Laura Sandys MP joined with local primary and secondary school students for Parliament Week, an annual event aimed at inspiring and connecting people with Parliament.
Laura said: “I always enjoy meeting with local students and Parliament Week provides a particularly good opportunity for young people to find out more about how our democracy works. It was great to get together with some of our fantastic students and answer their questions about my work as their local MP.
“On Thursday I hosted a special Parliament Week assembly at Dame Janet Primary Academy which was followed by lots of good questions. The children were particularly concerned about the amount of litter around the school so I promised to raise their concerns with Thanet District Council and suggested we should get together for a litter pick.
“On Friday, I joined Victoria Pomery OBE, Director of Turner Contemporary, and a group of pupils from local secondary schools for a special Parliament Week workshop focusing on women as leaders. I was very pleased that after the workshop students said that they had a much better understanding of our Parliament, and that their perception of politics had changed for the better.
“Every year I like to do as much as possible to engage pupils in Parliament Week as all of them will one day be voting and lobbying. Whether 7 or 17 years old, the students have issues about which they are passionate and care deeply so it’s easy to show them just why democracy is so important for us all.”
Parliament Week is organised annually by the House of Commons and House of Lords. This year it runs from 15-21 November. For more information visit: http://www.parliamentweek.org/ Schools can visit Parliament at any time and arrange a tour by e-mailing: [email protected]