Alison Thorpe

97 Brooke Street
Ipswich
IP4 3RL
Tel 01449 789152
E-mail alisonthorpe50@hotmail.com

Education
2006–2009 University of Edinburgh, BA modern history (2.1)
Subjects studied: Russia in revolution, 1905 to 1917; the treatment of
the Jews in the Second World War; the Vietnam War; black rights in
America in the twentieth century.

Skills developed: excellent written and oral communication; research,

interpretation and presentation. Worked well on my own and as part of a
team for tutorial work; set my own deadlines and managed my time
effectively under pressure.

Awards: School of History’s History Prize for outstanding work (1999).

1999–2006 Ely High School, Ipswich

A levels: History (A), English literature (A), German (B)
GCSEs: 10 x A and A* grades including maths and English

Employment history
2008 (June–September) Retail assistant, Waterstone’s bookshop, Ipswich
- Developed commercial awareness, product knowledge and client-facing
skills through dealing with customer enquiries in person and by telephone
- Responsibility for training new members of staff
- Responsibility for cashing up tills and logging the department’s takings
- Deputised as department manager on numerous occasions

2007–2008 (October–April) Waitress, Bar Rhumba, Edinburgh

- Developed excellent interpersonal skills through dealing with customers
and other members of staff
- Developed time management and multitasking skills as well as tolerance
and patience in stressful and time-dependent situations

2007 (June–September) Retail assistant, WH Smith, Stowmarket

- Had to be flexible, worked shifts at short notice
- Dealt with customer complaints and enquiries

2006 (June–September) Telesales, Eastern Electricity, Ipswich

- Developed excellent telephone and communication skills in a pressurised
business environment
- Worked as part of a team to achieve set business and sales targets
Positions of responsibility
 - Elected treasurer of the university’s History Society in 2007, which
involved maintaining the society’s accounts and collecting subscriptions
from members
- School prefect and form captain, 2004–2006
- Captain of school hockey team in 2003

Interests
- Active member of the university’s Snowboarding Society. Have helped to
plan several excursions to dry slopes and two trips abroad, one to
Canada and one to Austria
- Travelled extensively throughout Europe. Planned and financed a
summer trip to South America in 2007 and Thailand in 2006
- Music journalist for the university’s student paper, Leeds Student, and I’ve
also had short stories published in independent publications in Yorkshire

Additional skills
- Proficient in Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel and Access
- Familiar with the basics of HTML. In the process of creating my own
website
- Good standard of written and spoken German and French
- Full, clean driving licence

References
Dr I Timms Ms B Anderson
Department of History Waterstone’s
University of Edinburgh 9 Rose Square
Woodhouse Lane Ipswich
EP2 1LA LS2 9JT
Tel. 0141 2754632 Tel. 01449 882883
I.Timms@history.edinburgh.ac.uk
andersonb@waterstones.co.uk