Old Ipswichian Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, who openly come out at Ipswich School, kindly visited school last Thursday to give pupils in Years 7 to 9 a series of talks. The aim was to educate pupils about stereotypes surrounding LGBTQ+ identity and his own experiences with coming out back in 2001, giving the advice he wished he’d received at their age.

An accomplished man, named by Attitude Magazine as one of the 100 LGBTQ+ trailblazers in 2019, Nicholas has challenged typical stereotypes regarding LGBT men in the workplace through the revival of his family’s watch business, the oldest watch company in the UK.

Speaking to him afterwards, it was clear that many people found his talks to be incredibly helpful in creating a positive environment, introducing an element of relatability to his message.

This helped pupils to have the confidence to ask a plethora of interesting questions demonstrating the open-mindedness present in pupils today, and the considerable progression in people’s reaction to LGBT-related issues and their growing ability to listen and empathise. Nicholas also visited Consciousness Club to discuss Pride and the importance of a strong and stable support system.

He said he found it to be a really valuable club where people were having conversations he’d never had at school. He describes himself to be a person with ‘strong opinions, lightly held’, and expressed how the club encouraged challenging each other’s views in a healthy and organised way. Thanks to Old Ipswichian Nicholas for Pride conversations

As someone who came out while he was at Ipswich School, Nicholas described his experience at school to occasionally be a bit lonely; a reflection of the different time in which he came out. But the way in which young people are seemingly much more open and liberal with their sexuality shows the massive progression which can be seen at school.

We are very grateful for Nicholas giving up his time to come and have these positive conversations with us at school.

Dylan J-M and Isabel M, Year 12