St Mungo's Academy Achievers (1)

Glasgow

St Mungo's

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~ ~ PROJECT PARTNERS ~ ~

are pleased to
highlight the
success of
Glasgow's
Achievers

Scotland

Glasgow

.... "St Mungo's has always produced talented pupils. This project shows they should be ambitious and set their sights high when they leave school." - Bill Butler (MSP) .............. "We are delighted to highlight the many successes of people connected with Glasgow." - Sandra Prior, Glasgow City Council Education Dept. .... "I am very happy to participate in this project." - Edward Quinn (Partner - Carey Olsen) ....

Tommy
Burns

Sport

One of the true greats of Scottish football. A wonderful player for Celtic, he went on to manage the club he loved. Tommy also played for Scotland. When he died, aged 51, the whole of Glasgow and indeed the whole of football paid tribute to a man who brought joy to so many. Each year, students at Edinburgh and Heriot Watt universities still hold their famous 'Tommy Burns Supper'. (more)

Helen
Mallon

Acting

Helen is a talented actor and singer who trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama (RSAMD). Although she only graduated in 2006 she soon landed a part in the wonderful Scottish comedy Tutti Frutti as it toured around Scotland to great reviews. One of Helen's colleagues in the show described her as "a brilliant actress with the voice of an angel"! (more).

Bill
Butler

Politics

One of the 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament who take decisions that affect everyone in Scotland. Bill left St Mungo's in 1974 to study at Stirling University. He worked as an English teacher before being elected as the MSP for Glasgow Anniesland. Bill represents the Labour Party at Holyrood. (more)

Significant Teacher:
Mr McLaughlin

Jim
Diamond

Music

Talented singer and songwriter who has sold millions of records but has not let success go to his head. When the original Band Aid single came out in aid of famine relief in Africa, Jim had just reached No.1 but he said "Next week I don't want people to buy my record, I want them to buy Band Aid". Sir Bob Geldof described Jim's generosity as incredible.

Brian

Hall

Business

Brian always wanted to run his own business and has now achieved his aim. As the owner of a local building firm he tends to be very busy because a lot of people know and trust him. Of course, Brian knows he must do a good job or his reputation will quickly begin to suffer. Brian is very proud of the fact that his company now creates jobs in the community where he grew up.

* representative profile

John Paul
McGilvray

Actor

John Paul is a successful young actor currently working on the BBC's popular Glasgow soap opera, River City. John Paul believes young people should push themselves to achieve things and is happy to do his best to encourage them. He was therefore very happy to attend the launch of a new 12-track CD put together by a group of St Mungo's pupils.

Thomas
Hughes

Business

Thomas is a chartered accountant as well as Finance Director of Partick Thistle F.C. He studied at Glasgow University where he played football and was selected for the British Universities side. Later he played for Queens Park. Thomas has also succeeded in business and is now a partner in the large accountancy firm Gerber Landa & Gee.

Kevin
O'Donnell

Science

Some former pupils will remember Mr O'Donnell as a young science teacher in the early 1970s. After St Mungo's, he moved into the university sector and became a lecturer in England, Ireland and even the USA. He returned to Scotland and is now a Professor of Semiconductor Spectroscopy at Strathclyde University.

Louise

Brown

Nurse

Louise realised a childhood dream when she gained a place on a nursing course. She is now in the third year of her training and has passed all her assessments so far. Louise is looking forward to working in Accident & Emergency (A&E) as she will discover whether TV's Casualty is accurate! She eventually hopes to become a hospital ward sister.

* representative profile

Tony
Roper

Comedy

Tony is one of Scotland's top actors and comic writers. He has appeared in TV shows including Rab C. Nesbitt, Naked Video and Scotch & Wry. Tony has also appeared in films and on stage. One of his plays, The Steamie, set in a Glasgow wash-house, gives a remarkable picture of working class life and has been enjoyed by millions of people over the years. (more)

Edward
Quinn

Law

Edward studied languages at Glasgow University before taking a law degree at the University of Dundee. He speaks five languages, a skill which has proved very useful in his legal work over the years. Edward now lives in Jersey and is a partner in Carey Olsen the largest law firm in the Channel Islands. (more)

Robert
Wood

RAF

Flight Engineer, Sgt Robert Wood was one of many whose great achievement was to help Britain and its allies win the Second World War. Sadly, he paid the ultimate price on 13th July 1943 when his Lancaster bomber was shot down during a mission. Robert was 21 years of age. His name is recorded on the war memorial at St. Mungo's Academy. (more)

John
Kerr

Business

John is the Vice President of HKMB, an international Insurance Broker based in Ontario, Canada. After school, John had an urge to try life in another country so he emigrated to Canada in 1965. John is now an insurance expert and recently helped resolve a claim for $20,000,000! (more)

Giuliano
Gizzi

Music

Giuliano (better known as 'Joolz') formed the band Gun with his younger brother Dante in 1987. He played guitar, with Dante on bass. Over the next 10 years, Gun built a loyal fan base across Europe with their exciting brand of rock music. The brothers still perform on stage but now spend most of their time running the Bistro de Sud restaurant in Glasgow!

Peter
Broughan

Film

Peter originated and produced the highly popular film Rob Roy. The budget was $30m of Hollywood finance, making it the biggest feature film ever to be made entirely in Scotland! Peter has also produced many other successful film and TV productions yet finds time to lecture, write for newspapers ... and win an occasional award for his work.

Canon
Coia

Church

The young Romeo Coia worked in his parents' cafe while a pupil at St Mungo's. He then went to Glasgow University before training as a teacher. He met and married his wife Amelia, but sadly she died at a young age. The church was a great help at this time and eventually Romeo decided to become a priest. For many years he was a parish priest in Monifeith, Dundee where his energy and enthusiasm won him friends from many faiths. Canon Coia died recently at the age of 92 but is fondly remembered by many.

James
Friel

Politics

James has led an interesting and varied life since leaving St Mungo's. He is a printer to trade and during his time in the industry has become one of Scotland's senior trade unionists. James is also active in politics and represented the Scottish Socialist Party in elections for the Scottish Parliament. As well as making speeches, James loves the written word. He has contributed essays on Glasgow to The Glasgow Story, an internet based project which provides a lot of information on the city James loves so much. (more)

David
Jackson

Politics

St Mungo's has produced many pupils with an interest in politics. Some have even gone on to become politicians themselves. After leaving St Mungo's, David studied Politics & History at Glasgow University. He has gone on to become an IT Manager and has also maintained his interest in politics. In 2005, he was chosen as the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Glasgow East constituency. David has a young family but still finds time to keep himself fit, mainly by swimming regularly. (more)

Angela
Jones

Finance

When Angela left St Mungo's, she had 7 Standard Grades and 3 Highers under her belt. She was torn between going on to study at university or college, or instead finding a job and earning a salary. Eventually, she opted for a Modern Apprenticeship in the finance office of a major university. This gave Angela the best of both worlds - high quality training and a steady income.

John

Smith

Soldier

John was one of many whose great achievement was to help Britain and its allies win the First World War. Sadly, he paid the ultimate price as a report in a local newspaper in 1916 tells: "Corporal J. Smith has been killed in action near Somme in France. He was educated in the local school and before being called up was a farm labourer. He was 19 years of age."

* representative profile

James
Coleman

Politics

After leaving St Mungo's, James worked in the building and rail industries. He developed an interest in politics and joined the Labour Party in 1982. In due course he was elected as the local Councillor for the Barlanark Ward - the district he proudly represented. In 1998 James was made a Justice of the Peace (JP) and a year later was elected as Deputy Leader of Glasgow City Council. (more)