A history-making British diplomat came back to his old high school in Newcastle to speak to students about a political career that has taken him all over the world.
David Ward, who was most recently the first resident British High Commissioner to Samoa, attended Dame Allan's from 1979-1986, and works in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office for the government.
He has travelled extensively for his work, being posted in places like Tokyo, Afghanistan and Libya, something which has learning at Dame Allan's definitely helped him with.
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David is a multi-talented linguist, and this passion for learning languages began at the school where he studied French and German, and he continued to develop his skills as he travelled.
David has spoken about his passion for politics and the desire that he had to become a diplomat when he was in school.
"The diplomatic service was a chance to use my languages, meet interesting people, do valuable work that was hopefully in the public interest, and see the world.
"My time at Dame Allan’s helped me to cement this decision; an Allanian who had been the High Commissioner to Pakistan came to present the prizes at Speech Day.
"Mrs Hutt, one of the history teachers, remarked to me on the way out that she could see me doing that."
During his visit, David chatted to students in a Sixth Form Politics lesson and visited the new Languages department, before meeting with Sixth Form student and founder of Dame Allan's Model UN Club Imogen Golding-Douglas.
Imogen has also spoken about the Model UN and what it was like speaking to someone like David, who has massive experience working in his field.
"The Model UN at Dame Allan’s allows students to learn and develop outside of the classroom and encourages an interest in politics and worldwide issues, such as climate change.
"It also helps members to develop confidence and skills in public speaking and debate. It was a real privilege to speak to Mr Ward and hear all about his real-world experiences working for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.”
