Lorettonian Society

Those who know Clare know how passionate she is about Loretto. The School has always been a big part of her life as her late father, Major Charles Gordon Sherriff D.S.O. (1935), was a very proud OL. As soon as Clare was able to join Loretto in Sixth Form she followed in her father's footsteps and her two children, Amelia (15) and Hugo (7), are also now Lorettonians. Clare's friends at School soon became like family and she still speaks to many of them on a weekly basis. In fact, her three bridesmaids were all Old Lorettonians, as are her children’s godparents! Clare went on to study History of Modern Art and Design at Northumbria University, before completing a Diploma at Leiths School of Wine. She then worked in marketing for Jaguar Cars and as the account manager for Volkswagen UK with Global Advertising Agency DDB, before returning to her more creative side in 2008 by studying Interior Design at KLC. Following this Clare owned her own interior design business and, more recently, she has also studied Health Coaching.

Honorary Life Vice-President

Gavin G.C. McDowall (Hon)

Gavin McDowall was educated at Barnard Castle School and read Mechanical Sciences at Cambridge (Downing College). He worked with Metrovicks/AEI in Manchester then taught on the Isle of Wight for two years before joining Loretto in 1966 to teach Physics. He was House Tutor in Pinkie from 1967 until 1974 when he followed Chris Barclay Smith as Housemaster of School House until 1989, returning to Pinkie a visiting tutor until he retired from Loretto in 1996. He served in the CCF for 30 years (including 7 years as OC CCF) latterly being i/c RN Section and he was in charge of the sailing at Fisherrow for the same time. His involvement in the Musselburgh community has included serving as Chairman of Musselburgh Round Table, Commodore of Fisherrow YC for 7 years, President of the Old Musselburgh Club and is also on the Musselburgh Conservation Society committee. He was Secretary of the Lorettonian Society for twenty years from 1989-2009. In retirement he has visited most European countries in his campervan.

Chairman

Jack J. Kelly (1982)

Jack left Loretto in 1982, having been at the School for ten years. Graduating from the University of St Andrews with a MA Honours in Economics, he joined Arthur Andersen’s London office in 1986. Articles as a Chartered Accountant followed, as did a two-year secondment to Australia and four-year secondment to Poland. Jack entered the national partnership of Arthur Andersen in 1998, and the worldwide partnership in 2001. Andersen, as it was then known, collapsed some eleven months later (no responsibility attributed) and he became a Partner with Deloitte. There he worked as an Audit Partner, then the National Quality & Risk Partner, and then a North & South Europe Quality & Risk Partner until his retirement in 2024. During this time Jack lived in London with his wife, Karen, and child, Maddie. He was Chairman of The Lorettonian Society’s London branch from 2007 until early 2025, when he retired to Scotland. Upon relinquishing this role, he was invited to join the Society’s Executive Committee - an offer which he was delighted to accept.Jack has connected with many OLs via social media, and regularly updates his year group and encourages them to participate in OL events. His experience in accounting, corporate governance, risk management and mentoring will be of huge benefit to the Society.

Honorary Secretary

Nico Sharkey (2018)

Nico thoroughly enjoyed his time at Loretto, with extracurricular activities playing a big part in his experience. He was Deputy Head of Hope House, played for the Pipe Band – including at Lords Cricket Ground – commanded a Watch in the CCF Navy section and played for the Rugby XV for a number of years, including during a tour to South Africa. Many of Nico’s long-term friends are his friends from School – he even lived with a few OLs after leaving! He hopes that, through the committee, he can help bring an even wider community back together. After leaving Loretto in Sixth Form, Nico went straight into the family business to obtain an IT Apprenticeship. He stayed there for four years before joining Baxters of Scotland. Here he undertakes a wide variety of tasks, including travelling across Europe to their sites and protecting against cyberattacks and other threats.

Honorary Treasurer

Justus P.N.K. van Lare (2000)

Justus is a Construction Cost Consultant based in London. In 2026, he joined Gardiner & Theobald LLP as a Senior Associate in the Infrastructure Management team. After leaving Loretto in 2000, he studied Engineering at the University of Aberdeen before retraining in Quantity Surveying at Edinburgh Napier University. He became a Chartered Quantity Surveyor in 2009 and completed a part-time Master’s degree in Construction Law and Dispute Resolution at King’s College London in 2019. A keen sportsman, he represented the Army in rugby whilst serving with the Officer Training Corps and was part of the winning RICS Matrics rugby team in the Surveyor 7s Rugby Festival in Richmond in 2013. He now enjoys family life with his wife, Monicka, and their daughter, alongside playing cricket and golf.

Executive Committee

Neil C. Henderson (1984)

Originally from Elgin, Neil’s parents moved to India when he was eleven, which started his boarding school life at George Watson's before moving to Loretto in 1980. Neil was in Seton and left Loretto in 1984. On leaving the School, Neil moved initially to Winchester and has subsequently lived in various parts of East London and West Essex since 1987. Neil re-engaged with the School at Annual Dinners from 2009 and has been on the Executive Committee since 2013, regularly attending meetings and various social events in both Edinburgh and London. Neil is currently Director of HR at University of West London and has worked in Higher Education since 2002, having previously worked in local government and the Metropolitan Police. Neil was a keen rugby player and triathlete; nowadays, his pursuits are somewhat more leisurely such as fine wine, whisky, theatre, travelling, playing ‘at’ golf and swimming. Most of his spare time, though, is taken up being a father of four children aged 16 to 30.

Philip M. Cook (2003)

Having attended Loretto from 1998 - 2003, Philip was involved in many of the sports the school offered, including Rugby, Hockey, Cricket, Squash and Tennis. Due to this affiliation with the school, Philip maintains an interest in the schools sports development, in particular Cricket. Having attended Northumbria University studying a Foundation course in Design and Technology, Philip took up a role with the family business in transport and logistics, focusing mainly on sales and business development. It was from there he moved to London and started a career in Estate Agency, being exposed to both a domestic and multi-international client platform with dealings in property assets in excess of £50m. After 15 years Philip relocated back to Scotland with his family, continuing his profession remotely advising clients on their real estate interests in London.

Olivia Mackenzie (2013)

Olivia was born in Edinburgh and joined the Nippers before heading into the Senior School, leaving in 2013. Her three siblings (Eliza, Flora and Kit) also attended Loretto. Olivia made significant contributions to the School's sports teams, representing both the Hockey and Lacrosse first teams for four and three consecutive years. Alongside team sports, she also ran competitively for Edinburgh Athletics Club and Scotland and, in doing so, become the two-time winner of Bruce Cup for Athletics in 2012 and 2013, and made history by becoming the first female recipient of the Keith Geddes Award for Sportsmanship. After heading to Manchester for University, she moved to Sydney for three years where she continued to travel and start her career in Workplace Change Management. Now living in London, Olivia maintains strong ties with many of the friends she made at Loretto and continues to run for enjoyment.

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