A Level Politics Pupils Visit The Palace of Westminster

On Wednesday 23 November, Year 12 Politics students visited Westminster to complement their A Level studies. During a tour of the Houses of Parliament, students visited the House of Lords chamber, and former KES Head of School John Glen MP - who recently returned to being Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's deputy at the Treasury - stopped by for a few words of wisdom. After a workshop on voting systems, we had a visit from Bath MP Wera Hobhouse, who answered questions on topics such as the Lib Dems' future prospects and how to wean Bath businesses off overreliance on tourism. We then met up with Tom Skinner, a Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport, who explained the day-to-day life of a Minister and their team, and also regaled us his best stories from working with Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings at Number 10. Finally, we visited the Supreme Court, which had, that morning, ruled that Scotland would not be permitted to hold its own referendum.

This was an excellent and exciting day, firmly demonstrating to pupils how all three branches of government have very tangible real-life implications.

Mr Ford, Head of History