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Students interview Dr Anna Maguire from UCL as part of the 'TGS in Conversation Programme'

Tonbridge Grammar School welcomed Dr Anna Maguire from the History Department at University College London last week. Dr Maguire visited as part of the ‘TGS in Conversation Programme’ that invites visitors into the School to be interviewed by a selection of students in front of a student audience.

Dr Maguire is Lecturer in Public History and is a historian of migration, war and empire in twentieth century Britain and the British Empire. She is currently working on a history of sanctuary for refugees in Britain from 1950 to 2000.

The afternoon session took place in front of Year 12 pupils where following a presentation by Dr Maguire students asked a range of questions about her work including ‘How can we celebrate and acknowledge more the impact of refugees on our country and the world?’, ‘Have you had any specific hurdles to overcome as a woman in your field?’ and ‘What would your advice be to someone wanting to pursue a career in History?’. The students were a very attentive audience and Hannah commented ‘It was a fascinating talk and it was nice to see how passionate she was about her career’.

Prior to this in a lunchtime session Dr Maguire spoke at length with students from across a range of year groups in the library. The students clearly valued this session Hana in Year 11 said ‘It was absolutely great!’ Hina in Year 10 commented ‘Being able to directly ask questions made the session more enjoyable and helpful’ and Georgie in Year 12 said ‘I really enjoyed hearing about Dr Maguire's journey after university, especially as someone wanting to study history for a degree…it was really helpful to hear her advice and her own personal experience’.

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