Daryll Brown

My parents are first generation immigrants from the Caribbean, and I am one of seven siblings. With my background, awareness of private schooling, and environments such as the City of London, even as iconic as London Bridge, were places we did not know personally.

From 2004, I attended the St Thomas the Apostle College in Nunhead, Peckham, Southeast London. I found much early academic success, reaching the upper set of all my classes; but at this time had never heard of City of London School.  There was a careers advisor called Ms Grattan, who attended our school in Peckham, and she recommend that I apply for a City of London School bursary. Without it, there would be no way that my parents could afford my attendance. I believe I filled in the application form myself and went to attend the entrance exam on my own. I didn’t have a suit, so I attended in my school uniform which fortunately included a blazer.

On my first day at City, I was brought into the Head of Year’s office alongside the boy’s common room, and he asked me who inspires me. At this time, there was no one more so than my parents. Without a university education, my father worked at the cinema, and he trained himself in computer engineering, solely from books and tutorials. None of my immediate family had been to university, experienced scholarships, or had any accreditations via higher education. I was never aware that we were operating at a disadvantage to my peers because I didn’t have that perspective. During those times, my most valuable possession was making my mother smile, when she would attend a parents evening, and hear the news from a teacher that I was excelling in my class.

Throughout the early 2000s, going to school in Peckham was unfortunately dangerous for boys like me. Every day, I would have to precisely choose which bus to get on, to avoid gang violence, to avoid knife crime, to avoid racism, and somehow persevere to make my parents proud, by learning something new. I achieved 13 GCSEs, 10 of them were A-A* grades. The transition from southeast London to the City of London, felt like going to Parliament every morning. From the perspective of my friends, receiving a scholarship scroll from an adorned chancellor, and wearing a suit to college every day – it was beyond any conversation we ever had envisioned for our futures in the playgrounds of Peckham.

All schools have cliques, but CLS had a positive and empowering approach to this. There are so many societies and clubs that you accidentally become a part of, discovering friendship groups and passions all over the building. When I was assigned a prefect role, that was also a whole new bunch of people to socialise and learn with. I knew where the squash courts where because that is where we used to practice break dance, and along with Ms Eastman and Kei, we created a dance society together and performed all around London at student conventions. As a musical event on the concourse, boys would regularly pass by and attempt to join in, letting us teach them moves. I really appreciated that even myself, and my background, and my alternative musical art could be explored during my time at CLS; if there is something you want to do, the School will support you in doing it.

I learnt a lot from the pupils in the year above. There was a consistent and solid bunch of boys that you could rely on; ask questions and share knowledge. There wasn’t so much of a competitive nature or people fighting for the top mark. Physics was the most convoluted academic content for my whole class, and we came to the eventuality of teaching ourselves, meeting up in study spaces by the library and reading further than what was covered during our lessons. We would often end up ahead of the content in class and took that time to reinforce our own studies – that was very much the environment at CLS. I was given resources to perform academically at a pace of my own choosing, and I took advantage of this opportunity.

City values your ability over where you come from. The majority of my peers were well beyond the wealth I or my family had ever experienced. Academically, over time, we became equals. I would explain to people that I have four brothers and two sisters, that my ‘bedroom’ was not beyond the bottom bunk of a bunk bed – aspects of my upbringing that no one at school could relate to – but we bridged the gaps and ultimately, ended up in the same classrooms, with the same academic and professional challenges throughout our careers.

Before this bursary, I had never been awarded anything before. I felt like I had to somehow prove to myself, and all those who contributed, that I truly deserved this. It’s the only way I could outwardly show the school how much I really appreciated the opportunity that was given to me. I worked at an intensity to undeniably prove to the world the value of this experience, and the impact CLS could have on my career. I was given a very valuable asset, a key to a greater future, so I put the key in the door, and did not take this opportunity for granted.

As a result of the care given and the quality of guidance provided at City of London School, I was able to achieve a level of academic and professional achievement not yet present in my family history. I left the Sixth Form with 2 As and 2 A*s (Maths, Additional Maths, Physics and Art) and was accepted into my first-choice university. It was Mr Pomeroy in the art department who inspired me to pursue architecture and told me about University College London and the Bartlett School of Architecture – one of the top Russell Group universities for architecture in the world. In fact, I was in the art department at City of London School, when I was accepted into UCL receiving my UCAS acceptance email alongside the boys. I had achieved my goals and was set off into higher education within my home city at a world-leading design facility. I’ve always been working hard, to make my parents proud, and the day of my graduation from university, my father was brought to tears of pride.

The culture of independent education that I was able to foster at City, really supported my career development and growth throughout my education. The independent learning, self-determined nature found at CLS has only been reinforced, enhanced, and furthered throughout university and carried on throughout the professional forum. Evidence of this is where I was scouted for a freelance project with ITV studios during my second year at UCL, a project that arose directly from the engineers at university who came to understand my proficiency in design software was self-taught, and at a level that could be applicable in industry. I have had a career of robust effort and inertia – with a world of ideas and development challenges that arise; where I have been fortified with the experience and qualifications to keep the train of the tracks.

Many times, throughout this process, I always wondered what I could be when I grow up. Now my career isn’t finished, but today, I can tell you what I grew up to be. I am a three-time university graduate with both first and distinction results. I am a qualified Architect, a registered member of the Architects Registration Board, and an associate at my practice leading a team in the development of 5 construction projects across the UK simultaneously. Not only did Mr Pomeroy inspire me to attend UCL, but as of November last year I am also a professor of Design Realisation, tutoring a class at the same university I attended.

Today I am also just one more example of the impact that a transformational bursary can have on a child’s life. My advice to anyone starting at City is that if they give you the keys to the room, enjoy the room, explore it all, and don’t hesitate to learn about the keys to the next room. Try it all, don’t let any opportunities pass you by and embrace the new.

This piece come from a speech made by Daryll (Class of 2011) and The Chair’s Dinner in May 2024