Last Friday, Collingham AS Students went on a tour of The Houses of Parliament. They were shown around the buildings and had their knowledge of British politics tested en route.
Our Government and Politics students showed off their expertise, having answers ready for every question. They were informed of the customs around the Queen’s Annual visit to open Parliament and saw her lavishly decorated seat (adorned in 24-carat Gold) in the House of Lords. They had the opportunity to discuss their ideas on the value of the House of Lords and whether or not they thought it right to have unelected people who have a significant influence in our political process. Following this, they were led to the viewing gallery above the House of Commons. It was great that they were able to get a sense of democracy in action.
Following the tour, the students took part in a ‘Representation and Voting Workshop’. Firstly, they were given a presentation on the history of British politics, followed by a brief quiz. They then looked at different voting systems (Representational and First Past the Post) and discussed the pros and cons of each.
The students formed three of their own political parties and created manifestos, with ideas such as changing our voting system to representational voting, and making higher education more accessible. Our parties then took their manifestos to the polls, and saw how they would fair in terms of gaining seats under either first past the post or representational voting, assessing which system they thought to be fairest or most effective.
