On 3rd November 2015 pupils from Chesterton Community Sports College School Council and Debating club, plus staff, travelled by train to London to meet our local MP, Mr Paul Farrelly at the Houses of Parliament. Thanks to our MP the group had a guided tour of Westminster and the House of Lords, they then took part in a question and answer session with Mr Farrelly and his aid – questions ranged from how the pupils could contact their MP about local issues to how he does his job in Parliament and what his greatest achievement as an MP has been (helping to save the Peter Pan Nursery for Children with Special Needs in Newcastle).

The 20 pupils who attended the visit are either School Council members which means they represent their forms at School Council meetings, or from the Debating Club, so they were especially interested in finding out about how our Parliament operates and in quizzing our MP!

In the morning the group had a guided walk through Whitehall, Horse Guards, both Cenotaphs and Downing Street before entering Westminster. After a ‘working lunch’ with the Mr Farrelly, MP the group had a return boat trip on the River Thames to the Tower which provided further opportunities to see more iconic London landmarks such as Tower Bridge, The London Eye, Tate Modern and St. Paul’s Cathedral. Everyone enjoyed the new experience very much and all the pupils were a real credit to the school and themselves.

The trip was organised by Mr P Young assisted by Miss Collis, Mr Steele and Mrs Rhodes, as part of citizenship education within the school.