On Wednesday 18th November (Parliament Week) a group of 19 students set off from Darlington Station, together with three teachers, one school governor, two county councillors and a lovely young lady called Megan from a charity called ‘Bite the Ballot’. This is a charity which is trying to get young people interested in politics and registered to vote. It was cold and dark, and our train was cancelled, but spirits were high.
We started off the day with a bus tour from Kings Cross to Trafalgar Square and then walked down Whitehall to Parliament. We passed Horseguards Parade, Downing Street and the Cenotaph – seeing the hundreds of wreaths laid the week before to remember all those who have suffered and died for our country, both at home and abroad.
Our tour of Parliament was followed by an hour spent with our two MP’s – Helen Goodman for Shildon and Phil Wilson for Newton Aycliffe. The questions the students asked were thought provoking – and showed just how interested our young people are in our community, what is happening in our nation and what is happening to people like the refugees from Syria. It was only to be expected as they are all part of the Leadership Groups at the two campuses of the school. Our MP’s were genuinely impressed with the quality of the questions asked. We would very much like to thank them and their offices for all the help and support they gave us to make the visit possible.
Our afternoon was spent at the British Museum and included a visit to ‘The Celts’ exhibition which was full of wonderful gold and silver artefacts and tied in with the Roman history the students studied in primary school and our own Binchester Roman Fort. We finished the day visiting ‘Platform 9 3/4’ and the Harry Potter shop at Kings Cross, arriving back at Darlington at 10.15.
The funding for the trip came from local county councillors, Great Aycliffe Town Council and Aycliffe Town Council. The county councillors covered their own costs. We would like to thank everyone who made the trip possible, including the parents who delivered their children to Darlington at 6.00 am.
However the visit, while wonderful in itself, is not the end of the matter. The plan now is for the students to report back to the town councils, visit County Hall and work to encourage other young people to register to vote and get involved in politics themselves. You never know, one of them may be a future MP or even a future Prime Minister.
