After 6 years in Boots, I felt like it was the right time to spread my wings and adventure into the unknown. I left home in Oxford to join the Leighton’s family!

Since originally putting my full attention into working at Boots, I’d always wanted to do the SDO course, and the opportunity finally came in 2021. I decided to start the course along side being a manager, which was a huge commitment in such a big and busy practice.

I was offered the fantastic opportunity to come back to my home store but as an Assistant Manager. This was a proud moment as I felt this was a big achievement to be a manager of the biggest Opticians in Oxfordshire at just 21 years old.

Before heading back to Oxford, I was tasked with running the Amersham store for about a month. This was a very challenging time as the store had been through a very tough time with staffing. I helped to stabilise the store and help put it in the right direction. It was another great opportunity as the store was a new build and was beautifully presented.

Boots had a major structure change at the end of 2020 as a response to the pandemic, which saw the ‘Team Lead’ role invented. I was tasked with managing the Bicester store. It was a fantastic opportunity which saw me develop further into the managerial side of my career, whilst getting to work in a cozy smaller practice alongside a fantastic team!

I was eventually promoted to ‘Senior’ after proving myself, but the COVID-19 pandemic quickly hit. When I was recalled to work in September from volunteering at the testing site, I was tasked with helping stores around the Oxfordshire area, as well as continuing my work at the flagship Oxford store.

Over a year after joining, I had managed to complete all the training required to have the ‘trainee’ title removed… I left college in early 2019 as I wasn’t enjoying what I was doing, and I was really enjoying my part time role in Boots, so I increased my hours whilst I figured out what I wanted to do. I decided to focus on my role and sought out to develop further and progress up the ladder. I was given more responsibility within the store and was tasked with increasing customer care statistics, as well as helping another smaller local store.

I joined Boots Opticians at 16 years old as the little weekend boy… It was my first proper job, and I joined because I wanted to start earning my own money. My Auntie Rachel had been an Optical Consultant for Boots for nearly 20 years and I’d been coming to get my eye tests as a kid at Boots, and she recommended me for the role!