Students discover the workings of Parliament

A fortunate group of students travelled to London to visit the Houses of Parliament and No 10 Downing Street. The trip provided an eye-opening insight to the workings of Government and Parliament.
On their return the students shared with staff what they felt about their experience. Here it is, in their own words:
“We were met by Julie our tour guide. Julie was extremely knowledgeable and told us some fantastic facts, such as:

There 650 MPs in the House of Commons, and over 800 Lord and Baronesses in the House of Lords.
We were privileged to watch the House of Commons debating issues such as the conflict in India and the Health Secretary made a statement about Coronavirus.

Seeing how Parliament works was fantastic, when we stepped inside we were in awe, knowing key decisions made in this very room impact our daily lives.

We then took part in a democracy workshop. In teams we came up with ideas to campaign about; knife crime, animal cruelty, votes at 16, and single use plastic. We were developing skills in communication, leadership, organisation and public speaking.

We then had a surprise visit from our MP Jim McMahon. Jim gave an inspiring talk about Parliament and how it is becoming out of date – the greatest change happens when people self-organise and use social media to highlight their issues. He believes in a supportive state where power should be in the hands of the community where they live.

Our visit did not end there, we headed straight for 10 Downing Street. There is so much security and when I accidentally knocked on the door and a man came out I panicked…. Not because of the security but Miss Parkinson had tweeted Boris Johnson to ask him to come out and meet us and I really thought he was coming out…but no.

Not to worry Riyad the policeman stepped in and told us all about his role at Number 10. The skills required to be part of the Metropolitan Police and the comings and goings of number 10.

We could not leave without visiting the Queen and she had heard The Radclyffe School were on route and made sure she was in. How did we know? Well the flag, the Royal Standard was flying on the roof.

It was a long but rewarding day that we will never forget.”