On Thursday, 17 September, Member of Parliament for Chelsea and Fulham, Greg Hands, welcomed a group of A Level Politics students from Lady Margaret School to the House of Commons.
Lady Margaret School is a Church of England academy for girls in Parsons Green, Fulham, which performed remarkably well in this year’s A Level and GCSE examinations. Indeed, at A Level the School achieved a 100 per cent pass rate, with 67 per cent of grades at A*-B, a fact which reportedly delighted the headteacher, Mrs Sally Whyte.
Greg Hands was pleased to be able to meet and answer questions from this group of sixth formers. While Greg is used to answering questions at the House of Commons Despatch Box, the sixth-formers’ questions were suitably demanding and covered a broad range.
First, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the girls sought Greg’s opinion on the Labour Party’s new Leader, Jeremy Corbyn. Greg’s reply indicated that he could not think of a single opinion espoused by Mr Corbyn with which he agrees, and he drew attention to the potentially dangerous acquaintances made by the Leader of the Opposition.
Equally pertinent, the sixth-formers sought Greg’s opinion on the crisis in Syria and the possibility that ISIL terrorists might pose as refugees in Europe. Greg drew attention to the Government’s efforts to offer assistance to those most at risk in Syria and its vicinity, and suggested that, while ISIL infiltration does pose a threat, it should not prevent providing assistance to those most in need. Indeed, Greg reminded the girls that this very week he had the chance to discuss with the Prime Minister the Government’s counter-extremism strategy.
Ultimately, the students hinted at their own aspirations, asking Greg for his advice on how to become a Member of Parliament. Greg duly explained the process, but also urged the students to gain crucial experience as a first step.
After the School’s visit, Greg Hands commented: “It is always an honour to welcome one of the local schools from my constituency to visit the House of Commons. I am even happier to be able to congratulate Lady Margaret School – a state academy – on its excellent examination results and the calibre of the girls who visited me at the House of Commons.”
Greg Hands would like to remind all schools in his constituency of Chelsea and Fulham that they too can visit the Houses of Parliament.