An Old Girl from Bolton School Girls’ Division dialled in from North West London to provide Year 10 pupils with careers advice.

Ziyaah Shaikh, who has only been back in the UK for a year, recapped her life for the current crop of pupils, recalling how her mind was first opened up to various career possibilities while she was at school.

Ziyaah went on to study Computer Science: Software Engineering at the University of Manchester for four years from 2008-12.

She also studied for a PGCE at the University of Derby while still working.

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Her first job was with HSBC for a year and a half, working in St Ann’s Square in central Manchester.

A spokesperson for the school said: “She had decided that IT was not for her and had taken a role in compliance.

“Ziyaah told how she learnt a lot of useful professional skills at HSBC and how she has, over the years, learnt that she likes being part of a team and training people – particularly in customer services and soft skills.

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“She recalled how she got married in 2014 and moved to Dubai with her husband, where she took up a role in HR with Talent2.”

In 2017, Ziyaah had a child and stopped working before the family moved to Abu Dhabi, where she went on to take up a position training teachers in a government school within the Ministry of Education.

The spokesperson added: “She explained how it had been a fun and challenging job as she had to deal with people from lots of different backgrounds and cultures.”

After three years in this position, Ziyaah moved to London with her husband and daughter and secured a job working for Global Study UK.

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Her current role there is as a Training Manager. The company brings in students from the Middle East and places them in UK universities.

Ziyaah then answered a range of questions about her studies, moving to Dubai, her work, and extracurricular activities she partook in during her time at Bolton School.