Old Runnymedians Survey 2022

In September 2022 we asked Old Runnymedians to complete a survey to give us an update on what they are doing, where they live and much more! Many thanks to those who took the time to complete it. We are delighted to be able to share some of the results.

Where do Old Runnymedians live now?

Zoom in to see individual locations

Many Old Runnymedians live in Spain, but ORs can be found all over the world, in particular in the UK, US, Canada, France, Italy, Portugal, India and Argentina.

Old Runnymedians have moved around

Studied in the UK, living in Spain UK flagRight arrerSpanish flag 24%
Studied in the UK, living in the UK UK flagRight arrerUK flag 18%
Studied in Spain, living in Spain Spanish flagRight arrerSpanish flag 17%
Studied in the UK, living elsewhere UK flagRight arrerGlobe icon 11%
Studied in the US, living in the US US flagRight arrerUS flag 7%
Studied in Spain, living elsewhere Spanish flagRight arrerglobe icon 6%
Studied and living in other countries Globe iconRight arrerGlobe icon 5%
Studied in the UK, living in the US UK flagRight arrerUS flag 3%
Studied in the US, living elsewhere US flagRight arrerGlobe icon 2%

Most Old Runnymedians have studied abroad, with the majority heading to the UK and US. Some stay on in the country they studied in, whilst others have moved elsewhere after finishing their degree, many returning to Spain.

University courses

Old Runnymedians have studied a wide range of courses.

Subjects studied by ORs
Others includes: Architecture, Classics, Hospitality, Philosophy, Finance

We were delighted to hear how happy Old Runnymedians were with their university destinations and courses. They have gone on to study a wide range of exciting courses; the most popular ones embarked upon have been Business / Management, Engineering and Economics. It was great to learn how much Old Runnymedians enjoy learning, with just over a third going on to study a postgraduate course.

University destinations

The five most popular UK university destinations for Old Runnymedians.

Crest of University College London
UCL
Arms of the University of Bath
Bath
Coat of arms of the University of Oxford
Oxford
Shield of the University of Warwick
Warwick
Shield of Imperial College London
Imperial

The three most popular US university destinations for Old Runnymedians.

Shield of Columbia University
Columbia
Seal of Babson College
Babson
Seal of New York University
NYU

The three most popular Spanish university destinations for Old Runnymedians.

Logo of Instituto de Empresa Business School
Instituto de Empresa
Escudo de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Complutense
Escudo de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Autónoma
39% of graduates surveyed went on to study a postgraduate course.

University and course satisfaction

Nearly all Old Runnymedians were happy with their university destinations, and most were happy with their course.

Really happy with their university destination
Pie chart showing destination satisfaction
Really happy with their university course
Pie chart showing course satisfaction

Professional life

Old Runnymedians have gone on to work in diverse and interesting roles.

OR jobs

Our Old Runnymedians have gone on to lead successful and interesting professional lives. The most common job titles shared were ‘company directors’, ‘consultants’, ‘entrepreneurs’, ‘engineers’, ‘professors’ amongst others.

Old Runnymedian feedback on their school years

Some of the things Old Runnymedians said were their most enjoyable or memorable part of school life are:

It felt like you were part of a big family then and over 40 years later, it still does.
The teachers that taught in a way you could tell they love their job and were kind to all students.

 

The friendliness of the place! Everybody knew each other; we all had a place.
Fantastic teaching that encouraged us to read, think and learn beyond the curriculum!

Old Runnymedian advice for our current pupils

It doesn’t feel like it at the time, but education is a privilege - make the most of it and learn as much as you can.
Gather as many experiences as you may. Be flexible to roll with the punches life will present in family and work.
Follow your passion / interest when choosing a degree: if you have neither, go with what you are best at.
Don’t be afraid to take chances; embrace new challenges and opportunities.
Don’t be stressed out by thinking you need to decide the rest of your life before you finish school. Don’t be frightened about changing course in the future. Everything you do can be useful in other walks of life and will help to give you a unique profile. So choose what you think you will enjoy at University.
Choose what you like to study, at the end of the day you may end up working at something completely different like I did.
Go out of your way to help others.

It was great to be able to read some heartwarming comments about our Old Runnymedians’ memories of school life and we also found their advice for our current pupils incredibly helpful. We were thrilled to learn many of our Old Runnymedians would be willing to either come in to talk to our pupils or act as Mentors for individuals. We look forward to setting up a Mentorship scheme in due course and getting to learn more from our wonderful former pupils.

Many many thanks to those who took the time to fill out the survey.