Volunteering

There are plenty of opportunities to support our students or other OBMs directly by volunteering your time or expertise, or by making use of your connections.

If you would like to volunteer, please update your mentor settings through our Career Support page. You may then be contacted in the future with a request for support, either by current or past students, or by our External Relations Team or Careers Lead.

We also post volunteering opportunities on our LinkedIn group and in our monthly news bulletin, which we send out via email. If you don't currently receive emails from us and would like to, please update your communication preferences.

Thank you for your support.

The OBM Advisory Group

The OBM Club Advisory Group represents the views of OBMs and advises the OBM team on all matters related to engaging with the OBM community. Advisory group members offer feedback and ideas to ensure the club is progressive, inclusive and supportive.

Advisory Group meetings are held three times per year, in February, June and October, with a mix of on-line and in-person meetings.

Would you like to become a member of the Advisory group?

We are keen to recruit extra members to ensure that the group is diverse, and reflects the demographics of the OBM Club, as far as possible. If you would like to be considered for this role, please email externalrelations@bedmod.co.uk by Thursday 31 July 2025, outlining why you would like to get involved and what you can bring to the group.

Advisory Group members

Josh Butten (2002-10)

BMS was my home from 2002 to 2010, and no doubt it was the muddy rugby pitches and countless DT do-overs that drilled a resilience that still drives me today. Forgoing university for travel and professional qualifications, I’m now a Certified Financial Planner and Director at boosst, where I guide families toward a secure retirement. I repay some of what I gained from BMS by supporting this committee.

Chris Holmes

I joined the Royal Marines straight from school and enjoyed a full-service career extending over 30+ years. I enjoyed the challenges, comradeship and the sense of purpose that working in UK Defence offers and can honestly say that ‘I never had a bad day at work’. I now work in BT and am an enthusiastic advocate of workplace technology and digital change. I am keen to support the OBM Club in engaging with, and offering support to, other OBMs as they progress through their career.

Paul Nash (1973-80)

I am a Financial Advisor working for a London based financial services company. This takes up some of my time but I have enough spare time to be involved with the school. I am part of the Advisory Group and now President of the OBM Club as I have a passion for the school and its alumni and I feel I can grow the membership.

Adam Nicoll (1986-93)

I have worked in executive search and recruitment as a marketer and brand expert for over 25 years. I led the marketing of the Government’s flagship COVID recovery program for disadvantaged pupils, the National Tutoring Program (NTP) in the aftermath of the pandemic and was on the Executive Board of the largest education recruiter in the UK for ten years. I was also a Governor of Princess Helena College, a leading independent boarding school for girls, from 2015-2019. I regularly speak on broadcast media on education matters and in schools providing career advice and personal development. I have been a member of the Advisory Group for a number of years.

Tom Saunders (2008-19)

I am currently a Geography and Sport Teacher at Bedford Greenacre Independent School. BMS is a special place for me, not only did I thoroughly enjoy my time there, including serving as Head Boy, but also my family's connection to the school spans four generations. I was delighted to join the OBM Advisory Group. It is a fantastic opportunity to stay connected with the school and help the OBM Club ensure that my cohort and others continue to return to BMS for events.

Charlie Tomkins (1985-93)

Following BMS Sixth Form, I went to work on a large dairy and arable farm. I attended Agriculture college having worked many parts of the UK plus Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and returned home to Bedfordshire to work on the family farm. I have seen BMS change and evolve over the years and it's good to be involved in the Advisory Group to see standards maintained, but importantly, an environment in which young people become good characters and adapt to the changing world.

Tony Wildman (1960-67)

I have a long association with the school as a student and OBM. I had 3 boys attend the school and still have two grandchildren attending today. I served on the School Committee for 15 years and have recently become the immediate Past President of the OBM Club.

Robin Wills (1960-69)

Having retired from a career as a process engineer in the oil and gas industry, I now spend most of my time sailing in the summer and singing in the winter. I have been involved with the school and the OBM Club for some years now and was honoured to be the Club's President 2020-23. It is a way of paying back in a small way all the benefits that I gained from a BMS education, and to help others enjoy those same benefits.