Parliament Comes to St Philomena's

12.20.14am GMT Tue 21st Mar 2006

Getting to Grips with Parliamentary Procedure

On Thursday the 16th March in the morning, Tom Brake MP for Carshalton and Wallington joined pupils at St Philomena's school to watch and participate in their mock parliamentary ID Cards debate.

The debate, which was then filmed, will form their submission to the National Youth Parliament Competition 2005/6. The competition encourages pupils around the country to study parliament, parliamentary debates and politics as part of Citizenship.

Tom Brake said, "The pupils had obviously done their parliamentary homework. They have mastered parliamentary procedure and naming conventions and could hold their own in the real chamber!"

The pupils who took part in the debate also valued the experience.

"The debate provided a passionate atmosphere in which papers were waved, voices were heard but more predominantly a glance into the procedures of government was attained. The assistance of Tom Brake was hugely appreciated," said Eleanor Brown

"The oak room was animated by the lively debate of ID Cards; first hand experience of what the House of Commons is probably like. It offered us an interesting insight into the world of Politics, and allowed participants to witness the process in which England in run, " added Jorden Berkeley.