This week, on Tuesday 9 May, a group of Year 12 pupils travelled to London for a trip to the Houses of Parliament and to the Supreme Court. The following summary of the trip comes courtesy of Alec Veitch:
‘Our trip to the Houses of Parliament had an early start but after we all woke up and got into London, we realised not just the grand scale of how big the Houses of Parliament were, but just how many important figureheads who work there. The first thing we did at the start of the day was go on a guided tour of the Houses of Parliament; we got to stand in the House of Commons and the House of Lords while also getting an in-depth explanation by our tour guide. All of this was information both relating to Politics A-level, the huge history of the place and why there are so many obscure traditions that are still in place today.
After this, we crossed Parliament Square to visit the Supreme Court. Although there were no hearings on that day, we nonetheless got to sit in the justices' chairs. After a walk around Whitehall and a glimpse at Number 10 Downing Street, we went back into the Houses of Parliament just in time to witness the Speaker’s Procession, which opens the Commons Chamber - another one of the many fun quirks within our politics.
Then, after leaving all our bags and phones, we got to see Questions to the Chancellor. Although Jeremy Hunt wasn't there to be grilled, we still witnessed other members of the treasury being questioned by other MPs, including Rachel Reeves, who is the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer.’
