MP for Mansfield is quizzed by politics students
Posted: 22 October 2020
A-Level Politics students from West Nottinghamshire College polished their interviewing skills when they invited MP for Mansfield, Ben Bradley, into their class.
Each student interviewed Ben on any subject they chose for five minutes, using well-crafted, pre-prepared questions and applied higher investigative techniques to tease out more informative answers.
The year one and year two students accessed the event, on Friday 9 October, from the classroom and online, enabling them all to engage interactively and ‘grill’ Ben in a professional yet polite manner. They posed questions on matters ranging from the environment, COVID-19 and the NHS to youth violence, disability and the local area in general.
Sixteen-year-old Edward Keenan, prepared questions for the Member of Parliament, on the Abortion Act, Ben’s experience at the House of Commons after he was elected from a social class perspective and how the UK has handled the current pandemic.
Politics students have been unable to access visits to the Houses of Parliament, Whitehall or the Old Bailey, to enhance their course experience this year. To ensure their learning is not impeded a series of interactive in-house activities have been arranged allowing new ways and unprecedented access to MPs, professionals and The Lords.
Student Lewis Thacker, 17, said: “Today’s visit helps to make us more politically aware and it’s helped us to see that MPs aren’t alien – Ben has been very approachable and happy to speak to us. I was able to ask him more about education in general and his thoughts on a Unitary Council.”
Ben Bradley said: “It was great to meet the students who were very well prepared with a lot of questions for me. There are so many things impacting on education and young people these days so it was great to hear from this group so I hope they got something useful out of this.”
“As soon as visitors are allowed it would be great to welcome the students on a tour of the House of Commons.”