MP visits Academy during Parliament Week

MP Martin Vickers visited Cleethorpes Academy to answer questions and discuss life as a politician with Year 7 students as part of UK Parliament Week.

He encouraged the students to start thinking about what they wanted to do and what opportunities there are for young people to get into politics.

There will be high-skilled and well-paid jobs in the next decade, perfect timing for these students who will leave school in a few years and head into further education or employment.

Parliament Week is held to spread the word about what Parliament actually is, what it does and how everyone can get involved.

The students asked lots of questions in the assembly.

Connor Deighton asked Mr Vickers if being a politician was what he always wanted to do. Mr Vickers answered:

“No, is the honest answer. It wasn’t until I left school and attended University that I started to think of it as a career. I learnt that if you have ambition, then it will happen. You need to have determination to try and you’re more likely to succeed.”

Kyran Andercott asked how he managed to see everyone at his surgeries and Halle Gibbs queried how he deals with his constituents who speak a different language.

He was asked how he travelled to and from London and how it felt to travel so much.

Others were keen to know if Mr Vickers got paid for his role within Parliament, and some were interested in finding out Mr Vickers favourite football team, to which he immediately replied “Grimsby Town, of course.”

Riley Cribb asked Martin if he had ever met the King.  Mr Vickers explained how Members of Parliament work with each other to discuss matters which are presented to King Charles III by the Prime Minister, who meets with the Monarch weekly to assess issues within Parliament.

Students said they were unaware of how much administration and paperwork went into being a Member of Parliament.

Kyran Andercott and Angel Hazzard said that they are very interested in working in politics.

Pictured: Angel Hazzard (Y7), MP Martin Vickers and Kyran Andercott (Y7).

They were happy to have had the opportunity to speak to someone local, as it helps them to identify their path and makes them realise that it’s not out of reach.

Mr Vickers enjoyed the visit.

“I would like to thank Cleethorpes Academy for the invitation to visit during UK Parliament week,” he said.

“I was encouraged so many are taking an interest in politics. The week provides an opportunity to explain how Parliament works, what politicians do and why it is so important in a democracy that young people feel engaged.

“There were some good questions from Cleethorpes Academy students and I’d like to thank them for their interest and participation.”

Assistant Curriculum Leader for Personal Development, Mr Davie thanked Mr Vickers for visiting the Academy.

He said: “The aim of this is to make the students aware of how decisions made in Parliament affect their everyday lives.

“We want to inspire them to make a change themselves and understand how they can do that.

“We find that the Year 7 students have an interest in politics and how things work in Parliament.

“Because of social media, their understanding of politics is largely based on what celebrity views are so we wanted to encourage them to ask lots of questions and ask their local MP as much as possible.”