Local MP Antony Higginbotham’s School Tour is continuing at pace with yet more pupils benefitting from his new “mock Parliament” idea. It sees pupils recreate the House of Commons in an interactive learning experience which aims to teach the workings in Westminster.
So far Antony has been welcomed at St Peter’s Primary School, Whittlefield, St Joseph’s Park Hill, and St John’s. His latest visit was to Olive High School, who have only recently moved into the old Burnley College building on Ormerod Road in Burnley.
Over the last few months Antony’s been using the visits to talk about his role and then hold these ‘mock parliaments’ with the aim of encouraging young people to be interested in politics and democracy.
Speaking about his latest school visit, Antony Higginbotham MP said:
These mock Parliaments are a new way of teaching children about how it works in Westminster. We basically setup our own version of the House of Commons and get the children to discuss ideas that gets them talking.
Nothing like this was available to me when I was in school but I think it’s important as it drives aspiration and gives every child the confidence to know that they can be anything they want to be.
And I’ve been able to see that in the schools I’ve visited so far. The students become really engaged and you can see their confidence start to increase. It’s been great and I want to thank Mrs Hanif and all the team at Olive High for getting involved with this project.
Antony’s School Tour is continuing throughout the year with both Primary and Secondary schools already signed up.
