GeogPod 84 with Steve Brace

Episode 84 of GeogPod features Steve Brace. Listen below, or visit the website.

Steve Brace on the value of fieldwork

Over the years Chief Executives of the GA have engaged with newspapers and had letters published at various time.

If you missed yesterday's Guardian (as I do out of term time), here's the letter from Steve Brace on the importance of fieldwork...

The GA's new Chief Executive: Steve Brace

An important announcement from the GA today.

Alan Kinder's replacement was announced.

The full announcement said:

The Geographical Association (GA) is delighted to announce that Steve Brace has been appointed as its new Chief Executive.

Steve is already well known to the geography education community having previously been Head of Education and Outdoor Learning at the Royal Geographical Society (with Institute of British Geographers) (RGS (with IBG)). He started his career as a geography teacher at a London comprehensive, moving on to roles at the charity Action Aid and the Commonwealth Institute, before joining the RGS (with IBG). Whether via social media or through regular contributions to the Times Educational Supplement and other newspapers, Steve has become an important and trusted spokesperson for geography.

Professor Alastair Owens, the GA’s Chair of Trustees, commented:

‘Steve Brace is a leading figure in the geography education community, and I am thrilled that he will be joining the GA. He brings deep experience of supporting geography teachers from primary to A level, has been influential in shaping education policy relevant to our discipline, has built many partnerships and raised funds to develop new initiatives, and has played a key role in making geography more diverse and inclusive.

Steve’s energy and strategic vision will enable the GA to address the needs of its members in responsive and imaginative ways and ensure that it continues to be a powerful voice in advocating for the relevance and value of a geographical education in a rapidly changing world. The GA and geographical education are in very good hands.’

Steve Brace said:

‘I am delighted to be joining the GA as its Chief Executive and to lead the organisation at such an important time for our subject. My first GA conference was in 1989. Since then, I have worked alongside many GA colleagues, its trustees and members – and long admired its work.

The GA, and our subject community as a whole, have much to celebrate. There have been significant improvements in geography teaching across primary and secondary schools. Exam entries have increased and geographers are receiving greater public recognition.

However, there is more work needed to strengthen the supply of subject specialist geography teachers, to protect and develop fieldwork, advance equality, diversity and inclusion and better connect geography’s value to all young people’s aspirations. The GA, through its own work and in partnership, has a vital role to play in addressing such challenges. I am pleased to be joining during Denise Freeman’s Presidential year and look forward to working with her, Vice President Hina Robinson, the entire GA community and its collaborators to address these priorities.’

Steve will join the GA staff on 25 March 2024 in good time for the Annual Conference and Exhibition, themed ‘Geography for Everyone’, which takes place at the University of Manchester, 4–6 April 2024.

🎉Congratulations to Steve Brace, our former colleague, on his appointment as CEO at @The_GA.

We are all looking forward to the opportunities to collaborate more closely between our organisations. https://t.co/QVRn31OzGg

— Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) (@RGS_IBG) March 14, 2024

GA Presidential Election for 2025-6

Following the call for nominations for the role of GA President 2025–26, an election is now taking place to discover the next GA President to succeed Hina Robinson, who will be GA President for 2024-5.

Nominations have been received for Catherine Owen and Kit Marie Rackley.

The GA President holds a number of key responsibilities, including setting the theme of the GA Annual Conference, chairing the Conference Planning Board and delivering the Presidential Lecture at Conference.

The President serves as Vice President (2024–5) in their first year and as an ex-officio member of Education Group. In the second year, as President (2025–6), they will also serve as the Chair of Education Group. 

Following their presidency, they serve for one further year as Immediate Past President (2026–7) and remain as a member of the GA’s Governing Body. 

Throughout the period of office, they work with the Chair of Trustees and Chief Executive to help steer the work of the Governing Body and the Association.

Read the statements from the two candidates and vote for your preferred choice by the 26th of February. You have a month to shape the future of the GA through your decision here. 

This election continues a trend of having more teacher Presidents put themselves forward than has historically been the case.

The new President will also be working with a new GA Chief Executive.

You have until the 5th of February to apply for that exciting role. Details here.

And if you want to vote and you aren't already a GA member, then now is your perfect opportunity to join and have your say.

A chance to be the next Chief Executive of the GA

A chance for an exciting new role for someone in 2024.

Full details here.

We now seek a new Chief Executive to provide strategic leadership of the GA and its passionate, professional staff team of 18, based at the Association’s headquarters in Sheffield. This is a strategic role for a collaborative leader to shape and drive the development and implementation of the Association’s strategic vision. 

Our current Strategic Plan comes to an end in 2025, giving you the opportunity to work closely with trustees and members to build on past achievements and identify and develop new opportunities to enable the Association to thrive into the 2030s.

Denise on the move

Denise Freeman has now completed the first third of her GA Presidency for 20223-4.

She said:

Advocating for geography education sits at the heart of what the GA stands for and what we do as a community. As President I have placed advocacy at the centre of my work. Over the current academic year I will be travelling to different parts of the UK and meeting those involved in all stages of geography education.

As part of the Presidential cycle I am currently a trustee of the GA. Being a trustee is a great way to actively support and contribute to the Association. I am currently busy working with other trustees to recruit our next Chief Executive.

Another aspect of ‘life at the GA’ is the great work and dedication shown by our special interest groups and phase committees. Over the past term, I have been privileged to attend many meetings for these groups. Thank you to all the volunteers who give up their time to support the Association through these groups and their activities.

Finally, as we head into 2024, my attention is increasingly turning to our Annual Conference. The theme is ‘Geography for Everyone’ and I can’t wait to explore this with all who attend. Do get your early bird tickets here.

A special ESRI StoryMap has been created to trace her travels to various parts of the country: north, south, east and west.

A change of Chief Executive

This blog has traced the history of the GA's Governance, including the change to a structure which included a Chief Executive.

A recent important change was announced.

Alan Kinder is stepping down as Chief Executive after 11 years in the role. 

Alan’s last working day at the GA will be Thursday 21 December 2023. Best wishes of course to Alan for his new role, and heartfelt thanks for all that he has achieved in that time. This will be an interesting period for the GA. 

In a recent update in the Newsletter we learned:

Alan will be taking up a new, dual role early in 2024, as Chief Executive Officer of the Regional Studies Association and General Manager of RSA Europe.

During his time at the GA, Alan crafted two strategic plans (covering the periods 2014–19 and 2020–2025), led the successful implementation of the 2014–19 plan and ensured the GA further developed under its current strategic plan. 

This work focused on bringing geography teachers together, meeting their professional needs, raising the profile of the Association and advocating for high-quality geographical education. It underpinned a doubling of GA membership between 2012 and 2023 and significant growth in the number of schools and teachers engaged with the GA, particularly through its professional development events and social media activities.

Alan represented the GA and the interests of the geography teaching community on national and international stages throughout his time in post, providing expert advice to (amongst others) the Department for Education, Ofsted and Ofqual. 

Through his advocacy work and the extensive body of professional advice and support material he authored on behalf of the GA and its partner organisations, Alan exerted a considerable influence on the curriculum and professional practice we see in geography education today. His recent work to develop a GA Framework for the school geography curriculum will continue to shape the nature and scope of the geography curriculum in the years ahead.

GA Chief Executive Alan Kinder said:

“As a former teacher of geography, it has been the most enormous honour and privilege to have served as the GA’s Chief Executive for more than eleven years. This is a vibrant community, supporting a vital part of every young person’s education. 

Teachers of geography deserve the assistance of an independent subject association, focused squarely on their needs and interests, and I hope I have been able to play a role in representing and supporting teachers effectively during my time in post. 

As I begin to prepare for the exciting professional challenges that lie ahead for me, I’m confident that the GA will use its current strategy as a strong foundation for further progress in the years ahead.”

The search for Alan's replacement is underway.

In the meantime, the leadership of the Association will be shared amongst a number of people in important SLT roles at Solly Street along with several prominent volunteers (and former GA Presidents).

Professor Alastair Owens, the Chair of Trustees shared the news on the plans for continuity of leadership.

Interim leadership arrangements

I am delighted to announce that Elaine Anderson (Head of Publishing), Alex Forsyth (Finance and Operations Manager), and Becky Kitchen (Head of Professional Development) have agreed to share the responsibilities of the Chief Executive role until a new Chief Executive is in post. 

I am also pleased to share that John Hopkin, current Honorary Treasurer of the GA and a former President, has agreed to provide mentorship and support of the acting Chief Executive team, ensuring that there is co-ordination of their roles and responsibilities.

I am very grateful to Elaine, Alex and Becky for agreeing to provide leadership and continuity at this time of transition. Collectively they bring a wide range of skills, know the Association very well, and are already focused on the leadership and delivery of our strategic priorities. During their period of leadership any communications for the attention of the Chief Executive should be addressed to ChiefExec@geography.org.uk so that it can be allocated to the individual with relevant responsibilities.

I am also grateful to John who will bring great wisdom and longstanding GA experience to his advisory and mentoring role.

Search for a new Chief Executive

The GA’s Board of Trustees has established a search committee to oversee the appointment of a new Chief Executive. Following a selection process, the committee has recently contracted the recruitment agency Peridot to assist in this process. 

An advertisement and ‘job pack’ are currently being prepared and will be shared shortly; we encourage members to further share this with any individuals they think suited to the role. Please feel free to write to me at a.j.owens@qmul.ac.uk if you have suggestions for candidates. We hope to have the new Chief Executive in post by the summer of next year.

I am grateful to the entire GA community – our members, those who run our committees, special interest groups and branches, the dedicated staff who work in Sheffield, the trustees and our partners and collaborators – for their continued support and commitment during this period of transition. As we approach the end of the year, I wish everyone a restful and happy holiday period.

Prof Alastair Owens - Chair of Trustees, The Geographical Association

Alan Kinder to step down from his GA Chief Executive post

I have covered the story of the previous GA Chief Executives as part of the writing of this blog.  

It was announced today that Alan Kinder is going to be stepping down as Chief Executive of the Geographical Assocation. He is moving to a new job with the Regional Studies Association in 2024.

The Chair of the RSA Board is Professor Neil Lee, Geography Department, London School of Economics and readers of the blog will know that the GA and LSE were connected for many decades, with some former GA Presidents being drawn from LSE staff, and the GA Conference being held there for many years too.

Alan leaves the GA in a strong position having completed 11 years in post. He has been an excellent Chief Executive, taking over from Professor David Lambert.

I first knew Alan when he co-chaired the Secondary Phase Committee I served on from 2004, when he was an Advisory teacher in London. He also co-edited the KS3 Toolkit series in 2007ish which I contributed to. I have co-presented with him at GA Conferences. 

He has overseen some dramatic changes in the GA's structure, staffing and operations and taken it through the pandemic to emerge in a very strong position with record membership levels.

I wish him all the best for his next challenge. 

This also means that there is an exciting job opportunity for someone as well: as the GA's next Chief Executive.

Yesterday was also the deadline for nominations for GA President 2025-26 and it will be interesting to find out who has put themselves forward... 

Statements below from the GA website:

GA Chief Executive Alan Kinder said:

“As a former teacher of geography, it has been the most enormous honour and privilege to have served as the GA’s Chief Executive for more than eleven years. This is a vibrant community, supporting a vital part of every young person’s education. Teachers of geography deserve the assistance of an independent subject association, focused squarely on their needs and interests, and I hope I have been able to play a role in representing and supporting teachers effectively during my time in post. As I begin to prepare for the exciting professional challenges that lie ahead for me, I’m confident that the GA will use its current strategy as a strong foundation for further progress in the years ahead.”

GA Chair of Trustees Professor Alastair Owens said:

“Alan Kinder has been an outstanding Chief Executive of the Geographical Association. Over his eleven years of energetic and committed leadership, he has worked tirelessly to support the geography education community, resulting in unparalleled levels of engagement with the Association’s activities and a doubling of its membership. Alan is a skilled and influential advocate for the discipline while also being a generous mentor, colleague and friend. While sad that he will be moving on from the GA, I congratulate him warmly on his new roles at the Regional Studies Association.

We are delighted to announce that the new CEO of @regstud will be Alan Kinder @GAChiefExec. Read the full story https://t.co/hdcPG7DkHp pic.twitter.com/vi0PtAzYZe

— Regional Studies Association (@regstud) November 2, 2023

10 000 members

Yesterday, a piece that I had written went up on the GA website to celebrate the fact that we had broken through the 10 000 member mark for the first time in quite some time after decades of slow decline in GA membership. 

This is really encouraging and also a challenge for the Association to continue to provide the quality of support and services that members expect and deserve, and also to retain members. It's important for the work that the GA does that we are speaking on behalf of so many people when it comes to consultations and policy work. Thanks to everyone who has joined us and continues to support the Geographical Association.

Alan Kinder - Chief Executive

Alan Kinder was appointed as the Chief Executive of the GA in 2012, taking office in September of that year. I'd known Alan since 2005 ish when we first started working on the books which were the original editions in the KS3 Teacher Toolkit - others have been added to the series since.

Alan also served on, and was co-chair of Secondary Phase Committee for a while when I also served on the committee.

Here's the announcement of Alan's appointment as David Lambert's replacement as Chief Executive on the GA website back in 2012, thanks to the Wayback Machine.

Alan had a varied career before becoming the Chief Executive, involving himself in many aspects of the subject, and the different groups the GA engages with.

There is a brief biography on the GA website.

Alan has had a wide variety of roles within geographical education: geography teacher, school and curriculum leader, field studies officer, local authority adviser, PGCE tutor and educational consultant. 

His work has taken him from the south coast of England to South Yorkshire and from continental Europe to South-East Asia, giving him the opportunity to work with hundreds of schools from across the UK and further afield. 

Alan has written and contributed to a large body of professional and curriculum materials: books, CPD courses, newspaper and journal articles and website materials on behalf of organisations including the Geographical Association, Oxford University Press, Routledge, the Prince’s Teaching Institute, Times Educational Supplement, RGS-IBG and many others. He is, with John Widdowson, the series co-editor of the GA's award-winning Key Stage 3 Geography Teacher's Toolkit.

Alan has played a key role in advising government on curriculum matters over many years and has had a significant influence on the content and structure of the national curriculum for geography. He was a member of the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) panel which advised on English national curriculum reforms in 2008 and reformed A levels that same year. 

Alan was also a national advisor for the implementation of the 2008 Key Stage 3 curriculum in schools. In 2012 he joined the Department for Education’s (DfE’s) subject expert group to advise the Government on the 2014 National Curriculum and GCSE subject criteria for geography from 2016; he was a member of the Geography Expert Subject Advisory Group (GESAG) for the implementation of the 2014 national curriculum and a member of the A Level Content Advisory Board (ALCAB) geography panel, responsible for advising the DfE on A level geography content criteria from 2016. 

Alan has advised the QCDA on national assessment initiatives and Ofqual, the qualification regulator, on specification regulation.

He currently sits on the Council for British Geography (COBRIG), is a Director of the Council for Subject Associations (CfSA), a virtual editorial board member and regular contributor to the SecEd educational newspaper and a corresponding member of the International Geographical Union Commission on Geographical Education (IGU-CGE) UK sub-committee. 

In 2017 he joined the University Of Sheffield Department of Geography’s advisory board.

As a long-standing member of the Geographical Association, Alan served on the GA's Secondary Phase Committee between 1998 and 2008 (Co-Chair 2005-8), chaired its Education Committee from 2009-12 and served as a member of the GA Governing Body from 2009-12. 

Alan's role is tremendously varied and challenging and I have hugely valued his support for my own Presidential journey, and his thoughtful and measured approach to all meetings. The final year has been particularly demanding on Alan and all the staff at GA HQ. Alan will hopefully not mind me mentioning that he has a few more grey hairs in his beard... as do I, but have come through it remarkably well and we are in a good place going forward.

Alan has contributed numerous articles to GA publications over the years, as well as chapters in the Secondary Handbook. He co-writes a Policy Matters column in the GA magazine each issue, along with the President.

I have learned a great deal working with Alan during my time as Junior Vice and Vice President, and look forward to working with him and the team at Solly Street over the next two years.

Image: Bryan Ledgard - Alan K with John Lyon at the Association at Work day.

GeogPod: Alan Kinder

The latest GeogPod podcast, and the last for a few weeks, is an interview with Alan Kinder who talks about his journey to becoming the GA's Chief Executive, and the work of the Geographical Association. He says lots which are of relevance to this blog, and mentions some former GA Presidents who have featured here, such as Rex Walford and Douglas Freshfield.

John talks about his own experiences with the Geographical Association, going back to 1976 and visiting the library at Fulwood Road. He and Alan also say something which I've heard quite a few times before - that visitors to Solly Street can't believe how much is done by such a small number of staff.

Alan talks about the purpose of the GA and its link with the subject discipline and the notion of community and lays out with his usual clarity the key purposes of the GA, and how those are communicated and sometimes contested.

The GA is an association of geography educators, and developed to enable discussions of shared values and the exchange of ideas.

John discusses Douglas Freshfield's introduction to the first journal 'The Geographical Teacher', something I've also covered over on the blog, and the impact of the internet on teacher development and communicating.

Alan reminds us of the importance of the GA, and how it has got to where it is now... influenced by the 100+ GA Presidents who have held the role over the decades, and those who have got involved in whatever way they have with the GA - and there are several options for that. 

He also talks about the value of being a GA member, and why some people may not become members.

Alan talks about the future of the GA, and the challenges ahead as well as the powerful work that continues to be done, and discusses the GA's new Strategy as well as trailing the GA Conference ahead - conference began in 1921, so this is the centenary year for that.

1998: Martin Curry

Updated May 2021

Martin Curry was never the President of the GA, but was the first CEO of the Association.
This was a bold move, and one that changed the way that the GA was run, in terms of its structure.
It was mentioned by Rex Walford in a chapter in "Issues in Geography Education" (Fisher & Binns, Ed) (2000)



There was an interview with Martin published in the TES in April 1999.
It mentioned his background before taking up the job:

"Not that he knows that much about the mechanics of school-teaching, he admits cheerfully, as he has never had to do it himself."

A biography followed:

Martin Curry was born in Bollington, east Cheshire, in 1952. Educated at King Edward VI Grammar School in Macclesfield, he studied law at London University before spending three years as an articled clerk, culminating in his Law Society finals in 1976.

It was his legal training which got him his first paid environmental job as administrative officer for the Lincolnshire and South Humberside Trust.

But his big break came in 1982 when he became manager of Gibraltar Point nature reserve, south of Skegness. It was a good induction to the life of a reserve manager, combining solitude with total immersion in the local community. He also met his future wife Mary, known as Midge, who had replaced him at the Lincolnshire and South Humberside Trust. The pair moved to Yorkshire in 1987, where Mr Curry became head of information services at North York Moors National Park, responsible for visitors' centres and school services. From there they moved to the Scottish Deer Centre in Fife, to what was practically a joint appointment for the couple with Mr Curry as general manager and his wife as his assistant in the privately-owned park.

They moved to Rum in 1992 to take up what Mr Curry describes as "a dream job, something I had held as my ultimate ambition for 20 years". He has fond memories of the island, but decided to leave after Scottish Natural Heritage said it wanted to develop a sustainable community on Rum.
The Isle of Rum is a place I have also visited, and spent a week there working for the Scottish Nature Conservancy Council removing non-native rhododendrons and doing some painting in the castle.

The President of the GA at the time was Roger Carter, who said:
 "He may not have a background of teaching in schools, but he is clearly in tune with what is important to the GA in terms of his commitment to outdoor education, environment and sustainability."
Martin was also featured on the front cover of the 'GA News' in January 1999, with a picture and some further details.

He stayed in post for a short time before moving to another role, as outlined in this GA News piece:

Martin was eventually succeeded as Chief Executive by David Lambert in 2002. (PDF download)

References
https://www.tes.com/news/beyond-island-dreamsbriefingpeople