North East Somerset MP Dan Norris MP took up a ‘hot seat’ with politics students at Sir Bernard Lovell Academy in Oldland Common as part of UK Parliament Week 2024.
He was questioned on a range of issues, including lowering the voting age to 16, accessible transport, and support for pensioners.
Mr Norris toured SBL’s repurposed sixth form learning accommodation, now in full use after extensive work during the summer which gave sixth form students their own separate learning space. Previously their base was part of SBL’s 11-16 accommodation.
As part of their studies, Year 12 politics and economics students visited the UK Parliament earlier in the month.
Mr Norris said: “It was terrific to engage with so many of the students, and to be quizzed in a thoughtful and challenging way on a range of topical issues. I’ve visited SBL many times over the past 25 years or so, and have always been impressed by the levels of enthusiasm of students of all ages.’
“Recent accommodation changes are helping empower sixth form students to take even more responsibility for their own learning, and it was good to see this for myself.”
Chantelle Eccleshall, Director of Post-16 at SBL, and headteacher Dr Robin Bassford took Mr Norris on a tour of the school. SBL is a Futura Learning Partnership school and during his visit, the MP, who is also the Mayor of the West of England, also met Futura’s chair of trustees, Malcolm Broad MBE, and CEO, Gary Schlick.
Dr Bassford said: “It was a pleasure to welcome Dan Norris MP to SBL and meet with him to discuss the current educational landscape. Mr Norris’s visit provided a wonderful opportunity for our politics students, who recently visited parliament, to engage in lively debate with him and learn more about the dynamics of government.”