Our Normanhurst Gifted group reaped the rewards of their arduous trip to London during a tube strike by savouring the rich and varied experiences on offer at the Palace of Westminster. These included seeing a live debate in the House of Commons and meeting Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith, who talked to our students before hurrying off to vote when the division bell rang.
First on our visit was a talk about the history of Westminster Hall, which Aaron (Year 7) said was his most interesting part of the day. Our tour then proceeded into the famous Central Lobby, often seen on our television screens when politicians are being interviewed.
Before entering the debating chamber, we walked past the area where Charles 1 and his armed soldiers tried to arrest several members of parliament in 1642 before the outbreak of the English Civil War. Since then, no monarch has been allowed to enter the House of Commons. We then moved on to sit in the Visitors’ Gallery of the House of Commons and watched the live debate on the National Health Service. Many of our students such as Joe and Milo (Year 8), Nicole and Sharaf (Year 7) and Taylor (Year 10) found that the most interesting as they were witnessing the main business of the House of Commons.
Moving on, we went into one of the teaching rooms for our interactive workshop on voting. Our students were divided into three political parties, with each choosing policies they would like to see adopted, and making short speeches. Keypads were used to vote for the policies, and as part of the session we learned how votes cast in an election translate into seats in parliament, with both the present “first past the post system” and “proportional representation” explained clearly. Jack and Khush (Year 8), said this was their favourite part.
Last but far from least was the chance to see Ed Miliband as we were walking around, and the opportunity of listening to a fascinating talk from Iain Duncan Smith. David and Victoria (Year 9) said they were particularly interested in hearing about how he entered into politics, as well as his background as a former soldier serving in Africa and Northern Ireland. While he was talking to us the division bell rang, and he explained how that meant that MPs are given 8 minutes to reach the division lobby and cast their vote.
After a highly stimulating and thought provoking day we struggled through lengthy queues to reach the train back to Chingford, but it had been well worth making the effort to beat the strikers on London’s Underground.
