Sir Peter Westmacott

The school was delighted to welcome on Tuesday 16th May one of the UK’s most experienced diplomats to talk to our Year 10 and 12 historians about international relations spanning 5 decades: from the Gulf Oil Crisis in the Middle East in 1973 to the present Ukraine-Russian Conflict.

Sir Peter Westmacott was able to regale stories of his time in Turkey, France and most recently Washington DC as the UK ambassador to the US during the historic Barack Obama presidency.

The students acquired a real sense of how delicately poised political negotiations can be such as with the Iran nuclear weapons agreement- which involved advanced weeks and months of talks and discussions to iron out any sources of conflict before politicians got around a table. Peter was also the private secretary to our present King during a very difficult time in his relationship with the late Princess Diana (1990-1993) – he reflected even back then what an industrious and hard working man our current monarch was with a schedule and diary incredibly full and exhausting to keep up with.

We are indebted to Peter for giving up his morning and time to share with us his wisdom, insights and perspectives on a very fluid, dynamic and fascinating international political scene that he contributed to across his lifetime.