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Andy Golpys

Co-Founder – MadeByShape and former student of Fred Longworth High School.

ALUMNI

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MORE IN THIS SECTION

Andy Golpys

Co-Founder – MadeByShape and former student of Fred Longworth High School.

ALUMNI

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MORE IN THIS SECTION

Andy Golpys

Co-Founder – MadeByShape and former student of Fred Longworth High School.

Former student Andy Golpys is Co-Founder of MadeByShape, a Creative and Digital Agency in Manchester. An award winning company, creating bespoke solutions for clients all over the world, including services such as Web Design, Web Development and Search Engine Optimisation.

In this article Andy talks about his memories of his time at Fred Longworth High School.

I’m Andy Golpys, Co-Founder of MadeByShape, a Creative and Digital Agency in Manchester. We win awards for creating bespoke solutions for clients all over the world, including services such as Web Design, Web Development and Search Engine Optimisation.

We are a team of 8 and work with the likes of Blackberry, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and L’Occitane. Our business is growing year by year but in this article I’d like to take it back to the start and discuss how I first started learning about the design industry.

I joined Fred Longworth High School because it was the best school in my local area, my sister went, and the majority of the football lads were going to the school also. Rather than reminiscing about fun times chasing girls around the playground, playing football, wearing a blazer that clearly didn’t fit me or wearing a full tub of brylcreem on my head… I’d like to keep this article targeted to the design industry and how my options changed my life, quite literally.

When it came to choosing my options, I noticed all my friends were choosing P.E as their first choice. Outside of school I was playing for a football club/academy and I was very athletic in my youth. One day my mum said to me “What if the club don’t offer you a professional contract when you’re 16?” and that changed my thoughts. She basically scared me into thinking about my future, but she was right. I listened and weighed up my options. If I didn’t get a contract, what other subjects do I enjoy or what other subjects am I good at?

During school I had a few subjects I really enjoyed which were P.E, Art and Music. I could play Piano to a high grade but I knew this is not what I wanted to do for a career. Every book I created was neat, tidy, well designed and I enjoyed presenting information in a clean manner. This makes sense to me now because I’m a designer, but back then it seemed strange because none of my mates did this with their books. So after thinking about it, I decided to choose Art and Graphic Design over P.E and that’s where my life started changing.

My tutor for Graphic Design was Mr Donovan. I really enjoyed his classes and as time went on, I seemed to push boundaries to try and improve my own skills.

I was never that good at drawing, and illustration is still not a great aspect of my skill set but I just knew that I was passionate about design in general and presenting concepts in a clean and concise manner.

I remember our final project was self initiated. I created a football club, this including designing a badge, football kits, advertising etc. At the time I just picked a subject I enjoyed outside of school, which was football. Now, this was the perfect decision to make (maybe by luck) but it’s so important to work on projects/subjects that you are passionate about. This improves your design levels because you try harder. I know this for a fact, because at the age of 21 I became a University Lecturer at Salford University, and was surprised at the number of students who picked subjects because they thought they were easy, or just because their friends picked the subject. This simple choice effected their grades and motivation to work in the industry.

What happened in short after this was basically; I moved onto Wigan and Leigh College studying a National Diploma, then onto Salford University on the Graphic Design Degree. Whilst at university I gain around 200 freelance clients whilst working for 4 of the biggest digital agencies. I then setup my own studio, MadeByShape, alongside being a University Lecturer. Today, I focus my time on MadeByShape as well as investing in a couple of other ventures.

My top tips for anybody looking to move into the design industry is:

  • Try to pin down as early as possible specific areas you either enjoy or excel in i.e.: illustration, photography, web design etc.
  • Be confident. Network. If people don’t know who you are, they won’t know how good you are.
  • Learn from people. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and better yourself.
  • Even when you’re successful, strive to be better. Always stay ahead of the game.
  • Have defined strategies and processes when working. By all means experiment, but if you don’t have a plan before you start – you’ll be wasting your time.

How Yondr Works

Frequently Asked Questions

We want our students to be engaged in their learning. A child at high school should not really have a reason to contact a parent during the day; however, if there is a genuine reason e.g. they have forgotten their packed lunch, a phone call can be made home from the school office. If a parent needs to contact their child in an emergency, they should contact the school office. If you need to contact your child during the school day, contact the main office on 01942 883796.

In case of a school emergency, we direct our students to safety first, following our school emergency procedures.

 

Students are in possession of their phone - in their Yondr pouch - for the entire school day. We will advise students to store the pouch safely in their school bag or blazer pockets.

If a student damages their Pouch or is caught on their phone, we will confiscate the phone and issue a sanction which is likely to be a suspension.

Note: Damage consists of any signs that the physical integrity of the pouch has been compromised, whether intentional or unintentional, as determined by the school or Yondr staff.

Damaged pouches will be charged to parents at a cost of £20.

They will be searched and wanded with a handheld scanner by a member of SLT. If they are found to have their phone on their person they will be expected to place it in their pouch. Refusal will be met with suspension.

If a student forgets their Pouch, their phone will be confiscated.

As per our previous mobile phone policy;

  • Confiscated phones will be taken to reception where the phone will be secured in the school safe.
  • Parents will be alerted to the phone confiscation via the school office.

Parents will have the option to collect the phone at the end of the day. If parents do not collect the phone, the phone will remain in school until the end of the week or until the student has their pouch.

In Yondr’s experience, this almost never happens. All students funnel past the unlocking stations at the exits, they want their phones back and don’t forget to unlock their pouches. If they do arrive home with a phone in a pouch, they can either come back to school to unlock it, or have a phone free evening!

The unlocking process is quick and takes under a second per student. 

As a privilege, Year 11 will be able to unlock their phones as they go off site at lunchtime; however, they will be expected to put their phones back into their pouches when they return to school for period 5.

Yes. There is an adapted version of the pouch which uses a Velcro fastener instead of a magnetic lock. This means the student still follows the policy, but the adapted pouch gives them easy access to their phone when required. If the student abuses this, they will face a sanction. We are already aware of these students.

Your Office 365 account username is your school network account username followed by @flhs.wigan.sch.uk 
The password is the same password that you use in school to access computers.