ALUMNAE

DANIELLE BAYNES MHOG 2013

Friendships, work placements and hiding in the chemistry lab toilets

On the eve of starting her new job in May 2022 as Marketing Manager for Berkeley Homes at their Head Office in Aldgate, London, Danielle visited Manor House School with her mum (Mrs Jane Baynes from our Admissions team) on a sunny morning in late Spring. We chatted about the nine intervening years since she sat her GCSEs here in the summer of 2013. Now living in Clapham Old Town, South West London, we explored some of the big decisions that have shaped her life so far: What led to you moving to London? And how have you settled into London life? After graduating from University in the summer of 2019, I moved back to my parent’s home in Surrey which allowed me to save up and travel during the Summer, including a month long USA road trip on the West Coast. Following a fantastic Summer, I accepted a temporary job whilst I was interviewing for full time Marketing roles and in November 2019, I accepted a job offer as Marketing Coordinator for Lifestory Group (formerly Anthology), a residential real estate developer. I started the role in February 2020 and commuted into London Bridge from Surrey for only six weeks until the COVID-19 restrictions. I then worked from home, which took its toll on my work-life balance. Once the worst of Covid had passed, a few of my friends Surrey friends started to move to London and I soon did the same in September 2021. I chose Clapham Old Town because the majority of my friends live there or nearby and it is where I spent most of my weekends when still living in Surrey. It’s also relatively quick to visit my family in Surrey (which is quite often!). I share a house with two friends from University which I absolutely love, and my brother lives just around the corner which is also a big plus! I also recently found out that the boyfriend of another Manor House friend lives opposite us – small world!

Netball has also played a big part in your life so far, tell us more? Manor House was where my love for Netball began. It was the highlight of my day! Miss Buck was our Netball coach and encouraged me to also join a Netball club outside of school to progress my skills, it also improved my confidence. We competed regularly in matches against other schools as well as tournaments which were the highlight for me. I remember feeling so excited and proud when my parents came to watch me! My love and passion for Netball continued through to St Johns where I secured a Netball and Tennis Scholarship. Netball also allowed me to bond with girls who weren’t in my form group or who I didn’t know so well. I am still in touch with all of the girls in the A Netball Team through social media. In fact, many of us from that team now play together in a Netball league in Clapham Common every Monday night. It’s really unique that this bond was formed at Manor House and still remains strong almost ten years later!

How did you find your transition to St John’s Leatherhead after Manor House? It was pretty straight forward. It helped that there were a number of us moving across from Manor House. The main thing was getting used to boys every day! It also felt quite natural to leave Manor House because everyone was leaving at the same time given that there was no Sixth Form. It was comforting knowing that no one was being left behind and that it was the end of an era for all of us together.

Looking back on your time at Manor House, what has stayed with you most? Definitely friendships; making good friends and keeping that bond as close as ever. This is something that I know is shared by a number of people and is unique to Manor House in comparison to other local schools. Also I would say that the values that underpin Manor House have really carried through with me throughout my later education and early career, these being passion, self belief, drive, enthusiasm and helping others. Finally, fun! Whilst working hard and getting good grades was important to me, I had so much fun along the way which I think enabled me to succeed at Manor House. I will always remember my Year 3 form teacher and French teacher, Madame Lelong, for being so enthusiastic and caring. I also loved English lessons with Mrs Parish – I remember visiting her during lunchtime and break to share makeup tips and hear all about her dogs! My ties with Manor House still remain strong. I come back to the Christmas Fayre every year with my mum who still works at the school so I still feel very connected to it. Some may call me a hoarder but I do still have my old Manor House PE kit and blazer hanging in my wardrobe at my parents’ house! It will always hold a special place in my heart.

And finally, congratulations on your new role with Berkeley Homes. Tell us about your career path to date? Why was a work placement so important to you? After studying and completing my A-Levels (Spanish, Business Studies and Philosophy & Ethics) at St Johns, I chose a degree in Business Management at The University of Leeds. Despite being offered an unconditional offer to the University of Nottingham, I chose Leeds in particular as they offered a Year in Industry as part of the degree, making it four years in total. This was really important to me as I felt it would provide me with real industry experience and differentiate me amongst others when searching for a job after graduating. Following a challenging six months of applications, interviews and assessment centres, I accepted a role as Marketing Intern at Hilton Worldwide for my placement year (year 3 of my degree) and I can honestly say it did not disappoint. Not even the three hours of driving per day from Surrey to the Head Office in Watford put me off! I learnt so much during my 12 months with Hilton and I couldn’t recommend a placement year enough as it definitely did help to differentiate me from other applicants without industry experience when applying for graduate jobs. I also based my final year dissertation on my placement year experience and utilised contacts from that year to interview which was fantastic and definitely made me more invested in and more passionate about my dissertation! Hilton was where my passion for Marketing began.