bringing out the best in boys

Digital Surgery with Greater Manchester Mayor

Posted at 1:27 pm on 27th November, 2018

Wellacre celebrates UK Parliament Week

Wellacre’s Debating Society, part of the school’s Co-Curricular programme, have participated in a series of events to celebrate UK Parliament Week from Monday 12th November.

Digital Surgery with Andy Burnham 3.png

First, in partnership with The Politics Project, Wellacre held a Digital Surgery with Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham.  Students gathered for the video conference, organised to enable young people to communicate with local politicians on the issues important to them.    

Digital Surgery with Andy Burnham 1.png

Mr Gillan, Teacher of Humanities at Wellacre, said:

“It was an amazing opportunity for our students to get the chance to interview a high profile politician, who has powers that affect the lives of all of our students.  The engagement of the students in a wide range of issues was great to see.

The encouragement Andy Burnham gave them to be active citizens and believe that they can change the future was really positive.”

The group, which included students from Years 8, 9 and 10, asked a wealth of questions about Andy Burnham’s career, role as Mayor, and his opinions on a variety of issues including travel, crime and mental health.

Year 9 Max said:

“I enjoyed discussing a range of issues, hearing the Mayors’ responses and challenging him on them!”

Year 10 George added:

“It was enjoyable being able to get an inside view into the role of the Mayor and British politics.”

Year 8 Leo said:

“I liked seeing an adult, in a position of power, talking to young people as equals and believing that what we said really mattered.”

Following the session, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said:

“Thank you to everyone who took part. Some really great questions and great to see you all take an interest in politics - it is so important to make sure your voice is heard.  Keep aiming high, don’t let people divide you and there is nothing you can’t achieve. Good luck!”

Also during UK Parliament Week, the Debating Society students used props on loan from Parliament Education in their Co-Curricular lesson.  The session aimed to educate students about the role of Parliament and how it works; the group explored the items including a Budget Box and a mace and recreated their own House of Commons.  

Parliament Week 1 crop.png

Mr Gillan said:

“Students held a great debate about lowering the voting age to 14; they were really engaged and enjoyed using the parliamentary props, which helped them to understand how laws are passed and the importance of the role of parliament in our democracy.”

This site uses cookies. Some of the cookies we use are essential for parts of the site to operate and have already been set. You may delete and block all cookies from this site, but parts of the site will not work. See our Cookie Usage page for more details.