18alumni


Premier pitch for alumnus Stuart


WITHa successful career in teaching behind him, ex-Chester student Stuart Campbell is now studying for the highest possible qualification in football coaching – the UEFAAbadge.


He first got his taste for football


coaching as a student in the 1980s, taking his first coaching badge whilst still at Chester. Since then his interest has


grown, and he nowhas his own football academy. AtHandsworth Football


Academy, Stuart is searching for the stars of tomorrow, coaching young players in a fun and chal- lengingway, not only teaching themskills on the pitch, but also helping themto learn about them- selves off it.


STUDENTNEWS


TheSky’sthe limit forRob


From Students’ Union President to Sky Sports anchor, Rob Wotton talks exclusively to RICHARD AULT about his career since graduating from Chester in 1990.


AS A FOOTBALL fanatic, Rob admits that his current job is perfect for him. Now one of the moreexperienced presenters at SkySports,he works on some of the most popular football shows, in- cluding Revista de la Ligaand Sky Sports News. “I go to work and talk about


football, thencomehome andtalk about football.Whatmore could I want?” he joked. Joking aside,Rob has had a fine


ULTIMATE GOAL: Stuart Campbell is studying for the highest possible qualification in football coaching – the UEFA A badge.


TV ROLE: Former Chester Students’ Union President Rob Wotton, now of Sky Sports.


career since leaving University. Having worked forhospital radio at the Countess of Chester Hos- pital during his days as a student, he eventuallymovedontoCapital Radio where he went on to work at some of the biggest football events,including the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. Immediately after that exper-


ience, hemoved to his newjob at Sky Sports,a companythat had grownmassively at that time. Robsaid:“I’vehadgreat fun. I’ve


beenluckyenoughtomeet a lot of famous people and I have trav- elled a lot. BSkyB treats its staff really well and no day is ever the same as the last.” Regular viewers of Sky Sports


Extend your knowledge


Choose from a broad range of taught


postgraduate subjects


Enhance your career


prospects Agolden ticket toabrighter future...


We arealways happy to see our graduates returntotakeonthe challenge of ahigher level course and this year,weare offering our graduates a £1,000Voucher towards the tuition fees of all our postgraduatetaught courses.You should soon receivethis voucher in the post.


Formoreinformation please contactus: Tel: 01244 511000


Email: postgrad@chester.ac.uk web: www.chester.ac.uk/course-finder/postgraduate


News, BSkyB’s24-hour sports news channel, will be onlytoo aware of the informal and some- times humorous natureofthe


DON’T let your connection with the University end here!


If you’re leaving


University this summer, the University of Chester Alumni Association website is the perfect place to keep up-to-date with all the goings on at the University, aswell as taking advantage of some exclusive alumni benefits and discounts! Register nowat


chesteralumni.comand start taking advantage of wide range of features, including: ■ Alumni stories (Duffy, JimBowen andmany more) ■ Create a CV ■ Photos ■ Careers advice ■ Facebook ■ Annual newsletter.


presenters,and thatall helps to create a great atmosphere on set. Robexplained:“We’retoldnot to


be quite so relaxed at times! It’s great fun, and Iwork with some reallywonderful people. “EarlierthisyearIcompletedan


81-mile charity bikeride in the Scottish mountains with fellow presenter Georgie Thompson to raise money forMacmillan Can- cer Nurses.There is a lot of ca- maraderie between us all. “My favourite part of the job is


working on live events, or shows wherethere is something always happening so you have tomake it up as you go along.” Ofall thefamous sportsmenand


women he has interviewed, Rob admits Joe Cole is his favourite, someone he describes as being ‘down to earth and a great guy’. Being a staunchChelsea fan


may have an influence on that also. So much is his love of the Blues that, during his days as SU President at Chester, his office in what was then the De Bunsen Centre was affectionately re- named ‘the Chelsea Suite’. Despite all the glamour and ex-


citement his current job brings, Rob’smind neverstrays farfrom University days. He added: “I lovedit atChester, I


had agreat time.Imet some fantastic people from right around the country. If I’d have stayeddown in London, Iwould probably never have spoken to anyone fromoutside the capital! “Itwould be great to come back


and do some lecturing some time – I’d love that!”


Singhs’ contemporary connection


FORMER Chester students The Singh twins are having their celeb- rated artwork displayed in a new gallery at the internationally- renownedNational PortraitGallery this summer.


Acollection of theirmost famous


works is being shown at the pres- tigious London attraction for three months, offering a contemporary re- sponse to the concurrent and per- manent exhibition at theGallery, The Indian Portrait: 1560-1860. SistersAmrit and Rabindra studied


at Chester between 1985 and 1987 and have gone on to become world-famous artists.


PICTURE PERFECT: The Singh twins are having their celebrated art work displayed in a new gallery at the National Portrait Gallery this summer.


East meetsWest for Mercy in movie


CHESTER graduate Mercy Liao is cur- rently enjoyingworkingwith BBC Films aspost-productionco-ordinatoronWest is West, the sequel to the 1999 box office hit East is East.


Mercy, fromBeijing in China, studied a


BA in Religious Studies at the Chester campus between 2004 and 2007 and has already had many works commissioned by television stations, including MTV China. A former model and a competent elec-


tro-musician, Mercy is nowfocusing en- tirelyonfilmsagain,andinearly2009 she was productionmanager on a short film called First Days of Spring, commis- sionedbyMercuryRecordstoaccompany bandNoah and theWhale’s newalbum.


GIRL ON FILM: Mercy Liao is working with BBC Films on West is West, the sequel to the 1999 box office hit East is East.


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