Nicky Unkles – The Alumni of Belmont House School

28th Jan 2025

As we approach our centenary year at Belmont House School, we wanted to look back, and reconnect with former pupils, near and far.

Here we have a series of thoughtful questions that we ask our alumni focusing on their lives, successes, and the school’s influence.

Name: Nicky Unkles
Time period as a pupil at Belmont House: 1979-1993
Current Occupation: Senior Vice President, Project Management, Cumming Group, New York City USA

How did your time at Belmont House School shape your career path?
Funnily enough, from memory Brendan told me not to bother filling out the UCAS form as I’d ‘end up in the family business’. The truth was, I left Scotland to get away from the family business. I stumbled into Quantity Surveying at Glasgow Caledonian and took an internship with a small Glasgow practice. They offered me a full time position upon graduation and that’s how I ended up in the world of Project Management. I’m now Executive Vice President with Cumming Group, a privately held multifaceted construction consultancy with over $1Billion in annual revenue.

Can you share a key moment or memory from your time at Belmont that had a lasting impact on you?
I loved all my years at Belmont, from 1979 – 1993 (primary 1 through sixth year). The teachers were excellent, Graham Kilgour (Kilky), Gordon Parr (Basil), Fred Orr, Ian Anderson to name a few. We were all blessed to have had such a strong Headmaster, John Mercer (Big John). I wasn’t the most academic, but loved my sports (rugby and skiing especially).
Graham and Big John were passionate about them too. I regularly tell stories from my school days and reminisce fondly of my time at Belmont. Too many to identify one singular memory.

What skills or lessons learned at Belmont have been most valuable in your professional life?
John Mercer instilled in me to cut to the chase and own up immediately when I did something wrong. I used to regularly take the long walk up to the headmasters office and knock on the door, ‘come in’ would bellow from inside. I’d walk in and Big John would ask with a wry smile on his face, ‘to what do I owe the pleasure?’ and I simply replied, ‘I was misbehaving’. I’d take my licks and Big John would always say how refreshing it was to hear me take responsibility for my actions. To this day, I hate to see people finger point or squabble, take responsibility for your actions and move on. It’s been tremendously successful for me in my career.

In what ways did Belmont House School’s community or culture contribute to your personal growth?
I remain good friends with a lot of former pupils and keep in touch with teachers. I was delighted when Graham Kilgour showed up on my wedding day at Cameron House. Those friendships created strong and resilient networks that I rely on today. As the age old saying goes, ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’.

Can you describe how Belmont’s teachers or extracurricular activities helped shape your future ambitions?
The school ski trips certainly helped shape future ambitions. I’d rather be skiing in Aspen than at Hillend. Again, the teachers always went above and beyond with extracurricular. Ian Anderson with the hill walking, Kilky with the ski trips to Aviemore / Cairngorms / Lecht / anywhere that had snow, Gordon Parr with the canoeing, we were all extremely fortunate. I travel extensively on business and thoroughly enjoy folding in family excursions when possible. I want to expose my kids to all the opportunities I was given and am actively teaching my youngest son (3 years to ski). My eldest (10 years) has been skiing since he was 2 years old.

What advice would you give to current Belmont students who want to follow a similar path to yours?
Take responsibility for your actions and don’t finger point. Identify solutions not problems and work harder than everyone else in the room. Lead by example and always do the right thing. Cut out weakness out like a cancer and nurture talent like they’re your own. You don’t need to be the smartest, just have the smartest on your team. Do what you love, if you do, you will thrive and the money will follow.

Looking back, how do you feel Belmont House School prepared you for the challenges and opportunities you’ve faced in life?
Life can be cruel, there’s no rhyme nor reason, we lost friends along the way. Live your best life but take responsibility. Never give up, dust yourself down and start again. Start investing the moment you earn, you’ll be thankful you did. I never imagined myself at 49 years old when I was at school, yet here I am.

Our thanks to Nicky for sharing his experiences – would you like to feature as part of our Alumni of Belmont House School? Please feel free to get in touch with Richard Doak via email: RDoak@belmontschool.co.uk

Nicky Unkles – The Alumni of Belmont House School