Alsop alumnus awarded an MBE for services to Royal Air Force

Former student of Alsop High School, Tom Ciesco, has contacted the school with the news he has been awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to the Royal Air Force.

Tom is an Atlas Performance Engineer for Airbus UK, and is part of Team Atlas at Brize Norton.

He wrote to Alsop: “Just to let you know I was awarded an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours list. Alsop High School was a huge part of my formative years and education so thought I’d give you the news and say thank you.”

Tom attended and achieved 10 GCSE’s, 1 GNVQ and 3 A-levels. From Alsop, Tom studied at the University of Salford and gained a Bachelor of Science with Honours (BSc hons) in Aviation Technology with Pilot Studies. He also holds a Master of Sciences (MSc) in Air Transport Management.

Mr James Kerfoot, executive principal of Alsop High School, congratulated Tom on receiving an MBE for his services to the Royal Air Force and his fantastic achievement. He said he hopes Tom visits the school in the future.

Tom shared his inspiraitonal story with current Alsop High School students. He said: “After finishing education with a master’s degree, I got my first job working at an airline where I was fortunate enough to spend many months in America doing further training to become a Flight Operations Engineer.

“This niche role is a mix of aircraft engineering, designing safe departure and arrival paths for aircraft to follow and developing aircraft systems to keep up with the latest technologies. It still surprises me how I ended up in this field as maths never came naturally to me (I use it every day now) but I worked hard, starting at Alsop where I resat my maths GCSE twice to get a better grade!”

Tom also shared some valuable advice with Alsop students, saying: “Work as hard as you can but don’t forget to enjoy yourself whilst you are at it!

“If you are lucky enough to have an idea of what you want to do, drive towards it, seek advice about how to get to your goal and don’t get distracted along the way! If you are less clear about what you want to do later in life, play to your strengths and keep an open mind.

“Whatever you do – have fun, be confident in yourself and proud of your achievements.”