Nuclear Chemist Gives Bolton School Girls The Lowdown On How To Succeed

Teacher. Army reservist. Nuclear chemist. 

To call this an impressive resume is a bit of an understatement – so you can imagine how exciting it was for the Year 10 and 11 students at Bolton School Girls’ Division to get to talk to alumnus Vicki Robinson about her career when she hosted a Women at Work seminar.

Sitting at home, reading this article at your leisure, the thought may have struck you as it did me: might I have what it takes to work on a Nuclear Submarine? Might my son? My daughter? Luckily, Robinson has the lowdown.

‘Organisation skills are definitely an asset … adaptability and problem-solving are also useful as things can change quickly and you need to be able to adjust. Communication skills are important, especially for communicating scientific ideas and principles to people who don’t have the same technical background as yourself.’ 

Robinson was careful to impart some life lessons to the girls of Bolton School – most importantly, the necessity of focusing on one’s education. ‘Work hard and don’t give up,’ she said. ‘There are a variety of entry routes whether it’s by direct application, graduate schemes or apprenticeship scheme but a good education is essential. Once you have those qualifications, they are with you for life. If you want it, keep trying.’ Robinson’s own academic credentials stand as testament to this approach: after studying Chemistry at undergraduate level, she completed a masters and a PGCE course, before studying Nuclear Chemistry at HMS Sultan, Defence Academy of the UK.

Vicki Robinson herself – Nuclear Chemist and Bolton School Alumnus.

An impressive set of qualifications – but one should not be trepidatious about the idea of following in her footsteps. Robinson stressed that she didn’t have it all ‘figured out’ from day one – making the change from teaching to nuclear chemistry was ‘a leap of faith. I could have stayed in the role I was in until I found something else but it was much harder to look and devote myself to finding something else whilst still trying to do my job. So, I jumped. I made the decision and handed my notice in immediately.’

It’s Bolton School that she credits with helping her develop the skills and mindset necessary to jump at such opportunities, to never settle and instead keep pursuing new, exciting ventures. ‘It gave me the education and academic support I needed,’ explained Robinson, ‘I was the first person in my family to go to university and I couldn’t have done it without Bolton School … At a time when going to university was not the norm, particularly from my family, Bolton School set high expectations.’