SIXTH formers at an Evesham school got to hone their political questioning skills on Wednesday (April 9) when a high profile guest came to visit.
A-Level students at Prince Henry’s High School got to put a wide range of questions to the Leader of the Opposition, and Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch MP, who was visiting the school as part of a five-day tour across the UK ahead of the local elections on May 1.
Mrs Badenoch, MP for North West Essex enjoyed a tour of the school accompanied by Droitwich and Evesham MP Nigel Huddleston and the pair visited a Design and Technology classroom to speak to staff and students.
Visiting a design and technology classroom.
Prior to that she fielded a number of questions from several students of A-Level politics on a range of topics that included what the Conservative Party planned to do about teenage mental issues and what her views were on President Trump’s freshly-imposed trade tariffs.
Henry Clelland, 17 from Badsey asked Mrs Badenoch if the party would ever unite with Reform UK given many similar policies and its increasing poll numbers. A proposal she firmly rebuffed and Henry who is a member of the Young Conservatives told the Observer he was pleased with the answer although it wouldn’t necessarily put him off voting for them.
“I think it is important to be able to ask these questions as [Conservative Party] members and people generally want to know. This is an issue that could affect a lot of people if they did end up merging, or even if they chose not to, people’s votes could be decided on that alone.
“It was a question I thought was very important to ask, especially as she is someone who could be a big part of deciding whether to or not,” he said.
Other questions asked were what she thought the Government’s approach to water companies should be and how confident she felt about the Conservative Party’s success in the local elections. A discussion on the use of smartphones in schools was also held.
Head teacher Dr Tony Evans in front of the school as Mrs Badenoch takes questions from the national media.
Head teacher Dr Tony Evans, told the Observer: “For the students to see a significant political leader come to the school and be able to speak to Kemi directly, is a memory that is going to live with them forever.
“Many of them are inspired to go into politics, so an event like today – and it didn’t matter which political leader had wanted to come to the school – it’s really important that our students do engage with politics and our leaders.”
Asked by the Observer what she was planning to do to make sure the Conservative Party doesn’t die out, Mrs Badenoch replied: “We’ve got to make sure that we demonstrate that we are creating an inheritance for the next generation.
“I think a lot of young people thought the Conservative Party was a party for older people; no party can survive if it’s just tending to one demographic.
“We need to show that we’re looking at people from all walks of life and from all ages. That means talking about the issues that matter to them.”
A-Level politics students at Prince Henry’s High School. Pictures by Lise Evans
