When one of our students learned that John Swinney was in Malawi at the same time as our trip, they invited him along to our parents’ evening to swap stories. The First Minister had visited Malawi to mark the 20th anniversary of Scotland’s historic Cooperation Agreement with the country. And he was so bowled over by his own experience there, he did just that! Here he is at GWC, taking the time to talk to students and enjoy some of their photos. After praising the presenters and identifying with many of the positive impressions of Malawi that they had shared, the First Minister told the students: “I’ve experienced lots of things in my political life…but nothing has had the effect on me that my trip to Malawi did – nothing.” Mr Swinney said that he had been thinking hard about why that was, venturing: “…it’s possibly that despite the hardship…despite the acutely more difficult challenges that people in Malawi face, there is something still in that human spirit…the joy of interaction...