Updated December 2025
Wendy Morgan was also the GA President when the GA officially opened its Solly Street HQ, having moved from Fulwood Road as described in recent posts on the blog.
Wendy was the person who officially 'cut the ribbon' on what had previously been called 'Greco House' when it was opened in 1997.
She worked for a time at Elmsett Primary School in Suffolk.
"I made friends with a
geography lecturer at the college and she
encouraged me to attend a GA conference
in the early 1960s, to see what the Primary
Section was doing. In those days, the
Primary Section comprised four men and
one woman, who would meet together
in the bowels of the London School of
Economics. It was very much the Cinderella
of the GA at that time. It proceeded from
there and I became Chair after Ron Barker.
Meanwhile, I became an assistant teacher
in a leafy suburb of London and then head
of Elmsett Primary School in Suffolk."
She was also part of the the National Curriculum Working Group which has been mentioned elsewhere on the blog, with the work of other GA luminaries including Eleanor Rawling, Michael Storm and Rex Walford (also all former Presidents) which did such important work during the late 1980s to shape school geography and the curriculum - important work for the GA over the decades since it was founded.
Other members of this NCWG were:
Mrs. Kay Edwards—Head of Geography, Penglais Comprehensive School, Aberystwyth
Mr. Richard Lethbridge—Former chairman, Tower Steel (Holdings) plc, now a branch secretary of the Country Landowners' Association
Mrs. Wendy Morgan—Recently retired headmistress of Elmsett Primary School, Suffolk
Dr. Keith Paterson—Senior Lecturer in Geography, Liverpool Institute of Higher Education
Mrs. Eleanor Rawling—National Co-ordinator, Geography Schools and Industry Project
Mr. Michael Storm—Staff Inspector for Geography and Environmental Studies, Inner London Education Authority
Mrs. Rachel Thomas—Member of the Countryside Commission and Exmoor National Park Committee
Mr. Rex Walford—Lecturer in Geography and Education, University of Cambridge
She was also part of the the National Curriculum Working Group which has been mentioned elsewhere on the blog, with the work of other GA luminaries including Eleanor Rawling, Michael Storm and Rex Walford (also all former Presidents) which did such important work during the late 1980s to shape school geography and the curriculum - important work for the GA over the decades since it was founded.
Other members of this NCWG were:
Mrs. Kay Edwards—Head of Geography, Penglais Comprehensive School, Aberystwyth
Mr. Richard Lethbridge—Former chairman, Tower Steel (Holdings) plc, now a branch secretary of the Country Landowners' Association
Mrs. Wendy Morgan—Recently retired headmistress of Elmsett Primary School, Suffolk
Dr. Keith Paterson—Senior Lecturer in Geography, Liverpool Institute of Higher Education
Mrs. Eleanor Rawling—National Co-ordinator, Geography Schools and Industry Project
Mr. Michael Storm—Staff Inspector for Geography and Environmental Studies, Inner London Education Authority
Mrs. Rachel Thomas—Member of the Countryside Commission and Exmoor National Park Committee
Mr. Rex Walford—Lecturer in Geography and Education, University of Cambridge
It's worth reading this interview in the TES, which provides a lot more information about her work to promote Primary Geography.
Wendy's Presidency took us back to former teachers being GA President as well, which was rare in a period when a lot of teacher educators and academics held the post. The 90s and early 2000s were light on teacher Presidents.
Wendy's Presidency took us back to former teachers being GA President as well, which was rare in a period when a lot of teacher educators and academics held the post. The 90s and early 2000s were light on teacher Presidents.
This was also in the run up to the increasing professionalisation of the GA.
When Wendy Morgan was preparing to sit her geography O-level in the 1950s, her father didn't buy her a revision guide. "He realised that I had never seen a mountain, because we lived on the outskirts of London, so he whisked me up to the Peak District on a train one Saturday," she recalls. "Dad was an engineer, not an educationist, but he had a very wide interest in places he'd been to and fantastic knowledge. I grew up in the war, and people didn't travel about much, but he remembered everywhere he'd ever been. There's so much opportunity for fieldwork, taking children outside. You can do a huge amount inside the school grounds. Then there's another wonderful dimension just beyond the school gates, then the excitement of bringing places overseas close to home."
She was the only primary teacher on the national curriculum geography working group, was instrumental in doubling the primary membership of the GA, and launched its influential journal, Primary Geographer, which she edited until 1995.
As a freelance lecturer and consultant she also provided the training and inspiration that non-specialists needed to break new ground in the subject, including three years at Homerton College, Cambridge.
"I've made it my crusade to try to help teachers with no background in geography, who may have given it up at 14, who were at first horrified by the demands of the curriculum," she says. There was little advice available during her own 27 years in the classroom: "I relied heavily on the association for support."
Wendy edited the first 23 issues of the GA's Primary Geographer journal as well, which is a fantastic contribution as each journal takes a lot of effort to produce to a high quality that is expected of GA publications. The journal currently has guest editors from within the Primary community rather than a permanent editor, which provides a number of different perspectives across the year and the Primary Geography Editorial board is chaired by a former President Steve Rawlinson.
This is the announcement of Wendy's Presidency in the GA News at the time.
Simon Catling told me:
Wendy Morgan was interviewed in Primary Geography recently. Wendy was a primary teacher who was briefly a rural school head.
She was involved with the old Primary and Middle Schools Committee for many years, was its secretary and chaired it during the mid/latter 1980s into the 1990s.
Simon Catling told me:
Wendy Morgan was interviewed in Primary Geography recently. Wendy was a primary teacher who was briefly a rural school head. She was involved with the old Primary and Middle Schools Committee for many years, was its secretary and chaired it during the mid/latter 1980s into the 1990s.
Wendy says in the interview in PG journal that:
I wasn’t a trained geographer. I did set
out to be a geography graduate but was
turned down because I didn’t have Latin,
so I wasn’t able to pursue it that way.
Wendy was awarded for her efforts over the year with Honorary GA Membership.
This was recorded in the GA News also.
Wendy was awarded for her efforts over the year with Honorary GA Membership.
This was recorded in the GA News also.
Simon Catling, former President said of her Presidency:
Wendy Morgan (1997-98) brought the freshness of the primary teacher to her year, as well as her long service on the Primary and Middle Schools Committees.
In an interview with the TES in 1998, she talked about her first experiences with geography:
As with many geographers, she explains the importance of family holidays:
She collaborated with Vincent Bunce on a number of her writing projects.
Bill Chamber, President in 2004 described her as follows:
She was the first Primary School President of the GA. She was responsible for the launch of the journal Primary Geographer and was its first editor. She was an indefatigable and creative person. She was responsible for the St Lucia Resources Pack which was used by many primary schools in the early days of the Geography National Curriculum.
Her GA Presidential theme was called 'Geography for All'.
Her address was given at the University of Leeds.
She starts by describing herself as an "amateur geographer".
She was particularly active in promoting Primary geography within the GA:
She was the only primary teacher on the national curriculum geography working group, was instrumental in doubling the primary membership of the GA, and launched its influential journal, Primary Geographer, which she edited until 1995.
As a freelance lecturer and consultant she also provided the training and inspiration that non-specialists needed to break new ground in the subject, including three years at Homerton College, Cambridge.
"I've made it my crusade to try to help teachers with no background in geography, who may have given it up at 14, who were at first horrified by the demands of the curriculum," she says. There was little advice available during her own 27 years in the classroom: "I relied heavily on the association for support."
Others have talked about this.
References
Interview in the TES, 1998: https://www.tes.com/news/top-mountainsubject-week-geographyinterviewwendy-morgan
Article in 'Primary Geographer' from Spring 2019 with an interview
https://www.geography.org.uk/Journal-Issue/689d27ef-ae38-4403-9943-a67e667d5c0d
Interview in the TES, 1998: https://www.tes.com/news/top-mountainsubject-week-geographyinterviewwendy-morgan
Article in 'Primary Geographer' from Spring 2019 with an interview
https://www.geography.org.uk/Journal-Issue/689d27ef-ae38-4403-9943-a67e667d5c0d
Chapter in this book:
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/primary-school-geography-bill-marsden-jo-hughes/e/10.4324/9781351028783
1987 Primary Geography Article
Morgan, Wendy. “Making Opportunities for Primary Geography.” Teaching Geography, vol. 12, no. 4, 1987, pp. 149–151. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23751406. Accessed 20 Jan. 2021A mention in Graham Butt's PhD thesis:
https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/76353.pdf
Graham mentions that Wendy was annoyed that she was the only Primary representative on the Working Group, and thought there should be more representation... she also felt that she was not always listened to, and also that Primary specialists should be listened to, rather than Secondary making decisions on what they should be learning. She felt there was a "golden thread" running through Primary Geography that needed to be appreciated more.
If you are interested in how a National Curriculum comes about, it's worth having a look at this document to see how this group worked, as there are plenty of comments to show the involvement and relative influence of other Presidents: Eleanor Rawling, Michael Storm, Rex Walford and others....
Presidential Address:
MORGAN, WENDY. “Geography for All.” Geography, vol. 83, no. 4, 1998, pp. 301–307. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40573103. Accessed 16 Jan. 2021.
Image is taken from this article.
MORGAN, WENDY. “Geography for All.” Geography, vol. 83, no. 4, 1998, pp. 301–307. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40573103. Accessed 16 Jan. 2021.
Wendy wrote the book 'Plans for Primary Geography' and also a series of Primary study units called 'Geography in a Nutshell'.
1998 Conference Logo - a really inclusive Conference theme
Image is taken from this article.
Updated August 2022
An image of Derek Spooner and Wendy which was taken at the Centenary Conference in 1993. The best image I've found of Wendy so far and was taken at the Long Standing members dinner I believe.
Further details on Wendy very welcome. This is still a relatively short entry on the blog.
