On Wednesday 10th October, four girls from Burgess Hill School for Girls, who were the winners of a special essay competition, visited the Houses of Parliament in London. The girls were lucky enough to enjoy a tour of the Palace of Westminster, which included The House of Commons, The House of Lords and the ornately decorated Royal Gallery. The girls then had the chance to see the Speaker’s Procession. The House is under the authority of the Speaker when it sits, and this ceremony sees the Speaker proceed into the House with several others, including the Serjeant at Arms who carries in a mace. The undisputed highlight of the day was when the girls had the chance to sit in on a particularly lively session of Prime Minister’s Questions, in which David Cameron ruthlessly challenged Gordon Brown’s credibility as Prime Minister. Other topics included flood defences, inheritance tax and spending per pupil in education. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the day and some of the girls even hope to go on to study Politics further in the future.
Written by Sophie Brammer, Lower Sixth
22/10/07
