In The Spotlight: Adam Staten

This month, Adam Staten (1995-2001) is in the spotlight:  

Tell us about what you do now. Has your time at the school influenced your life today? 

I now work as a GP in the Milton Keynes area having started my career as a medical officer in the British Army. Based on my experiences serving in the army, I decided I would fulfil a long-held ambition to write a novel, and I had my first novel, Steadfast, published in 2023. Since then I have spent an increasing amount of my time writing and I'm now about to publish the third in a trilogy of historical novels set around the time of the Norman Conquest. 

I would say my time at BMS had a profound impact on my career and what I find myself doing today. Looking back, I can see how high the quality of the science teaching I had at school was and how much support a wide range of teachers gave me to help me get into medical school. I was also in the cadet force at school and that was the start of my ambition to join the army.

Tell us about your time at BMS. Do you have any special memories you would like to share?  

During my time at BMS there were so many opportunities to do different things - sporting, musical, educational, and adventurous. I would be hard pushed to single out one particular memory but my strongest and fondest memories include my time as cox of a successful 1st VIII at the school, some really good times playing rugby in Sixth Form, summer camps with the cadets, and a fantastic World Challenge trip to Tanzania that really gave me a taste for travel and adventure. 

Who was someone from your time at BMS who had an impact on you and why? 

I can't really think of my time at BMS without thinking of Mr Else, who I know has recently retired. He was my form tutor during my GCSE years and taught me chemistry for GCSE and A level. I think he was a big part of why I enjoyed learning so much as he created a really nice atmosphere in the classroom. That love of learning is something that I have carried with me since.  

What do you do like to do in your spare time? 

Writing takes up a lot of my spare time now, that and the historical research I need to do for the novels. Other than that, I like to keep fit in the gym and my local athletics club, and I still have a passion for travelling which I think goes back to that World Challenge trip and is something I'm now trying to pass onto my children. 

What advice would you give to your younger self?

I would just advise my younger self to do even more, to take even more advantage of the opportunities that the school offered. With hindsight, it was so easy to experience and try so many different things, something that definitely becomes less easy as life moves on!

Are there any other thoughts you would like to share with the OBM and BMS community?

I think I would just express my gratitude to the school and the community that it creates. The school really gave me the chance to achieve all the things I wanted to do in life, and I still have a lot of close friends from school, even though it's nearly 25 years since we left.