Dr Neil Hudson, MP for Penrith and The Border, accepted an invitation from the staff and pupils of Shankhill Church of England Primary School to talk to youngsters more about his role as an MP, our democracy and answer their questions.
He was given a tour of the school by headteacher Lynnsey Batey before speaking to students. The youngsters quizzed their local MP on a range of issues from his work as a vet and his route into politics to environmental concerns and current affairs. Dr Hudson was delighted by the thoughtfulness of questions and how knowledgeable the children were on pressing issues.
The visit follows a recent trip by Shankhill's Year 5s and 6s to London where their activities included a tour of the Houses of Parliament. With Dr Hudson only able to meet youngsters for a couple of minutes as the voting bell rang and he had to run off to vote, his recent visit to Shankhill was a chance for youngsters to ask more in-depth questions to their representative.
Pupils also presented Dr Hudson with handwritten letters raising their concerns about local road safety.
Dr Neil Hudson, MP for Penrith and The Border, said:
"Engaging our brilliant youngsters from an early age is a crucial step in raising engaged and educated citizens of tomorrow so it was a pleasure visiting one of our small yet mighty primary schools where I saw firsthand the nurturing environment and was able to answer a host of great questions from pupils.
"There were definitely some potential future parliamentarians in the room as I felt as though I was back on the green benches in Westminster because of the high calibre of debate. They really were some hugely impressive youngsters - a testament to their caring teachers, families and communities."
