Houses of Parliament and Supreme Court Visit

On Tuesday 26 April year 12 Politics students visited Westminster to see the machine of government in action, taking the content that they have been learning in lessons and experiencing how this works in reality.

Arriving at the Houses of Parliament students were taken on a tour with an opportunity to stand in both the House of Commons and House of Lords along with other areas of decision making at the highest level. Through this students were given information by a professional tour guide and able to ask questions of people who have engaged in a range of governmental roles. Following the tour students engaged in a workshop in the Education Centre looking at the core curriculum areas of Representation and Electoral Systems which they are currently studying. Through this they took on roles within political parties, created manifestos and engaged in a mock election under various systems to consider different forms of representation. Finally, students had the opportunity to sit in the public gallery of the House of Commons and watch Liz Truss (Secretary of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs) respond to oral questions.

After leaving the Houses of Parliament students were given a tour of the UK Supreme Court, the highest court in the UK that makes judgements about the most significant constitutional issues - another core aspect of content on the A-Level Politics course. Students had the opportunity to look at all three court rooms and even sit in the judges chairs in court room 3, home to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

It was a great opportunity for students to experience in practice the systems and processes that they have been learning about in theory.

"It was really interesting to look around parliament and learn about its history. Useful tour where I learnt new extra facts that I can incorporate with my studies. I liked sitting through the House of Commons and watching the debate about the commonwealth. " Daniella S