Claudia Castle

OE 2005-12

OE Claudia Castle currently works in the Commercial Partnerships team at Tottenham Hotspur. She and her colleagues were responsible for the award-winning Virtual Mascots Programme which replicated the physical mascot experience in digital format during the pandemic. Claudia’s school life and career have been very much dominated by her love of sport. Sport is also very much in the family for Claudia. Her father is British tennis star and broadcaster, Andrew Castle, and she is married to former Gloucestershire batsman, Will Tavaré.

What are your best memories of Emanuel? 

When you leave school, you realise how lucky you were to be surrounded by your friends every day! Also, the sheer number of clubs and activities on offer was incredible. Both are things I look back on and certainly took for granted at the time. Some of my best memories revolve around sport, whether that be tours abroad or racing on the river. Although clichéd, I met my closest friends at Emanuel so it always brings back wonderful memories.

Do you remember any particular teachers?

My Year 7 form tutor, Miss Marmion, provided the gentlest bridge from primary to secondary school, and forever made the move seem less daunting! Mr Hand’s English lessons were always enjoyable. He instilled confidence in people and certainly made me feel more capable which is something I’m very grateful for. Miss Musson was kind and really drove home the message in Sixth Form that we should do something that makes us happy. Miss Fitzgibbon and Miss Kennedy were such a major part of my school life too. They were encouraging, patient and incredibly generous with their time and energy, both on and off the sports field. I spent a year in Australia after university and met up with Miss Kennedy which was lovely. Although calling teachers by their first name will always feel wrong!

What are you proudest of from your time at Emanuel? 

Whenever I represented the school I felt proud, but getting a sports scholarship into the Sixth Form felt like a big achievement for me at the time.

What is the biggest lesson Emanuel taught you? 

Probably that no matter how overwhelming things seem at the time, they won’t be that way forever so try not to stress.

Which clubs and activities did you get involved in at Emanuel?

Everything from swimming to rowing, netball, and athletics. Art and DT were not my strengths so I steered well clear of most things creative!

Have you stayed in touch with Emanuel friends? 

Absolutely, my best friends are from school. Molly (Richardson) was a bridesmaid at my wedding last year and I’m really close to Pear (Wills), Caroline (Finney), Julia (Jefferis), Izzy (Hunter), Celeste (Vey) and Holly (Robertson) still.

What did you do after leaving Emanuel?

I studied Psychology at the University of Sussex and worked as a court attendant at Wimbledon during my summer holidays. It was one of the best jobs; we were paid to watch tennis all day, sit in the sun and occasionally pull the covers over the grass when it rained! I didn’t have a clear idea of what I wanted to do (unlike so many people around me it seemed), so it was great to do and opened my eyes to the world of sport as a potential career option.

After finishing my degree, I was lucky enough to do some work experience at Chelsea Football Club. I then spent a year living in Melbourne, where I was a Press Officer at the Australian Open. Following that, I worked at The Football Association for two years in the Commercial team. My role as Partnerships Executive involved delivering sponsorship rights across a variety of FA owned properties, which included the England Men’s team, FA Cup and Wembley Stadium. To support my husband Will’s cricketing career, I moved to Bristol for 18 months and worked for Premiership Rugby Club, Bristol Bears. Being exposed to various sports, governing bodies and agencies was useful and definitely helped me gain a greater understanding of the industry as a whole. We’re now based in London again and I’ve been working in the Commercial Partnerships team at Tottenham Hotspur since December 2019.

What does your current role involve?

Overall, my team is responsible for managing the Club’s portfolio of international partners with a strong focus on Asia. These include AIA, our front of shirt partner, Nike, HSBC, Monster Energy, Kumho Tyre and Hotels.com. My role involves delivering contracted sponsorship rights which range from player appearances and brand campaigns to match day hospitality and stadium events.

Can you tell us more about the Virtual Mascots Programme at Spurs?

Like so many industries, football has been impacted by the pandemic and as a Club we had to come up with ways to ensure we were still delivering value to our partners despite the obvious restrictions. Although the physical mascot experience couldn’t be replicated, it allowed us to innovate and offer an alternative digital experience to particularly deserving fans; this included a young fan called Archie, who suffered from a rare form of cancer and recently recovered from Covid-19. We managed to get Harry Kane to send him a personal video message and seeing his reaction was amazing! We created our own live match day show in which the mascots featured, projected their photos on the stadium big screens as the players walked out and sent them each a gift pack which included a full kit, personalised letter from the captain, and other gifts including flags, scarves and face paints so they could fully support the team from home. We were delighted to have the initiative recognised at the Leaders Sports Awards 2020 as Winner in the Live Experience category.