Last Friday, Kieran Mullan, MP for Bexhill and Battle, met with members of Little Common School Council for a lunchtime chat about their roles and the life of an MP.
Pupils from Years One to Six are elected by their classmates to represent them as school councillors. They told the MP that they discuss issues which are important to their classmates and work on projects to make the school an even better place for everyone. The school council makes sure that everyone has a voice in big decisions for the school.
The MP asked each of them why they wanted to be a school councillor. Answers ranged from wanting to be part of the meetings, to be involved in making the school a better place to ambitions to be an MP themselves one day.
The pupils asked Kieran why he became an MP. He explained that making things better for people was the key reason he decided to go into politics. He told the pupils that when he was growing up, he didn’t think that ordinary people like him could be an MP, he thought it was for privileged people. However, once he became a doctor and saw how people’s lives could be made better through political decisions and law-making, he decided that was the career he wanted. He encouraged the pupils to follow their ambitions and think that anything was possible if they set their minds to it.
After the meeting, the councillors took Kieran on a tour of the school and pointed out all the exciting activities which they can get involved in as well as the school initiatives for encouraging learning, community and inclusion.
Following the visit Kieran said “It was an absolute pleasure to meet with the Little Common School Council over lunch to discuss a wide range of issues which are important to them and to answer their questions about being an MP. They were so articulate, polite, and demonstrated great listening skills. They are clearly very happy at school and were proud to show me round. It was also interesting to hear about the work they do on diversity and inclusion which the pupils were enthusiastic to share with me.
“I also took the opportunity to congratulate Headteacher, Mrs Moor and the pupils on their recent Ofsted report which confirmed that they maintain their previous high standards of excellence. Final thanks to thanks to the school kitchen team for a lovely lunch – the pineapple cake was exceptionally delicious!”
"This was an excellent opportunity for our pupils to learn more about how democracy works and how their voices can help shape the world around them. The school council thoroughly enjoyed the visit, and Dr Mullan's warm and engaging manner helped create an interesting discussion that all pupils could contribute to.”
