Diplomat David Ward, the first resident British High Commissioner to Samoa, returned to his former school in Newcastle, to speak to young people from the North East who have a passion for politics. 

David – who attended Dame Allan’s Schools in Fenham from 1979 – 1986 – works in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and has travelled extensively for his work, including postings in Tokyo, Afghanistan and Libya. A multi-talented linguist, his passion for languages began at Dame Allan’s – where he studied French and German – before being honed in his many international postings. 

Speaking about his early desire to become a Diplomat, David said: 

“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 return visit to the school, David chatted with students in a Sixth Form Politics lesson and visited the school’s new Modern Foreign Languages department – an addition to Dame Allan’s new Jubilee Building – before meeting with Sixth Form students Imogen Golding-Douglass, who founded Dame Allan’s Model United Nations (UN) Club, and club member Ben Patrick. 

Imogen said: “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.”

David added: “I was very impressed by the level of global knowledge and the eloquence of the students at Dame Allan’s. It is wonderful to see young people take such an interest in politics, and it was made even more special by getting to take a look around my old school again.”

After more than three successful years in-post, David has recently stepped down from his role in Samoa and will be returning to the UK to take up a position closer to home. He said:

“I have been overseas continuously now for more than ten years, and for both professional and personal reasons, it’s probably time I came back for a while.  Living in the tropics might sound attractive, but it is possible even to grow to miss British weather!”