AGS student becomes Tropical World Ambassador

  Thomas Paddy, Year 7 student at Allerton Grange School, has beaten off stiff competition to become Tropical World’s first ever Young Brand Ambassador. Knowing his keen interest in animals and the natural world, his aunt sneakily nominated him for the role after seeing it advertised. Friends and family supported the application, and Thomas was picked as the winner out of the final four candidates.

As part of his new role, Thomas has attended two Keeper Days at Lotherton Hall and one at Tropical World, where he was able to enter enclosures with members of staff to care for the animals. His highlights included working with the meerkat mob - one even climbed on his shoulder! - and feeding the penguins. He got the chance to see capybaras, the world’s largest rodent, and a tapir happily rolled over for a tummy rub during one close encounter.

Thomas has been working hard to promote Tropical World to the local community and has been interviewed by local radio stations and Made In Leeds TV. His passion for animals is clear, helping to inspire other young people to take an interest in looking after our special friends, as well as raising awareness of those who are close to extinction.

The Tropical World team said, “Thomas was fantastic with the animals and had a huge amount of knowledge. It’s clear he is going to be a brilliant Tropical World representative. We look forward to getting him involved in all aspects of the business and hope this provides a stepping-stone for a future career with animals.”

Mr Roper, Headteacher of Allerton Grange, said, “We are extremely proud of Thomas in becoming Tropical World’s first Young Brand Ambassador. We take pride in developing our students to become active citizens in the community, and are so pleased that he has this fantastic opportunity to use all of his passion and knowledge to help others.”

In the future, Thomas hopes to go to Australia to study their huge variety of native wildlife, and from there into a career working with animals, either directly or for a charity working to protect endangered species. He’s currently got his sights set on a CEO vacancy for a charity specialising in tapir conservation!

Well done Thomas from everyone at Allerton Grange.