18th Dec 2024
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 seven thoughtful questions that we ask our alumni focusing on their lives, successes, and the school’s influence.
Name: Stephen Mercer
Time period as a pupil at Belmont House: 1972-1984
Current Occupation: Retired Chartered Accountant. Previously, Partner in KPMG China
How did your time at Belmont House School shape your career path?
I was fortunate to be strong academically and to enjoy Maths in particular. This motivated me to study Accountancy at Glasgow University and then join KPMG in Glasgow where I completed my Chartered Accountant training. In a contrasting way, it was probably studying in a small school and living in Newton Mearns all my life which led me to seek some experience abroad and move to Hong Kong on a 2-year secondment with KPMG at the age of 24. I returned to live in the UK 30 years later after spending 18 years in Hong Kong and 12 years in Shanghai, all with KPMG where I was an Audit Partner and held various leadership roles.
Can you share a key moment or memory from your time at Belmont that had a lasting impact on you?
My Dad was headmaster throughout my entire period at Belmont and Belmont was therefore very much an integral part of our family life growing up. It’s difficult to pick out one moment or memory, but being the headmaster’s son certainly gave an incentive to keep out of trouble, work hard and succeed!
What skills or lessons learned at Belmont have been most valuable in your professional life?
The need to work hard, act with integrity, respect others, and “do the right thing” are values which were instilled during my time at Belmont. These have remained critical throughout my career when dealing with client issues and people.
In what ways did Belmont House School’s community or culture contribute to your personal growth?
The small class sizes meant a need to get on with each other, respect everyone as an individual, and work together more closely. An obvious example would be sport where we were often playing against much larger schools but achieved our fair share of results through being a closer group and having teachers who dedicated their time to coach, mentor and encourage us. My career involved leading multi-cultural teams to deliver client projects successfully, both within China and across borders. Respecting each team member, understanding their strengths and weaknesses, and helping them develop were critical to this.
Can you describe how Belmont’s teachers or extracurricular activities helped shape your future ambitions?
My Dad was a great mentor. He had many hobbies and would always encourage us to try new things (albeit I never acquired his passion for fossil collecting!). He was very forward thinking and supportive of my move to Hong Kong and the opportunities to develop my career in China.
What advice would you give to current Belmont students who want to follow a similar path to yours?
Be prepared to challenge yourself and step outside of your comfort zone.
Looking back, how do you feel Belmont House School prepared you for the challenges and opportunities you’ve faced in life?
Belmont obviously gave me a strong academic background. However, I believe its culture of being focused on improving the performance and well-being of each student, rather than academic results per se, will have helped me and others, not just in achieving success but also in dealing with setbacks and learning from those.
Our thanks to Stephen 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
