UK Parliament week at England Lane Academy
Pupils at England Lane Academy, welcomed their MP Yvette Cooper to talk to their student council as part of UK Parliament Week.
The annual week of events around the country aims to spread the word about what Parliament is, what it does and how people can get involved.
Ms Cooper was given a tour of the academy, then took questions from the school council about a range of topics – from Big Ben to lowering the voting age!
Yvette Cooper, MP“It was great to be at England Lane Academy to join them in a mock debate – the children asked brilliant questions and were a real credit to the school. Coming so soon after they got an outstanding Ofsted judgement, it was particularly good to be able to congratulate them for all their hard work.”
Year 4 quizzed Ms Cooper before being led in the mock debate and vote. Pupil Ollie Scott said:
“I thought it was really good because I could ask lots of questions. I was on the school council last year and I really want to be an MP when I’m older. I think Yvette is a great MP and now I know how it feels to be in Parliament.”
Last year more than 1.6 million people took part in Parliament Week. Head teacher Lisa Cooke said: “The whole school community has been excited about Yvette coming in, especially with her new role as Home Secretary, we feel quite privileged to show her what we’re doing.
Lisa Cooke, Head of Academy“We have a keen academy council and they’ve taken UK Parliament Week very seriously. They did an assembly for the whole school, have done activities and have given speeches, so having Yvette come in on that week puts it into practise what Parliament is all about.”