Wednesday 30 June 2021

GEReCo

Updated June 30th 2021

Several GA colleagues and former Presidents are members of, or have been connected with the activity of GEReCo: the Geography Education Research Collective. 

A new website is apparently launching soon. Perhaps with a new logo?

GEReCo includes a number of people who you will be familiar with from this blog as they have featured before. There is a strong link between the group and the Association and Education Group in particular.

Geography Education Research Collective / UK Commission on Geographical Education of the International Geographical Union

Professor David Lambert has been a member, alongside Mary Biddulph, Claire Brookes and Graham Butt amongst others in recent times.

Secretary of the group is Dr. Nicola Walshe, who has been working in a number of contexts, and invited me to Homerton many times during her time there leading the PGCE. She will be working at UCL IoE shortly, which is a wonderful new challenge for her. John Morgan is also returning to UCL so that will once again make it a department with many GA connections.

Nicola will join the Institute as Head of Department and Professor of Education in the summer, ahead of the 2021/22 academic year.
GERECO runs a number of research seminars. I have attended a few in the past in person.

The next one is next week and you can register for it on Eventbrite.

This is a reminder of the long tradition of the GA and its Presidents of engaging with research.


Updated June 30th 2021
The new GERECO website has now gone live, and describes the earlier years of GERECO and its recent merging.

There is a list of members and their backgrounds here... which includes a former GA President, the current President, a former GA Chief Executive and others heavily involved in the association's work.

And here is a recording of this year's seminar, which I was able to catch most of live while on duty.

Sunday 27 June 2021

2017: Nick Lapthorn

Nick Lapthorn works for the Field Studies Council, and was previously Head of Centre at Nettlecombe Court in Somerset.
He has written extensively on fieldwork, and helped tens of thousands of students experience learning outside the classroom.


Nick was educated at Kingsbridge School and Community College before doing a BSc degree in Topographic Science and Geography at the University of Wales, Swansea.
He has worked at a number of FSC Centres since 1996, including Amersham, Juniper Hall and Nettlecome Court (which was the first FSC centre I visited, with Tim Burt, as an undergraduate geographer)

Nick can be followed on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nicklapthorn 

Nick was an active member of the Geographical Association's 'Fieldwork' group since 2000. During this time he has acted as member, Secretary and Chair of the group since 2010.
He has contributed regularly to GA publications, articles for journals and consultations, and is a regular presenter at GA Conference and more widely promoting fieldwork. 
To help communicate with as many people as possible he established the @geogfieldwork Twitter account which now has over 3,500 followers in the UK and overseas.
As with some of the more recent Presidents, he was kind enough to pass on some information via my Google Form.
Nick was born in 1973 South Devon (Torbay)

He attended Kingsbridge School and Community College (now Kingsbridge Academy). and the University of Wales, Swansea (now Swansea University)

He told me of his carreer path:
"After university I moved from washing dishes in a pub in South Devon to washing dishes as a general assistant at FSC Juniper Hall. Coming from a family of teachers I have vowed not to become involved in education and thought that an address at a field centre, whilst looking for gainful employment was better than a pub. During my time off shift I used to support the geography tutor with fieldwork on Box Hill and quite enjoyed and found out that I was also not too bad at it. 
When the tutor left to take up a PGCE, I was encouraged to apply for the post and got it. I was already considering by this time doing a PGCE, but hadn't decided if I wanted to do primary or secondary (my father was a primary teacher). I progressed from Tutor to Senior Tutor at Juniper Hall to being Head of Centre at FSC Amersham and then back to Juniper Hall as Head of Centre. 
In 2010 I moved back to the west country to become Head of Centre at FSC Nettlecombe Court."

Nick was working as Head of Centre at Nettlecombe Court when he was GA President.

Nick's conference theme was 'Real World Geography'

He told me:
"In spite of having a love for geography as a subject it wasn't really until I started to assist with fieldwork that my passion really came alive. So many elements of the subject seemed to make much more sense when it became a hands-on subject - things just started to make more sense. I knew that if this was the case for me, then that must be the case for many others too. My theme was to highlight the role of geography in the many aspects of daily life. In the last couple of years of being Chair of FOLSIG we pushed forward the 'Year of Fieldwork' that worked across the subject community involving GA, RGS-IBG, Esri, Ordnance Survey, FSC and 21 further partner organisations. As a result I was shortlisted for a LOtC Advocate Award by the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom."

Of his links with the GA:
"I became involved with the GA in the late 1990s when the Field Studies Council's Chief Executive Tony Thomas suggested that I became involved with the Field Studies Working Group. I was a member for many years followed by being Secretary and then Chair (2010-2016) as it became the Fieldwork and Outdoor Learning Special Interest Group (FOLSIG). I stepped down as Chair as I took up the role of Junior Vice President."

This is a reminder that if you have some ambition to be GA President, a first step is to involve yourself more closely with the GA. SIGs and PCs offer the chance to be a corresponding member to get involved in their work.

Nick told me that it was a good year to be President when he was...

"It was amazing to be GA President during it's 125th year - something that was brought to my attention about half way through my year as Junior Vice-President when it was agreed that it needed to be marked and celebrated. I spent the next few years suffering regularly from imposter syndrome as you realise the many illustrious footsteps in which you walk and the intellectual shadows you sit beneath
However the GA was, is and will remain a welcoming and supportive community. 

Two main memories - the 125 year celebration event in Christ Church College, Oxford. Wonderful to be part of the celebration at the location where the GA was established 125 years earlier. "

I have previously posted about this event, and shared images.

He shared his memory of conference:

























"Everything about it was so special, it feels like a geography wedding! One particular memory I have is bumping into Sharon Witt after my Presidential lecture. Sharon asked if Margaret Roberts had found me yet? No I replied. "Well, she wants a word, I think you are going to like it" she laughed. Later that afternoon I did meet Margaret. "Ah, Nick, I'm glad I found you. I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your lecture. Not very academic, but entertaining nonetheless." I did like it. I was more than satisified with the review!"

I can share that feeling.... I have presented a few times with Margaret in the audience and it certainly sharpens the mind :)

You can see Tony Thomas and Rob Lucas on the right of the photo above, supporting Nick.

Of his memories of his GA year he also says:
"Working with the Worldwise Challenge weekends with Mark Higginbottom, Sue Lomas and John Lyon - I can't think of many weekends in my life that I have enjoyed more. Working with young people, engaged in the subject that they enjoy and that we love in beautiful locations and often laughing until the tears rolled down my cheeks."

Image: Bryan Ledgard / Geographical Association

In his Presidential lecture Nick talked about how everyone is a geographer, and why Geographers should always be able to claim the window seat on planes.
Here's Kit Rackley's review of the lecture with a few images.
In 2015, Nick was one of the key people behind the Year of Fieldwork project.

IMG_2974
Image: Kit Rackley

& a presentation from an INSET course:

As always, memories of Nick and his time as President welcome.

Friday 25 June 2021

1966: Puerto Rico

In 1966, W G V Balchin and Alice Coleman led a GA Summer School in Puerto Rico.

There was an article in 'Geography' in 1965 describing the island written by the two authors.



Perhaps it's time we went back to Puerto Rico.

References


BALGHIN, W. G. V., and A. COLEMAN. “Puerto Rico.” Geography, vol. 50, no. 3, 1965, pp. 274–286. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40567047

Wednesday 23 June 2021

GYSL



Memories from those who used this pack welcome... written with substantial input from former GA Presidents.

Monday 21 June 2021

2001: Diane Swift

Just before Easter I spent a pleasant hour talking to Diane Swift and asking for her input on some of the projects that she was involved in during her time working for the GA, to help explore some of the connections between them. 

Other former Presidents have previously mentioned Di and the importance of her work for the GA.

From the entry by Jeremy Krause:

"I am proud that I was able to work with others to create the post of Professional Development Coordinator and appoint Di Swift in 2001."

Di was also mentioned by Keith Grimwade and Chris Kington, who were involved in the important decision to 'professionalise the GA'.
She has worked in a number of roles within the GA, and more recently has worked in Initial Teacher Education in Staffordshire.
Di was involved in a number of key projects.
These included the Young People's Geographies project (see separate blog posts) which I was involved in.
The Valuing Places project was a catalyst for many of the others. being one of the early projects when the GA was finding its way in such work. Funded projects have remained important, and the GA has a track record of very successful completion of such projects.

GeoVisions has previously been mentioned, led by Roger Carter. In many ways, this was at the heart of a lot of GA activity during the days of the first Chief Executive and the move towards funded staff at Solly Street.

The OCR Pilot GCSE Geography, which has been mentioned in a number of other posts was also important, and changed the course of my career because of my involvement.

Argumentation - Why argue (in Geography and Science)
I remember a session in Norwich at our PDC - they were good visits during the Rob Lodge era, when Di came to lead a session for us.

She also told me other snippets which will feed into other blog posts in time.

Di still works in teacher education, for a SCITT in Staffordshire.

Di has extensive experience in schools as a teacher, senior leader and a governor. She regularly contributes articles to professional journals and has authored a variety of materials that support teachers to develop both their curriculum and pedagogic thinking. She has worked extensively with teacher-colleagues on a variety of projects in relation to Philosophy for Children, History and Geography. Diane is an advocate for the Chartered College of Teaching. She also works at a national level in relation to ITE, particularly in connection with inclusion. Diane is undertaking an EdD, her research is considering the ways in which beginning teachers develop a professional language to share their developing pedagogic expertise.

She has worked on a number of publications.
I had a copy of this one when it was first published in 2005 and it still sits on my shelf and I find it useful.

She also mentioned the importance of Chris Durbin and Kate Russell and the development of the Staffordshire Learning Network - something I very much agree with.


References
Martin, Fred, and Diane Swift. “What Can CD-ROMs Do for Us?” Teaching Geography, vol. 21, no. 1, 1996, pp. 20–23. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23753746. Accessed 26 June 2021.

Thanks to Di for all she did for the Association while working there. 

2016: Mary Biddulph

I have had the privilege of working with Mary Biddulph
on a range of projects over the years.
Mary worked for many years in teacher education at the University of Nottingham.

We worked together on the Young People's Geographies project, which ran from 2006-2011. I started as a teacher, but was involved with the final stages of the project as a GA employee.

Mary has kindly filled in the Zoom form that I created for the recent Presidents.

Mary was born in Brighton in 1960.
She started school in the West Midlands, her family having moved there when she was four years old. However, she then moved to Maidstone in Kent when she was 12 and went to school there until she finished her A levels.
Of her time in education she said:
"My geography education was relatively uninspiring...except for the fieldwork at A level - geography made so much sense after the field week in Swanage. I did my degree at the University of Sussex, where there was a lot of emphasis on International development (many thanks to (former GA President) Tony Binns for his enthusiastic teaching) and historical geography (many thanks to Brian Short for his wisdom and insight). It was here I first read 'Topophilia' by Yi Fu Tuan - this changed my view of geography for ever. I recommend it to everyone. 

I did my PGCE at the University of Nottingham and have lived in the East Midlands ever since. Harry Tolley and Frank Molyneux were my tutors, and it is fair to say they were both, in very different ways, inspirational."

This is a reminder of the importance of those previous generations of ITE trainers who trained the current generations of teachers - people like Vincent Tidswell who I was fortunate to have had train me.... I may need to investigate these two gentlemen next...

Mary responded next to this question, which I have asked all the available Presidents: "What has your career been e.g. teacher / academic / author / other work outside the obvious geography sphere?"
Mary said:

"I feel I have done bits of all of the above in my time. However, I started my career in geography education as a young (and very naive) teacher in an inner-city school in Derby. The students there were magnificent - so skilled at running rings round me!

I had to learn fast. I became a PGCE tutor at the University of Nottingham after eight years in the classroom. The transition was just luck - right place at the right time - Harry Tolley needed a part-time colleague and I was lucky enough to be it. 

Working alongside Harry was wonderful, and I learnt so much from him during my early years as a PGCE tutor. His boundless enthusiasm for and commitment to geography education made him an excellent role model for this early-career PGCE tutor. I worked in ITE Geography at the University of Nottingham for nearly 30 years. It sounds like a long time, but it isn't. The time flew by. The University afforded me many professional opportunities for which I am forever grateful. Yes, the chance to travel to many interesting places was a benefit of working at the University, but there were three other and much more significant benefits: 
1. The freedom to think / read / reflect on geography education and its significance to children's education. 
2. The opportunity to work with many wonderful hard-working PGCE students and their subject mentors in schools - this was a real privilege. 
3. The chance to be part of a wider community (including the GA) of committed geography educationists who fed my ideas and challenged my thinking. 

Part of the freedom of working in the University was being able to seize opportunities as they came along. For me, an example of such an opportunity was my involvement in the Young People's Geographies (YPG) project. The project comprised a unique combination of teachers, academic geographers and school students all working together developing the geography curriculum - it was both great fun and so inspiring. The school students involved in the project had such rich ideas about geography and were so perceptive about what the curriculum could be. We need to listen to them more than we do."

As one of those teachers I certainly learned a great deal from my involvement in the project.

She told me more about her Presidential theme.

Inclusive Geographies? was the theme I selected. 
I chose this theme because I wanted the geography community to think about the extent to which school geography, and geography more generally is (or is not) inclusive of a diverse range of students and teachers. The question mark is significant to the theme. 

I am convinced that there was then, and there still is, important work to be done to ensure all young people access the kind of geographical education that will serve them well in their current and future lives. I also think there is work to be done in ensuring the geography teaching profession better reflects the communities it serves. 

These are complex issues and there are no simple answers, but nonetheless they are issues not to be sidestepped. Prior to being president I edited the journal 'Teaching Geography' for three years, and while in this role served on the GA's Education Committee. I was also a member of the YPG project team (the project was funded by the Action Plan for Geography) and had also been involved in the evaluation of a couple of other GA projects. Since being president I have stepped back a bit but am currently on the Geography Education Research Working Group (GERWG) and am also a member of a group looking at developing a curriculum framework for geography."

I ask all former GA Presidents why the GA matters:

"The GA matters to me because it provides me, and many others, with membership of a community of practice committed to high quality geography education. It is home to, and even a refuge for, a wide range of geography education professionals who debate, discuss, argue and pontificate on the question: What exactly is a 'high quality geography education'. It provides a place where assumptions about school geography are challenged and where teachers can be sure of the quality of the ideas it encourages. School geography has not always had a secure place in the school curriculum, and the GA has been crucial in advocating for the subject in policy circles where the significance of geography to young people's education has been often been completely misunderstood. The GA continues to play an essential and ongoing role in ensuring geography is part of the education project. I'm not really sure how I got involved. It just seemed to happen a gradually.

I asked her about any successes of her Presidential year:
"I think it's difficult to judge 'successes', but my sense of achievement just came from working with the excellent staff at HQ and working with the 'team' of presidents to support the mission of the GA. Whilst the presidential lecture is the big public event for the president, it is really a small part of the presidential year - the rest of the year is really a team effort and HQ staff and the vice presidents and the past-president are key to that effort. Having said this, being president is good fun and it does mean that you get to engage with a wide range of enthusiastic geographers - attending the final weekend of Worldwise quiz in Blencathra, seeing the hard work of the different committees and enjoying the less formal aspects of the annual conference are all special parts of the role that I remember with great affection."

She also trained the current Nottingham University PGCE tutor Mal Kerr, just as she herself was trained by the previous generation.
Thanks to Mary for answering the questions so thoughtfully, and thanks in advance for the ongoing curriculum work which will be one feature of my own Presidential year.

"I still think there is work to do in helping a wider range of teachers and educators to get involved in the work of the GA. In particular, we need to think about how to engage the enthusiasm of early career teachers before they are no longer 'early career'."

References
Academic writing: https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Biddulph%2C+Mary - some very recent papers.


'TG' editorials feature in many issues too of course.

YPG has its own blog posts which includes some of the references, particularly a paper Mary co-wrote with Roger Firth and a special issue of 'Teaching Geography'.

Images - Copyright: Bryan Ledgard / Geographical Association

Wednesday 16 June 2021

Paula's memories

Paula Richardson was awarded Honorary GA Membership at the GA Conference in 2021 - the Association's highest honour. I am working with her on an event to take place next year which will be launched later in the year.

She mentioned in our discussions that she remembered her first GA Conference. This took place in 1971 at the London School of Economics: the venue for the GA conference for many years.

She remembers meetings in small rooms, up lots of winding stairs, whe she had the chance to hear 'the great and the good' of the time, such as Arthur Holmes.

I hunted out the report on that conference from 'Geography'.

The main theme of this very well-attended conference, again held in the London School of Economics, was Geography in School and capacity audiences were privileged to hear a most stimulating series of lectures. 

Mrs. I. M. Long, in her Presidential Address showed how, at a time of sweeping changes in education, it is still of prime importance to interest children in the work they are doing. She demonstrated a method by which this interest might be gauged over a group of 1800 boys and girls of varying abilities and in many types of school. Professor N. V. Scarfe (Dean, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver), taking as his title "Games, Models and Reality in the Teaching of Geography in Schools", showed how new techniques involving inductive thinking should be used with discrimination to demonstrate real situations, but only after children have employed deductive methods in relation to the real world. In his lecture entitled "Recent Advances in Climatology and their Relevance to Schools", Professor T. J. Chandler (University College London) demonstrated in masterly fashion the circulation of the atmosphere, while Mr. C. E. Everard (Queen Mary College, London) in his paper "Geomorphology in Schools" urged teachers to look always at the totality of the environ- ment and to work wherever possible from real examples. Most informative papers on "Geography Examinations" and on "Geography and Curriculum Development" were read by Mr. B. S. Roberson (University of London, Institute of Education) and Miss Mary Goss (Staff Inspector, Inner London Education Authority). Mr. Roberson dealt with the structure and evaluation of G.C.E. O- and Α-level examinations while Miss Goss drew together and summarized the various aspects of the current changes in the field of education.

Paula aso talked about visiting a school in Farnham and there was a part-time / supply teacher there who drew an amazing block diagram of South Downs, and when she got talking to him it turned out to be Eric Young who said "you may have seen my book" - Young and Lowry of course. The classic text from when I did my 'A'levels. I have a copy in my collection.

Source:

“Geographical Association.” Geography, vol. 56, no. 2, 1971, pp. 154–159. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40567515. Accessed 31 May 2021.

Tuesday 15 June 2021

2015: Steve Rawlinson

Steve Rawlinson was a Principal Lecturer in Primary Geography Education at the University of Northumbria. 
He is now retired, but is still involved with GA committees and the creation of 'Primary Geography' magazine.

“GEOGRAPHY IS A SUBJECT THAT BECOMES A WAY OF LIFE.”
This was at the forefront of Steve's GA Presidential lecture in April 2016.
His lecture can be viewed here on SlidePlayer (note the 115 slides... that's one to aim to beat...)

I'd also like to thanks Steve as he was one of the people who were involved in me ultimately becoming the Junior Vice President of the GA. 

Here's Rebecca Priest's
summary of Steve's Presidential Lecture from the OUP blog:

Steve Rawlinson’s Presidential Lecture set the tone for the whole conference. He spoke on the topic of ‘making connections’, by drawing on experiences from his own life and career. Steve encouraged every person in the room to think about their own connections with geography and how they can inspire and discover the geographical connections of those whom they teach.

He spoke first of ‘personal connections’ to geography and how it is important to take a step back from our busy lives as teachers and reflect on how people, places and events have affected our own personal geographies. This can be as simple as thinking about landscapes that have inspired your love of the subject or appreciating the professional relationships you have fostered and how these have shaped your understanding and your career. He then moved on to make an important point about ‘curriculum connections’ which emphasized how the integrated nature of our subject is at its core. This inherent characteristic of geography should not be undervalued and Steve made historical, cultural, technological, scientific, economic and artistic connections to just one of his favourite places; the mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog in Wales. This has inspired me to take the time to think of one of my favourite places and to make as many interdisciplinary connections to it as I can – geography has the ability to connect many different elements of the world. The lecture ended with the notion of ‘future connections’ and how the future of geography, of teachers and of our pupils needs to be carefully nurtured.

Steve left us with this: geography is a subject that becomes a way of life – embrace it, and yours and the life of the children and young people you teach will be richer because of it.


Steve is an Honorary Member of the Geographical Association.
He is also Chair of the Primary Geography Editorial Board
Geographical Association Primary Geography Champion
Consultant to the Geographical Association
Fellow of Royal Geographical Society

http://www.rgs.org/

Steve kindly wrote a detailed summary of his experiences with the GA and it is used for the main body of this blog entry.

As with some of the more recent Presidents, Steve is on Twitter
I'm assuming Dudley Stamp would have been as well :)


Image supplied by: Steve Rawlinson

The following text was also provided by Steve.

When and where were you born? 
"Weston Turville in Buckinghamshire in the early 50’s. The village used to be the centre of the Aylesbury Duck industry. The village pond was still a feature when I was young. It was a very typical Buckinghamshire village where everyone knew everyone."

Career details:
1963-1970 – Aylesbury Technical High School (now the Sir Henry Floyd Grammar school) 
1970 – 1973 – University College of Wales Aberystwyth – BSc Geography 
1973 – 1974 – Assistant lecturer in Geography and Statistics – Cassio College Watford 
1974- 1975 – University College of Wales Aberystwyth - MSc in Biogeography. University demonstrator 
1975 – 1991 – Senior Lecturer in Geography & Environmental Studies – Cricklade Community College, Andover – teaching all ages primary, secondary and up to and including senior citizens! 
1991 – 2012 – Principal Lecturer in Geography Education – teaching on Primary ITE (PGCE & UG), & UG Geography. Also Senior admissions tutor – responsible for admissions to all education courses (Primary and Secondary). 
2008 – present became Chair of the Primary Geography Editorial Board 
2012 Retired – became GA consultant, continued with work on Primary Geography Quality Mark and as Chair of the Primary Geography Editorial Board. Member of the Geography Expert Group. 
2012 -16 Member of the DfE Geography Expert Group. 
2013 Elected as Junior Vice President of GA 
2015-2016 President of GA. 
2018 – present – Member of the WorldWise Committee 
2020 – awarded Honorary Membership of the GA 

Where did you go to school/university? 
"I went to the local primary school, just a mile from my house, and for a while was taught by the same Headmaster and his wife as taught my mother and father. Johnny Lawton described himself as ‘a nice kind man with a nice kind face’. Though his strict disciplinary tactics made some of us question this! He probably started my interest in the environment by the frequent nature walks we undertook around the village. Geography was about drawing maps carefully and of course colouring the sea and the land! I also developed a love for exploration, during the daily walk to school – often resulting in a frantic run as the bell tolled at the start of the school day. No one wanted to be late for school with Mr Lawton waiting by the gate! I passed the 11 plus and rather than going to the local grammar school I went to the Technical High School – now the Sir Henry Floyd Grammar school. It rather saddens me to think it lost its ‘technical name’ as this was a new type of school which offered so much. Going to ‘the Tech’ was really at the behest of my father who had dreams of me becoming an engineer like him. But it was an inspired decision because the Tech had a visionary Headmaster who really was ahead of his time. Though another strong disciplinarian he worked hard to offer what we would now call a ‘rounded education’ to everyone and was at pains to avoid gender stereotyping. Boys and girls were positively encouraged to cross gender boundaries. Thus, we had girls in our metalwork and woodwork classes, and I learnt touch typing – a skill for which I am forever grateful. This of course now looks quite revolutionary for the time. Dad’s ambitions for me were thwarted when I struggled with the sciences – I have the distinction of failing chemistry 3 times each time with a lower grade. My A level choices were therefore English, Geography and British Constitution (the latter really coming in handy with the Brexit discussions!).

Geography was chosen because of an inspirational teacher – Mr Geography Green (yes, we also had a Mr History Green!). He had a way of bringing the subject to life even if he was constrained by a very rigid syllabus. I well remember ‘doing’ the whole of the USSR and SE Asia for A level. 

He sent my friend and I to Dale Fort FSC centre for our fieldwork study. There I was enthralled by the enthusiastic and friendly tutors and found an ambition to be a field tutor – an ambition still unfulfilled though I did build all my teaching around fieldwork. 

I was the first person from the Tech to go to University. Aberystwyth was chosen simply because I had fallen in love with Wales while on holidays with my parents and I wanted to be near the mountains. The presence of the sea was an added bonus – Weston Turville is one of the furthest places from the sea in the country. There followed three very happy years studying under some inspiring if sometimes eccentric lecturers. I initially went to study geology – a foolish decision in retrospect given my chemistry record – and after 6 weeks of struggling with crystallography - changed to geography. 

It was at Aber that I first encountered the GA – the history of geography module had references to the Association and the Aber GA connection with H.J. Fleure. And of course, there was the ever-delightful presence of E.G. Bowen a former president of the Association who did so much to fuel my passion for the subject and teaching – see the entry for E G Bowen. 
I got very involved in the Geography department’s Geog Soc. and was their expeditions officer organising field trips utilising the wealth of knowledge available at the university and outside. This experience was invaluable in my later teaching and running of fieldwork. 
On graduation I got a job in an FE college in Watford which had many resonances with the novel ‘Wilt’ by Tom Sharp. But my mentor, Peter Baker, was wonderfully supportive and somehow, I got through that first year without too many mishaps. It was then that Aber called me back – I got the offer of a research place to study animal diseases under ‘Big Jim’ Taylor – the prospect of another year by the sea visiting farms all across Mid-Wales was too alluring and I blew most of the money I had saved from my first years teaching on taking up the place! My parents thought I was crazy giving up the job in Watford, but it was another good decision. I loved the research year and learnt so much about how academic/research geography works and offers relevance to the wider world. My thesis identified some improvements that vets in the area could make to their strategies for combating animal diseases, which were based less on the physical constraints of the disease but more on the farmers perception of the causes. It was during this work that I shifted from being a physical geographer to one with a behaviourist approach."

What has your career been e.g. teacher / academic / author / other work outside the obvious geography sphere? 

"My first job in Watford on graduation was less a calling but a necessity to get a job. But I loved teaching thanks to the wonderfully supportive colleagues. I think I learnt an important lesson from them – that support during those early years in the profession is crucial. After my MSc year I was lucky enough to be offered a job at Hampshire’s new show college in Andover and there I found myself working with under Geoff Dinkele who was in the middle of writing the 'Reformed Geography' series with Rex Walford and Stephen Hancock
Suddenly I was in the middle of a revolution in geography teaching and rubbing shoulders with some of the key people in the subject. It was Geoff who encouraged me to make my first foray into writing with an article on using Lego to represent Population Pyramids which appeared in 'Classroom Geographer'. (See the earlier post which showed this article) 

I was also blessed to have as Principal of the college another visionary. We were encouraged to engage with the wider community in our teaching and as a result my day could find me teaching in the local primary schools in the morning, grappling with A level geography in afternoon and then teaching on the adult education provision in the evening
My first job was also at a community school with similar courses.
Running a course on weather forecasting for gardeners sticks in my mind as particularly challenging, but I was never short of vegetables. As a result of my time in Andover I have been lucky enough to have taught all ages and abilities! The GA became a natural part of my work. I ran the local GA WorldWise quiz for many years shamelessly using it as a recruiting tool for geography O and A level! 
Somehow, I managed to run 4 fieldwork courses a year for A levels in Geography and Environmental Education, as well as one for the GCE geography evening class. 
My love of fieldwork seemed to be recognised and encouraged, again thanks to a highly supportive Principal. 
It is really because of this work and my subsequent work at the university that I have led 100+ fieldtrips up Cadair Idris – the mountain where my ashes will be scattered when the time comes! 
The retirement of the Principal who had appointed me signalled changes in the college which I began to get uneasy about and resulted in the move to Northumbria University to take up the post of Senior Lecturer in Primary Geography Education. It was a speculative application based really on the desire to live ‘up north’ following a number of holidays in the area. Another lucky decision. I was teamed with a brilliant humanities team and an incredibly effervescent geography colleague – Liz Essex-Cater. 
I had never enjoyed a working relationship like the one we forged – we often talk about teamwork, but I like to think Liz and I took it to a different level – we were able to complement each other’s skills and knowledge to the extent as one ran out of the steam the other was able to take over seamlessly. We brought different skills to our role: Liz loved timetabling which I hated; she did not enjoy organising fieldwork which I found easy. So, our relationship enabled us to bring a high level of enthusiasm and a variety of experiences to our students. We both worked on and were members of the committee for the local GA so the links with the Association continued. 

We presented our first contribution at one of the LSE conferences – remember those paternoster lifts? 
In 2004 Liz attended the Charney Primary Geography conference and encouraged me to go the next year and that started a long-standing relationship with that wonderful community. I now find myself part of the co-ordinating group organising the annual event in Oxfordshire which has become a showcase for all that is excellent about Primary Geography
Liz took early retirement to ‘live the dream’ in France and then was cruelly struck by Motor Neurone Disease. I lost my best friend, colleague and critic in one fell swoop and life at the university was never quite the same. 

When I had been appointed, I could not understand why there was no link between the education department and the geography department – it just seemed to make no sense especially as at that time there was shortage of geography teachers – an issue on which Liz and I had researched and written about. It took a while but eventually I was teaching on the fieldwork module undertaken by the 1st year students. This eventually led to me developing and teaching an assessed module on Geography in Education which sought to encourage more geographers to enter teaching. This quickly became an important module for the department and the university in raising their employment on graduation statistics. I am pleased so many other universities are adopting similar approaches to cultivate members of the teacher profession from their home-grown students. Expanding access to education became a theme for the later part of my career at Northumbria, particularly when I gained promotion and became the Admissions Tutor for all education courses in the department. I led courses which specifically sought to encourage Men into Primary Education and Ethnic Minorities into Teaching. This work was undertaken with our Access department which offered adults non-standard routes into the university – another example of how innovative courses can lead to having a home-grown market for teaching. We were so successful in this work that we were praised by Ofsted for the number of high-quality mature students we consistently attracted onto our courses. 

A spin off from this work was the development of a link with the London Borough of Newham which saw all our undergraduate and postgraduate students on education courses benefitting from an experience of working in the Borough’s schools. This experience was highly praised by Ofsted and saw us become an official London provider of teachers – which felt a little ironic as we were one of the most distant providers in England for the capital! 
Fieldwork continued to be the golden thread through all of my teaching. Modules on all courses were based around giving students the confidence to take children outside and provide a variety of experiences in different environments. This led to both articles and conference presentations which got me increasingly engaged with the national GA community, a move not always positively received by the Senior Management – who did not seem to appreciate how important those contributions were to me both personally and professionally. 

Change is inevitable in education and sadly the university decided that it wanted to raise its status in the research field, and as a result abandoned all those innovative approaches to access opportunities, which had gained it such a high reputation in the local area. As the wonderfully satisfying work I was doing with my admissions hat on began to get closed down, and my geography work was increasingly having to be undertaken under the management radar, the job became less attractive and more demanding in ways that were not ‘me’. 
A voluntary redundancy package offered a way out which I eagerly took. 
The prospect of more time to do what I wanted, when I wanted it coupled with the lure of the nearby Northumberland hills was too a good a chance to overlook. 
In 2012 I left Northumbria and entered retirement..."

Image: Bryan Ledgard

What was your job when you became President? 

"I became President in 2015 so I had three years of enjoying exploring the glorious Northumberland countryside, and pursuing aspects of geography that I had not had time for before retirement. I had become Chair of the Primary Geography editorial board in 2008 and now I had a bit more time for this work. I felt it was particularly important to try to shape the journal to changing needs and demands and ensuring a strong voice for primary geography within the Association and beyond. The GA continued to be an important part of my life – I continued to attend conference and work with the local GA. I was also a moderator for the Primary Geography Quality Mark – work I found to be incredibly inspiring, and which kept me firmly in touch with schools and the changing primary world, even though I was theoretically ‘retired’. 
It was especially rewarding to help schools achieve the award and to see departments thrive in not always inspiring circumstances. The resilience of geography teachers, and their ability to enthuse the children in their care never fails to humble me. 
But the most significant change that occurred after I retired was a strengthening friendship with Paula, Sharon and Tess which was to blossom into the WildThinkers research group

I cannot thank them enough for all the inspiration they gave me and how they slowly and subtly changed my thinking, opening my eyes to a whole new world of geography. I look back on my career and think how I could have done things so much better now I know what I know… I am not quite sure when the plot developed to nominate me for President. 

I know there was some talk at a Charney conference but how it all became a reality and who was ultimately responsible I can’t really remember. The reality struck me for the first time at the Derby conference when it was announced that I was the next Junior Vice President. From the reaction it was clear I had a lot to do to convince others I was up to the job! I hope subsequent events have vindicated the decision to vote me in."

What theme did you choose when President, and why did you pick it? 
What had been your involvement with the GA leading up to that time, and since that time? 

"I chose the theme of Making Geographical Connections. This is the piece advertising the conference which explains the theme. 

I am looking forward to welcoming you to the 2016 Annual GA Conference in Derby, which will explore the connections that give geography its dynamism and relevance to the lives of our students, whatever their age and ambition. By its very nature geography is a ‘connected subject’ with obvious spatial and temporal links across many subjects as well as connections to research in a variety of fields, ranging from emotional, cultural and socio-economic environments to climate change and glaciology. The Annual Conference is an opportunity to not only celebrate and share those links which we have developed in all phases and across all areas, but also consider future connections that could and should be made. It provides an arena for considering questions such as: 
• How do young children connect with the world around them and how could this change in the future? 
• Our older students appear to be globally connected via technology, but how does this impact upon their knowledge and understanding of geography? 
• What is the nature of the connections we, as professionals, make that influence the content and approaches to our teaching? 
• How can we become ‘better connected’ and how can we achieve this? 
The theme asks important questions about the nature, development and future of our subject. Contributions from all sectors of the geographical community are welcomed to encourage a shared understanding of geography and its vital place in education. It would be especially valuable to have examples of how a connection with geography has offered a pathway, and utility, to other professions. The Conference will offer something for all those connected with geography, from the EYFS teacher to the academic researcher. Don’t miss it! 
Steve Rawlinson GA Senior Vice President 2014-15 

Being elected as President of the GA by the members is both an honour and privilege which I never really expected."

Memories of the conference 2016 - Manchester 
"Within days of becoming President in Sept 2015 I faced my first crisis – we had to pull out of our planned commitment to holding the conference at Derby. A pity as Derby was my favourite conference venue.

Luckily, Manchester became a viable alternative and indeed looking back, Derby’s loss was our gain. The centre at Manchester was an exciting location, the facilities excellent and the conference was a great success. The sessions were inspiring and the exhibition one of the best we had held, the facilities at Manchester provided exhibitors with a really stunning space to show off their wares. And everything went off like clockwork thanks to the incredible planning and attention to detail of all the staff at HQ but especially Lucy Oxley, who was the dynamo behind the scenes. 
My other memories of the conference include: 
• The Young Geographers event (guided by the ever supportive and much missed Mike Bradford and facilitated by the staff at Manchester University) - we invited Myra Rose Craig (@Bird Girl) to address the young students. She has gone on to make a name for herself in many fields 
• The conference dinner held underneath the dinosaur in the museum 
• The amazing buzz of excitement and inspiration that persisted throughout the three days and meeting so many enthusiastic geographers – there really is something about being part of the geography community. 
• Bringing a dog into the conference – my chosen charity was Dogs for Good and we were delighted to have one of their trainees join us – he caused quite a stir wherever he went as he knew how to play to the crowd. 
• Thoroughly enjoying giving the presidential lecture, despite the hours spent planning it. It is probably the one thing that people remember from your year as President so getting it right is so important. As I got into my stride on the morning, I suddenly realised I did not need my copious notes. I hope people remember my lecture for more than the fact that I threw them across the stage! 
• Having my daughter at the event – she was the only member of my family able to be there at that time, but I know my parents would have been so proud. 
• Seeing people leaving the conference enthused and excited about their subject and eager to put into practice what they had picked up."

What would you say were the successes / main memories of your GA Presidential year? 
"What were my successes? 
I think that is for others to judge but my own thoughts include: 
• Raising the profile of primary geography both within and outside the Association and encouraging others from the primary field to step into the Presidency role – which of course has happened with Stephen Scoffham and Susan Pike 
• Bringing a touch of humanity to the Association, in the way it works and trying to make it more welcoming and accessible for everyone. Interesting that this has now become a major initiative with the positive attempts to broaden representation. 
• Trying to bring more transparency in decision making and ensuring the Association really does represent all its members. 
• Bringing some fun and creativity into geography at all levels."

Memories of being president. 
"Aside from the frantic but inspiring three days of the conference my other memories of being president include: 
• Working with the wonderfully supportive team at Solly Street to further the cause of geography in all our schools. Their dedication to the cause is second to none. 
• Visiting branches and engaging with geographers and geography teachers doing some inspiring work with young people. 
• Visiting schools to see what was happening at grass roots level to ensure I was grounded in reality. 
• Representing the Association at a number of events e.g. Scottish Association of Geography Teachers where I made so many good friends and is a conference I always go out of my way to attend still 
• Being at the centre of a thriving community both leading and supporting teachers to instil in others my own love of our subject. 
Great sadness when it all came to an end and a feeling that I could do an even better job if I were start again… "

Involvement with the GA since being President:
"I have to confess that once I left the Presidential group, I felt rather bereft. From being at the centre of things, one moves to the periphery and it does leave a bit of a void. I do think that greater use could be made by the Association of the expertise and experience embedded in the body of Past Presidents. Some moves have been made in this direction but it would be good to see these develop further for everyone’s benefit. I continue to be very honoured to be part of the Primary Geography editorial team. I feel that we have developed a style and approach to the journal which makes it stand out and offer leadership to all primary teachers. It is the only journal of its type in the world, so we have a big responsibility! The team have worked hard to ensure that contributions come in from a wide spectrum of authors, schools and of course children – we strive to ensure that children’s voices are heard e.g. ten-year-old Aedhan Brown probably never dreamed that his story would spread across LEGO Foundations and enthusiasts around the world. Winner of Liberty’s ‘Human Rights Young Person of the Year’ Award and The Herald’s ‘Public Campaigner of the year’
Martha Payne had won numerous awards for her NeverSeconds blog, the subject of a BBC documentary, fêted by celebrity chefs, and raised nearly £130,000 for the charity ‘Mary’s Meals’ and had her own book out. She was ten years old when she was interviewed. We are also very pleased to have had a kind of ‘who’s who’ of ‘celebrity’ contributors. 
There are some big names in the list as well as rising stars e.g. in the last edition we interviewed teenagers Amy and Ella Meek, founders of Kids Against Plastic. 
Our list of luminaries includes Simon Reeve, Rob Macfarlane, Tim Marshall, Dame Alison Peacock, Justine Greening, when she was Secretary of State for International Development, Commander Chris Hadfield, actor Timothy Spall, Dame Ellen MacArthur, Michael Rosen, Christopher Somerville, Steve Backshall, Alastair Humphreys and Satish Kumar to name but a few! 
We are also especially pleased to have interviewed members of minority groups such as Sascha Kindred OBE paralympian, and (then) 14-year-old zoologist Kabir Kaul. 
I have recently become part of the WorldWise team and am enjoying the challenges and opportunities that working with young people in that context presents. It is an aspect of GA work which is inspiring and should have greater recognition both inside the Association and without – something I hope I can help achieve. When you are elected as President of the GA you wonder how anything can top that - where else is there to go as a geographer and teacher? 
So, it was an amazing honour to receive, in 2020, the Association’s highest honour – Honorary Membership. That was a really proud moment and one I will never forget. 

Why does the GA matter to you? 
• It has been a way of life and a constant for me throughout my career. 
• It provided the occasions and opportunities to meet some of the most wonderful colleagues and friends who I continue to work with and whose company I enjoy 
• It gave me the support and opportunities that would otherwise would have passed me by 
• Expanded my horizons and developed my thinking – I would not now be working on a book with a colleague if it were not for the experiences the GA gave me 
• I got involved at university, supported it throughout my teaching career, held a variety of posts with my local branch and of course became the President. I cannot encourage young geographers enough to take up membership and become involved…it is a doorway to so many paths for your career. I still find it hard to believe that my name appears alongside so many giants of the geography world – I am both proud and humbled to be in such company. "

Teaching/Research Interests: 
• Developing awareness of the value of fieldwork in the primary sector 
• The development of all aspects of environmental education within the curriculum, and the link with outdoor education 
• Promoting excellence in Primary Geography teaching via research and chairing the Primary Geography Editorial Board 
• Developing and delivering CPD programmes based around the Wildthink approach 
• Looking for fun and happiness in all my continuing geography adventures and promoting this wherever and whenever I can 
Nothing gives me greater pleasure than exploring the more remote, secret and wilder places of the British Isles with my dog, especially the border country in my home county of Northumbria. I am always very happy to share this love of the outdoors and its mysteries with friends and colleagues. 
Steve’s Desert island discs: 
"Crispian St Peters – You Were on my Mind  – Weston Turville Memories – audio lessons with dad – this was the test record used on our sound equipment 
Led Zeppelin – Stairway to Heaven  – Aberystwyth Memories – most memorable concert while a student in the now vanished King’s hall 
Kate Bush – Them heavy people from the album the Kick inside  – Andover Memories – taking students up Cadair Idris on fieldwork. 
One group bought this album for me and this song with the lyric ‘Rolling the ball’ became the anthem for all future parties sung on the way up 
Queen – These are the Days of our Lives - Andover – watching Live Aid with my daughter – went out and bought Queen albums as result of performance. 
Bruce Springsteen – Born to Run – Newcastle Memories – running the great north run – annual event of personal significance to me as I have ‘run’ it 24 times 
Holst – Mars from the Planet Suite - Weston Turville Memories – listening to classical music with my granddad on a home-built record player and big bass reflex speaker. He could play the piano – I tried the violin but failed. 
The Four Seasons – December, 1963 (Oh what a night) - Andover Memories - meeting Sally, my wife The Who – Tommy - Newcastle Memories – taking my eldest daughter to her first musical 
The one disc I would save would be ‘These are the days of our lives’ by Queen simply for its optimism My book would be Wainwright's complete Lake District guides so I can capture the feel of wild places 
My luxury would be a complete set of 1:25000 OS maps so I can revisit past adventures in the hills and plan those I will undertake when I finally escape." 

References
Rawlinson, S. & Willy, T. (2019) Introduction. In Willy, T. (Ed) Leading Primary Geography Sheffield: Geographical Association, 7-15 
Rawlinson, S. (2019) Celebrating 30 Years of Primary Geography GA Magazine 42, p24 
Rawlinson, S. & Willy, T. (2019) Editorial. Primary Geography 99, p4-5 
Ballin, B., Owens, P., Rawlinson, S. & Willy, T. (2019) Graveyard Geography Primary Geography (98), pp16-17 
Rawlinson, S. (2017) From Charney to President. In Catling, S (Ed). In Reflections on Primary Geography. Sheffield: The Register of Research in Primary Geography, 28-36 
Rawlinson, S. (2016) It's all a matter of connections...', Primary Geography (91), pp5-6 
Rawlinson, S. (2011) Look to the Future’ Primary Geography, 74 pp 5-6 
Martin, F & Rawlinson, S. (2009) Britain and Britishness Primary Geographer, Summer, pp 6-7 
Catling, S. et al (2007) Education Matters: The State of Geography in English Primary Schools Geography, 92 (2), pp118-136 
Boyle, A et al (2007) Fieldwork is good: the student perception and the affective domain, Journal of Geography in Higher Education, Vol 31 (2) pp299-317 
Rawlinson, S., Essex-Cater, E., Bolden, D., Constable, H., (2003) Have Geographers Lost Their Way? Issues Relating to the Recruitment of Geographers into School Teaching Journal of Geography in Higher Education, Vol. 27(1), pp39-56 
Rawlinson, S. & Soni, V. (2002) Improving the Recruitment of Ethnic Minorities into Primary Teaching; Developments in the North-East of England in Emerging Issues in Teacher Supply and Retention Proceedings of the second conference of the Teacher Supply and Retention Project, North London University, an IPSE publication. 
Fuller, I., Rawlinson, S., & Bevan, R. (2000) An Evaluation of Students Learning Experiences in Physical Geography Fieldwork: Fluvial Studies. Paddling or Pedagogy?” Journal of Geography in Higher Education. Vol. 24 (2), pp. 199-215 
Book contributions 
Rawlinson, S. & Willy, T. (2019) Introduction. In Willy, T. (Ed) Leading Primary Geography Sheffield: Geographical Association, 7-15 
Rawlinson, S. & Essex-Cater, E. (2010) revised chapter on Environmental Geography in Scoffham, S. (2010) Primary Geography Handbook The Geographical Association. 
Rawlinson, S. & Essex-Cater, E. (2005) Chapter on Environmental Geography in Scoffham, S. (2005) Primary Geography Handbook The Geographical Association. 
Rawlinson, S. (2004) ‘Don’t forget the Trainees: Issues relating to the Recruitment of Geographers into Primary Teaching’ Special Publication No 1 Researching Primary Geography Ed 
Simon Catling and Fran Martin Conference papers: February 2021 Gathering the Light: MindWalking, presented at the Charney Primary Geography Conference February 2017 
The Machine Stops: exploring children’s futures through storytelling, presented with Tessa Willy at the Charney Primary Geography conference April 2016 
Presidential Address: Making Geographical Connections presented at GA Annual Conference, Manchester February 2016 
Every picture tells a story presented at the Charney Manor Primary Geography Conference. April 2012 The Sensual Geographies of Difference presented at the GA Annual Conference, Manchester April 2010 Living Geography: 8 Ways thinking with iPods and new technology, Presented at GA Annual Conference, Derby April 2009 
Living Geography – 8 Way Thinking; Evolution and Evaluation. Presented at Geographical Association’s Annual Conference, Manchester February 2009 
Primary ITE Recruitment: Issues, quality and retention. Presented at Charney Manor Primary Geography conference April 2008 
Living Geography - 8 Ways Fieldwork. Presented at Geographical Association's Annual Conference, Guildford Feb 2005 
Developing the Fieldwork Experience of Trainees; some thoughts and approaches. Presented at Charney Manor Primary Geography conference June 2004 
Encouraging Students to Consider Teaching as a Career. Presented with Cath White at the IGU Congress Glasgow March 2004 
So You Want to Teach? Or how we get the students in! Presented at the Charney Manor conference – Enhancing Primary Geography Sept 2003 
Change and the Newcastle Quayside: a report on at TTA funded initiative to encourage more students into teaching. Presented with Catherine White at the RGS Annual Conference, London June 2001 
Where Have All the Geographers Gone? Presented with Liz Essex-Carter at the conference on Teacher Supply and Retention: Emerging Issues North London University April 1998 
Geographical Simulations within the context of Fieldwork: A Northumberland Experience Presented at the Geographical Association’s Annual Conference, University of Leeds. April 1997 
You Can Do It Too - introducing environmental education in primary schools Presented with Liz Essex Cater at the Geographical Association Annual conference, LSE 

Top image copyright: Bryan Ledgard / Steve Rawlinson
As always, memories of Steve Rawlinson and his time as GA President welcome.

Monday 14 June 2021

Thought for the Day



"Planning occurs when mankind makes a definite and conscious atempt to model or mould his environment. […] Cain embarked upon arable farming, which is the origin of country planning; and his son built the first town."

Sir Patrick Abercrombie 'Town and Country Planning' (1933)

GA President 1937

Sunday 13 June 2021

The Third Degree

Thanks to Frances Soar for sending me details of a radio quiz which features Barnaby Bear. Start from around 13 minutes in.

The link to listen is here.


The specialist subjects this week are Marine and Freshwater Biology, Education and Forestry Management and Conservation, and the questions range from brothels and bats to Barnaby Bear. There's also a chance to brush up on your fronted adverbials. 

Saturday 12 June 2021

The Action Plan for Geography

For several Presidents, their period of office coincided with the Action Plan for Geography.

This ran from 2006-11

Several of the GA Presidents mentioned this in their Presidential lecture.

Keith Grimwade told me:  "The big curriculum initiative during my Presidency was the Action Plan for Geography.

Lord Adonis was a great supporter of geographical education but could not understand why we had the RGS/IBG and the GA - politicians prefer dealing with just one organisation. Negotiating and securing the GA’s distinctive role was, I think, one of my biggest achievements, much of which went on behind closed doors and could not be broadcast. 
I keep a letter from Lord Adonis acknowledging my work, and recognising the GA’s contribution."


References

It is well worth downloading the Action Plan for Geography Final Report to see what the GA and RGS-IBG did when working together.

Pikes Peak

Thanks to Jeremy Krause for the image of Pat Cleverley and Sheila Jones, two former GA Presidents in Colorado on a GA tour 25 years ago.

See the recent announcement about the passing of Sheila.

Wednesday 9 June 2021

2014: Mark Higginbottom

Mark Higginbottom was GA President during 2014. He has spent a career supporting other teachers as an advisor and school improvement officer since 2002.


As with more recent Presidents, much of this entry has been written thanks to contributions from Mark to a questionnaire which I sent round to all the Presidents who are still around to answer one.

Mark has worked in the North West of England for many years, and has a long association with that part of the world, having been born in Stockport in 1965 - which makes him younger than me. A whippersnapper President :)

Mark also kindly invited me over to Wigan to lead a session for him while I was working for the GA, which I remember was held in the function ground of a local rugby union team with a lovely group of teachers.

Mark went to New Mills School, then went on to study at the University of Manchester (BSc Joint Hons Geography and Geology, before going to Sheffield University to do a PGCE in Secondary Geography, where his tutor turned out to be another former GA President: the remarkable Margaret Roberts. He was also an NQT when he first met Sue Warn, another former GA President. These encounters were important in Mark's further engagement with the GA as well as his own professional development.

He has been particularly associated with the Worldwise brand, including the Worldwise Quiz (including the website element) and the Worldwise Challenge weekends.

Mark has also accompanied teams to the iGeo events to locations around the world. In 2019, there was a particularly impressive performance by the team. More on that competition and the role of the GA has been posted separately.

Mark chose Making an Impact as his Conference theme.

"Making an Impact'. The theme of ‘Making an Impact’ provided an opportunity to reflect on the geography our young people encounter and engage with and the relevance it plays to their everyday lives and experiences, be they EYFS, primary, secondary, post 16 or HEI students and whatever their ethnicity or socio-economic background.

I have been a GA member since September 1998. You had to join before Margaret Roberts would let you onto her PGCE! Since 2001 I have coordinated what was Geography Action Week (now Worldwise week), which led on to being the GA link for the Challenge weekend and have been co-chair of Worldwise since 2005. I have been team leader for the International Geography Olympiad since 2006. In 2019 in Hong Kong TeamUK had its best ever success, ranked 3rd in the World (43 countries competed), with a gold (the student was 2nd in the World out of 167 students, a silver and two bronze. 
I was a member of the membership and professional board for three years before electing elected to Council, serving for two and a half years before it became the Governing body, whereon I served for six years. Twelve months later I was elected as President for 2014 - 2015."

During his Presentation Mark included some voices from young people, with the help of Daniel Raven Ellison.
It included this thought provoking question:

“Asked if geography helps young people shape an understanding and appreciation of the world around them, whoever they are, wherever they live and whatever their academic interests, I believe we would all immediately respond with a resounding ‘yes!’; but do we really know the impact geography has on shaping them as ‘well rounded’ human beings?”


Mark's Presidential Address in 2015 was memorable, particularly for him.

He told me:
"The buzz of conference in your Presidential year is hugely memorable. Meeting teachers and young people and seeing your theme being put into practice and the impact it was having was a real success for me. Working with the three other Presidents as a team ensured synergy between years to further strengthen and embed my own theme over time. The minutes before my Presidential lecture will be a lifetime memory, in many ways!" - another President to mention the lecture - should I be worried?

Mark is now heavily involved in the iGeo competition, which takes students around the world to compete in the annual Geography Olympiad. The 2019 team had particular success, and the momentum behind this competition has been building, although the Pandemic has sadly curtailed competition and travel for a while.

Mark has been described by other Presidents as a particularly talented teacher and colleague, including those he has been worked with personally over the years.

Why the GA matters to Mark?
"The GA matters hugely. It is a community of like-minded professionals committed to working with teachers, educators to enrich young peoples lives through geography."

Mark also mentioned the importance of the support of other former GA Presidents as part of the personal journey:
"Many previous presidents were all very supportive and encouraging during my time as President. Of note however was Professor Michael Bradford. Mike was my lecturer at the University of Manchester and was doubly keen to support me in my year, as conference and the associated futures day was at the University. Mike met with me many times, providing wisdom and guidance, for which I will always be so very grateful. Mike pulled out all the stops to make my presidential term, my 2015 conference and the futures day a great success for everyone."

Images: copyright Bryan Ledgard / GA and used with permission.
Selfie of Mark in his natural habitat sent by Mark himself 

References


Mark has written for a number of GA Publications over the years, and contributed to the materials which are made available for Worldwise Week (formerly Geography Action Week) - former packs can be downloaded from here.

Mark's Presidential Lecture - 'Making an Impact'

As always, any memories of Mark in his time as President, or working with the GA welcome...

From the archive - Fleure to Mill 2 - Christmas 1933

Another letter from H J Fleure to Hugh Robert Mill. I love these old letters in the GA Archives. I plan to go up to Solly Street this comin...