John Westaway is a big character, and had many roles in education, starting as a teacher, and also working for SCAA, and as an author of numerous books.
He has been a prolific author, and I've certainly used his books many times during my career, particularly in the early years.
In the early 1990s he was writing for Heinemann: slim books with lots of pictures and illustrations, including some
GYSL content. I remember using this book in my first teaching job, at
John Flamsteed School in Denby in Derbyshire in the late 80s. There were some good activities and engaging contexts which I tought worked really well.
He has a strong link with
Bristol, as did a group of Presidents around this time, which was mentioned in his Presidential lecture. They included some Presidents from an earlier era including
Sheila Jones and Pat Cleverley.
As we get nearer the present day it becomes possible to see more resources that Presidents were involved in creating, particularly digital materials and access them more easily. Dudley Stamp didn't leave many powerpoints behind in his archive - or at least I don't think he did.
Here's John's Presidential lecture, which I was present at, on Slideshare, uploaded by local
Brizzle boy (and great supporter of the GA) Tony Battista. It was my first Conference as a GA employee, which added a whole extra layer of activity to the three days.
John Westaway\'s Keynote PowerPoint from
tonybattista
This section provides some background to John's career and interests.
Here's a biography from an event that John keynoted in 2008.
John was born and educated in Bristol before attending the London School of Economics, Imperial College and the Institute of Education in the University of London. He taught within the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) throughout the 1970s moving on to be Warden of the ILEA Geography and Environmental Studies Centre in the 1980s.
He served as Professional Officer for Science at the School Examinations and Assessment Council in the early 1990s and then as Professional Officer for Geography at the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority 1993-97 and at the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (with Education for Sustainable Development) 1997-2006. He is married to a geography teacher and has two adult sons – one a career geographer and one a primary teacher.
Now retired John is living back in the West Country at Clevedon, indulging his passions for Bristol City Football Club, Gloucestershire Cricket Club, walking, reading and swimming in the Bristol Channel (summer only).
John attended the 125th Anniversary meal at Christchurch College, Oxford
Here he is with Sheila Jones, a former President who has already featured on the blog numerous times.
Thanks to John himself for providing the following details by responding to the Google form that I set up for all the living Presidents to respond to:
He was born in Bristol in 1949, and educated at the QEH (Queen Elizabeth's Hospital School), Bristol 1960-67.
He moved on to the LSE: 1967-70 (B.Sc. Geography)
Followed by Imperial College, London 1970-71 (M.Sc. Transport) LSE 1971-73 (PhD - unfinished!)
Institute of Education, London 1973-74 (PGCE) - another GA President with a strong connection with the IoE.
Career:
Teacher - Christopher Wren School, White City, London. 1974-77;
Hampstead School, London. 1977-81
Warden of ILEA Geography & Environmental Studies Teachers' Centre. 1981-89 (including London Regional Co-ordinator of the Geography for the Young School Leaver/Avery Hill Project) School Examination and Assessment Council (SEAC) Professional Officer for Science.
1989-93 School Curriculum and Assessment Authority (SCAA) (Professional Officer for Geography, 1993-97 Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), Professional Officer for Geography and Education for Sustainable Development.
1997-2006 Author - A Social Atlas of London (co-author, 1974); People in Cities (1984); Urban Patterns & Processes (co-author, 1988); Urban-Rural Links (co-author, 1990)
Jeremy Krause mentioned him as being a particularly supportive colleague.
He has had a varied career with different roles either teaching or supporting teachers, and with some field studies in between.
I remember the SCAA publications coming out when I first started teaching, and we made use of them. Another former GA President: Eleanor Rawling, was also particularly involved in SCAA and QCA.
John had just retired from his last role, which was as an author when he became the GA President in 2007.
John's chosen conference theme was
Sustainable Geography - looking at making geography sustainable and promoting its central contribution to education for sustainable development.
He told me:
"I picked it because it was essentially what my working life had been about since the mid 1990s. Involvement with the GA leading up to that time. I have had little involvement since completing my presidential four years."
John also told me of his wider involvement with the GA, and why being a member is so important:
"The GA has been an important part of the last 25 years of my working life. It was always an important part of sustaining geography in the school curriculum, a role which increased as other support (notably local authority advisory services) diminished. Other than attending sixth form GA lectures and, later, GA Conferences at LSE, my involvement began in the 1980s, partly through promoting GA activities and publications through the ILEA Geography Bulletin and through membership of the GA Field Studies Working Group. Later, in my roles at SCAA and the QCA, I worked closely with the GA in all aspects of curriculum, assessment and qualifications. I also sat as QCA's representative on the GA Education Committee."
Of his time as President:
"I'm not sure about successes (other than being President when the Governing Body took the momentous decision to purchase Solly Street).
My main memories are of the sheer professionalism and hard work (not to mention unflagging good humour) of those doing paid or voluntary work for the GA. On a personal level, my main memory is of the stress of preparing my presidential address, despite having done numerous talks to geography teachers over the years. I vowed never to voluntarily put myself into such a stressful situation ever again!!
This is a reminder to myself to start on that early... which I have with this blog.
John also told me a final interesting fact: that his wife had been taught geography by another former President and Bristolian Sheila Jones.
John also sent me this picture taken at Temple Meads Station in Bristol with a teaching group heading somewhere on a fieldtrip in 1975. I wonder whether some former pupils might recognise themselves on this one. If so, feel free to get in touch with your memories of Mr. Westaway.
As always, memories of John and his time as GA President welcome.
Rawling, Eleanor, and John Westaway. “Exploring Creativity.” Teaching Geography, vol. 28, no. 1, 2003, pp. 5–8. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23756441. Accessed 23 Dec. 2020.
Images copyright: Geographical Association and Bryan Ledgard - used with permission
