Richard Dilley - RIP

Sad news about the passing of Richard Dilley, who was the oldest member of the Cambridge branch of the GA. I met him and Keith several times over the years, and we met by chance a number of times travelling to GA Conferences from Peterborough Train station with former GA President Keith Grimwade.

This piece is in the Summer 2024 issue of 'GA Magazine'.

Image copyright: Geographical Association

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.

Image source and copyright: https://www.shaw-education.org.uk/listit2people/diane-swift/61.html

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. 

Update - June 2025

Congratulations to Di for being awarded an OBE in the King's Birthday Honours List.

2006: Keith Grimwade

Updated October 2023

When Keith Grimwade became President, he was working as the Head of Professional Development for Cambridgeshire County Council, with responsibility for the Schools Advisory Service, as well as training and development for the Council’s Children’s Services staff.

I have had the pleasure of knowing Keith for many years, and have continued this friendship partly through his association with the Cambridge GA Branch. This is my local branch, and I have had the pleasure of speaking to students there quite a few times. Our paths have also crossed en route to the GA Conference in the past. He organises social event for the GA Cambridge branch to the present day, and regular attends meetings. The Pandemic has paused this activity for a while, although the GeogMeet and Worldwise Quiz continues thanks to a lively committee. 

As with more recent Presidents, much of this entry has been written thanks to contributions from Keith to a questionnaire which I sent round to as many Presidents as possible.

Keith was born in 1957 in Southend on Sea, in Essex. He spent five years in London.

He told me, "I benefited from two very skilled teachers who saw my interest in geography and knew how to nurture it.

First, there was Miss Foster, my Year 3 teacher at Prince Avenue Junior School. 
We had to choose reading books from a trolley and I picked out a book about Thailand that was far too hard for me to read but I was fascinated by the photographs. Miss Foster let me keep it, so while my classmates were developing their reading skills I was absorbing images of Thailand, and then I moved on to other countries in the subsequent weeks.

Second, there was Jim Alves, my geography teacher at Southend High School for Boys. He led a school trip to the Lake District at the end of my first year. I had never been on holiday and the whole week was an amazing experience. I remember studying an OS map at the top of Cat Bells. Mr Alves looked over my shoulder and began to point out features. The map came alive, I could now see it in 3D and I was hooked. So, I think I’ve always been a geographer and I’ve spent my life looking at photographs and OS maps, and not much else! I read geography at Jesus College, Oxford - it was an alien culture (these days I would be helping their ‘disadvantaged background’ quota).
Not all of the teaching was that good, to be honest, but the opportunities and access to resources were phenomenal and ideal for someone who was quite happy to work independently and plough his own furrow.
The mid to late 70s was also an exciting time to be an Oxford geographer because having lost out to Cambridge and elsewhere in the quantitative revolution, it was just beginning to pull ahead with its work on the environment and climate, led by someone else who was to become a GA President, Andrew Goudie".
Andrew has his own entry on the blog of course, with plenty of contributions from Andrew himself.

In terms of his teacher training, Keith told me:

I did a PGCE at Goldsmiths and was accepted into the ILEA ‘pool’, having been interviewed by another future GA President, Michael Storm. I requested a posting in a mixed comprehensive in NE London, so they sent me to Henry Compton Boys School in Fulham. I know that ‘it was a rough, tough school’ is a bit of a cliche but it really was but I learnt a lot about how to motivate a wide range of abilities and manage a wide range of attitudes and behaviours very quickly. I was there for 5 years and then became Head of Geography at Hinchingbrooke School, Huntingdon, where I stayed for 12 years.
In 1997 I joined Cambridgeshire County Council as County Adviser for Geography, and I stayed there until my retirement at the end of 2017, having been Director of Education for the last 5 years of my career.

In the 80s / 90s and early 2000s I authored / co-authored a range of curriculum materials and text books, and regularly contributed to the TES.

His Presidential theme was ‘The Future of Geography’. Keith says:

"we were twenty years on from the original National Curriculum debates and in something of an existential crisis. I re-visited the Case for Geography (which has had its own post on the blog previously) and explored possible, probable and preferred futures. 

My sub-theme was young people’s involvement in curriculum making. I managed to combine both into my Presidential Address. 

My route to becoming President was via the Secondary Education Section Committee (on which I also served for 14 years) and the Education Standing Committee, and I was encouraged, supported and guided by two wonderful but very different geographers,

Patrick Bailey and Roger Carter.
Read Keith's Presidential Address here:

It is called 'The Future of Geography'.
(Slideplayer)
In it, he considers the new National Curriculum and some strategies for the future.
He also mentions the Young People's Geographies project, which I was involved in.
Keith told me back in 2019 why he believes the GA matters.

"Geography teachers need a ‘community of practice’ - that is the GA, it’s one and only unique selling point - that is why the GA matters. I joined the Secondary Education Section Commitee in 1991 and was involved with many committees, including chairing the Education Standing Committee. I have been a long-standing member of the local branch, helping to keep it going through some difficult times, and I have just attended my 35th consecutive annual WorldWise quiz local round; and I still don’t know all of the answers."
He told me that:

"My Presidential year was the highlight of my professional career as a geographer. It is, of course, part of a 4 year term (Junior, Vice, President, Senior) so ‘achievements’ are spread out over a period of time. 

The big curriculum initiative 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. I also helped the GA develop its strategic framework."

He also talked about the importance of David Lambert to the GA, something I certainly appreciated when in post.

"My biggest achievement was probably retaining the services of David Lambert, who was in danger of heading off to the Institute of Education full time; David did for the GA what few, if any, others could have done over the next few years."

He was also mentioned by Jeremy Krause as being very supportive.

Ketih finished with some thoughts:
These days, I attend GA events mainly for social reasons.

What really gives me hope for the future is the energy and enthusiasm of our young teachers. They will spark a lifelong love of our subject in many ‘young Grimwades’ in the years to come. And the GA must remember that its purpose is to support their passion.

Keith was also influenced by the work of the GeoVisions project.

Keith Grimwade reflects on Geo Visions as “one of the most enjoyable and influential projects that I have been involved with …” in his 2007 Presidential Address [reported in journal 'Geography' Autumn 2007]. He highlighted the strap line:

‘Create the future … don’t just let it happen’

“ The GA adopted GeoVisions under Di Swift’s leadership (see more in Di's own blog post) and over a period of two years it inspired a range workshops and publications including the GA’s [2002] Position Statement on Geography and it initiated the GA's involvement with ‘third stream’ activities. GeoVisions introduced many of us to possible, probable and preferred futures and, I now realise, to my presidential theme. To create the future of geography rather than just letting just happen we need a strategy for change.”

Keith retired as Director of Learning at the end of 2017 after 37 years in education.

He continues to be generous with his time in the local community, and to support the work of the Cambridge GA Branch.

He is also a Governor of the Cambridge and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust.

He is also a supporter of Peterborough Football Club, who I have been to see play with colleagues from Ely.

References

GRIMWADE, KEITH. “Presidential Address 2007: The Future of Geography.” Geography, vol. 92, no. 3, 2007, pp. 175–178. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40574331

Image copyright: Geographical Association and Bryan Ledgard - used with permission

Any further memories of Keith welcome. 

Updated October 2023

Keith is the guest on a podcast, exploring ideas of Hope. It was published on October 17th 2022.

He speaks openly about his career and personal challenges, and connection with caring.

He talks about his career in education: 20 years as a geography teacher, and later as an education administrator for Cambridgeshire, and as the county's adviser for geography.

He describes again the influence of his teacher Miss Foster, and his love of Ordnance Survey maps.

He retired at the end of 2017.

It's lovely to hear Keith talking about his "hope kit".

The move to Solly Street #2

Carl Lee's request for information on the move to Solly Street led me next to Keith Grimwade.

Carl sent me this image showing planned accommodation in the Solly Street area for students. Circle proportional to number of bedrooms. The GA is being surrounded.

Keith Grimwade was President in 2006

Prior to that, he was involved in some of the decision making over the new home for the GA HQ after Fulwood Road was outgrown. 

He told me:

"I was Chair of the Education Standing Committee when it was being discussed at Governing Body. There were three main reasons for choosing the premises in Solly Street:
1. It was affordable
2. It was accessible
3. It had sufficient storage space for the growing range and stock of publications - this was a real bonus, Fulwood Road had become decidedly cramped.

The area was very run down and there were staff concerns about safety. The quiet corners of the building were home to the night time economy. Effort was put into lighting, signage and security and it wasn’t long before the building was left largely alone. There was a feeling that the area was on the cusp of being ‘on the up’ and it wasn’t just geographers joking when the talk turned to cycles of urban regeneration."

Explore the area on Street View here:

1998: GeoVisions

The GeoVisions Committee of the GA was active from the 1998 through to around the year 2000. It was looking at what a geography for the 21st Century would need to be. Now that we are a fifth of the way through it, have we managed it...

It involved a committee of various people who have been related to the GA for many decades and included people I have worked with on projects myself, particularly Di Swift, who chaired the project, and Chris Durbin. Linda Thompson is also mentioned, who was Chair of the Secondary Committee when I joined it, but then moved on to another role. Diane also led the Young People's Geographies project, of which more to come later. 

The strapline of the project was:

‘Create the future … don’t just let it happen’ 

The full list can be seen below:

Coordinated by Roger Carter a former GA President who is next up on the blog. It was also referenced by Keith Grimwade in his Presidential lecture.

Mentioned by him in his Presidential lecture:

It is hard to look into the future with any certainty. I have been working with the Geo Visions Project (Carter et al., 1998) ' in order to help to raise the debate about the future of geography. I would like to close with what the Geo Visions Team believe a geography for the twenty-first century will need: 

 • A renewed emphasis on the professionalism of teachers We need fewer voices telling us what to do and how to do it. Equally, we must reassert our own professional responsibility.

 • A focus on children and young people Let us focus less on what is to be done to them and more on their hopes and fears for the future. It is their world too: we should listen to them more.  

• An all-inclusive debate about future needs Education is far too important to be left in the hands of a few, be they educators, politicians or chief inspectors. We must keep the debate open. 

 • Attention to alternative and preferred futures Education for the twenty-first century should engender a real feeling by everyone that they matter in society and that they can make a difference individually or collectively. 

 • Commitment to the capabilities for a better world. The knowledge and skills needed to compete industrially are not necessarily the same as those needed to build equitable, sustainable communities. We need a broader vision, and a better balance between skills and knowledge on the one hand, and values and commitment on the other. 

 • A critique of geography as a subject to promote a better world

Any memories of engagement with this project welcome.

A booklet was produced in assocation with TIDE Global (PDF download)

A report as well.

This includes a quote from Roger Crofts, of SAGT, who is someone I've met several times, most recently at an FSC 75th Anniversary event where he spoke about his life in geography:

“It is essential that geography is not just seen as social geography or cultural geography or biogeography or geomorphology, but that there is some interlinking between these different elements if the subject is to retain its relevance.” 

Professor Roger Crofts, COBRIG Seminar 1998

To find out more about more recent GA projects, head for this relatively new archive page on the GA website which details what the project work of the GA has involved. I am proud to have been involved in quite a few of these projects over the years, including the most recent GEO project, for which I am currently writing some materials.

GeoVisions also led into the OCR Pilot GCSE Geography, of which more to come...

References

Carter, Roger, et al. “The Geo Visions Project.” Teaching Geography, vol. 23, no. 4, 1998, pp. 201–202. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23755721. Accessed 22 Jan. 2021.

Robinson, Roger, et al. “Wiser People — Better World?” Teaching Geography, vol. 24, no. 1, 1999, pp. 10–13. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23755686. Accessed 22 Jan. 2021.

If anyone has memories of participation in this project, or knows of the outcomes, please let me know. It looks to have huge relevance today.

Solly Street

Carl Lee got in touch with me in December 2020. He asked me when the GA had moved from Fulwood Road to Solly Street. He is currently completing a PhD. You may also know Carl from the book 'Geography' that he co-wrote with Danny Dorling and is well worth reading.
Furthermore, he was asking why the GA moved to Solly Street because at that time the district was incredibly down-at-heel (but cheap to buy property in). He was asking because he was preparing - as an off-shoot of his ongoing PhD a paper for a GA journal, utilising the St Vincent's Quarter as the case study. 

St Vincent's Quarter is the name given to the area of the city of Sheffield which includes Solly Street and relates to the church, which remains, although it is now dwarfed by new student accommodation. It is close to the main site of Sheffield University.

An Action Plan for the area was published by the city council in 2017:

https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/home/planning-development/master-action-plans/st-vincent-s-action-plan

Image source: Action Plan document listed above

Here's a picture of what used to be on the actual site of the GA building - Sambourne Place - knocked down in 1927 as part of slum clearance programmes. Thanks to Carl for sending through the image.

Image copyright: Sheffield Libraries. 

In 1997, the GA moved its headquarters from Fulwood Road in Sheffield to 160 Solly Street, where it remains to this day.

I asked Keith Grimwade, former GA President for his memories of that time, as I remember him talking about that time, when Governing Body and the Education Committee would have been involved in this process of decision making. He told me that there were a few key reasons for choosing the Solly Street site from a number of options. They included:

- it was affordable

- it was accessible

- it had plenty of space for the growing publishing activity the GA was getting involved with, and for items of the Fleure Library (some of which were stored by Sheffield University, after arrangements made by Alice Garnett) - Fulwood Road was getting very cramped as it was too small.

At the time, the area was one frequented by members of what could be called the "night time economy" or sex workers. I remember this area was quite large at the time. When I was a regular night time visitor to Sheffield from my home town of Rotherham in the late 80s and early 90s, the red light district expanding out along Hillsborough Road and on the edge of Kelham Island as well, with a few areas of Attercliffe offering massage parlours. I remember coming out of a pub called the 'Cocked Hat' (now sadly closed) to see a defibrillator being rushed into one by ambulance crew...

Carl said that the area has undergone a lot of change since 1997, "when it was lets say 'a zone in transition' apart from nobody had a clue what it would transition into". It was felt it was an area that was on the up, and it was worth moving while rental values were low (Solly Street was eventually purchased as this was also financially preferable to continuing to rent). 

Keith said there were a few initial safety concerns, particularly for staff working late, but that quite quickly the area had improved, with lighting, signage and other security measures for Solly Street staff, and the area has now become one of student accommodation with plenty of footfall, close to the University.

Solly Street is now a little surrounded by the student accommodation, with more having been given planning permission including high rise developments. For the last few years, meetings in the Patrick Bailey room (named after a former GA President of course) have been slightly interrupted by construction noise. The views it used to enjoy up the valley have been blocked off for some years now. Wendy North has shared some of those views on her Flickr page.

When I worked there, John Lyon and I kept an eye on a few of the student areas, and there was one which had an ironing board which didn't move all year, but the wine bottles lined up along the window certainly grew.

I'd love any more memories of visits to Solly Street, or about and  from former staff....

More to come on Solly Street when I get to the period when I worked there - 2008-2011