On Friday 19th November, Harris Church of England Academy hosted Mark Pawsey MP. It was a great opportunity for Harris students to meet and question their local Member of Parliament, experiencing the 'democracy in action' theme of UK Parliament Week firsthand. Mark met with representatives from the Year 11 student leadership team and discussed their campaign to improve school facilities; he then participated in a Q+A session with our Year 10 GCSE Citizenship Studies class. Their 'Active Citizenship' project is focused on the potential expansion of Rugby St. Cross' Accident and Emergency provision, something important to Mark and the Rugby community. They learnt about the history of the hospital, the context of healthcare across the NHS trust and how they could actively support Mark's work. The class were set the target of gathering 200 more responses to Mark's survey; we would encourage all reading this to share their views by following this link: https://www.markpawsey.org.uk/form/stx 

To conclude his visit, Mark was involved in another Q+A session. This time, questions were submitted from each tutor group, with Mark answering a selection in front of the whole school community via video link beamed into every classroom. This was a wide ranging and engaging end to the week, covering topics such as the voting age debate, gender, and life lessons. Students showcased that their generation is politically conscious, respectful and developing into the informed citizens of tomorrow. We thank Mark for visiting us and look forward to welcoming again in the near future.