Gary Stevenson

On Friday 7th June, as part of our partnership with Penguin, we were delighted to welcome former trader now turned inequality activist and author, Gary Stevenson, to our Sandringham Road campus.

Gary spoke to a captivated audience of over 150 Barking Abbey and Eastbrook Sixth Form students about his childhood in Ilford, his days of making millions in trading and his life since leaving this career behind. Every student received a copy of Gary’s book ‘The Trading Game’ and Gary very kindly met and spoke to each student to sign their book.  

The Head Students did a fantastic job of interviewing Gary on stage, and this was followed by lots of questions from the audience.  

Mr Black – Director of Literacy 

A few words from our Head Students: 

It was an incredible experience to be able to interview Gary up on stage, he was very open to answering all questions and helped us realise a lot about the trading industry. His stories were extremely insightful because of his unique experiences and perspectives. 

Gary started off by introducing himself by going into detail about his upbringing. He mentioned growing up with a disadvantaged background in East London, which meant he was able to relate with most of us. It was very interesting to hear about his unique math skills, and how they helped him achieve his successful career in trading. We were delighted to interview him up on stage, whilst he spoke about his experiences. 

During our interview, Gary described the trading game as a high stake, fast paced environment where success depended on quick decision making with strategic and logical thinking. The trading game was a card game organised by Citibank, the winner goes on to get an internship at Citibank. Unlike his peers, who went through the traditional application process during their second year, Gary won the trading game. This paved the way for his financial success in the world of trading.  

We absolutely loved interviewing Gary, it allowed us to gain significant insights in the trading world but also helped us hone our interviewing skills. When speaking to our peers after the interview they shared with us their enthusiasm and how enthralled they were with the interview. We all gained such valuable knowledge and guidance, thoroughly enjoying each moment of the interview! 

Thank you, Gary and Penguin for the fantastic opportunity!