Students Pay Visit to House of Commons

Students of the Education and Social Science BA at St Mary’s University, Twickenham were given the chance to visit the House of Commons to take part in a discussion on Comprehensive Education.

Students were invited to the Westminster house for the Comprehensive Future AGM by chair Melissa Benn and heard from former Director of Education at the London Borough of Ealing Alan Parker, highly-regarded education consultant Tom Sherrington, and qualified teacher Lucy Crehan. 

They also got the chance to consider the relationship between structure and education, the relevance of being 11 years old for making educational choices and the creative ways in which teaching might respond to the different processes of student learning and the development of educational policy.

In addition, the students got to hear Tom’s suggestion that we should look to the future and reclaim the English Baccalaureate by expanding it to include a wider, more inclusive curriculum. This was particularly useful because as part of their course the students have to critically look at the current shape of the baccalaureate.

Lecturer of Education & Social Sciences at St Mary’s Marlene Ellis said, “This fantastic opportunity allowed students to take part in discussions that directly engage with their degree and to bring some arguments together in a way that is more difficult in the lecture room. It’s wonderful to see them realise that they have opinions that are both relevant and valuable in a wider environment.”