a seat at the table. The biggest challenge has been getting used to the business world and how competitive my industry is - one minute you are selling a $20M aircraft and the next day the owner decides to keep it and you are left with nothing. Unless you complete the aircraft transaction, you don't get paid, which is something I don't like. I often get told it is "feast or famine" doing what I do.

For current Dame Allan’s pupils who are considering starting their own business, I’d say find something you enjoy or are passionate about and see if you can then monetise it - then it won’t feel like work and you will enjoy every day. 

I’d also say learn by making mistakes. I am nearly in my tenth year of business now and to this day I am still learning. No-one is a finished product in business and learning along the way is the best way to succeed, in my opinion. Finally, surround yourself with a great team and also mentors who can see where you are at present and where you want to go.