Our students had the chance to meet journalist and author Tim Marshall on Thursday 28 February.
Thanks to funding and support from NCOP, seven of Notre Dame’s A level Geography students attended a talk Mr Marshall gave at The Grammar School at Leeds. Mr Marshall spoke about his bestselling book, Prisoners of Geography, which is an increasingly popular course textbook. He also talked about his experience as a news reporter and presenter. Mr Marshall gave his opinions on the future, suggesting where the next conflict risk might arise. Our students were able to ask him questions such as ‘Is there a future for NATO?’
Mr Marshall, who is originally from Leeds, has more than thirty years’ experience as a journalist. He’s worked for the BBC and Sky News, covering conflicts in Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo and Serbia. More recently, he’s reported from Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria. As his website states: ‘Tim has been shot with bird pellet in Cairo, hit over the head with a plank of wood in London, bruised by the police in Tehran, arrested by Serbian intelligence, detained in Damascus, declared persona non grata in Croatia, bombed by the RAF in Belgrade and tear-gassed all over the world. However, he says none of this compares with the experience of going to see his beloved Leeds United away at Millwall FC in London.’ (http://www.thewhatandthewhy.com/)
Prisoners of Geography is Tim’s third book. As geography teacher Mrs Hotchkin says, ‘This has proven itself an invaluable text for all A level Geography students as we’ll as anyone interested in how the world works and global connectivity.’
Our students were pleased to meet the author in person. One of our lower sixth students said, ‘I think Tim Marshall was a very funny and innovative person. Despite the jokes, he taught us fundamental lessons that I never thought would be applicable to A Level geography, in the form of understanding a country’s psychology to delve into geopolitical ideas! ‘
