Where Kelvinside Stories Begin
Known professionally as BLK, Blair is one of Scotland’s most exciting young music producers. By the age of 20 he’d earned five Grammy nominations for work with SZA, Babyface and Justin Bieber – all from a music career launched from his Glasgow bedroom.
Blair credits Kelvinside Academy for nurturing his creativity and confidence, offering flexibility with exams and inspiring performance opportunities.
My teachers gave me the space to be myself and the support to grow as an artist
Now based between Scotland and LA, Blair often attends school concerts and offers advice to current pupils.
It’s my way of giving back and helping the next generation follow their own creative paths.
Read more about Blair in The Kelvinside Standard.
Maliha Shoaib (2018) spent five years as a reporter at Vogue Business, covering the evolving global luxury fashion market and exploring how brands can future-proof themselves. She is now beginning an MBA at HEC Paris, with the goal of moving into the business side of the luxury fashion industry. A winner of the Vogue Business Talent Competition in 2020,
She studied English and World Philosophies at SOAS, University of London, where she led the student newspaper as editor-in-chief. Maliha credits Kelvinside Academy with nurturing her passions through tailored academic support and a compassionate community.
School always felt like a safe space. That comfort gave me the confidence to believe that, after Kelvinside, anything was possible.
Read more about Maliha’s career path in The Kelvinside Standard.
Rebecca was named one of TIME magazine’s Girls of the Year in 2025 – one of only 10 worldwide, and the only Briton to make the list. Rebecca first made headlines aged 11, when she beat more than 70,000 entrants to win the UK Primary Engineer competition with her detailed design for a solar-powered blanket to help people experiencing homelessness. The concept has since been turned into a working model now used by the Glasgow Homeless Charity. As international media from the UK to the UAE picked up her story, she quietly returned to school last year, and while her timetable may be full of science and innovation, her real dream is to follow in the footsteps of her heavy metal idols – as a professional drummer.
Read more about Rebecca’s rise to fame in The Kelvinside Standard.
Ben is currently studying at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, where he combines his Aerospace Engineering degree with practical manufacturing, student rocketry and NASA-supported research. He is now the Yellow Jacket Space Program’s Director of Flight Dynamics, and in 2026 successfully launched a liquid-fuelled rocket designed and built by students.
He credits Kelvinside’s Innovation school with allowing him to discover engineering through practical experience. He said:
We were encouraged to design things, build them, test them and work out why they didn’t work when they inevitably went wrong
Read more about Ben’s rocketing success in The Kelvinside Standard.
Megan Toney is a Silicon Design Engineer at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). After leaving Kelvinside, she completed a five-year MEng in Computer and Electronic Systems at the University of Strathclyde and graduated as the top-performing student on her course. She now hopes to continue developing her technical expertise while supporting AMD’s STEM outreach activities and inspiring more young people to consider careers in the field. Megan’s advice to current pupils is
Do not worry about having everything figured out, but to pursue what you enjoy and keep building transferable skills.
Read more about Megan’s career path in The Kelvinside Standard.
Brothers Rory and Angus made British handball history after progressing form the courts of Kelvinside Academy to represent Great Britain during the same international weekend. The brothers discovered the sport at Kelvinside, where Rory became the school’s longest-serving captain. He later continued his development at Heriot-Watt University, home to Handball Scotland’s perfomance base. Angus – who is now GB U20s Captain – followed his passion and secured a place at Aarhus Sport Academy in Denmark, renowned for developing progessional handball players.
Handball has taken me to places I never imagined I would visit and given me experiences I’ll carry forever.
You can read more about the Semple brothers and their sporting journey through school in the Kelvinside Standard.
Scott is a Glasgow-born second-row forward and one of Scotland’s premier rugby players.
A school rugby captain at Kelvinside Academy, he forged his professional career with Glasgow Warriors before making his Scotland debut in 2019. A towering presence in both club and country setups – including two Rugby World Cups – Scott earned selection for the 2025 British & Irish Lions squad that toured Australia, fulfilling a lifelong dream.
Kelvinside kicked off my rugby education, and helped me learn the value of leadership, teamwork, and hard-work. I wouldn’t be where I am without it.
Read a brief insight into Scott’s rugby journey in The Kelvinside Standard.
Ava has strengthened her position at the summit of British speed climbing by breaking the national record twice!
Ava first claimed the record aged 17, completing the standarised 15-metre wall in 8.64 seconds at the European Championships in Switzerland. She has since smashed that record – setting a new mark of 7.42 seconds in the summer. She has broken the 7 second barrier in training and continues working towards her ambition of competing at the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028.
Kelvinside supported Ava with the flexibility needed to pursue elite sport while completing her Highers. Ava said:
It became challenging, especially during exams, but there was always lots of support from teachers and friends. They often made allowances for me to focus on training and development, and that made it possible.
You can read more about Ava’s achievements and her time at school in The Kelvinside Standard.
Actor Gilli Jones has secured a leading role in a new London West End production shortly after graduating from the Royal Conservatoir of Scotland. The young actor – who left Kelvinside Academy in 2022 – is appearing in Kimberly Akimbo, the Tony Award-winning musical after completing a musical theatre degree.
Gilli credit’s Kelvinside’s Music and Drama Departments with providing the skills and confidence needed to pursue his ambition of performing professionally.
Read more about Gilli’s journey to the West End in The Kelvinside Standard.
Boyd is Group Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Universal Music Group, the world leader in music-based entertainment. Based in California, Boyd was appointed to the role in 2010 and oversees UMG’s global finance operations, including asset management, information technology, accounting, supply chain and human resources. He also oversees Bravado, UMG’s global merchandising company and Eagle Rock Entertainment, a UK-based producer and distributor of music video programming. Working seamlessly across the corporate and creative aspects of UMG’s operations, Boyd has played a central role in the physical-to-digital reshaping of the music industry.
Richard is a talented baritone who has been performing for over thirty years in opera houses and concert halls throughout Europe.
We were grateful to welcome Richard as our guest speaker at Prize Giving 2026 where he reflected on his career, sharing how he never could have predicted where life would lead him. Yet, throughout his journey, one thing has remained constant: the importance of community and connection – something also central to the KA ethos.
In an increasingly complex world, human connection, empathy and creativity seem as important as ever.
Even after an accomplished career on the stage, he is now training as a counsellor to support performers and artists, proving that it’s never too late to embrace a new challenge or discover a new purpose.
MARC Taylor is a successful entrepreneur in Scotland’s property, factoring and lettings sectors. He credits Kelvinside Academy with nurturing his confidence, independence, and ambition from a young age.
Kelvinside was a place where I always felt like an individual. It wasn’t about fitting a mould – teachers took time to understand who you were and encouraged you to follow your own interests. That early encouragement to think differently and back my own ideas has stayed with me throughout my career.
Marc also developed a passion for rugby at school, learning valuable lessons through competitive sport. Now a parent himself, he reflects on the lasting impact of a school that recognised and supported his potential.
I realise how lucky I was.
Laura is a partner at leading legal firm Keoghs, specialising in defending abuse claims for insurers and organisations including charities, sporting clubs and schools. A solicitor advocate with rights of audience in Scotland’s highest civil courts, she is known for combining technical skill with a sensitive client-centred approach.
What I valued most was that the school really saw me as an individual. I always felt supported and encouraged to follow my own path.
Cian is co-founder of Shifted, a fast-growing tech start-up transforming how hospitality venues find and pay staff. A first-class graduate in International Business from Heriot-Watt and now completing the Master of Global Business at the University of Glasgow, he has already secured major funding and industry recognition.
Kelvinside taught me that real learning happens when you’re challenged and supported as an individual. That gave me the confidence to question convention and see opportunities where others see problems.
CARLY Bisset is a General Surgery Specialty Trainee in Glasgow, subspecialising in Colorectal Surgery, and an Honorary Clinical Lecturer at the University of Glasgow. She was awarded a PhD by the University of Aberdeen in 2023 for her research on surgical decision-making. A former Full Blue in Hockey at the University of Edinburgh, she continues to compete at club level. Carly says
Kelvinside’s close-knit community and diverse extracurricular opportunities – from the CCF to school drama – helped to build my confidence, resilience and academic drive. The school nurtured my own ambitions and a lifelong love of learning beyond the classroom.
Carly is now mentoring her niece and nephew and loving watching them thrive on their own Kelvinside journeys.
Sophie was brought up playing classical, Scottish and Irish traditional music, and was no stranger to the piano at a KA concert or competition. She went on to study at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and now enjoys a career of performing and teaching within the Scottish music scene. In 2022 she was one of six finalists in the BBC Young Traditional Musician of The Year competition, and has been a winner of the Danny Kyle award at Celtic Connections.
Sophie has stayed connected to Kelvinside, returning to help at the After School Club and delivering music sessions to the children.
Euan is a physician, scientist, author, and founder based at Stanford University in California where he is Chair of the Department of Medicine as well as Professor of Medicine, Genetics and Biomedical Data Science. He is known for helping establish the field of medical genomics.
Ashley is a recipient of the National Innovation Award from the American Heart Association (AHA) as well as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s New Innovator Award. In 2017, he was recognized by the Obama White House for contributions to personalized and precision medicine. In 2019, he was awarded the American Heart Association Medal of Honor for Genomics and Precision Medicine. In 2021, he became the first holder of the Roger and Joelle Burnell Chair in Genomics and Precision Health at Stanford University.
