Everyone was excited as we hopped on the tube to Westminster for our parliament trip. First we entered the Palace of Westminster going through the old House of Commons chamber to admire the sculptures of previous Prime Ministers. Our guide educated us on a little bit of the history of the palace and its reconstruction over time. We saw a great snippet of both the Houses in session listening to the Lords debate travel expenses and the services provided through train lines, to James Cleverly MP answering questions on the current emergency bills to be passed with the Rwanda policy. Seeing these debates happening in person really helped to make the Politics we discuss in the classroom come to life. The last stop on the tour was Westminster Hall -the oldest remaining part of the Houses of Parliament that is in its original state. Once the tour had concluded we headed back to the education centre where we participated in a workshop about laws and debating. This included acting as the House of Commons with our own Prime Minister, Speaker and Leader of the Opposition to act out the process of a bill turning into an Act of Parliament (a law). After a debate in the style of the House of Commons with many a ‘hear, hear’, the end result was nine in favour and one against. This was all part of teaching us the process bills go through to become law.

The trip was not only informative but engaging and fun; something I will certainly not forget any time soon. Thank you to Mrs Wilkes for organising the trip and to Miss Hunt for giving her time to come along and supervise. 

Florence, Lower Sixth