A well travelled Bolton School old boy has returned to the classroom to talk about his experiences and his successful career.

Tom McLenachan, who left the school in 2004, dialled in virtually to speak to Year 10 and 11 pupils at the Boys’ Division to deliver his "World of Work" talk.

Tom spoke of how his interest in travel was sparked as he was about to leave the school when he was alerted to the Scott Bolton Trust.

The charity helps Bolton School students fund aspirational international travel, and gave him a grant which enabled him to backpack around North America for three months during a gap year.

He went on to recount his studies, which included reading Russian at the University of Nottingham – including a year abroad in the country - then onto a masters in East European Studies, which included learning Bulgarian and Serbian.

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He then completed a PhD in the history of Stalinism, where he considered the relationship between art, science, and philosophy in the Soviet Union.

A Bolton School spokesperson said: “Keeping his options open and scratching his travel itch, Tom spent two years travelling and teaching English – in places as varied as Palestine and Israel, Sudan, Morocco and Vietnam.

“To date, he said, he had visited 76 countries and undertaken a wide range of jobs, including environmental work, being a beekeeper and working on an olive farm.

“It is only in recent years, Tom said, that he has started to develop a specialism.

"His role now is as a senior policy advisor to the government on climate change and as a CEO of an international charity that provides access to clean water in Africa.”

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Three years ago, Tom also joined a civil service graduate scheme.

He explained how there are 15 different areas that you can join and that each one allows you to experience six to 12 month periods working in different departments.

He also remarked on how the service offers the possibility of working internationally, which appealed to him.

“Starting in the project delivery section, he told how he quickly moved to the Department of Transport before he developed a specific focus on climate change,” the spokesperson added.

“He reminded the boys that the UK is one of the leading First World countries in this field.

"He explained how, in 2016, transport became the worst offender for emitting greenhouse gases and that it is now his role to focus on reducing emissions from this sector.

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“A lot of his work, he said, focuses on how to limit pollution, particularly from road networks and the HS2 project.”

Tom then fielded a range of questions, which involved him talking about the different places that the civil service can take you, the different job functions and rates of remuneration within it, as well as how flexible it is in terms of where you can work.

He also spoke of his passion for both his work and his charity endeavours and about the most favourite place he has visited, Vietnam.