David Edwards, school guest speaker

"Upper 3 thoroughly enjoyed learning about mountains and trying out all the various equipment. The 'Our Energy talk' was excellent. The talk was engaging, full of up to date facts and was absolutely perfect in content for our A Level Geography course. Our Year 9 girls had the opportunity to hear about Antarctica and the Year 8 really felt they were with you in Montserrat. The amount of questioning from them afterwards showed just how much they had enjoyed hearing your first hand account of being there. Even if there were rather a few squeals when seeing the spider and hearing about the snake incident! I would thoroughly recommend David to give any of his talks. He is extremely knowledgeable and his personal experiences bring them to life for any student! Thank you again."

"David is a great speaker who really captured the imagination of all of the year groups that he spoke to. His personal accounts of the places that he has visited are engaging and have sparked many conversations in lessons after David's visit. His talk on Montserrat was especially successful as it is a major case study for the Sixth Form students, and it was brilliant for them to listen to David's experience before, during and after the eruptions, as well as seeing his personal photographs of the island that they had never seen before - sparking further analysis of the tectonic event for them. Humorous and charming, David is a great speaker who has inspired our students to travel, experience and question the world more themselves."

"You will not regret having David in to talk. His Antarctica and energy talks are extremely well informed and will appeal to a range of age groups. His easy to listen to style and visually engaging slides captivated our audience with relevant content and thought provoking questions around wider geographical issues."

"This is the second time I have used David, but the first time in my new organisation. As a large family of schools, I was keen to use an opportunity such as the worldwise quiz which we were hosting to get David along to speak to our students and have a complete immersion in geography. Many of our students will not have had the experience of sitting and listening to someone with first-hand experience of surviving volcanic eruptions or collecting climate data and so they were fascinated to listen to David who is always engaging. As always he was accommodating to our needs and we used him for many talks throughout the day culminating in a talk for the community in the evening. I will not hesitate in picking up the phone to David as we start to plan our next event next year!"

"With his broad-ranging experience, David offered a fantastic selection of talks for students across the board. David was able to tailor talks to a specific brief, as well as knowledgably fielding questions from students and staff alike. Audiences were engaged, entertained, and intellectually stimulated."

"David was warm and welcoming whilst really engaging pupils with hot topics. The energy topic particularly was tailored to current events and we thoroughly enjoyed his visit. Pupils were inspired by the information David gave with first hand experiences across multiple destinations. We will be booking David next year."

"David recently came to our school and gave two talks on Montserrat and Iceland to our Year 6, 7 and 8 students as part of their studies on tectonic events. All the children were enthralled by David's stories and photos, and they are still chatting about the visit several days later! David pitched his talks perfectly for a slightly younger audience, managing to effectively discuss geographical topics in an informative but informal manner. We would warmly recommend David to any institution looking for a knowledgeable and engaging Geography speaker, and we hope to welcome him back soon!"

"A belated 'thank you' from the staff and Y8 pupils at Parkfields Middle School for your excellent presentations about Antarctica and Montserrat. They were incredibly informative and interesting and really brought to life where a career in geology and geography can take you. I know that the children really enjoyed the Q&A sessions too as you inspired them with your knowledge and stories. Once again, thank you for taking the time to visit Parkfields and we hope to welcome you back again in the future."

"Can I just say a huge thanks for coming in on Monday and delivering a series of excellent talks. We have had great feedback from the students and would be keen to have you back in a few years (if possible!)."

"David spent the day with us at our school in York and was a real inspiration to everyone here. His talks during the day were delivered to 6th form pupils were very engaging and pitched perfectly for the audience. Stories about David’s incredible first-hand experiences in Montserrat and Antarctica really brought to life those topics they had been studying. David also presented a public lecture in the evening, which was incredibly well received by both young and old. He talked about his first visit to Montserrat and the volcanic eruption that happened when he was there. A fascinating story in which David’s own pictures graphically illustrated the effects of the eruption on the people and the landscape of the island. David is a first-class speaker, with an incredible passion and depth of knowledge for his subject. We hope to hear about some of his other adventures in the future."

"David was a one man Geography conference. He delivered 5 talks to different groups during the day. The pupils were fully engaged and inspired to hear about someone who had actually been there! All the Geography staff at the end of the evening agreed that it had been a fantastically valuable day, had helped the status of the department in the School, and that pupils had been inspired in their Geography course. We had lovely personal stories of the recent volcanoes in the Bay of Naples, Montserrat, and Iceland - all great places that we'd now like to visit."

"It was a real privilege to hear the talks David Edwards delivered so professionally on such a range of thought provoking issues as climate change, the threat of Icelandic tectonic hazards and the future global energy crisis. His enthusiasm for the places and subject matter he was sharing with us were clear and he brought them to life through his beautiful images, in-depth scientific explanations and amusing anecdotes. It was a fantastic opportunity for the students to hear from an expert in these topics and to be challenged by the most up-to-date evidence of the threat from climate change from someone who has been involved in active research in polar regions. His talks were not only stimulating and extremely informative from a geographical perspective, but also gave an insight into an array of scientific research careers which should hopefully inspire our students to broaden their aspirations."

"David was inspiring and informative throughout. He fully engaged all our students and whilst he was able to link his talks to the curriculum, it was his amazing stories of his life travels that captivated both them and their parents. I had the pleasure of sitting in all seven of David's talks throughout the day and can honestly say that I feel fully nourished as a geographer. Great value for money and a chance for the students to hear from a real life geographer! I will definitely be inviting him back next year!"

“I cannot thank you enough for your hard work, energy and enthusiasm today. It really was appreciated. I have had a lot of positive feedback from my colleagues and students. We thoroughly enjoyed the day and, pending approval, hope to ask you back in January 2018 - just before options so you can inspire them all to do Geography!”

“A big thanks from the whole Geography Department and the wider School community for your marathon effort today with a range of fantastic talks for all of our learners. We were delighted with the quality and challenge provided in your talks and hope that you’ve inspired a number of Geographers of the future to follow the subject through the School and into later life.”

“During our Climate Change topic we had a visit from a Climate Change expert, David. He informed us about his experiences and how they sculpted his views on climate change as well as advice on taking charge of our own lives. I found the whole experience really eye opening as they truly have inspired me to want to travel more and even changed my views on future job prospects as now I would rather apply for jobs that involve the travelling and practical work. All in all, I found the talk helpful, insightful and informative.”

“David came and spoke to our Year 9 students at Hampton School as part of their Third Year Geography Morning. He gave an informative, engaging and inspirational talk on the Montserrat eruption of 1995. Having been there himself before, during and 16 years after we received an incredible first hand depiction of the event and the boys were mesmerised. David used a variety of multimedia and spoke in a narrative way; the boys hung onto his every word.”

"Thank you for the excellent talks, the pupils found them very engaging and furthered their knowledge of 'real life' situations in geography. The Prep department were also thrilled with the talk and how engrossed the girls were with what they were hearing, meaning that they were full of questions."

"Students have said how it made them think about topics in an entirely different way and made distant concepts seem much more relevant and closer to them. They found it highly enjoyable. I learnt lots on the day and I teach those topics all the time!"

"I just wanted to email you and say a huge thank you for your talks on Thursday. Having now talked to many of the students who were in your talks I wanted you to know how impressed they were and how fascinating they found you. The A level groups want to know when you are coming back!"

"Thank you for coming to the school for a couple of days. All the pupils really enjoyed the talks - they provided excitement for the younger years and unique case study detail for the Sixth Form. If you are up for it I’d certainly like to book you again at some point in the next academic year."

“David came to deliver his Montserrat talk to our Sixth Form students at Dr Challoner's Grammar School. Despite the fact that only a fraction of our students study Geography, David was able to captivate and engage the entire audience with his fascinating stories, experiences and his excellent humour. David is definitely one of the best speakers we've had the privilege of listening to at DCGS, and I would absolutely recommend his talks.”

“Many thanks indeed for the excellent talk last Wednesday. I was thrilled with how well the pupils responded for our first ‘lecture’ aimed at this year group, and we would very much like to book a repeat visit next year.”

“Thank you so much for your talk today; we will certainly arrange to have you back in some capacity in future – I will look at the variety of talks and get something pencilled in! The girls have given excellent feedback. Thank you once more.”

“Thank you so much for your time and efforts yesterday which provided us with a fascinating day. Pupils of all ages throughout the school from Year 3 to Year 13 were most appreciative - the Lower School want to know if you can come back again! The older pupils were provided with much food for thought and your talk has prompted further debate and discussion, clearly challenging their thinking on their role in the future. As a school we would want to recommend you most highly and are grateful for your contribution to our successful Great Hall Lecture Series.”

“Hope you had a safe journey back: thank you again for visiting, we all really found your talk uplifting. I’d certainly like to arrange for you to come and speak again!”

“I have heard from numerous staff and pupils how much your talks were enjoyed and know that there has been a buzz in Geography since Monday. Thank you for making the effort to travel so far to come and speak, I will definitely be recommending you to my old school and others around and I know this is something the Head of Department would be interested in for next year.”

“A group of Year 10 and 11 Geographers recently attended a lecture at Westholme School given by David Edwards, a geologist, mountaineer, Geographic Association advisor and travel writer. It was as if Mr Edwards had been briefed beforehand, as his talk was based in large parts around our GCSE case study of a volcanic eruption, the Caribbean island of Monserrat. Although pitched at quite a high level our students were nodding along and could even have answered some of the audience questions at the end! Thanks to Mr Edwards, Westholme school for the invite and the students for attending.”

“David came and visited us as part of our enrichment programme, giving his Montserrat talk to all of the students in Year 9 as part of a volcanoes morning/ afternoon. His talk was insightful; his pictures and stories engaged the students so much so they were able to take what he said into the other activities they took part in. Both students and staff learnt a lot about the Montserrat eruption and how the island has changed since 1995.”

“The talk with David Edwards was fantastic! It was pitched to the age range perfectly, and was informative and interesting. The children were very positive about it and they especially loved the video footage of the killer whale playing with a ball of ice!”

“Thank you for your inspirational talk last night at the Geography cluster meeting. I know you are booked up with other schools in the near future, but please do let me know next time you are visiting London again. I teach volcanoes to year 3 and can’t think of any better person to inspire them!”

“I just wanted to send a quick email to thank you again for speaking at Repton this evening. I have already received a number of highly complimentary emails from students, all of whom enjoyed the lecture. I wish you a safe journey home and look forward to hosting you again in the not so distant future.”

“Many thanks for an exceptionally stimulating and enriching day. The talks were first class. I particularly enjoyed being taken on the Antarctic and Montserrat journeys! See you back here in the future.”

"Having Mr. Edwards spend time on our campus was super.  His interaction with students and his knowledge of environmental issues provided us with a unique opportunity.  It is obvious from David's intense interest in such issues and his ability to tell a great story, that he enjoys sharing his experiences and insights, and indeed feels that such interaction is vital to solving problems."

"The boys, both age groups, were fascinated by you and all you had to say.”

"Thank you very much indeed for coming and giving us such a wonderful lecture last Friday, which was hugely enjoyed by all present. It ranks among the very best we have had in our Centre.....boys and parents have been talking About met since in glowing terms.”

"Many thanks for coming down and giving your talks. The boys found both very stimulating and I fielded many questions about them in the follow-up lessons.”

"Dave Edwards went down really well on Friday. The students felt his talk to be one of the very best this term. He was very entertaining, interesting and judged their appetite for information very well indeed.”

"Your talk certainly went down well, not least amongst the staff who found it very entertaining and especially enjoyed the change in direction from biology to geology.”

"Many, many thanks for your wonderful Montserrat talk yesterday at Hall Grove. The pupils haven't stopped talking About met all day! It was a fascinating insight into how so much physical change can happen in such a short period of time and how the community responded to the disaster. Your very personal take on the events made it all the more compelling. We'd love to have you back in the New Year for one of your other talks!"

"The Head couldn't have been more complimentary about Dave's talk. He thought it was excellent, and Dave had a brilliant rapport with the kids. We would definitely like to book him again."

"Thank you so much for the lecture; it was pitched at exactly the required level. I hope you will be able to visit Pinewood again so we can hear one of your other talks."

“On behalf of Clitheroe Royal Grammar School I would like to thank you for your talk at our inaugural Geography Network Day yesterday. Montserrat is a case study used by so many schools and colleagues found the talk to be engaging, entertaining and informative. Your ability to blend geographical knowledge and analysis with anecdotes and superb photography made the presentation enjoyable and accessible to all. We hope you can return to speak to our students in the future."

"David’s talks on Montserrat and the Colorado River were exactly what we were looking for, bringing personal experience and anecdotes to these case studies. His stories are humorous and engaging, focusing on the real people involved. The day went exactly as organised and exceeded all expectation."

“I just wanted to say a massive thank you for coming in on Wednesday and talking to our Year 9s about your experiences in Montserrat. I've had so much lovely feedback from both the pupils and parents saying how interesting the talk was. I know that the pupils loved hearing all about the eruption from someone who experienced it first hand and I'm hoping that it has reinforced their love of geography."

“Thank you for your superb lectures yesterday. Both were absolutely inspiring and engaging. The content and style of your presentations will have a long lasting positive impact on everyone who was privileged to be in the audience and I am confident that you will have captured the curiosity of some students which will lead them to investigate opportunities for further geographical studies."

“Thank you again for visiting our school yesterday. The feedback I've had from the teachers and children has been excellent. Your presentation was perfect for my year 5 class - the photos and video clips along with your anecdotes from your own experiences really brought the topic to life and provided an excellent starting point for our work on volcanoes. I will be in touch about future bookings."

“Just wanted to say thank you so much for coming and delivering your sessions to the students from the other week at John Whitgift Academy. The feedback we have had from the students is amazing to hear. I hope you managed to get back okay with the fuel crisis!"