An Altrincham school is relegating some of the country’s top public schools to the backbenches with not one but two former pupils promoted to ministerial level in Theresa May’s government.
Damian Hinds, who went to the Hale Barns school between 1980 to 1987, has been made Minister of Employment at the Department of Work and Pensions.
And Paul Maynard, who attended St Ambrose from 1987 to 1994, has been appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Transport, or as he says, “a long-winded way of saying Rail Minister”.
Hinds, who subsequently went on to read Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Trinity College, Oxford, stood unsuccessfully for Parliament in Stretford & Urmston in 2005 but was elected MP for East Hampshire in 2010 and re-elected last year.
In between he enjoyed a career in the hospitality business, working for InterContinental, Holiday Inn and pub company Greene King.
He said: “It is a huge honour, privilege and responsibility to represent constituents in Parliament. My new role is very engaging, with responsibility for the help we give people to get into or back to work. I am lucky to work with highly committed civil servants and dedicated colleagues in the network of job centres.
“My memories of St Ambrose are very good ones,” he added. “St Ambrose was where I got my interest in current affairs and public policy. We had many opportunities for debate in lessons, in the debating society, and informally. It is good to see the school doing so well today.”
Maynard studied history at Oxford, getting a first class honours degree, which he attributes to “the careful teaching of the wonderful Sean Fleming at Ambrose”.
He added: “I contested Twickenham in 2005 against Vince Cable before being selected a year later for Blackpool North and Cleveleys in 2006, winning it from Labour in 2010 and increasing my majority to 3,340 in 2015.
“After a few years as a Parliamentary Private Secretary to Oliver Letwin then Amber Rudd, the new Government saw Mrs May offer me the job of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Transport. I’m also responsible for light rail and trams, which is for the best, as a Blackpool MP.”
He continued: “It has been something of a step-up as you have to learn how to be a Minister as well as carrying on with your equally important constituency role. Not only do you have to learn the mechanics of how to operate as a Minister, managing the workload and bringing pressure to bear where you need it most, but you also have to rapidly familiarise yourself with what can at times be the quite arcane world of railway terminology.”
Maynard is only the second person with cerebral palsy to become a British Member of Parliament.
He added: “St Ambrose for me will always be a place that gave me an opportunity that I might not otherwise have had to aim a bit higher.”
The school’s former deputy head, Phil Howard, said that it was “quite incredible” for the school to have two current government ministers.
“We always follow with the greatest interest the careers of our Old Boys. Damian and Paul were outstanding students of the College and are an inspiration to today’s young Ambrosians. We congratulate them on their promotions and wish them every success in the future.”
