2013: Professor Hazel Barrett

Hazel Barrett is an academic geographer from Coventry University, specialising in Development Geography.

As with more recent Presidents, much of this entry has been written thanks to contributions from Hazel, who responded to a Google Form which I sent round to as many Presidents as possible and has been updated slightly since the original posting.

Hazel is currently Chair in Development Geography at the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations at Coventry University. 

Hazel is a social scientist who has been undertaking research into the reality of gender and development in sub-Saharan Africa for over 30 years. Her main areas of research are the socio-economic aspects of human development and how these impact on children and women, in particular their livelihood opportunities, education as well as health and well-being.

Hazel has led national and international research projects funded by UK government, UK research councils, UK foundations and the European Union Daphne Fund. She has published books, chapters and over 50 refereed articles relating to gender, health and development in sub-Saharan Africa. Her work has been featured in The Guardian, New York Times, London Evening Standard, the Huffington Post, BBC, ITV and Sky TV as well as UK, US and Singapore radio. 
She has presented her research at the Houses of Parliament, the EU Parliament and at the Girl Summit 2014. 

In 2015 she was named as ‘One of 1000 Most Influential Londoners’ for her research on female genital mutilation. She is a specialist on participatory and community-based action research methods which empower research participants and enables their narratives and views be heard.

Hazel was born in London in 1955.

She told me about her school experiences and employment:
"I failed my 11+ so went to the Secondary Modern School in Maldon, Essex.
I then passed my 13+ so went to the Grammar School in Maldon, Essex.
Two years later the two schools were merged into a large Comprehensive School, renamed The Plume School, Maldon, Essex. I stayed there until I finished my A levels.

From 1973 to 1976 I attended Sussex University where I graduated with a BA 2.1 (Hons) in Geography with African and Asian Studies.
Between 1977-1978 I did an MA in West African Studies at the Centre for West African Studies (CWAS) at Birmingham University.
From 1978 to 1984 I undertook my PhD at CWAS at Birmingham University.
I have spent my career as an academic teaching human geography and development studies and researching social justice issues, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa.

When Hazel became President, she was Associate Dean of Applied Research, Faculty of Business, Environment and Society, Coventry University. She was also Research Professor in Development Geography."

I first met Hazel in October of her Presidential year, when she travelled up to the SAGT Conference. She was there to give the fraternal greetings as is common between the SAGT and the GA at their respective conferences. I have attended the SAGT conference almost every year since 2004 when I was first invited up by Val Vannet when she was conference convenor.

Image: John Vannet

I'd just moved into a new job, and we picked up an award for 'Fieldwork through Enquiry' and I also won one for some work I'd done with Felicity Aston on her 'Pole of Cold' expedition.

Hazel was the editor of 'Geography' from 1997-2003 years. This is a significant role, held for a considerable period.

Hazel's Presidential year reflected her own research interests of course. She told me, "my Presidential theme was:
Geography: Crossing Boundaries.
This refers to the fact that as geographers:

• We research issues that cross physical and human boundaries
• We research issues that require an interdisciplinary approach that cross subject boundaries
• The methodologies and methods we use in our research are constantly pushing back boundaries

Hazel lived in the Gambia earlier in her career. where she undertook data collection for her PhD. In the early part of her research career she carried out research into the HIV/AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa and has done numerous invited lectures at GA branches on this topic. 

More recently her research has focussed on female genital mutilation (FGM) both in Africa but also in the EU and UK.

Over the last decade her research has been directed at the social and economic aspects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa, in particular Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and The Gambia as well as amongst migrant groups in the UK.

An area that she often focusses on in her talks is female genital mutilation (FGM): a topic on which she speaks widely at GA Branches and elsewhere, bringing this important issue to the attention of many students. She has written on this topic, and also period poverty (another current issue) for the Conversation:

https://theconversation.com/profiles/hazel-barrett-95199/articles

Hazel said:
"I focussed on equal opportunities during my time as President. I like to think I contributed to the GA being an open diverse organisation which welcomes people of any gender, ability, ethnicity and religion. My main memories are of camaraderie, support and laughing (a lot!)."

References

University page: https://pureportal.coventry.ac.uk/en/persons/hazel-barrett

https://www.coventry.ac.uk/research/researchers/professor-hazel-barrett/?theme=main

View Hazel's Presidential Lecture here: https://slideplayer.com/slide/6367868/

BARRETT, HAZEL. “Editorial.” Geography, vol. 82, no. 1, 1997, pp. 1–1. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40572860. Accessed 20 July 2020.

https://www.geography.org.uk/Journal-Issue/c6656b60-ea1a-4021-aedf-9f81ac55cf13

Top Spec, co-written with the previous year's President: Bob Digby

Top image: Copyright Bryan Ledgard / Geographical Association

Any memories of Hazel's time at the GA welcome

Deep diving with Rachel

It's well worth catching up with the latest GA GeogPod where Rachel Kay, a former colleague on the GA's Secondary Phase Committee for much of my time serving on the committee, talks about her experience of going through an OFSTED Deep Dive - with host John Lyon - which is part of the new approach to school inspection. Instead of spending a lot of time with the senior management, inspectors follow a three stage process of interviews, lesson observations, student chats, book scrutiny and other tools to explore specific departments and the extent to which they have thought through their Intent, Implementation and Impact.

Along with the podcast, check out Rachel's article in 'Teaching Geogaphy' that goes along with the chat. A very useful resource for all subject leads.

Sheila Jones - 1929-2021

There is sad news to report in this entry.

I was told yesterday by Jeremy Krause of the passing of Sheila Jones, President of the GA in 1975, and the first female teacher President.

Sheila passed away in Southmead Hospital in Bristol, a city she was associated with for so long, along with other former GA Presidents.

Sheila's entry on the blog can be read here. It is packed with information of the impact of her selection as President, and how things were changing at the GA at the time, and her own journey into geography and how important a person she was in the GA's history.

I had the great pleasure to exchange emails with Sheila over the last few years as I worked on this blog, and she was also able to send me a batch of photographs and other memorabilia of her time at the GA, and also her memories of others that she worked with.

The Geography community has lost one of its pioneers.

I would like to pass on my condolences to Sheila's family, colleagues and friends. Memories of Sheila welcome here.

Image: Sheila with her long standing GA members badge.

Susan Pike, the current GA President, shared some of her thoughts on the significance of Sheila's contributions to the GA

1. Remembering Sheila Jones - 1929-2021 who passed away this week. Sheila was the 3rd Female @The_GA President (1975). Here's @GeoBlogs on Sheila: https://t.co/OYip4AAvgu pic.twitter.com/3Rlspc1I6a

— Dr Susan Pike | GA President 🌍 (@SusanJPike) June 5, 2021

Here's a letter from Sheila regarding the disconnect between school and academic geography.

Jones, Sheila M. “Letter to the Editor: Contact with Schools.” Area, vol. 8, no. 3, 1976, pp. 223–223. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20001121. Accessed 16 Sept. 2023. 

"Geography soars"

A piece in the i Newspaper, which explores the growing popularity of Geography at 'A' level. Features a quote from Alan Kinder, Chief Executive of the Geographical Association.

I like to think its to do with the excellent teaching of geography by colleagues rather than the 'Greta effect' as one paper put it.

1977: Geography in a Core Curriculum

In 1977, Patrick Bailey laid some groundwork for future curriculum changes to come with some work which appeared in 'Teaching Geography'.

The GA's association with curriculum has continued of course.



Sources
“EDITORIAL: Geography in a Core Curriculum.” Teaching Geography, vol. 2, no. 3, 1977, pp. 98–98. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23750399

Hetan Shah - Honorary Vice President

For a period, the GA had Honorary Vice Presidents, and they will also feature on the Blog. The current Honorary Vice President is Peter Jackson, who I will mention in a later post. Their role is advisory and to provide a sounding board for GA activity. They have previously attended meetings of Governing Body. I have previously mentioned Doreen Massey, who had this role.

Hetan Shah was an Honorary Vice President for some years.

Hetan is the Chief Executive of the British Academy, a Visiting Professor at King's College London and Deputy Chair of the Ada Lovelace Institute. 

He served as Executive Director of the Royal Statistical Society from 2011 to 2019.

2012: Bob Digby

Bob Digby's name will be known to many from the numerous textbooks and other examination work he has been involved with over the years, and he is still a very active geographer within the subject community offering consultancy, online sessions and continuing to examine, as well as writing numerous textbooks and resources.

He has worked as a teacher, with a career in several schools to give him the grounding that he draws on in his other work. Bob has spent a great deal of time working with Awarding Bodies, and has written and co-written numerous textbooks and worked on other educational resources during that time, as well as leading fieldwork.

He has led many hundreds of days of fieldwork, particularly around the Olympic Park, along with John Widdowson and others, going back to a time before the Olympics.

This was the opening slide from Bob's Presidential lecture, which was themed around the Olympics of course. At the last minute, Bob decided that having taught about it for so long, he couldn't miss out on the once in a lifetime opportunity to see the ceremony that opened the games, and paid an as yet undisclosed sum for a ticket... That also means he saw what was probably Mike Oldfield's last 'live' performance into the bargain...

Bob kindly answered my questionnaire on the Google Form and filled in some additional details as can be seen below:

Bob was born in 1949, in Chelmsford, Essex
His family moved to Cornwall in 1960 shortly before he began his secondary education, which took place at St Austell Grammar School between 1960-67. Like many who have contributed to the Presidents' Blog before him, Bob told me that he owes much of his professional life to one man, Courtney Rice, who taught him geography - a kind and lively man, who was a firm socialist, having grown up in the Welsh valleys. 

Bob went to Keele University (1967-71), where he studied the four-year course; everyone did the same Foundation Year (FY) course cutting across all subject disciplines. He told me:

"I encountered everything from new (to me) disciplines such as astronomy, philosophy and sociology. I didn't make the most of it - who does, aged 18? - but 'FY' gave me a broader appreciation of academic subjects than I could ever have gained by studying a single-subject degree. My degree course consisted of Geography and History (everyone did dual honours at Keele), together with subsidiaries in Geology (which I still love now) and English. My teacher training at Nottingham (1971-2) was unusual at the time, but it determined my career path. I joined a group which trained in Humanities, and did my placement (one, full term at that time) at a new comprehensive school (Toothill, in Bingham) which explored links across the Humanities subjects. It gave me the experience that I needed to get my first job in teaching, which was again in a new school."

He describes his career (so far) as "A mix!"

"My first job was at John Smeaton High School in east Leeds (1972-80), which was a large 13-18 all-ability school drawing from a social cross section from suburban east Leeds to the south of the school, and Europe's largest council estate to the north in Seacroft and Whinmoor. The school was very informal, with no uniform, led by a former Brigadier as Head Teacher, for whom his staff would have walked on water had they the ability. I taught a wide variety of subjects (all in mixed-ability groups to age 16), ranging from integrated Humanities and Social Studies, to Geography to A level and Geology O level. At the time, schools could assess most of their intake through Mode 3 CSEs and O levels, so I was setting exam papers at CSE in my third year of teaching and O level by my fifth year. You wrote the syllabus, you set and marked the exam, all overseen by a Moderator who fed back at all stages. Teachers were trusted and annual meetings took place where teachers cross-marked each others work to moderate standards. It all worked rather well. 

My first Head of Department role was at Morley High School (1980-90), a former West Riding Grammar School in a small town SW of Leeds. Unlike John Smeaton, it was much more formal (staff addressing each other as Mrs or Mr even in the staffroom (that still happens in some schools now - why?) with setted classes. But it was a wonderful time to be a geography teacher. The 14-18 Bristol Project was well-established, and we began teaching that - again, a curriculum which individual schools wrote within the broadest and most basic of frameworks, and an assessment system which was 50% coursework (five items over the two years x 10%) and 50% exam. The Chief Examiner, Keith Orrell , set the most creative exam papers for O level that I've ever seen, then or since. 

See the previous post on this blog on Keith Orrell.

My years at Morley High laid the foundations for the thing which changed my life - the 16-19 Geography Project. Led from the Institute of Education by Mick Naish (a major influence in my career), the project curriculum fired me up like nothing had ever done at school or university. 

It had curriculum depth (fewer topics, taught and assessed in more depth), breadth (a max of core and option topics - there were 23 of the latter and if you didn't like them all you could write your own), and innovation (the first decision-making exercises came from 16-19, together with three coursework assignments which could be designed as you wished based on techniques research and timed essays. I became a Regional Moderator and Regional Co-ordinator for the Project in the Yorkshire region just as the demand and uptake was increasing rapidly. It gave me my first experience in leading CPD and in leading an annual 16-19 conference through Leeds University which lasted over 20 years. 

Thanks to that experience, I was approached to author materials for a new GCSE book (it never got off the ground but it got me noticed) and then a new 16-19 topic book 'The Geography of Health'. From that came Heinemann's "Physical Environment' and its human companion, with others following. I loved - and continue to love - writing, especially on things I'd taught and about places I'd been to 

(I once had a discussion with Margaret Roberts where we agreed that no author should ever write about places they don't know). I've had a few discussions with Margaret on a similar theme of authenticity.

In 1990, my career changed when I was appointed as Lecturer in Education / Geography at Sheffield University (1990-2) to work with Margaret Roberts. 

"I brought experience to the role, but working with Margaret made me raise my game. Her capacity for using frameworks for thinking - about what we teach, how we teach, about writing in geography, as well as her research into enquiry in geography - turned my 18 years almost on its head. I realised I had been planning and teaching almost intuitively without consciously being aware of WHY I was doing things. It was like having to re-learn. I loved it but my goodness it was challenging."

"I realised just how much I'd learnt from working with Margaret when I was appointed to what was West London Institute of Higher Ed (later to become part of Brunel University) to run my own course (1993-2001). 

I invited Margaret to come and run a day one year, and one of the students said to Margaret 'I've wanted to meet you because Bob talks about you all the time'. I did - and if you've read this far and read Margaret's work, you'll know why, and just how unimaginably lucky I had been to work with her."

There were a few other interesting experiences:

"There was a gap in 1992-3 - when I worked at Manchester University as Project Leader for National Curriculum, working with a team to develop what were to be (but were later abandoned) tests for children at 7, 11 and 14. All I'll say is that I should never have taken the job. I wasn't cut out for it, nor it for me; my fault, no-one else's. Don't ever take a job when your heart is shouting 'Walk away'. "

Of his time at Brunel:

"The Brunel years were enjoyable, fun and challenging - just what a job should be. I worked with Fran Martin and Graham Yates, each of whom I love dearly, across a range of primary and secondary courses: undergraduate as well as post-graduate. I worked with school colleagues from a range of school types which were as varied and as interesting as our students. I observed PE lessons (anyone who knows me will splutter at this point) as well as lessons in Geography, English, RE ... whatever teachers taught, I observed. The School of Education was like a school in that it was a real community. PGCE students spend nine months with you and they're gone; with four-year undergraduates you get to know them and how they think just as you would with students in a school. It was rich, exciting, and fun."

"Why did I not stay then? 

Brunel appointed a Vice-Chancellor who could not understand why a third of the Education budget had to be paid to schools, and why as a consequence the School of Education made a deficit. I don't believe in being the last one at a party so began job searching. I'd also had enough of Ofsted by then - 29 inspections across the courses we taught within six years. 

A job was advertised at University College School in north London. Its liberal ethos appealed together with the education freedom that goes with independent schools. I didn't then, and I don't now, support the existence of independent schools in theory, but nor do I support the idea of academy trusts without any democratic accountability. I believe passionately in academic freedom, and the professionalism of teachers to do their jobs without being micro-managed, either by an authoritarian academy management or by the State. I'm not against school inspections at all, but monitoring is very different from feeling that your every move is being watched - and judged. So I took the job at UCS (2001-07) and loved every minute.

When Bob became the GA President he was working as a freelance consultant and author

Bob's Presidential Theme was 'Looking to the Future'. He told me:

"I picked it because it seems to me that this is what we should be thinking about all the time - our students and the world they face, and the responsibilities and challenges they'll face as we hand over to them. I remember Mick Naish saying at the first 16-19 conference that I ever attended, that the purpose of a geographical education was political - that students should be in a position to vote when they are eighteen as informed and thinking citizens. That's our responsibility. 

It seemed that the theme would sit well with keynotes about climate change (a keynote given by Prof Terry Callaghan - I remember it well), teaching about controversial issues (given by Margaret Roberts - I remember that well too) and peace (given by David Hicks) would fit well with this. 

One of the features I was keen to introduce - and which has become a regular feature, I'm delighted to say - was the 'Future Geographers' parallel conference for sixth form students. I owe that thought to Sue Bermingham who brought along some school students to Manchester in 2012. 

I'd been a member of the GA since 1990. I'd attended conferences before that, for example at LSE. I attended conferences and ran sessions for the 16-19 Project during the 1990s, and then on curriculum change in both 2000 and 2006-7. When, in 2005, London won the bid for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, I'd continued writing materials as I had on Sydney's and Athens' Games in 2000 and 2004. I took the voluntary post of Community Geographer with the GA in 2007 to develop materials on Beijing in 2008, and then on London. I started working with Pumpkin TV and obtained funding from the Learning Skills Council to place a free copy of a DVD 'Aiming for Gold' in every secondary school in the UK.

Bob is a huge supporter of the GA:

"I love the GA. I don't mean that to sound cheesy, but I love the fact that this is a thriving community of people who love geography and love education. It matters because it's a strong voice for the subject when we need it within the community of teachers, within the wider public and (especially now) in a political forum. My roles have been Community Geographer as a volunteer, and then since 2010 when I began my four-year Presidential cycle as a member of Governing Body (2010-14). I continued as a Named Trustee 2014-17 and Honorary Treasurer since 2017."

Of his time as President: Bob said:
"I loved it, and especially annual conference at Derby in April 2013. 

Conference is a wonderful occasion by any standards, and the feeling that you have helped create the theme and the list of speakers is powerful. I was touched by how many people that I valued and admired wanted to accept invitations to speak. It felt 'successful', whatever that means; a large attendance, including the first sixth form students and their teachers, real quality sessions as judged by the evaluations afterwards, and it was also a much younger conference - a trend which has continued since.

It's a great feeling to see PGCE and NQT students attending in large numbers. Then there was the Presidential Lecture. 

I guess every President will tell you that it's the thing that kept them awake at night the most. Good to know. I'd better get started on it soon. I decided to play to strengths with a reflection of the 2012 London Games. I wanted to speak about something geographical. It seemed to me (and still seems) that London's Games were groundbreaking, and I wanted to show why geographers would want to study them. I loved being there at that conference in that lecture room, and looking at the audience. It was and remains the honour of my life to be there, no question."

My Presidents blog project has certainly revealed lots of stories around Presidential lectures, which will form part of my own...

He has some good memories from that time, and of other Presidents as well:

"Above all, I remember Margaret's Roberts' year as the only Presidential lecture I never made it to. I reached the (huge) hall in Manchester at the right time only to find everyone had a far better idea and had used their coffee break to get a seat. So - no seats left. Margaret's lecture is to my knowledge the only Presidential lecture that had to be held twice, the second time on the Saturday morning! 

I was about to make this a firm appointment in the diary when I received a text from BMI with whom I was flying home to Newquay on Saturday evening to say that my flight had been cancelled and I could only get home by taking the morning flight instead. It took off as Margaret would have been starting to speak ..... 

Another lecture that stands out is Eleanor Rawling's at Southampton (I think) in 1992, where she spoke quietly and powerfully about how the geography National Curriculum had been framed in the later 80s / early 90s. It was a devastating insight into the political process. 

Every President brings something special. 

The GA has been fortunate to have had an array of talent from which to draw for its Presidents - teachers, primary and secondary educators, local authority geography advisers, university-based teacher educators, academic geographers, a head of field centre .. we are lucky indeed."

Generations of students have benefitted from Bob's advice and he remains a popular speaker in all sorts of circumstances including online of course over the last year or so.

Until the pandemic, Bob was regularly travelling up to London and other locations from his home in rural Cornwall where he lives with his husband Mike and several dogs. As the GA's Honorary Treasurer. he has followed in the footsteps of his predecessors and continues to hold a very important position in the GA. The last year has shown the value of his financial 'nous' and prudence, backed up by Richard Gill and Alex Forsyth.

This image was produced at the same time as his GA Presidential lecture, and presented to Bob.

References

Far too many books and digital resources to mention, but a few notable items include:

Digby, Bob. “This Changing World: The London 2012 Olympics.” Geography, vol. 93, no. 1, 2008, pp. 40–47. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40574215. Accessed 15 May 2021.

There was also a special issue of 'Teaching Geography' on the London Olympics:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/i23753901

https://www.rgs.org/CMSPages/GetFile.aspx?nodeguid=ad1c557f-1158-4fdf-a4b4-084da2d72a69&lang=en-GB - a piece on the Olympics for the RGS

https://www.rgs.org/CMSPages/GetFile.aspx?nodeguid=bc40d439-8a25-4761-ad2c-74fda48cd525&lang=en-GB

Bob has co-written, written and edited for the GA's 'Top Spec' series.

He has written materials to accompany Pumpkin Videos.

Check out these textbooks:

https://www.waterstones.com/author/bob-digby/27415

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Bob-Digby

Image at the top: copyright GA / Bryan Ledgard.

As always, if anyone has further memories of Bob please pass them through or add a comment.

Everyday Geographies

Plenty of mentions in the latest GA Magazine, and also in 'Teaching Geography'. Details here of how you can get involved in next year's GA Conference. Far more to come on this over the coming months of course. 

Tocuaro Revisited

Thanks to Angus Willson for sending me some copies of Tocuaro in a parcel of things from the 80s and 90s and his time as a consultant on a range of projects and working with Worldaware from 2000-2005.

Tocuaro is a Mexican village and a KS2 Case Study of a distant place which sold well.

Its authors included former GA President Wendy Morgan, along with Vincent Bunce, Fiona Gibbs and David Wakefield. The Book was accompanied by a Teacher Guide, and is in full colour and illustrated with lots of photos, maps and diagrams. A large accompanying map is also available.

Barnaby Bear has visited the area too.

The book was published in 1998 and can still be purchased from the GA Store.

This full colour book for key stage 2 children explores the geography, history and environment of the village through the lives of three generations of the Horta family. It also covers the eruption of the nearby Paricutin volcano in 1943, and the pollution of Lake Patzcuaro, an important local issue.

There are 3 clips from CBeebies here.

It has previously been picked up and used by QCA as an exemplar: 

http://www.schoolslinks.co.uk/geo22.pdf

A search reveals that a lot of Primary schools have been inspired by the book to complete a range of creative tasks. The Horta family and their masks have inspired some art work as well.

Additional resources already exist on Twinkl.

It occurred to me that it might be time to update the book and see what changes had taken place in Tocuaro in the last 25 years, perhaps with a new edition for 2023. I had a quick look at Tocuaro using some web maps and will see what I can uncover and compare with the way the village was represented in the book.

SLN Publication

Does anyone remember this from around 2008? 

I have a copy and came across it recently when checking through my archive for relevant documents to add to this blog.

Please don't try and order a copy using the order form... it's very unlikely to result in one arriving...

Anyone else have a copy, or have a hand in creating it?

Geog Book from SLN Flyer from 2008 from GeoBlogs

Happy 128th birthday to the GA

The Geographical Association was founded at a meeting at Oxford University on this day in 1893.  And the rest.... is geography.

Wartime - mass observation

Bill Mead, a future President of the GA wrote a letter in to the 'Geography' journal in March 1945. In it, he suggested that the disruption of the Second World War could be turned to advantage as there were doubtless lots of members of the GA who had been posted overseas, and whose experiences could perhaps be harnessed. I'm not sure whether his suggestion was taken up in an organised way,  but certainly many GA Presidents during the 1950s had seen active service, many of them in aerial surveillance and intelligence as can be seen in their entries on the blog. These fed into articles in 'Geography' through the 1940s and 1950s and undoubtedly shaped the next generation of geography teachers.

Source:

Mead, W. N. “CORRESPONDENCE.” Geography, vol. 30, no. 1, 1945, pp. 15–17. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40562423. Accessed 15 May 2021.

The Golden Hind

 A series of books co-written by former GA President Leonard Brooks (a teacher). Published between 1939 and other editions until 1950. Three volumes.

2011: Fran Martin

Fran Martin worked at the University of Exeter, as a geography teacher and researcher until recently, when she became an independent consultant.

Here's a story about Fran from the GA News 2005. These documents are quite ephemeral, and I am grateful to Aaron Bohlman from the GA for identifying them and letting me have access to them when I was last in Solly Street which seems like a long time ago now.

I was present at Fran's Presidential lecture, where she spoke about the work she had done. Rob Morris was also present, and he gave his thoughts on it here at the time:
http://lodgemeister.blogspot.com/2012/04/ga-conference-lost-bag-and-pre-term.html

Fran's conference theme was Geographies of Difference.

This is an important theme and one which persists of course to this day, with plenty more that all organisations including the GA can do to consider inclusivity and the number of people of colour involved in key roles, as well as issue of gender and representation.

Fran kindly filled in the Google Form that I sent round to all living Presidents and filled me in on some useful additional details for the blog post here.

Fran was born in the 1950s, and educated at Wycombe Abbey school, before heading for Cambridge University.

She had a career as a primary teacher followed by teacher educator and latterly academic/researcher, which was her job when she became GA President in 2011. 

(this was the year when I ended my GA employment sadly)

Fran has also written a number of books for Early Years and Primary geography, including one published by former GA President Chris Kington.

Bob Digby, who was to follow Fran as GA President worked with Fran for a while at Brunel University. He told me of his time there:

"The Brunel years were enjoyable, fun and challenging - just what a job should be. I worked with Fran Martin and Graham Yates, each of whom I love dearly, across a range of primary and secondary courses: undergraduate as well as post-graduate. I worked with school colleagues from a range of school types which were as varied and as interesting as our students. I observed PE lessons (anyone who knows me will splutter at this point) as well as lessons in Geography, English, RE ... whatever teachers taught, I observed. The School of Education was like a school in that it was a real community. PGCE students spend nine months with you and they're gone; with four-year undergraduates you get to know them and how they think just as you would with students in a school. It was rich, exciting, and fun."

Of her chosen conference theme, Fran told me:

"My theme was 'Geographies of Difference'. I chose it because it resonated with my research at the time - Global Partnerships as Sites of Mutual Learning - I learnt a lot about different ways of knowing, critical interculturalism and coloniality and wanted to bring some of that knowledge to my focus for the year. 

I have been a member of the GA since 1989. I had written articles and books for the GA and been an active member of both the Teacher Educators Working Group and the Early Years and Primary Committee. 

I was editor of Primary Geography 2005-2009 and then a member of the editorial board 2009 - 2017."

She feels the GA matters very much to educators:

"I became involved when I was county advisory teacher for the humanities in Buckinghamshire. I had not known of its existence before then. I initially found it to be an invaluable resource. Later I found I had things to say that contributed to that resource. It has been a great professional support and enhanced my career."

Of her time as President she said:

"I continue to have feedback that people loved the conference and still use the pieces I wrote for 'Primary Geography' and 'Teaching Geography' in their work. I tried to live out my values and the values inherent in the theme of geographies of difference and found mixed success in that regard." 

Fran about to speak, with members of the supportive Primary community on the front row...

Simon Catling said of her Presidency that she brought a wider awareness and context through her links and research in intercultural understanding.

Fran has continued her involvement with the Primary Geography community and regularly attends and presents at the Charney Manor Primary Conference and was also involved in the creation of many issues of 'Primary Geography' journal and contributed articles and other content over the years as mentioned previously in her role as Editor. Current work explores ideas of decolonisation, which is particularly significant at the present time.

She has carried out research in the UK, West Africa, India and Canada, particularly with Fatima Pirbhai-Illich from the University of Regina, with whom she has presented at the Charney Manor Primary Conference.

There is a link between Fran and my own chosen conference theme of 'Everyday Geographies'.

In the Autumn 2006 issue of 'Primary Geographer', Fran wrote a piece called 'Everyday Geography' which remains influential to this day. Around this time, the GA was also using the phrase 'Living Geography'.

Everyday Geography  encouraged Primary educators and students to remember and recognise that they think geographically in the course of their daily life.

https://www.geography.org.uk/Journal-Issue/cdb38e75-8b48-48c4-9855-63c555582323

Images copyright:Bryan Ledgard and the GA (from Flickr account)

References

Martin, Fran. “The Geographies of Difference.” Teaching Geography, vol. 38, no. 1, 2013, pp. 10–13. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23756981

Twitter: https://twitter.com/globalfran

Fran's profile on ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Fran-Martin-3 

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=sec5vcAAAAAJ&hl=en

Decolonising geography work: https://decolonisegeography.com/explore

Article:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314169655_Places_spaces_and_boundaries_A_critical_look_at_the_relational_in_geography_classrooms 

'Caring for our World' - co-written with Paula Owens

https://www.geography.org.uk/Shop/CARING-FOR-OUR-WORLD/9781843772118 

As always, any memories of Fran and her time at the GA welcome.

On Textbooks

 From the GA Conference in 1945

Mr W W French

“GEOGRAPHICAL ASSOCIATION. Annual Conference Discussions on the Future for Geography.” Geography, vol. 30, no. 2, 1945, pp. 50–62. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40563427. Accessed 15 May 2021.

1945 GA Conference

I am grateful to Alastair Owens, who will be GA President for 2022-3 as many readers will know, for finding and sharing images of this programme from the 1945 GA Conference which he came across earlier.

As shown here, the 1944 conference had had to be cancelled due to falling bombs...

The 1945 Conference was the first for a while. Thomas Cotterill Warrington was the President: he served from 1942-5 so was the last President to serve more than a year. The Conference was held at the City Literary Institute in Holborn, London.

The conference was held in early January, as they used to be before the move to April.

There are some sessions which sound really fascinating, and I would love to have been there... Tea in the refectory sounds fun too.

There are some familiar names there as well, many of whom have featured on the blog already.

The Conference was opened with a lecture on 'Post-War Europe' by Sir Walter Layton.
He was an economist, and lectured at Trinity College.

The lecture is available here, as it was published in a future issue of 'Geography' later that year:

Layton, Walter. “THE FUTURE OF EUROPE.” Geography, vol. 30, no. 2, 1945, pp. 44–50. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40563426. Accessed 15 May 2021.

This was followed by a lecture on fruit growing from Raymond 'Bush'.

At 2pm a Symposium featured a range of other future GA Presidents: Leonard Sydney Suggate and Leonard Brooks (who would both become President in the 1950s) which was chaired by the legendary James Fairgrieve. 

The first day ended with a session on the Geography of Poland, actively involved in the conflict that had just ended.

Text from Wikipedia:

Equally the 2nd day started with a session which probably referred back to recent military service, with Brigadier Ralph A Bagnold on the sand dune of N E Africa. He had already made a crossing of the Libyan Desert in the 1930s. During the Second World War, he was a soldier in the British Army, in which he founded the behind-the-lines reconnaissance, espionage and raiding unit that was named the "Long Range Desert Group", serving as its first commanding officer in the North Africa Campaign.

After the war Bagnold continued make significant contributions to the understanding of desert terrain such as sand dunes, ripples and sheets. He developed the dimensionless "Bagnold number" and "Bagnold formula" for characterising sand flow, and also proposed a model for "singing sands". In 1971 he received the Wollaston Medal, the highest award granted by the Geological Society of London, and in 1981 the David Linton Award of the British Geomorphological Research Group (named after another former GA President). He lived to the age of 94.

The session on the Future of Primary Geography featured Olive Garnett (see her entry) and also Mrs. Katz (who got a mention in my Charney Primary Geography conference presentation as she chaired the Primary committee when it launched. It was chaired by G J Cons, who had been due to be the President in 1961 but sadly died in 1960.

Here is part of the contribution of Olive Garnett.

“GEOGRAPHICAL ASSOCIATION. Annual Conference Discussions on the Future for Geography.” Geography, vol. 30, no. 2, 1945, pp. 50–62. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40563427. Accessed 15 May 2021.

The session on the Future of Secondary Geography had some interesting participants.

“GEOGRAPHICAL ASSOCIATION. Annual Conference Discussions on the Future for Geography.” Geography, vol. 30, no. 2, 1945, pp. 50–62. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40563427. Accessed 15 May 2021.

I looked back at 'Geography' to try to find some outcomes from this conference in the journal and found the report of the conference and links to some of the lectures:

Thomas Cotterill Warrington was also asked to be President for another year at the end of the conference in the business meeting.

References

Wikipedia entry on Sir Walter Layton:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Layton,_1st_Baron_Layton

Image Wikimedia

Raymond Bush article:

Bush, Raymond. “FROST AND THE FRUITGROWER.” Geography, vol. 30, no. 3, 1945, pp. 80–86. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40563438. Accessed 14 May 2021.

Brigadier Ralph Bagnold: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Bagnold

Image Wikimedia

“GEOGRAPHICAL ASSOCIATION. ANNUAL REPORT FOR 1944.” Geography, vol. 30, no. 1, 1945, pp. 18–19. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40562425. Accessed 15 May 2021.


Thanks to Alastair Owens for the images. Hopefully more documents like this will come to life when I can next get to Solly Street and get into the archive.

Hans Rosling - 2009

The 2009 Conference will be memorable to many for the appearance of Hans Rosling as our keynote speaker. 

He had a very large audience of course, and kept them spellbound.


I didn't get a photo taken with Hans, but got the chance to meet him and thank him for his work. As we work on plans for conference in 2022, it would be nice to think we might be able to attract someone with similar global recognition.

David R Wright

Not a GA President, but someone bound up with the work of the Association in many ways is David R Wright. He produced a series of best selling map books and atlases, and also worked as a PGCE tutor at the University of East Anglia, which was where I first met him in the early 90s. As you can see from the article below, he was also another geographer associated with St Catharine' College (and always remember to spell that with an 'a' by the way...) and to have Gus Caesar as a tutor. Gus was very much connected with a whole range of former GA Presidents including Margaret Roberts.



He contributed to a range of GA publications and articles, always on the theme of mapping.

The last time I saw David was at the Royal Geographical Society in 2008. He was receiving an award, as was I. He was unwell at the time, and sadly died the year after.

The following text and the accompanying image are copyright RGS-IBG

David Wright, who died on 20 November 2009 after a battle with cancer, was a geographer and author whose work inspired children around the world.

David graduated from Cambridge University and then trained as a teacher, undertaking an MA in Geography in Education from London University, Institute of Education. He taught in Stevenage and Pittsburgh before moving to Norfolk in 1969 as a lecturer in Geography at Keswick Hall College of Education, which was later merged with the University of East Anglia, where he worked for 12 years. He took early retirement in 1994 to further his research and writing, becoming a self-employed author, school inspector, adviser and consultant.

Throughout his career David was a champion of the use of equal area maps in teaching and in publications of all types and his (W)Right World Map was launched in 2007. He also advocated the use of stamps in engaging young people with an interest in places and examples of a virtual journey using stamps can be found on Discovering the Arctic 

I have this pencilled in for an activity in my new KS2 Schemes which I am developing with colleagues in a unit called 66 North.

Throughout his career David’s concern has been to stimulate children’s interest in the world by creating pupil-orientated approaches to teaching geography and innovative ways of linking geography, environmental and sustainable development education, all rooted in his experiences of many different parts of the world.

David was a past chairman and president of the Norfolk branch of the Geographical Association and his contribution to geographical education was acknowledged in 2007 when he was awarded the accreditation of ‘Chartered Geographer’ by RGS-IBG. In 2008 he was awarded the ‘Ness Award’ by RGS-IBG for his work championing the wider understanding and popularisation of geography through his work with children.

David's obituary on behalf of the Geographical Association was written by Margaret Roberts and published in 'Geography'. It has often been the job of GA Presidents to have that sad duty.

David also wrote a book in the GA-published series 'Theory into Practice'.

It was called 'Maps with Latitude'

Reference
https://www.geog.cam.ac.uk/alumni/landmark/1/landmark1.pdf - p10

Obituary: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00167487.2010.12094301

RGS-IBG Obituary: https://www.rgs.org/geography/news/david-wright-(1939-2009)/

As always, if anyone has memories of David please get in touch, or add a comment. Many people will have used his work and books I am sure.

1997 - Strategic Planning

An article from Ashley Kent in the GA News outlined the strategic plan of the time. The GA has had a series of strategic plans for some time, which operates on a five yearly cycle to help guide activity, and ensure that the association continues to have an impact in the areas where it needs to. The most recent one started in 2020 and runs to 2025.

GA Magazine has an editorial which outlines progress in each issue.

Karl Donert

Another person with a long association with the GA is Karl Donert, who worked at Liverpool Hope University for some time.

Here is an interview of Karl by the legendary Joseph Kerski.

He has presented numerous times at the GA Conference, and was also involved in other GA activity over the years.

Karl also wrote books with former GA President Bill Chambers who worked with him at the same university. These were mentioned in Chris Kington's Presidential lecture.

He has been the President of EuroGeo for many years, until recently and worked on numerous projects which have seen him cross-cross Europe for over a decade before the last year's hiatus in his peripatetic lifestyle.

He has worked on a great many ERASMUS projects with me, including some where the GA or GA personnel were involved. These include the I-USE project, which I was involved with for several years, along with John Lyon and Iain Palot.

Another project which is ongoing and included Professor David Lambert, Duncan Hawley and myself amonst others was the 2nd phase of the GeoCapabilities project, which explored ideas around powerful knowledge.

Karl has done a great deal to inform my own practice and provide me with professional opportunities which have enriched me in many ways, and I am very grateful to him for support over the last decade in particular.

Image: Karl walking on the frozen Wothersee in Klagenfurt - image by Alan Parkinson, shared under CC license.

As always, memories of working with Karl welcome.

2010: Dr John Hopkin

Updated July 2023

John Hopkin has served in many different roles with the GA over the years, and is still working on projects with the GA and offering his skills in the service of the Association.

His main career has been based in Birmingham, where he worked as teacher, then as an  advisory teacher amd advisor. He then worked at the GA as Head of Accreditation, and particularly involved in the work of the Global Learning Programme as well, coordinating the GA's involvement with that project and working to develop CPD in critical thinking.

As an author, he has been involved in the writing and editing of  numerous geography publications for schools, dating back over 30 years, which include some of the GYSL books (pictured), alongside another former GA President John Westaway together with more academic publications including with David Lambert.

He has continued to be associated with the GA in many different ways, and even now he has been working on some new online student materials for the GEO project, coordinating some of the content for that new website. Take a look if you haven't already.

The following information was provided by John himself via the Google Form which I set up for more recent Presidents.

John was born in 1954, in Penarth, Glamorgan, and went to school in Bristol before attending the University of Wales (Swansea), then Birmingham.

He started out as a Teacher before moving to Local Authority Advisor, and then worked on the GA staff (possibly uniquely for a President). He has worked as a textbook author since 1986. When he became GA President he was working as a School Improvement advisor in Birmingham. He sent me several images, including one here taken at Solly Street before the view towards the hills was blocked by student accommodation.

His conference theme was Progress in Geography. This was part of a strategic pushback by the Association (in partnership with David Lambert) in favour of subjects at a time when they seemed under threat. John also wanted to argue for a dynamic subject, particularly in the way we represented the rest of the world. 

See the earlier post on the official opening of Solly Street during John's Presidency.

I asked John why the GA mattered to him:

"I first got involved in a short-lived geography and science working group around 1987-88 in the run-up to the first National Curriculum. I then joined the Assessment and Examinations Working Group (AEWG), eventually becoming chair. John still serves on the AEWG Committee to this day. I then chaired Education Committee before becoming President. 

A fairly well-worn route to the presidency, though I didn't see it at the time."

"I think we had a successful year with close strategic working with the CE. I think presidents following personal enthusiasms for their year is probably a good thing - but there also need to be a fair proportion where the presidential year is also strategic for the association. I guess everyone remembers their lecture - I enjoyed preparing for it and giving it, though at the time it was a bit touch and go because the tech people at Guildford couldn't get the presentation to work on their equipment. So top tip - bring your own laptop as well. Also the keynote from Hans Rosling was fantastic - we were lucky to get him (thanks Lucy) and it was extremely well received."

It was a pleasure indeed to meet Hans and see that during my time working for the GA

Image copyright:Bryan Ledgard and the GA (from Flickr account)

The most recent GA project that John has been involved with is our new 11-14 textbook with teacher materials. He was one of the editors. The textbook is excellent.

References

Presidential Address, 2011

Hopkin, John. “Progress in Geography.” Geography, vol. 96, no. 3, 2011, pp. 116–123. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41320394. Accessed 8 May 2021.

https://www.geography.org.uk/write/MediaUploads/Teacher%20education/GA_ITE_TTIS_Readingaboutwhatisaneducatedperson.pdf

Report on the Global Learning Project - written by John

Download as a PDF on this link:

 https://www.geography.org.uk/write/MediaUploads/Projects/GA_Global_Learning_Report_2018.pdf

Hopkin, J. and Owens, P. (2016) ‘Critical thinking in geography’ Primary Geography, 91, 3 p. 23 https://www.geography.org.uk/Journal-Issue/e0bf0aca-54c6-4081-9603-9a5ded38a2ac

Critical Thinking project website

http://www.geography.org.uk/critical-thinking

Practice Guide: this is a very valuable document and well worth downloading.

https://www.geography.org.uk/write/MediaUploads/Projects/Critical_thinking_in_practice.pdf

Hopkin, John. “Sampling the World.” Teaching Geography, vol. 36, no. 3, 2011, pp. 96–97. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23755596. Accessed 4 May 2021.Copy

Update July 2023

John was recently announced as the GA's new Honorary Treasurer. He will take over from Bob Digby, who held the role for six years following the retirement of Brian Ellis from the role. Thanks to John for stepping in to this important role in the governance of the association. 

John will start his role in September 2023.