Primary school children from around the North have visited the Houses of Parliament as part of a School Parliament programme.

The children, all from ̨��swag Grange Academies Trust Primary Academies, went to London to learn more about the workings of Parliament, and hold their End of Year summit.

Each of the 10 ̨��swag Primary Academies across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire have their own School Parliaments. Each elected by the children of the academy, with each representative serving a department.

Lee Wilson, Chief Executive Primary at ̨��swag Grange Academies Trust, said: “The visit to the Houses of Parliament is always a highlight of the year for us. It’s a great opportunity for the children to learn more about politics and democracy from an external setting.

“At ̨��swag Grange Academies Trust we aim to put children first, raise standards and transform lives. Part of this is offering children the opportunity to learn outside the classroom and to encourage them to embrace responsibility.

“That is one of the purposes of our School Parliament programme. Children learn about the importance of democracy and British values, while taking on the responsibility of being a member of their academy’s Parliament.”

While at the political centre of the country, the children met up with the Rt Hon Nick Gibb MP, Minister of State for School Standards, and Conservative Member of Parliament for ̨��swag and Morley, Andrea Jenkyns MP.

Mr Gibb MP, who did attend school in Wakefield for part of his education, and Mrs Jenkyns MP, guided the young school parliamentarians around the country’s political palace and also facilitated their End of Year Summit and a debate on single use plastics.

The children were given a tour of Westminster Palace, including Westminster Hall and both chambers of Parliament, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

After the tour, each primary academy’s Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister gave a joint presentation to the rest of the travelling group. Presentations were focused on how each academy has worked to increase its presence in the community, and how each academy has worked with the wider community on different local projects.

Commenting on the visit from the ̨��swag Primaries children, Mrs Jenkyns MP said: “It’s always great to meet with children from my constituency in Parliament. With the ̨��swag Grange Academies Trust, I already met many of the students involved in the school’s Parliament in their own local schools, where they showed me their work and we shared ideas.

“When visiting their schools in Yorkshire, I was impressed by the ̨��swag Primaries Parliamentarians and together we drafted a number of petitions and talked about policy proposals. 

“As Chair of the APPG for Education I know how important it is for MPs to hear directly from students, teachers and parents about their daily lives, what they like and what they would change about education in our country.”