Shropshire schoolchildren are MPs for a day

The Year Six pupils from Shrewsbury’s Martin Wilson Primary School – accompanied by three of their teachers – were guests of the town’s MP Julia Buckley who welcomed them to the Houses of Parliament for an educational tour.

“It was the first time we’d done this as a school, our first time in London,” said Headteacher David Purslow. “The children really enjoyed it and came away buzzing with excitement.

“Our MP, Julia, really got them going, and they loved finding out about how Parliament works. They took part in a debate in a virtual House of Commons and enjoyed it so much that they now want to invite Julia back to the school for another session.”

Mr Purslow said the pupils learned all about ‘bobbing’ which is when MPs bob up and down to get the attention of Mr Speaker. “Obviously, we’re not encouraging bobbing in the classroom,” he joked.

Julia Buckley said: “The children were a delight to meet. They had a full tour of Parliament and they waved to me from the gallery as I spoke in the Chamber.

“When we had a discussion about the role of an MP, they asked lots of tricky questions about my priorities, about what I wanted to do when I was a kid, why did I decide to become an MP. They were very sharp and knew a lot about the role already.

“The virtual House of Commons was a lot of fun with the famous green benches being projected all around us. The children loved that.”