Connaught Visits the House of Lords

On Wednesday 10th December sixteen Year 10 students from Connaught School for Girls travelled to Westminster on a cold but bright December morning, accepting a kind invitation from Lord and Lady Sheik to visit the House of Lords. The invitation came through Mosaic, the Muslim led initiative working to break down barriers across British society, convened by Business in the Community (BITC), one of Prince Charles’ charities. Connaught School for Girls has been working very closely with the Mosaic charity on a number of initiatives in recent months.

Accompanied by Mrs Scott, Deputy Headteacher and Maths teacher Ms Aullibux, the visitors to Westminster had a very exciting time. Firstly at St Stephen’s Gate they had to have photo ID taken and their bags were searched in order to pass through security. The Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Leader of the Opposition David Cameron had just finished Prime Minister’s question time. The Westminster hosts offered lunch in the Riverside Restaurant (the chocolate cake disappeared very quickly!) and then the visiting party walked out onto the terrace which had wonderful views across the River Thames.

After lunch, Lord and Lady Sheikh gave the visitors a personal tour. The party learnt that the House of Lords uses red seats and carpets while the House of Commons uses green seats and carpets. Several well known lords were spotted going about their work. The students and teachers got the chance to sat in the public gallery of the House of Commons and listened to part of a speech on child poverty, parenting and low income families, recognising a few of the MPs like David Milliband and William Hague. The tour continued to the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft, where MPs can be married and have their children baptised and then on to Queen Victoria’s throne room.

At the end of the visit Lord and Lady Sheikh gave each student and teacher a red a folder containing booklets on the House of Lords. This is a trip that will be remembered for a long time.

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