Pupils at Beechwood Sacred Heart school had a very special visitor towards the end of last term. The children, who had recently visited the Houses of Parliament to understand more about the political machinations in the UK, invited local MP Greg Clark to the school in order to answer a series of pressing current affairs questions.
Sadly Brexit was strictly off the agenda but the children did have the opportunity to ask Mr Clark about various other subject matters including what he thought of his colleagues, meeting Donald Trump, who his role models were growing up and his views on whether school children should strike to highlight environmental issues.
A spokesperson at Beechwood said: “Mr Clark expertly fielded all the questions, whilst explaining how Parliament works and the role of politicians to change the world around us. He urged the children to think about how they can make a difference to their world as they grow up.”
The session ended with a fun task which saw the pupils divided into two groups as if they were sitting in a parliamentary debate. Mr Clark asked one of the children to pick a topic and the subject was agreed as ‘Should doughnuts be allowed at breaktime’? Playing the role of Speaker, Mr Clark chaired the debate which culminated with a final vote conducted as MPs themselves would vote. “Unsurprisingly, the ayes to the right were the ultimate successors,” continued the spokesperson. “And there was a surprise twist as Mr John Coakley, our Prep School Head, agreed to a one-off special doughnut break day to follow the successful debate!”
