- Nerissa’s Profile
After leaving school in 1995 I studied Law at Durham
where I met my Husband, Jonathan. We were engaged
after a whirlwind 2 weeks and married in 2001 when I
finished my training contract. I worked as a commercial
litigator until we started our family. We have two children
a boy born in 2006 and a girl in 2008.
I am now a Director of a Consultancy Company. In recent
years I have pursued my interest in politics, I was elected
as a Local Councillor in 2007 and stood as the
Conservative Candidate for Preston in the 2010 General
Election. I hope to stand again in 2015. Sometimes I feel
as though I never left school, Jonathan is a teacher and
was a Housemaster (in a co-ed VIth form boarding house –
can you imagine!) for many years. I now have a great deal
of sympathy for what I put the Roedean House Staff
through.
Jonathan now works in Kazakhstan and the Children go to his school there. My work and
commitments keep me in the UK but I miss them (and our dog) horribly and travel out whenever I
can.
My most embarrassing memory of school occurred on my first day in JH when I mistook Marmite for
Chocolate Spread at breakfast time. Everyone laughed at me and Matron made me eat all if it.
When I was at Roedean, I sang in the choir (god knows why as I cannot hold a rhythm or tune), did
lots of speech and drama, dressed hair for school plays and did all three Duke of Edinburgh Awards.
In VI(1) I worked at the Lifeboat station on Tuesday evenings and Sunday mornings and visited an
Old People's Home for community service on Saturdays.
A little known fact about me is that I enjoy diving and would love to learn to Ice Dive in Antarctica.
Nerissa Warner-O’Neill (O'Neill, No.1, 1988-95)