MP Crabb welcomes Hook CP School to Parliament
PRESEL I Pembrokeshire MP, Stephen Crabb welcomed a group of schoolchildren aged 7-11 from Hook CP School to Parliament on last week (Mar 14) for a lively Q&A session following their tour of Parliament.
The group of schoolchildren, accompanied by Headmaster Mr Alan Davies, and two other members of staff took the long journey from Hook to London for a Tour of Parliament and a workshop facilitated by the Education Centre. MP Crabb met the group of 34 at the UK Parliament Education Centre where the children had been learning all about the functions of Parliament and were very engaged in a mock debate on whether or not homework should be banned. The children were encouraged to stand up and offer their arguments for and against the topic, with one pupil playing the role of the Speaker controlling the debate.
The scholchildren were then given the opportunity to ask Mr Crabb about his role in Parliament, including his job of raising local issues affecting people in Pembrokeshire, attending debates on topical subjects and voting on new laws. Being local through and through, the children were particularly interested to hear about his journey from Fenton CP School in Haverfordwest to becoming an MP for his local area.
The Education Centre, located just outside the Parliamentary Estate in Westminster offers a wide variety of workshop, tour and interactive learning opportunities for schools and colleges as well as community and youth groups, and those in 16+ education. Schools from across the United Kingdom are invited to apply for an educational package online with travel subsidies offered to those travelling from outside London. Subject to eligibility requirements, educational providers can receive up to 75% of receipted travel costs up to the value of £2,000.
Following the Q&A session, Stephen Crabb MP commented: “It was wonderful to see so many young schoolchildren engaged and keen to learn more about the history of Parliament and the important role of MPs in our democracy. I particularly enjoyed listening to the mock debate on homework – the speaker did an excellent job controlling the debate, shouting ‘order, order’ on several occasions!”