Ex-Notts schoolboy named among world’s most influential people

A NOTTINGHAMSHIRE-born professor has been named one of Time magazine's Top 100 most influential people of 2025, alongside Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Ed Sheeran and Snoop Dogg.

- By MARTIN NAYLOR

Professor Richard Thompson has made the list for his pioneering research into the global plastics crisis.

Born in Nottingham and attending Emehale Junior School, which is now Arnold Hill Spencer Academy, Professor Thompson went on to head the international Marine Litter Research Unit at the University of Plymouth.

The new list, assembled annually by American magazine Time, recognises people who have significantly impacted politics, culture and the world.

Professor Thompson left Nottingham in his 20s to study marine biology and has since become one of the UK's key figures within the marine science community.