In the Spotlight

We are very proud of our alumni community. Old Cumnorians (OCs) have followed a wide variety of paths post Cumnor, across the UK and indeed the globe, and we love to celebrate these achievements.

Each term, we will shine the spotlight on one of our OCs, asking them to share their stories, words of advice and sprinklings of nostalgia from their Cumnor days. We hope these examples offer interest and inspiration – whether you are an OC yourself, a parent of a current pupil or are looking at our school as a potential destination for your own child. If you’d like to be part of this series, or have someone to suggest, please do get in touch by emailing oldcumnorians@cumnor.co.uk.

Amelia Stewart

This term, we feature Amelia Stewart (Class of 1990) who is a writer, broadcaster, traveller, tour guide and Founder of Amelia Stewart Travel. Amelia is currently based in Tbilisi, the capital and largest city of Georgia and took time out of her busy and varied schedule to be our first ‘In The Spotlight’ guest.

What are your memories of being a pupil at Cumnor?

I have so many Cumnor memories, but the overriding impression is how much fun it was.

The friendships, the creativity: music, art, literature, theatre, concerts. The school trips to London and abroad. The kindness, support and innate sense of fun that all the teachers brought to everything they taught us. The wonderful grounds at Cumnor, cricket matches, the athletics field, netball and learning to dive.

There is no particular Cumnor moment, just so many rolled into one. Even though I lived very close to the school, I wanted to board because I loved it so much!

What life skills did Cumnor equip you with?

Tell us about your current role.

I run a specialist travel company focused on tailor made and small group journeys for the curious to the Caucasus, the Middle East and Central Asia.

I’m currently based in Tbilisi where I’ve been for three years getting to know the country better. An average day really depends on whether I’m on tour or not – I lead some of tours which takes me all over Georgia and beyond so we could be walking in the mountains, exploring the art nouveau architecture in the capital, or sampling natural wines of which Georgia is renowned for.

If I’m not on tour, I’m currently training up my new Georgian assistant, preparing for tours, researching new hotels, restaurants and experiences and creating new tours.