David Galloway, Chair of the ACPP, is Professor of Primary Education and Chairman of the Board of Studies in Education in the University of Durham. ‘Primary Education’ in the title of his Chair does not do justice to the extraordinary range of his interests and achievements. At the core there lies a fundamental concern to maximise schools' contribution to children's development by extending our understanding of processes, individuals and personal relationships. His exploration of processes extends from the interface between home and school to children's approach to learning: their motivational style. Those with a mastery orientation ‘are concerned with their own further learning and the opportunities offered by new and challenging tasks’. It is an adaptive response in which such children demonstrate persistence and seek ways to overcome difficulties. That this is David's style became rapidly apparent when discussing his career. Some would call him a self-starter, who has retained his independence of spirit while working within educational and university structures.