Latest news with #Haileybury
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
Formula One's humble hero: How McLaren star Oscar Piastri credits staying down to earth to his childhood sweetheart Lily Zneimer after pair met at boarding school
Since its conception, Formula 1 has been a hotbed for playboys, where daring racers dice with death and their latest model girlfriends look on from the sidelines. But their latest championship leader, Oscar Piastri, has won a legion of fans with a humble, calm approach to the sport as he has overtaken his teammate Lando Norris as the lead car of dominant McLaren. Still just 24, he has won more than half of this year's races - and credits staying down to earth to his childhood sweetheart, who he met while boarding at a Hertfordshire private school. Engineering graduate Lily Zneimer, who Oscar has been dating since their lower sixth year, has remained a quiet figure at his side as she accompanies him to races across the globe. She has no open social media presence and instead choses to show her support through loving touches to her outfits - playfully adding keyrings showing her boyfriend to her bag and wearing a custom t-shirts bedazzled with his number. In news posts by their former school Haileybury, which charges nearly £57,000 a year for senior boarders and counts Sir Stirling Moss as an alumnus, fans have spotted a sweet insight into their relationship. In one titled 'Best Ever GCSE Results', which went up just a year before they started dating, Lily can be seen wide-eyed and grinning as she holds up her results - a perfect nine A*s. Another - from the year before - congratulates 'talented racing driver' Oscar for securing his maiden victory in British F4. But in fact while at the Hertfordshire school he only managed a 35 per cent attendance rate as he juggled work with his burgeoning racing career - and only made the 3rds for his school sports teams. In the end his A-Levels were cancelled by the Pandemic, meaning his grades were based on his work over the last two years - including days where he 'flew to Monaco like 2 a.m. after an exam'. He told the Athletic: 'Maybe my results could have been a bit better if I took the exams, but it actually made things much more convenient because my exams were supposed to be basically through the middle of my F3 season.' It is a testament to his temperament that pundits have joked about Oscar being a swot, far removed from his vibrant teammate Norris. He tends to shy away from the post-party celebrations that saw his fellow McLaren driver turn up to his maiden victory with a plaster on his nose. Joking on the Chequered Flag podcast, BBC commentator Harry Benjamin laughed: 'Oscar is the type of person who, at school, he would have had all his exercise books and his pencils out in a row, and he would be doing his homework diligently - that is the impression I have of him! 'He's meticulous and serious and it is like there is a reluctance to let that excitement get the better of him. He is keeping it all under control and who can say that's a bad move? It seems to work for him.' And Oscar's old teachers are quick to agree - with the head of sport saying he was 'meticulous' as he managed to balance 'impressive' academic achievements with his sports success. Andy Searson said: 'Oscar was a terrific student in and out of the Haileybury classroom. 'Joining Haileybury UK in Year 10 from Melbourne, Oscar never demonstrated anything other than exemplary humility and remarkable composure throughout his four years at Haileybury. 'A charming young man and a passionate cricket fan, he was a dedicated member of the 3rd XI cricket team, he himself capable of bowling a heavy ball with an intimidating run-up! 'As well as playing cricket himself, he would relish such opportunities granted in the boarding school environment as gathering with his peers around the television to watch Ashes cricket battles in the winter months. 'Oscar was meticulous with his time management, coping admirably with his impressive academic work whilst simultaneously excelling on the global go-karting and formula 4 circuits, and regularly training at Silverstone. He was, and is, quite the role model and we are very proud of him.' Looking back at the start of his career, Haileybury's Master, Eugene du Toit, added: 'We are so proud of what Oscar has achieved, and it has been a pleasure to celebrate his success.' It was while in his third year at Haileybury that Oscar started dating Lily, having moved from Australia to the UK to pursue his racing dream. 'I met my girlfriend at school, we must have been 17,' he told the Eff Won podcast in December 2023 - joking that she would 'kill me if I get this wrong'. 'The second last year of school we became a couple and we've been together ever since so it's been nice to have someone there from the start still with me. 'It's been fun, it's been good. I wouldn't change it, so I'm enjoying it.' He continued: 'We keep it private, not secretive like some relationships are but we keep it to ourselves. 'We try to be out of the spotlight and just live normal lives.' Lily is said to keep him grounded, teaching him to cook in between races - and is often spotted in the paddock with a laptop in hand. An engineering graduate, she is said to love to be hoping to get into F1 herself - albeit from the technical side. 'Oscar introduced me to the British student in the paddock at the 2022 Australian GP when he was the Alpine reserve driver, Australian photographer Kym Illman said in 2023. Oscar shot to surprising fame in 2022 - dramatically shunning an Alpine seat after they announced he would be driving for them the following year 'She's polite, quiet, classy and by the time you watch this, has probably graduated with a degree in engineering. 'She wants to get a job in F1 and with her contacts you'd have to say she rates a pretty strong chance. They are a delightful couple.' Lily is understood to want to keep a low profile, but shows off her support for her boyfriend in understated displays of affection. In one shot, she pinned a badge showing his helmet to her handbag while in another she wore a custom beaded McLaren top complete with Oscar's number. Her family, coaching consultant Jonathan and project manager Elizabeth, both proudly repost Oscar's achievements and photos of him with Lily on social media. Speaking at their suburban family home outside St Albans, her mother politely declined to be interviewed - but said she was 'very proud' of both Lily and Oscar. Their sweet relationship marks a refreshing diversion from the scandalous lives of others on the grid. British teenage sensation Oliver Bearman hit the headlines last year after he was reported to be involved in a love triangle with new Alpine driver Franco Colapinto over influencer Estelle Ogilvy. Norris last year admitted he has 'many' girlfriends, and has been linked with the likes of Portuguese and actress Margarida Corceiro, following her split from ex-Chelsea star Joao Felix. In 2022 he reportedly messaged a mystery Dutch model and invited her on a McDonalds date, following his split from fellow Portuguese model Luisinha Oliveira - romantically saying: 'I'm single now', before adding: 'Ordering McDonald's come join.' Norris is now said to have gone official with Margarida Corceiro, a 22-year-old Portuguese actress, model and influencer, and the loved-up pair were seen celebrating big win together at the Monaco Grand Prix. And Lewis Hamilton has enjoyed a number of high-profile relationships - including an on/off relationship with Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger which went on for seven years, Nicki Minaj, Kendall Jenner, Rita Ora and Shakira. He was most recently linked to Modern Family star Sofia Vergara, although that reportedly ended in March. Oscar shot to surprising fame in 2022 - dramatically shunning an Alpine seat after they announced he would be driving for them the following year. Then just 21, he posted: 'I understand that, without my agreement, Alpine F1 have put out a press release late this afternoon that I am driving for them next year. 'This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year.' He instead signed with McLaren - a move supposedly wrangled by his manager, the former Aussie F1 star Mark Webber. In Miami he became the first McLaren driver to win three consecutive Grands Prix since Mika Hakkinen in 1997, as he leads the championship by 16 points. Originally hailing from Melbourne, his engineering entrepreneur father Chris co-owns HP Tuners, an elite automotive software company said to have an annual turnover of more than $40million. He started off by racing remote-controlled cars, beating 30-year-old men in competitions when he was just six. Oscar's parents both came from families of mechanics, and grew up with a passion for motors - in 2021 his father told the Sydney Morning Herald: 'Oscar's bedtime stories were mainly car books. He could recite how quick cars were, the horsepower, how much speed they had.' His mother Nicole has become beloved in her own right by racing fans - frequently taking to social media to poke fun at her son. After his latest victory she posted: 'Off to Pilates, like a winner (….or at least a winner's mum).'
BBC News
14-02-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Scholarship, hardship and an English rugby divide
Jamie George and Ellis Genge have played together for England 57 hooker and loose-head prop, they pack down stand alongside each other when the anthems are even work together on the board of a players' union, representing the England team in their discussions with the Rugby Football Union and commercial routes they have taken to this point are markedly different parents were teachers. He grew up living on site at Haileybury, a private school in Hertfordshire."I was very lucky," he says. "My back garden was Haileybury College, an absolutely beautiful school with acres of playing fields."I don't think it could have been a better environment to grow up in when I inevitably became a professional rugby player."It wasn't inevitable that Genge would become a professional rugby player. The teachers at John Cabot Academy - his state secondary school in Bristol - encouraged his rugby. But it wasn't weren't former Test players as coaches, or strength and conditioning staff, or an extensive fixture list against other rugby-focused of all, there wasn't the time."The rugby programme isn't well put together compared to private schools - it might be 30 minutes on a Tuesday as part of PE," he says."I don't think you can hide away from that." In 2019, social mobility think tank the Sutton Trust analysed the background of Genge, George and their England team-mates., externalIt found that 44% of the England team had, like George, been to fee-paying schools, with the same proportion in the state sector and the rest educated has changed since. If anything, the trend has become more the 23-strong squad picked to face France last weekend, 13 attended private 7% of children in England are educated privately, but all budding Georges and Genges, on either side of the divide, know the differences that come with can see it most starkly every October in 39 years, St Joseph's College, an independent school on the outskirts of the town, has organised a rugby those years, it has grown in England internationals Marcus Smith, Zach Mercer, Jonathan Joseph and Lewis Ludlam are among those to have won the player of the tournament award. Chris Robshaw, Mako Vunipola, Mike Tindall and Christian Wade have also trod the online, played in front of hundreds of spectators, it is now perhaps the most sought-after date in the schoolboy rugby in 1986, the invitees for the inaugural event came from both the state and private sectors. Increasingly that has become year, Royal Grammar School High Wycombe was the only state school among the 16 competing for the showpiece under-18 title."It is not intentional, it almost organically happens that way because of the resources these schools have," says St Joseph's director of sport, Fred Wenham, who must ensure a competitive card for the is obvious as soon as the teams step off the vast majority of head coaches who arrive at the festival are recently retired professional players. St Joseph's have recruited Northampton stalwart Mike Haywood to their own pupils play on immaculate pitches, train in a state-of-the-art gym, review their performance via video analysis, have their sleep and wellbeing tracked, their biometric markers monitored and their nutrition planned out. Perhaps most importantly, there is a huge cultural weight placed on Joseph's first team are presented with their festival shirts at a special assembly before singing, some in tears, to the rest of the school."It really is as close as you can get to a professional experience or lifestyle, without actually being paid for it," says RFU has a network of rugby managers to try to embed the game in state of the best compete in the ACE (Academy, Colleges and Education) League. England internationals George Martin, Joe Heyes and Harry Randall all rose up through that those institutions are thinly spread and tight on schools, where fees can exceed £50,000 a year, will always have more to are not entirely closed shops, however. You can attend, even if you can't top rugby-playing private schools don't just spend on facilities, they also invest in talent, offering highly sought-after scholarships and bursaries which can dramatically reduce while England captain Maro Itoje finished his education at Harrow, bumping up the team's percentage of private-school attendees, he arrived there at 16 on a scholarship from St Georges, a state school in Lawrence and Tom and Ben Curry similarly finished their education in the private sector, after being awarded Joseph's recent success story is Emmanuel Iyogun, who now plays for Northampton and has represented England A. He arrived on a scholarship from Woodlands School, a state school in international Anthony Watson and his former club and country team-mate Beno Obano, who went to Dulwich College on a scholarship at 16, valued such schemes so highly they set up their own, funding Harlan Hines' switch from a state school in south-east London to Marlborough College in 2022.A large proportion of England's elite players may emerge out of private schools, but their talent wasn't necessarily born in may be fewer scholarships on offer in the future January, VAT has been payable on school move, which the government predicts will raise billions for state schools, has put pressure on private school's registers and balance sheets figures in the industry have predicted that scholarships may have to be headmaster of Mount Kelly School, a private school in Devon, Guy Ayling is already making difficult decisions around awards for pupils."Bursaries and scholarships have a cost attached," he says. "That is the bottom line. They are costs like food, utilities and teacher salaries, and it is therefore something we have to consider."It is the way of the world moving forward; there is potentially going to be less money in the system and when there is less money in the system, you don't spend as much, including on helping families with financial assistance."Fewer scholarships would mean more kids in George Paul's 23-year-old grew up in Peterborough. He played at Wisbech rugby club, but as he and his ambitions grew in the game, he wanted more rugby than his school would had a scholarship offer at Wisbech Grammar, a nearby independent school, but with family finances and siblings to consider he didn't take it aged 15 and finding his club side weakened as other talented kids switched into the private school system, he chased competitive rugby through a different route. He moved to Hills Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge, who play in the AOC league, a college-specific league a level below the ACE division."It is that struggle for state school kids, every one of them will tell you the same story," he says."When we played private schools, it was a motivation. The dressing room would be a very powerful place before those games."But you would also realise how well drilled they are because they have three or four sessions a week, compared to us having maybe one on Tuesday before playing on Wednesday."They would have multiple coaches, we would have one."I know what it is like to turn up at trials at Leicester or Northampton or Scotland-qualified events in random Canterbury kit from SportsDirect when other kids are in full top-to-toe private school branded tracksuits with logos, sponsors and the rest."They will be in their cliques, they might know the selectors, because they also work at their school. Every state school kid will tell you how daunting that is."Some people say 'that is what they pay for', and to a degree that is true."But I don't think there should be that consistency in inequality and lack of opportunity for state school kids that puts them at a disparity when it comes to pushing on in life."Paul went on to study at Hartpury, playing high-level university rugby, before turning semi-professional in Scotland with Boroughmuir Bears until the Super Six Series they competed in was disbanded last playing, Paul launched Advice Academy, an initiative which worked in state schools in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling and elsewhere to give their pupils the standard of coaching and analysis that is commonplace in the private is now establishing a high-performance community academy in Peterborough which gives talented young state-school players elite-level training and careers advice on a more regular, consistent basis. It will be free to those for whom cost would be a barrier to is dealing with issues that Don Barrell has spent decades wrestling at a grammar school in Watford, Barrell was a professional rugby player with Saracens before becoming the club's academy director and, until last year, the RFU's head of performance programmes and pathways. His job was to find and develop talent. There was an easy way to do that, by visiting the schools with a track record of bringing through elite players. It was one Barrell didn't want to rely on."When I ran the academy at Saracens, I worked really hard to go to spaces which weren't easy," he says."If you look at the talent system - you don't have to try that hard to see kids in establishments that play rugby."Genge was an unwitting beneficiary of the draw big rugby schools exert on scouts.A Hartpury coach had taken the obvious option one afternoon, watching Collegiate School, then called Colston's, in a pre-season motivated by a desire to prove himself against Bristol's private school players, turned out for the unheralded opposition and ran chance encounter led to Genge winning a scholarship which enabled him to live at Hartpury College, finally getting the same "back garden" view and rugby immersion as his own admission, Genge's catching and passing were behind his peers when he arrived at says that isn't surprising. Or, necessarily, a problem."Rugby has a huge advantage in that it is a later-developing sport," he says."There is a real myth in rugby - no-one can look at a 15 or 16-year-old and tell you they are going to be an England player. It is impossible."If someone says they have got that prediction right, they have probably said it about 500 kids!"You have time."He says any assessment of rugby talent should come with context."You need to ask how long a youngster has been playing rugby, how many hours they have trained for, where they are in their physical and cognitive development, what their access to sport is like and what level of parental support they get."When you stack up those things - all of which can have an impact on perception - you can make better decisions."That is the reality in any world. Anytime someone turns up for some kind of assessment, all your biases start. The easiest thing is to go for is the polished figure."One thing that is hardest to measure is mental was at the RFU when then England head coach Eddie Jones gave an unguarded interview to a Sunday newspaper, claiming that private schools didn't develop on-pitch initiative and resilience., external"If you have only been in a system where you get to 15, you have a bit of rugby ability and then go to Harrow, then for two years you do nothing but play rugby and everything's done for you... you have this closeted life," said Jones."When things go wrong on the field who's going to lead because these blokes have never had experience of it?"Jones added that English rugby needed to "blow the whole thing up" and end its reliance on private schools, hinting success would only come via a system, like in New Zealand, France or the English women's game, in which talent was drawn from a wider section of society. The RFU responded quickly, publicly reminding Jones of the "valued role" private schools play in developing who points out that state school players outnumber those from private schools in England's pathway system before scholarship switches even things up around 16, is cautious about such cites Saracens and England back row Ben Earl, who attended private school and whose parents are in well-paid executive jobs."I worked with Ben a lot as a kid," he says. "He is fortunate and he would recognise it, but he is also one of the hardest working, toughest, most competitive people you will ever meet."However, Barrell's new position, as chief executive of Greenhouse Sport, a charity which delivers sports in some of the most disadvantaged schools in the country, has also opened his eyes."If your point of difference is having overcome some really tough things at a point where everyone else was having it given to them, those psychosocial attributes are really important,, external" he says."Some of the kids I work with now have that in bucketloads."I have seen kids overcome stuff that others, in a nice school having a fish and chip Friday, would baulk at."How do we change the system to accommodate kids who bring that?"Genge, who has his own charity working with disadvantaged youth in his native Bristol,, external all the coaching and facilities he didn't have, he says his upbringing gave him something vital."It probably geared me up in terms of attrition and challenge" he explains."My character definitely wouldn't be the same if I hadn't gone through what I went through. You wouldn't get that if you went through some of those [private] schools."But what do you favour, the character of the man or someone who can pass off both hands at 16? There is good out of both."If English rugby is short of the former, it could start looking in less familiar settings."There are thousands out there like me," says Genge of the state system's untapped talent."But until we open our doors to all the kids and give them the absolutely necessary tools and resources, we are going to keep having this conversation."
