We had the privilege of welcoming BBC Foreign Correspondent and World Affairs Editor John Simpson to Teddies. After meeting with pupils from Cherwell School we were given a few Global Politics questions to discuss amongst ourselves. Following heated discussions about events in global current affairs such as the Ukraine conflict, John dropped into the various conversations to offer his own insights.
 
Afterwards, we all filed into The North Wall alongside some other schools and members of the public. John delivered an excellent talk, befitting the title of the lecture series: Inspiring People. He told us about the beginning of his career, starting with nearly being arrested at an IRA member's funeral on his first day working for the BBC. He told us about becoming deaf in one ear and having shrapnel in his leg due to a bomb exploding 40ft away from where he was reporting. There was an opportunity at the end for a Q&A and John answered a series of fascinating questions. After taking us through the events of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre and telling us how he and his camera crew were rushed into a back alley, he explained how his job is purely to report on the events before his eyes and that no one can dispute something that he has physically witnessed.
 
Overall, the talk and meet and greet beforehand were both very inspiring and all of the Global Politics students have benefited greatly from hearing such a world-renowned man come to Teddies and tell us his story.

By Emily Brown, 6th former.