Tristram Hunt on school history trips in the Observer today

I very much agree with Tristram Hunt's article in the Observer today, which also flags up the fact we're setting up the Trust. He rightly raises the issue of the high costs of taking young people on school trips, particularly abroad. And I think that it's right that students should mainly visit scenes of British historical note as a way of transforming what often can be worthy teaching of the grey facts in a school classroom into colour.

One note of caution though - simply because taking young people abroad is expensive, increases carbon at a time when we need vitally need to be saving the planet, and might encourage them to learn about the history of America rather than the history of Britain, does not mean that those students from lower income backgrounds should be denied the opportunity to go abroad per se if that is what is being offered to other students who can afford it in state schools. I think the main problem with trips to New York, Barcelona or the Grand Canyon is that it reflects what parents think their children would prefer to do, rather than what would make sense educationally. It is this which needs to be tackled, rather than the trips themselves.

At our last trustees meeting we heard that even in inner city schools, many more parents somehow find the cash to fund four nights at EuroDisney rather than one night and day visiting the trenches and experiencing the sheer scale of the war memorials in Northern France. This suggests that there is more at work here than schools simply going for jollys in foreign lands - the pressure to be seen to give children a 'fun time' translates for many parents into the tried and tested formulas of novelty and glamour. Sadly, there needs to be a marked cultural shift in general for parents to understand the significance of why visiting the Great East Window at York Minster might be worth more for their child in the long-term than a trip to Alton Towers.

This raises a significant future challenge for Gareth's History Trust which is to ensure that when we fund school history trips, there is a significant support from parents for the trip, as well as pupils and teachers, otherwise the same groups of better-off children will continue to reap the benefits of our fascinating history.

Facebook page set up for Gareth's History Trust

I've set up a Facebook page for the Gareth Butler History Trust today. If you're a member of FB please do join! You can find it here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18107350177

May Bank Holiday weekend will always be a poignant one for me - for the last couple of years Gareth's cricket team would go on tour to Paris for the weekend. We had one particularly gorgeous venue we used to play in the grounds of a chateau outside Paris which had a fabulous little zoo. Even though we were in France, there would still be a tea urn, though cucumber sandwiches were often replaced with baguettes, Brie and paté.

Last year we played in Chantilly next to a polo ground. Friends of mine had lots of fun pointing out that Gareth had managed to convince me to combine our honeymoon road trip around the Loire Valley last year with the cricket tour. It was the most fitting end, however, to a beautiful trip. I'll always remember those sunny bank holiday weekends driving with the roof down along French country roads listening to Bruce Springsteen singing Cadillac Ranch.

Ed Balls MP to launch Gareth's Trust on July 2nd

Ed Balls, the Education Secretary, has very kindly agreed to launch the History Trust on July 2nd in Westminster. Venue and other speakers still to be confirmed but it looks like we've really got the ball rolling now! I'm hoping to get the Atrium in 4 Millbank which is the building where Gareth worked for the Politics Show. The Atrium was a regular after-work drinking venue for both of us, and in fact, was also where Gareth and I met, so there are numerous reasons why it would be a more than suitable place to hold the launch. Fingers crossed that the manager can give us a good deal, and that it's free for the evening...

I've also had a second Cabinet Minister endorse the Trust today: Hazel Blears the Communities Secretary. Hazel knows a lot about the lack of opportunities kids from poorer backgrounds face from her tireless work in local communities, and in her own Salford constituency. I'm really pleased she recognises that the Trust can play a small role in trying to open up avenues for these students in the field of history. The endorsement reads:

"I am delighted to endorse the work of the Gareth Butler History Trust. The trust's aims of giving school children from poorer backgrounds the same kinds of experiences as children from affluent backgrounds is both laudable and progressive. Children need a good grounding in our country's history, especially the history of conflict. Only by understanding the past can we navigate our collective future. I am sure the GBHT will be a fitting and living memorial to Gareth, and there will be hundreds of kids who never knew him who will have good cause to thank him." Rt. Hon. Hazel Blears MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

Thanks Hazel!

We want your money!

Quite a few people have been in touch to ask how to donate to the History Trust. At the moment we are in the process of trying to get a bank account set up, so I'm asking people who wish to donate to write cheques to me and I will transfer the money as soon as the Trust account is open. I have to say, though, that it's been an uphill struggle to get Barclays Bank to respond to my four calls to discuss opening a charity account. It's like they really, really don't want customers. I'm going to give them one last try, and then I'm looking for new options!

Once the charity is established we will set up a JustGiving page, but until then please keep sending the cheques through to me.

Fundraising target set

Today has been a pretty difficult day for me, falling as it does on the first anniversary of our wedding last year, but work carries on with the charity...

Yesterday (Sunday 18th) saw the first meeting of the GBHT trustees in the Landseer Pub - a real favourite Sunday haunt of mine and Gareth's which you can find just off Holloway Road en route to Archway. I'm firmly of the opinion that good ideas rarely surface in draughty meeting rooms and are more likely to blossom after being fuelled with a good pub lunch.

We discussed many practical things from how we were going to launch the charity, to the number of Patrons, but the most ambitious thing we did was set the fundraising target. It's pretty bold, but we reckon that with a strong focus on some high value fundraising events, such as a gala dinner in the Autumn, we should be able to make £50,000 in the first year. If you've got any good ideas for raising money, or organisations who might be willing to put in some cash, do get in touch at jessica@jessicaasato.co.uk or post a comment!

Trustees for GBHT announced

It's always one of the hardest things to do in an organisation - find the right mix of talented, enthusiastic and hard-working people to set the strategy at board level, but I'm pleased to say that we have a great team of people willing to act as the first Trustees of Gareth's History Trust. The list of trustees with their biographies follow. Once we have a website up and running, you will be able to get in touch with them direct. Until then you can contact trustees (and offer donations!) through me at jessica@jessicaasato.co.uk

Jessica Asato, wife of Gareth Butler, will initially Chair the Trust. She is currently Deputy Director of Progress, an organisation which organises meetings and publishes a monthly magazine to stimulate debate on the centre-left of politics. She is also Vice-Chair of a sexual health charity for young people, Brook, and Chair of Governors of Jack Taylor Special School in Camden.

Daniel Butler is a journalist and brother of Gareth.

John Parker is a writer and school friend of Gareth.

Gordon Marsden is Member of Parliament for Blackpool South and a former Editor of History Today magazine. He is Chair of the History Advisory Group for the Department for Children Schools and Families. Gordon is also a Member of the House of Commons’ Education and Skills Select Committee - helping develop policy on citizenship and young people, skills, further education, and special educational needs.

Greg Rosen is the Chair of the Labour History Group, a visiting fellow at the department of politics at Goldsmiths College, London and political columnist on the Scotsman.

Mari Williams is Head of History at a south London secondary school.

Guy Lodge is a Senior Research Fellow in constitutional reform at the Institute for Public Policy Research think tank.

Selman Ansari is a lawyer at Bates Wells Braithwaite, a well-regarded law firm which specialises in supporting charitable and not-for-profit organisations. Selman is also an Executive member of the Society of Labour Lawyers.

First endorsements!

I am delighted that the Culture Secretary, Andy Burnham, who recently announced that students should have access to at least five hours of cultural activities a week, has given his support to the GBHT:

"I am delighted to be able to support the new Gareth Butler History Trust. We know that cultural and educational activities outside the classroom can have a huge impact on a child's development and this Trust will enable all young people to take advantage of the benefits school trips can offer." Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP, Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport

Lord Andrew Adonis, Schools Under-Secretary at the Department for Children, Schools and Families, and official biographer of Roy Jenkins, has also kindly given an endorsement:

“This is an immensely worthwhile venture which I am sure would have had Gareth's passionate support. It will bring history, and the agonies of history, to life in a vivid way for young people who might not otherwise have the chance to visit great historic sites, and it will create memories and experiences for them that will remain for the rest of their lives." Lord Andrew Adonis, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools and Learners

If you would like to send through an endorsement, please do contact me at jessica@jessicaasato.co.uk

The story so far

I'm setting up this blog to chart the development of the charitable trust I am setting up to carry on the memory of my husband Gareth Butler who died on February 29th 2008.

The idea for the Trust came suddenly to me in those indescribable weeks following Gareth's death when there was a strong feeling that I had to put something in motion that could carry on Gareth's tremendous interests and love for life. Initial suggestions focused on setting up an organisation to support cricket, given the inordinate amount of time Gareth spent every summer Sunday on English village cricket fields. But I felt that a) there were many cricketing organisations that do a sterling job already and b) I wanted something that united Gareth's strong intellect with his sense of fairness.

So here is the start of the Gareth Butler History Trust. Its simple aim is to help fund school history trips for lower income students in state schools. Gareth's day-job at the BBC may have focused on politics, but his passion was for history, particularly the social history of the First World War. And with two children in secondary school, Gareth was keen that all young people had access to education which brought history to life and made them think about the impact historical events have on our lives today.

The school trips budget is often one of the first to be cut when schools face a financial squeeze because trips are seen as an add on - something outside the normal curriculum which is nice if the parent-teacher's association has had a particularly active year. But we know from the Commons Education Select Committee's report on 'Education outside the classroom' that school trips have a real value in raising not just attainment levels, but also helping build pupils' social skills and self confidence. Sadly because of rising transport costs and mislaid fears about health and safety, school trips are on the decrease.

Meanwhile, there is a decline in pupils taking history at GCSE. Britain is almost alone among developed countries in that history is only compulsory up until age 14, and only a third of pupils persist with the subject after this. If they can see history “brought to life” on a school trip, pupils may be persuaded to continue studying it at GCSE stage and beyond.

Given these two facts I went looking for other organsations which might fund history trips in schools, but despite searching on the internet, various charity search engines and asking organisations such as the Historical Association, there were no dedicated funding bodies prepared to support those pupils whose parents cannot afford to pay for them to go on the trips that schools offer. It struck me that there might be a case to answer here and I asked a few history teacher friends whether they had experienced difficulties with pupils unable to afford history trips and found they were very concerned that they were faced with a choice of taking only a few better-off students on the trips, or cancelling the whole idea.

A few weeks later, and now we have our trustees lined up, a pro bono solicitor providing great support on the trust deed, and the first supporters lining up with endorsements. Our first fundraising event is a quiz - a fitting tribute to Gareth who put the fear in other quiz teams: I can't remember the number of times we walked away with one of the prizes due mostly to his encyclopedic knowledge. The event is hosted by the Young Fabians and will involve nearly 30 teams at the Bethnal Green Working Men's Club on June 4th. I think all places have now been taken.

There's a long way to go before we can make this trust really work and get those first trips off to the battlefields of Northern France (our first funding objective), but I intend to chart the ups and downs of the journey on this blog, and hopefully keep Gareth's unboundless spirit alive along the way.