This Thursday, 10 of the LVI Politics class went on a trip to parliament, to further delve into their knowledge and learn more about the daily happenings of our government. The girls were led on an hour long tour by Althia, a wonderful member of staff, and had the opportunity to explore many of the sectors of parliament. We were able to sit in on a debate in the House of Commons and a discussion concerning microbial fibres in industry in the House of Lords. We were able to get a first hand view of our government at work, see the beautiful artwork New Dawn (which represents women finally getting the right to vote), and gain further insight into the origins of lobbying and the history of parliament; in particular the protests by the suffragettes in St Stephen’s Hall after woman were excluded from viewing debates in parliament.

After an insightful tour of the two chambers year 12 was plunged into an immersive workshop on political parties. In this session we established our own parties and began formulating our won policies to social, educational and environmental problems of our choice. Once we had concluded our discussions in our small groups we each elected a  representative to voice the concerns and strategies of each party. However, in an exciting turn of events, our presentations were interrupted by our very own Cities of Westminster and London, Labour MP Rachel Blake. We presented our views and then briefly suspended our debate to be formally introduced to Miss Blake.

Aimee Amazu and Luella Hambury, Lower Sixth