PRIESTLEY College hosted a talk from a member of the House of Lords aimed at encouraging students to become more engaged with politics.
Lord Sharkey met A-Level students for an hour to talk about the work and role of the House of Lords.
This was followed by a question and answer session on various aspects of the parliamentary process and life at Westminster.
Senior Tutor Mark Salmon said: “This was a fantastic opportunity for our students to interact with someone who knows the parliamentary system inside out, as it can sometimes seem far removed from their daily lives.”
The visit was arranged through the Lord Speaker’s ‘Peers in Schools’ programme, which has been running across the UK since 2007 and has so far involved around 75,000 young people.
This continuing outreach programme sends members of the House of Lords into schools/academies and colleges across the country to give talks in support of the citizenship curriculum.
It follows months of focus at Priestley College on the political process, which has included several high-profile visits including former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith and Tristram Hunt of the Labour Party.
During the General Election campaign all the local Warrington candidates met students while those with a passion for politics also staged their own hustings events.
“At Priestley we feel it is very important to generate interest in politics to help students feel engaged with the political process,” said Mark Salmon.
“It is not just something that should only be of interest to Politics students, but to everyone with an interest in how the country is run, which is why we place such importance on it.”
