Susanna was awarded a first in Chinese from Oxford University, also winning a Lacrosse Full Blue and Half Blue for Cricket. She completed her PhD in Chinese History, also at Oxford, and later an MBA at Manchester Business School.
Susanna worked for Thomson Reuters in Hong Kong, working her way up to Head of Equities Business, Asia, before returning to the UK as Head of Business Operations, Institutional Equities, also for Thomson Reuters.
In 2013 she changed careers and worked in TV production, using her knowledge of Chinese and of Chinese history. She was the specialist researcher for ‘The Story of China’, a six-part documentary with Michael Wood shown on BBC2 and American channel PBS, and then went on to work on a string of further TV documentaries about China for various international broadcasters.
One of Susanna’s greatest passions is cycling. She has always cycled – riding to and from school, whatever the weather, when she was a girl, and going on tours with Withington friends, camping and hostelling. She enjoyed cycle sport too, competing at national level in road racing, time trialling, in the velodrome, and cyclocross, in winter, in the mud.
When Susanna relocated to the UK from Hong Kong, she decided to do so by bike, alone. She wanted to take the time to adjust from Asia to Europe, doing the journey slowly and seeing everything on the way. It was an adventure, of course, not without risk. She coped with food poisoning and altitude sickness and even experienced a serious physical attack. But Susanna says she focuses on all that was good, “which far outweighs the bad”, listening to cuckoos call across the hills of southwest China in spring, camping in Kazakhstan watching flocks of birds flap upstream in the hot summer dusk, and riding through Europe in autumn, with apples on the apple trees, and piano music floating from open windows in Budapest. Passionate about sport and its power to shape lives and build confidence, especially in girls, Susanna raised enough money through the trip to build a sports centre for street children in Cambodia.
When she was 40, Susanna was diagnosed with breast cancer, for which she had extensive treatment. Ten years later, she had a major operation for suspected ovarian cancer, which fortunately was benign. She says she feels lucky to be alive.
A few years ago, Susanna started riding a Brompton bike (a small-wheeled, folder) and then, in 2017, started touring on her folding bike, camping wild. This was prompted by an invite from a Withington friend to attend their fiftieth birthday party. Susanna decided to ride to the party, taking place in the Netherlands. She chose to ride a Brompton, because it seemed the easiest bike to put on the ferry, and would be small enough to hide under coats in the hall when she arrived.
She found she loved the simplicity of touring on a folder, and now has a successful Youtube channel where she documents her Brompton adventures. She pedalled through Sweden looking for the homes of her husband’s ancestors, rode through Ireland’s inspired by the story of a friend’s Grandmother, and cycled from London to Stockport, finding along the way the farm where her great-great-grandfather worked, her last family member who worked on the land. She loves following stories about people. And she doesn’t go fast. She says that for her ‘a journey by bike is about going slowly, and stopping a lot, to look at a flower, a bird, a leaf, and have a coffee and a bun.’
She started making films because she wanted family and friends to understand what she was doing: not doing anything difficult, just gliding slowly and quietly through the countryside, curious to see what is there.
Last year, Susanna discovered that her breast cancer had returned. Following an operation, Susanna got back in the saddle, encouraged by the hospital to be active. Whilst still undergoing chemotherapy, she undertook a string of two-day solo trips, cycling and wild camping. She couldn’t leave London, so she decided to follow the tributaries of the Thames, slowly, chatting with people she met along the way. “Cycling is a brilliant tonic”, she says. “When I am on the bike, I literally forget about the cancer.” She carried on making films and loves it when she hears from followers that her Youtube channel helps other people facing difficult times in their lives.
Susanna has not allowed her breast cancer to dim her enthusiasm and enjoyment of life. Rather the opposite. Now, more than ever, she says she knows that small pleasures are actually not small at all.
Susanna is a great example of someone who has a curiosity and enthusiasm about life and the world about her. She has not been afraid to make changes and try new things. She finds joy in life in all sorts of ways and has dealt with difficult challenges. She continues to combine many of the qualities valued in our school community today and embodied in the Rose Acton Award – courage, kindness, humour, resilience and a sense of adventure.
The trophies for this year’s awards were chosen as the result of a competition by the Design Technology Department. We would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Zaynah and Annabel in Year 7 and Evie from Year 9 whose designs were imaginative and innovative.
Sarah Burton
Ad Lucem Award Winner – Class of 1993
Kea Bell
Ad Lucem Young Alumna Award Winner – Class of 2020
Susanna Thornton
Rose Acton Ad Lucem Award Winner – Class of 1986
