Showing posts with label Steve Rawlinson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Steve Rawlinson. Show all posts

Wednesday, 23 September 2026

Margaret Mackintosh RIP

Updated post.

Sad news at the end of last week from colleagues who have organised the Charney Conference over the years of the passing of Margaret Mackintosh who was still active and interested in geography in her 80s. Just a few weeks ago she attended the latest online GeogLive! session run by the GA's Primary and Early Years Committee.


Image from Margaret's Facebook page.

Margaret was a retired primary teacher and BEd Geography-in-education tutor, and also a former long-standing Editor of Primary Geography journal and continued working as a geography consultant and writer. She lived in Exmouth.

Sharon Witt told me:

Margaret was a long time contributor to Charney conference. Lots of amazing stories of her travels, mentoring and welcoming colleagues at Charney Conferences and being a student of Margaret's at Plymouth University are coming in.

Coincidentally, a few days ago my Facebook memory was of a message from Margaret letting me know about another cliff fall in Sidmouth on a stretch that I'd used as a textbook case study, and visit each year to check on its progress.

Margaret was awarded the GA's Outstanding Service Diploma back in 2016. Here she is receiving her certificate from the President Steve Rawlinson.
Steve says of this event:

"It was a wonderful honour to be able to hand it over her as she had been so supportive during the year offering advice and encouragement as only Margaret could."

Image: Bryan Ledgard.

Margaret created the logo for the annual Charney Manor Conferences. She was a very accomplished artist, particularly landscapes and pets. Here she is with a painting she had created for Paula Owens along with Steve Rawlinson and Tina Horler


Image: Bryan Ledgard

Steve told me:

"She was a wonderful artist of both landscapes and pets – I have two lovely pictures of Lady Summer and Fluffy Flora! This particular one shows how much she enjoyed being in the company of fellow geographers. She leaves such a legacy of memories, advice and scholarship to us all. She will be greatly missed."

In this piece for Primary Geography she talks about our identity and how it is shaped by our family.

Condolences to Margaret's family, friends and former colleagues.


Image: Margaret's logo for the Charney Primary Conferences.



Wednesday, 29 January 2025

Primary Geography Journal - Spring 2025

The theme for this issue, edited by Ben Ballin, is the Geography of Togetherness. 

I am very pleased to have an article in this issue on this theme. 

Thanks to Ben for asking me to contribute some time ago. 

Subscribers can now download the digital issue and print copies will be arriving shortly. There are some other excellent pieces in this issue too as always, including a lovely contribution by Sharon Witt and Helen Clarke and also a personal piece from Steve Rawlinson on the loss of the Sycamore Gap tree.

In my article I talk about rural and urban ex/inclusion of certain groups and offer some suggestions of projects that might be of interest to explore this topic with pupils.



Sunday, 23 July 2023

Congratulations to Steve and Stephen

I've previously mentioned a book written by two former GA Presidents who were very supportive of my own Presidency: Stephen Scoffham and Steve Rawlinson.

It was published in 2022 by Bloomsbury, and I was very kindly gifted a copy by the authors to mark my Presidency.

The book has just won a Global Dimension Award 2023 in the Teachers' Choice category.

The citation for the award read:

Sometimes all we need is a quick lesson plan and other times it's helpful to have a real deep dive into a topic. It’s easy to see why teachers favour this guide over other resources as it's just so comprehensive. Written by two highly experienced educators Stephen Scoffham and Steve Rawlinson this book contains advice for teaching sustainability issues across every subject between the ages of 3-14. With 180 age-specific activities, this is a treasure trove of inspiration and advice that every educator should possess.

Well done to Stephen and Steve.



Monday, 20 March 2023

Charney Manor Primary Geography Conference 2023

I had booked to attend this annual event during 2022 and my Presidential year, but the conference had to be postponed after a storm took out the electricity supply to the venue, and I had to quickly email all the delegates to let them know that the event was cancelled, managing to catch some people just before they set off on lengthy drives, or to catch a plane.

This year's event was the 25th conference, so there was cake of course.

I have just finished blogging the event over on my LivingGeography blog.

Head over there now to see the 10 posts summarising the event. Search on Charney Manor Primary to find the posts.

Saturday, 18 September 2021

Cath White RIP

I was very sad to hear of the passing of Catherine White today.

Cath was very much involved in the GA's Tyne and Wear branch, being its Chair for many years.

She was involved in Geography education at the University of Northumbria. She was an 
Senior Lecturer in Geography at University of Northumbria until recently having held other positions in the University over the years. She was closely linked with Steve Rawlinson in her work, particularly on developing approaches to fieldwork.

She presented a number of times at GA Conference, including sessions on the use of 8-way thinking for fieldwork (a favourite of mine too) and podcasting. 
I was pleased to be able to support the branch by visiting a number of times, and Cath was always a very welcoming host and involved me in a number of activities while I was there. 

She did a great deal to support geographers, particularly within the NE, and also supported the work of the RGS.

Cath was awarded an Outstanding Service Certificate at the GA Conference earlier this year.

Condolences to Cath's family, friends and colleagues.

References

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Catherine-White-9 

Rawlinson, Steve, White, Catherine and Kotter, Richard (2009) Living Geography: 8 ways fieldwork - evolution & evalutation. In: Geographical Association Annual Conference, 11-14 April 2009, Manchester, UK. 

https://openlibrary.org/works/OL12646179W/The_geography_of_markets

The Geography & Education Research Group of the Royal Geographical Society with the IBG (formerly the Higher Education Research Group - HERG) also involved Cath in her work.


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, 4 January 2021

GA Presidents in Classroom Geographer

I've previously blogged about Classroom Geographer journal. 

This was first published in the 1970s by Neil Sealey and ran for several years gaining a good readership. Neil lives in the Caribbean but kindly donated a virtually full set of journals to me a couple of years ago, and they were included in a specially curated exhibition, which I helped with, for the 125th Anniversary conference.

Neil Sealey was the editor of the journal.

Here's an article by future GA President Steve Rawlinson and Geoff Dinkele on the use of Lego to make population pyramids.

More to come...

Saturday, 10 October 2020

1983 - Steve on Rex

One of the people who was particularly supportive of my application to become the GA President was Steve Rawlinson. He was President himself in 2015. 

He has previously shared his memories of Emrys Bowen or 'EGB' as he was also known.

Ahead of a lengthy post on Rex Walford, which will come up in a week or so, here's Steve's memories of Rex.

I first met him when I was working in Andover when he came to visit Geoff Dinkele. Both great innovators in geographical teaching. My lasting memory of that first meeting will be his impish smile and his curiosity about what we were doing – so supportive and encouraging.

When I needed an external examiner for a course I was running at Northumbria – not teacher education but a Joint Honours course with a wider education bias – Rex was my first choice and I was delighted when he agreed to do it.

On his first visit I picked him up from the station and he then insisted on a tour of Newcastle, but not the ‘usual sights’, he wanted to see the real Newcastle...his curiosity made me look and consider parts of the city in a whole new light. As an external he was incredibly supportive not only to me but to the students – he always had suggestions and ideas about how we might do things and constantly but gently made us justify what we were doing.

I guess my last contact with him directly was at the Madingly GTE conference when it snowed. His joyous enthusiasm for all that was going on was infectious...and that conference was a really enjoyable occasion.

It was a huge privilege to be involved in the setting up and running of the Rex Walford award during my 4 years in the Presidential group; to be able to keep alive some of the principles of innovation and fun in teaching that Rex championed so enthusiastically.

He was so passionate about what he did, and so interested in everything going on around him. He made you feel good about what you were doing while gently asking you to think about why you were doing it – he drew the best out of you. He was a ‘human’ geographer and is sorely missed.

If you would like to share your own memories of Rex (or any other GA President) here, or have found some memorabilia or images of conferences past, please get in touch...

Image: Copyright Bryan Ledgard / Geographical Association - taken at the official opening of Solly Street.

Tuesday, 14 April 2020

1962: Professor Emrys George Bowen - 'EGB'

Emrys George Bowen.jpg
Last updated July 2022

1962 saw another academic Geographer take over as President.

Professor Bowen worked at Aberystwyth University as a human geographer, where the GA was based for many years. 
He was known to all as 'EGB'.
He was born in 1900 in Carmarthen, Wales.

He studied at the University of Aberystwyth under another previous President: H. J. Fleure, graduating in 1923.
He also later wrote an obituary for Fleure on behalf of the Royal Anthropological Institute.

The following year he entered the Education department and obtained a teacher's diploma. Subsequently, and after a year's research at Aberystwyth, he became the first Cecil Prosser Fellow at the Welsh National School of Medicine at Cardiff.

During 1928-9 he was an assistant editor with the 14th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica (writing some geography content) before being appointed an assistant lecturer in the department of Geography and Anthropology at Aberystwyth in 1929. There he stayed for the rest of his academic career as lecturer, senior lecturer and ultimately Gregynog Professor from 1946.
During the Second World War he remained at Aberystwyth and lectured in meteorology to the Initial Training Wing (ITW) of the RAF which was located there - like many Presidents of this time, he had wartime experience.

He had pieces published in GA journals as early as 1932, over 30 years before he eventually became the President - this was a time when longevity and continuity of GA membership was perhaps greater than today, with a few notable exceptions who I always look forward to seeing at the GA conference.

Bowen's Presidential Address was on the theme of 'The Geography of Nations', connecting with his interests in anthropology, and was given in 1963 at the London School of Economics.


EGB was President of The Institute of British Geographers in 1958, President of section E of the British Association in 1962, and President of the Cambrian Archaeological Society in 1967.

He was awarded the Murchison grant of the Royal Geographical Society in 1958.

This makes him another one of many GA Presidents to have gone on to receive RGS Medals.

In 1949 Bowen was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. He was awarded an honorary Ll.D. by the University of Wales and an honorary Doctorate by the Open University. He was also an honorary member of the Gorsedd of Bards.

The Annual E. G. Bowen Lecture was established by Aberystwyth University in 2014 in memory of Professor E. G. Bowen, who had a particular interest in the social and physical geographies of Wales.

I liked this final honour, because it links in with my own ideas of storytelling as being one of the great gifts of any teacher, and the Bardic tradition is strong in this element of teaching and listening.

The Biography of Wales piece also has this comment:

"it was in the tradition of the cyfarddwyddiaid, of the story-tellers of early Wales and of the Welsh preachers of later times rather than of the academic disquisition, just as his research was based on intuition rather than on the systematic analysis of data bases."

Former GA President Steve Rawlinson (who will have his own entry in due course) has some very happy memories of Professor Bowen. They are included here:

EG Bowen – memories from Steve Rawlinson.

My first meeting with EG was during Freshers week. It was a long tradition that he would give a
lecture to all the new students at the university in the Kings Hall – a building now sadly demolished. I
was warned by roommate who knew about this event not to dress up for the occasion. We freshers
were herded into the stalls while the second and third years occupied the upper tiers. EG appeared
on the stage to riotous applause and then promptly disappeared behind the lectern – he was a
diminutive figure, although as I was to later discover one with a huge personality. From then on we
only saw the top of his head as he gave what I subsequently heard was a superb lecture delivered in
an inimitable style. His words were rather lost to us as we fended off an almost continuous hail of
missiles of water and flour and the occasional egg from above. This barrage only stopped when the
pictures of the fire in 1885 that engulfed the original college appeared to huge applause and cheers
from those above. The end of his lecture was marked by further enthusiastic applause from the
whole audience though none had heard very much of it.

Always smiling EG was a legend at the uni – long retired by the time I got there he was still an almost
continuous presence during my undergrad years and I was highly privileged to get to know him when
I became expeditions officer for the Geog Soc. I enjoyed many trips to various locations with him
sitting next to me giving an almost continuous commentary about the places we passed through. It
was a privilege to hear him speak in more formal settings where I came to appreciate his
consummate skill as a presenter and teacher. He always had three points/themes/threads to his
arguments and his timing was that of the professional actor. It was a delight to be in his company.
It seemed he never turned down a speaking engagement and put as much energy into talking to a
village WI meeting as he did that of more academic gatherings. No one got short changed at an EG
lecture. His enthusiasm and that twinkle in his eyes always drew his audience in. His travelling
around Wales giving lectures was truly in the spirit of the founders of the University who undertook
such trips to convince people of the importance of having a university on their doorstep.
Personally he gave me an immeasurable amount of encouragement during my MSc year and was
always interested to hear how the research was going and offer advice and thought. I think it was EG
that suggested I employ a Welsh speaker to carry out my interviews with farmers – a cunning move
as it increased the response rate considerably. It was a delight to have him on the stage at my
graduation for that degree and meet my parents afterwards. I always remember him removing his
hat when introduced to my mother – a real gentleman. I was so pleased to recently discover the
reference he wrote for me.

EG tales are part of the myths and legends of Aber – everyone has their favourites. I have two
particular stories that seem to sum up EG. 
When his yellow mini was sold – the car in which he travelled all over Wales – it was advertised as never having been out of second gear. Having survived two journeys with him I can vouch that the garage had got that right.
Others have written that being an administrator was not his forte – his filing system was really to
have tables on which piles of papers accumulated. How he found anything always was a mystery. He
had offices in the old college originally which had a rather ancient heating system consisting of gas
fires in each room. EG was very wary of these and would turn the gas on and then retreat to the far
side of the room and proceed to throw lighted matches at the fire. The eventual loud explosion as
the gas caught was the signal that ‘the prof is in’.

EG really was a one off – a story teller, a supreme teacher and communicator whose passion for and curiosity for all things geographical was irresistible. 
His twinkling eyes, his every present smile and his ability to talk to anyone made him the best of company. He features hugely in my many happy memories of Aber and my deep love of the ‘college by the sea’.

Updated January 2021

Steve included a picture of EGB in his Presidential lecture in 2016.

https://slideplayer.com/slide/10339855/ 

Bowen also wrote many reviews of other GA Presidents' work, including H J Fleure, as mentioned in his own blog post from 1948.

He was welcomed to the Presidency in a piece in 'Geography', where he was described as being "already well known to numerous members through his own inspired teaching and scholarship".


EGB died in 1983.

An obituary, written by Harold Carter, was published in the Transactions of the IBG



He was also remembered by another former GA President Sheila Jones as "a very kind member of the hierarchy". Further memories of EGB may follow, and I am happy to add them here, along with other images and memories.

References

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._G._Bowen - source of the image above

Added the GA Presidency role to this entry.

https://www.therai.org.uk/archives-and-manuscripts/obituaries/herbert-john-fleure


BOWEN, E. G. “The Geography of Nations: Address to the Geographical Association.” Geography, vol. 48, no. 1, 1963, pp. 1–17. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40565501.

Bowen, E. G. “EARLY CHRISTIANITY IN THE BRITISH ISLES: A STUDY IN HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY.” Geography, vol. 17, no. 4, 1932, pp. 267–276. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40558508.
Biography: https://biography.wales/article/s8-BOWE-GEO-1900

British Geography 1918-1945, Edited by Robert.W Steel - published in 1987.
Chapter 12 was by J A Patmore, where he gave a personal perspective on the period.

Obituary: Carter, Harold. “Emrys G. Bowen, 1900-1983.” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, vol. 9, no. 3, 1984, pp. 374–380. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/622242. Accessed 4 Apr. 2020.

Emrys Bowen is described as "with nonconformist fervour, always happy to show that every worthwhile innovation had its roots in Aberystwyth"

“Obituary: E. G. Bowen, 1900-1983.” The Geographical Journal, vol. 150, no. 2, 1984, pp. 297–297. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/635050. Accessed 4 Apr. 2020.

Updated August 2021
A portrait of EGB:
One of his books

Updated July 2022

These are mostly on themes related to Wales.





If you have further information relating to EGB, please get in touch.

Sunday, 23 February 2020

Charney Manor Conference

One of the events that is linked with numerous GA Presidents is the annual weekend at Charney where mostly Primary Geography educators (teachers and HE colleagues) gather at Charney Manor in Oxfordshire to discuss all things geography.
As I post this, the 23rd Charney Conference is in its final day.
I've been following the talks on the hashtag.


I was fortunate to be able to attend the 20th Charney Conference in 2017, and speak on the work we had done with Mission:Explore over the years to encourage some ludic pedagogies and involve ourselves with a range of stakeholders.

The Charney weekend events were first started by Rex Walford I believe in 1970 as informal conversations between school and university geographers, following on from previous courses at the venue, and numerous books derived from sets of papers presented at the conference were released over the years, including 1973 and 1982, edited by Rex Walford. I've got a few of those which I will refer to when this blog reaches the 1980s. More recently they have been organised by Simon Catling for many years, with help more recently from Steve Rawlinson and Jeremy Krause.

A piece of mine was included in the special book which was published for the 20th Anniversary Conference. This can be purchased from the GA Shop.

I am intending to be present at the 25th Charney Conference and speak on my Presidential theme, or perhaps the secondary talk which I am going to offer to GA Branches during the year which I am putting together at the moment based around my planned theme.

Much more to come on Charney when I reach the entries for those Presidents who have been involved. At this year's event, there are at least 6 GA Presidents, past, present or future in attendance that I've noticed on the pictures, and others who are yet to put themselves forward I'm sure...

Images: Alan Parkinson

UPDATE: I attended the 25th Anniversary conference.

Margaret Mackintosh RIP

Updated post. Sad news at the end of last week from colleagues who have organised the Charney Conference over the years of the passing of Ma...