Thomus DaCosta
Class of 2014How did CLS get you ready for the world of work?
I only truly appreciated my time at CLS when I had to leave after my AS exams. I hadn’t done particularly well and, if I’m honest, I’d had far too much fun. I left the safety of school and went to a sixth form college to finish and re-sit my A-levels. In the first week, I had what was probably the most important realisation of my adolescence. It was something my parents and teachers had always said but I hadn’t really absorbed. If you want to succeed, only you can do the work. It came during an English lesson on Chaucer. No one was paying attention to the teacher. I remember feeling sorry for him. It was the first time I’d seen a classroom where no one even pretended to care. At CLS, even if you were coasting, there was still a shared standard. I was naturally quite academic, an easy B without much revision, which put me somewhere in the middle at CLS. But there, the expectation was to push. At college, the expectation was just to get through it. That contrast stayed with me. CLS made working hard feel like the standard. Outside of it, you realise how easy it is to slip into doing the minimum and convincing yourself it’s enough. Once you lose that work ethic, you realise how rare it really is.
What was your first job?
My first job came from my mum’s determination that her children would be mathematically competent. For years, we were sent to Kumon, usually kicking and screaming. So I ended up working as a marker at one of the centres. It was repetitive and unforgiving. You either got it right or you didn’t. In the end, it helped me keep up at school.
Your biggest professional achievement?
I’ve been working on a black cab app at my family business for the past couple of years, and we recently launched blackcab.com. For a long time, it was just ideas, builds, and problems behind a screen. Now it’s real. Drivers are coming online, passengers are booking, and you can see our ads moving through London on the side of taxis. There’s a big difference between talking about a product and watching it operate in the wild.
Your most challenging professional moment?
In 2023, I started Shipton Gallery as a side project. At the time, I was unemployed, had no formal background in art, and no real network. I hadn’t studied art history and didn’t even enjoy the subject at school. But it turned out that taste, charm, and the ability to bring people together mattered more than credentials. Since then, I’ve put on over 20 exhibitions and worked with more than 80 artists, many of whom are now doing well in London and beyond. Looking back, it was a turning point. I backed myself at a moment when it seemed no one else would, and built something from nothing.
What inspires and motivates you at work?
With black cabs, it’s the sense that you’re working within something with real history. The trade goes back to the 17th century, and you feel connected to that continuity. With art, it’s much more about people. There’s a real energy in the London scene, whether it’s emerging artists or more established figures, there’s always something to learn. After a few years, you also start to see the longer-term impact. You watch artists develop, gain recognition, and build careers, and it’s rewarding to know you played a role in that.
One piece of advice for pupils and other Old Citizens about getting into your profession?
If you want to work in art, you need to be in the room. Go to exhibitions, openings, anything you can. But more importantly, don’t rush to talk about yourself. No one is waiting to hear your pitch. Ask questions. Pay attention. Understand what people actually do and what they care about. Most people try to extract value too early. If you can delay that instinct, you’ll get much further.
