Political Adventure

On the 28th June, Mrs Palmer’s English Group, the Student    Council and selected Year 6 pupils embarked on an amazing trip to the Palace of Westminster. On arrival we were scanned and given photographed tags for security purposes. Then we were greeted by PA, Alisdair Gordon who directed us to The Right Honourable Mr Stephen Timms, our local MP.

The Rt Hon. Mr Timms personally guided  us through the Palace of Westminster, which was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for pupils and teachers alike. Throughout the tour, he explained the history of the building, the people and showed us different exhibits. We were particularly interested in the age of the building  and the fact that it was bombed during World War II. One of the tasks we were set was to establish which gift came from which country. For example, the speaker’s chair was a gift from the nation of Australia.     Amazingly, we were given the opportunity to stroll through the ‘no’ lobby before voting– just like professional MPs!     Surprisingly, when we entered the house of commons, we discovered that no monarch is ever allowed to enter this area.

Our trip to the palace of Westminster finished with a meeting in a “select committee ” room where we asked Mr Timms questions about his work and life. He asked what he could do for us , as MP for East Ham, before he left.

 Lunch was eaten at St. James’ park, where we saw pelicans, swans and ducks. We explored a small section of  St. James’ park   before heading off to Horse guards’ parade. There we saw guards on foot and on horses (tricky to photograph!) who stood to attention until it was their time to march away.

Downing street was our final destination of the day. Whilst crowds of tourists were only allowed to peek through the gates, our group were allowed to step right through and walk up to number 10. We took photographs of the Prime Ministers house and enjoyed the last moments of our special day before heading home. We will never forget our extraordinary, spectacular day.