Forward Together recollections by Ms Carol Vorderman

“What’s Sidney got to do with me!?” was Carol Vorderman's first thought when plans were made to celebrate 50 years of gender-inclusive education at the College. Then she did the maths. Turns out, she interviewed here 48 years ago.

In 1978, Carol arrived at Sidney aged 17 with a suitcase, no network, and dreams of being a pilot (or maybe an astronaut, but sadly, “not being American or male” ruled that out). She’d come from a comprehensive school in Rhyl, North Wales, a free school meals kid, no Further Maths A-Level, no Oxbridge coaching, just a spark and a student brochure that mentioned Sidney was good for state school kids.

Her first room was on Y Staircase, which she shared with Sue from Blackburn. They slept in squeaky metal beds, laughed through homesickness, and bonded over Sue’s daily loaf of granary bread (high metabolism, apparently). Today, Sue’s a Professor of Chemistry and winner of the first Rosalind Franklin Science Prize.

Carol became the third woman to study Engineering at Sidney. Her lecture uniform? Thigh-high leather boots. Her vibe? Unapologetically herself. Dr Donald Green promptly nicknamed her Boots Vorderman, a name he never stopped using, always followed by a booming laugh. “God, how we miss him,” she says.

One of her supervisors? A young Dr Ann Dowling. Carol’s still convinced that Ann despaired at her workings in Fluid Mechanics, but kept smiling encouragingly at her – and still does. That mattered.

Sidney, she says, wasn’t just where she studied. It’s where she belonged. She remembers Vera her bedder, who’d invite her over for tea. Brian in the kitchens, who kept things running. The Formals, the rowing attempts (mascara first, obviously), and the way Sidney made her feel safe, seen, and supported in a place where many didn’t look or sound like her.

She also remembers the posh voices, the coded questions, the realisation that networks and opportunities weren’t evenly shared. But not at Sidney. Never at Sidney.

“You protected us. You taught us things we couldn’t learn elsewhere.
You made us know that we belonged. And most of all, you loved us.
And for that, for that life changing opportunity, on behalf of so many of the girls who were here at that time, thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Carol’s never forgotten it. And she’s spent the last four decades proving that when you lift someone up, they carry others with them.
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