Top chief inspector returns to her old secondary school in East Ham
Chief Inspector Shabnam Chaudhri returned to her old school to talk to students - Credit: Archant
The Met’s first Asian female chief inspector inspired the next generation of police officers during a visit to her old secondary school in East Ham.
Former Plashet School pupil Shabnam Chaudhri returned to Plashet Grove after 35 years to talk to students about her career in the police.
The borough’s chief inspector neighbourhood policing lead spoke about changing attitudes within the force, fond memories from her time at the school and her family’s extraordinary journey from Pakistan to England when she was a child.
She also enjoyed a tour of the school before being presented with a photoframe filled with abstract artwork by students.
“It was one of the highlights of my career to go back and address the school,” Ch Insp Chaudhri said.
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“Having had a fairly strict upbringing and having had parents who weren’t focused on education but more about getting married, it was great to come back as a successful role model.”
Assistant headteacher Sohal Gachi said: “It was great to see chief inspector Shabnam Chaudhri back in school leading an assembly in the same hall where she once sat as a student.
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“The students could really relate to her, and they found her example of determination, hard work and high ambition to be inspirational.”
Year nine pupil Maya Badal added: “She was very inspiring and we were all really proud of all that she has achieved and best of all she was an ex-Plashet student.”
