A highlight of the first half term of Year Six has got to be our visit to London to tour the Houses of Parliament. The children were all brilliantly behaved and were excellent representatives of Kildwick School.
When we arrived in London, we entered the Houses of Parliament and began our tour. The first stop was Westminster Hall, which had recently taken on new significance with it being the place where Queen Elizabeth II laid in state.
After heading to Central Lobby and finding out about the history of the building, we were able to go into the famous House of Commons. I was very impressed with this - in previous years, we have only been allowed in the viewing gallery! It was amazing to stand in front of the iconic green benches (no sitting was allowed!), see the speaker’s chair, and spot where the prime minister and opposition stand to go head-to-head in debates.
The children then took part in a really interesting workshop all about women getting the vote. We were told the incredible story of the suffragettes chaining themselves to a grille in the Ladies' gallery of the House of Commons and then we spotted the grille on display in Central Lobby as we left.
A quick walk around London and a ride on the London Eye finished our day’s activities before heading home on the train. We will be writing to our local MP to invite him into school to share our opinions on any issues that we have and continuing our interest in politics throughout the year.
