Future voters were given the chance to grill their Member of Parliament when he visited their County Durham school.
Alan Strickland, Labour MP for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor, paid a visit to Whitworth Park Academy, in Spennymoor, where pupils learned more about his work and the role of Parliament in local communities.
During the visit, Mr Strickland was shown around the school by Year 8 school council members, Lucy Priestly and Mia Taylor. He observed an English and a Music lesson, and met with the full school council to answer questions.
Responding to a Year 7 Willa Brown’s question about his focus as an MP, Mr Strickland – who grew up in nearby Newton Aycliffe – said: “One of my focuses is on jobs and opportunities for young people in our area.
“I want this to be a brilliant place to grow up in, with fabulous opportunities.”
He went on to speak about his pride in Spennymoor’s local heritage, praised the school’s work to instil British values in its students, and the importance of democracy – personified by the school council.
Head teacher Stuart Dixon also seized the opportunity to discuss local educational needs, as well as the Government’s reforms to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision, and the recentwhite paper published by the Department for Education, titled Every Child Achieving and Thriving.
Mr Dixon said: “We were delighted to have Alan in school. It was really interesting to see him get involved in activities around the school, and our children enjoyed that.
“It was great to get his thoughts on our cultural heritage project, which is all around understanding and celebrating our sense of place here in Spennymoor, and I was glad to have the opportunity to talk with him about the Government’s recent reforms to SEND and the white paper.
“I feel these have been positive moves from the Government on the whole, and a good step forward in addressing serious challenges in education.”
Spennymoor's local community newspaper.
