Local MP Kwasi Kwarteng visits Springfield

​Pupils at Springfield Primary in Sunbury already play an active part in the running of their own school through the existence of two pupil parliaments, but they took their political involvement to another level recently when their local Conservative MP, Kwasi Kwarteng, paid a visit and addressed the whole school.

​Last year the members of the school parliaments – one of which focuses on Teaching and Learning, and the other on Student Well-Being – paid a visit to the House of Commons, but unfortunately the member for Spelthorne was unavailable to meet them, so they decided to turn the tables and invite him to their chamber, an invitation he was happy to take up.

“It was a wonderful experience for the children and really insightful, having such an interesting visitor come to the school,” said teacher Hannah Gregson, who helps run the school parliaments. “Mr Kwarteng talked about how and why he chose to become an MP, the process he went through, and what his typical working week is like. After that he sat down with our own parliamentarians and they discussed the sort of activities they’re involved in here at Springfield.”

Springfield Primary School is a member of the GLF Schools group, a rapidly-expanding Surrey-based multi-academy trust which now runs over a dozen schools across Surrey, Middlesex, Berkshire and Oxfordshire, based on a system of collaborative working.

“The chance to quiz an MP like this was really good opportunity for the children, and one they took superbly,” added Miss Gregson. “Before he left, he said how hugely impressed he’d been by the work of our parliaments here, and the active role the children play in the way the school is run. They were superb ambassadors for the school and the children who were involved set a great example to the others. They, and the parliament system, are something of which the whole of Springfield Primary should be very proud.”