The School has received confirmation that the recently ennobled Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield, the eminent constitutional historian, prolific writer and expert on contemporary British politics, is visiting the school on the evening of March 1^st 2012. At the invitation of the Headmaster, Peter Hennessy has kindly agreed to give a lecture; his chosen theme will be “Watching Prime Ministers” - a subject on which he has a strong claim to be our greatest living authority.

Described by the Guardian newspaper as a “force of nature… in whose hands the constitution becomes a breathing dynamic entity with the power to change history”, and by the late, great Ben Pimlott as “a political historian and journalist who has himself become something of a national institution”, Lord Hennessy is a graduate of Cambridge and Harvard Universities. Since 1992 he has been Attlee Professor of Contemporary British History at Queen Mary’s College, University of London. Prior to that time, he had an illustrious career as a political journalist.

As an author, he has an impressive repertoire of publications, many of which are regarded as the definitive academic texts. Amongst his many distinguished works are “ Never Again: Britain 1945-51”; “ Having it So Good: Britain in the Fifties”; “Muddling Through: Power, Politics and the Quality of Government in Post-war Britain”; “ The Secret State: Whitehall and the Cold War” as well as the classic “Prime Minister: The Office And Its Holders Since 1945” and the definitive “Whitehall”. Lord Hennessy has also written for the Times, Financial Times and the Economist as well as presenting on Radio 4. In tandem with his work as an author, Lord Hennessy is dedicated to his role as a crossbench peer in the House of Lords where his accomplished public speaking skills and his vast knowledge of the ‘hidden wiring’ of the British Constitution have undoubtedly contributed to debate.

He lists amongst his likes an eclectic combination of gossip, French wine and West Ham United and amongst his dislikes he includes the recent trend of ‘celebratocracy’.

Lord Hennessy is truly an icon of the British political and academic scene and the school community is guaranteed to have a fascinating evening in the company of perhaps the finest political writer of his generation.

Please contact Mrs. J Blair, the Headmaster’s PA on 01985210101, if you wish to attend. Given the likely level of demand for places, we would encourage an early reply given that we are likely to have to operate on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. The lecture will start at 6.30pm with the venue to be advised nearer the date.