Melanie Hopkins, High Commissioner for Fiji, is a former student of John Kyrle High School. 

Melanie was welcomed back to the school to speak with Year 13 students about her experiences and her journey from being a schoolgirl in Ross-on-Wye to her work in the Diplomatic Corps and as High Commissioner to Fiji, Kiribati, Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu. 

When speaking to students, Melanie encouraged them to continually broaden their horizons and to believe that they can achieve whatever they want, using her own experiences as examples.  Melanie was taken on a tour of the school, and commented how much it had grown, improved and developed since she left.   

Accompanying Melanie was Jim Herbert, former teacher at John Kyrle High School, who is instrumental in the Ross link with Uganda.  Melanie noted that John Kyrle was an outward-looking school with good links abroad. She told headteacher, Nigel Griffiths and Beth Lambourn, assistant head of sixth form that she was keen to foster links between John Kyrle and the South Pacific islands where she works. 

Nigel Griffiths said it was invaluable to have someone of Melanie’s stature and experience speak to Year 13 students who are on the cusp of leaving school for university, training and employment. Beth Lambourn hoped to develop links with Fiji, perhaps with John Kyrle students and staff visiting for exchanges, sports tours and other opportunities, and she thanked Melanie for her inspirational words and for taking the time to come to speak with students.