Teacher Leaders (Geography)

Margaret Dale (Geography Stream Designer and Stream Leader)

Margaret studied Geography at London University and began her teaching career in a South London comprehensive before moving to North London Collegiate School, first as an assistant teacher and then Head of Geography.  She is particularly interested in Social and Economic Geography including issues such as inequality and development.  She spent a term as a Fawcett Fellow at UCL attending undergraduate lectures and seminars as well as completing research into ‘Brittany: a peripheral region in France’.  At North London, she is a Sixth Form Tutor and also teaches A level Economics.  

James White (Stream Leader)

James gained his B.Sc in Maritime Geography at Cardiff University and then a M.Sc (Oceanography) and Ph.D (Civil Engineering) at Southampton University. He then worked for 5 years as a marine geophysicist, operating world-wide as a consultant for the offshore construction and oil industries. He then trained as a teacher and worked in Liverpool and St Helens for 2 years before moving to Devon. He has been a Geography teacher at Ivybridge Community College, Devon for 10 years and between 2003 and 2007 was the head of the Training School specialism promoting teacher based action research and helping to develop a new school based teacher training scheme (The Learning Institute). Most recently he has returned full time to his first passion - Geography Teaching.

Stuart Cousins (Teacher Leader)

Following his award of Innovative Teacher of the Year in 2004, AST Geography and eLearning status in 2005, Ordnance Survey Teacher of the Year in 2006 and appointment as QCA Regional Subject Adviser for Geography in 2007, Stuart joined the Leadership team at All Saints Specialist Humanities Catholic College 12 months ago.  He is responsible for the development and deployment of e-learning strategies throughout the college, as well as the implementation of the revised KS3 foundation programme. When he isn’t developing some interactive 007 geography resource, you would probably find him walking the fairways of his local golf course, trying to emulate his hero, Ben Hogan!

Richard Fone – (Teacher Leader)

Richard is currently Head of Geography at Kingsbridge Community College in South Devon, a very successful comprehensive set at the head of the Kingsbridge Salcombe Estuary – a Geographer’s heaven!  Richard has three young children, and thus understands from both a parent's and teacher's perspective only too well the responsibilities of his profession. He is really looking forward to the Geography Summer school and to what will be a very stimulating four days.

David Rayner (Teacher Leader)

David Rayner has been a teacher of Geography and Head of Department for over 30 years. He has worked in a variety of schools in London ,Medway and Kent.  David runs several Geography websites, is an online author and has led large numbers of national workshops and conferences mainly related to the use of ICT in Geography.  In September 2007, he was appointed as the joint National Subject Lead for KS3 Geography providing resources, advice and support for the new secondary curriculum.

Ruth Totterdell (Teacher Leader) 

Ruth is currently seconded to the Geographical Association for two years as National Subject Lead for the support of the implementation of the new curriculum, a project funded by CfBT. This involves leading large regional conferences and smaller network sessions, encouraging teachers to grasp the opportunities the new curriculum offers to revitalise school geography.  Ruth graduated from Sheffield University and has taught in Comprehensive schools in Sheffield for over twenty years mainly at King Edward VII School.  For the last 5 years she was Curriculum Leader in Geography and Geology.  King Edward VII is a truly comprehensive school with a large, successful Geography department.

Jonathan Gunzi (Teacher Leader)

Jonathon was born in Belgium and went through the Belgian secondary education system.  After a number of years of travelling in Asia and Australasia he decided to study Geography and so completed a Geography BA at Wolfson College, Cambridge in 2000 and then his PGCE at the Institute of Education.  His current teaching practice is at Mill Hill County High School, and he was appointed Head of Geography in 2004 and Head of Environment in 2005.  This post reflects his interest in setting up environmental projects at school, for example, composting, vegetable patch, chickens and recycling.  Since 2006 Jonathan has been Technology College Community co-ordinator, and enjoys making links with the community through environmental projects.