On Friday 8 November, St Paul’s High School were very privileged to host Fiona Campbell, Controller of BBC Three. Fiona came to speak to the students as part of the Speakers for Schools programme. Fiona is originally from Belfast. She left Northern Ireland to study after her A Levels. She hopes to return back to Northern Ireland to live sometime in the future.

Fiona spoke to the students about her career pathway which enabled her to achieve her role today as Controller of BBC Three. In this role, Fiona is responsible for content commissioning across platforms as well as overseeing the strategy of the channel. Fiona explained to the students how she had worked her way up through the organisation to where she is today. She spoke at length about her life experiences through her work and advised the students on the various pathways available to them.

A very robust Q&A session took place after Fiona’s talk. The St Paul’s students asked Fiona some very challenging and interesting questions and they were fully answered. Students involved included Drama, English and Business Studies students.

Speakers for Schools was founded in 2011 by Robert Peston, Political Editor of ITV. The organisation provides leading and inspirational, eminent figures to schools in order to enable the students to access people who will inspire them to achieve their full potential.