Priti Patel MP with the students who took part in the Q & A session and Head of School, Simon Gibbs.
Witham MP visits New Rickstones Academy
Priti Patel, the MP for Witham, joined students at New Rickstones Academy on Friday 27th January 2023 to attend a Q&A session following their activities in support of UK Parliament Week, last November.
To support students in their understanding of the role of Parliament, Priti had previously sent the school a video in which she talked about UK Parliament week and the role of Parliament in our democratic system, and her position as the Member of Parliament representing the Witham constituency.
During the session, Priti answered a range of questions from the students including talking about what had initially made her interested in politics and standing for election, what her Government roles, including Home Secretary, had entailed, and her advice for the next generation of those seeking to go into public life.
UK Parliament week is an annual series of events in the UK aimed at inspiring an interest in politics and democracy and encouraging the public to engage with the UK’s democratic systems and institutions.
Priti said: “It was a pleasure to visit New Rickstones Academy and meet with the students who participated in UK Parliament Week last November, to answer further questions they had about my role as their MP, my former Ministerial duties and what sparked my interest in getting involved in politics.
Each year I always urge schools in the constituency to take part in this important event and I also invite schools from the constituency to Parliament on a regular basis as it provides an excellent opportunity to learn more about how Parliament works and I hope to see lots of schools taking part again this year as well.”