On Tuesday this week, as part of the British Values strand of our curriculum, Gold class spent the morning at East Hampshire District Council offices. They were treated to a tour of the departments, for example, environmental health, planning, taxi licensing and transport. The students were then lucky enough to have a ‘Q&A' session with Gill Kneller, Chief Executive of East Hants Council; Ferris Cowper, our local District Councillor and Floss Mitchell our County Councillor. The children asked excellent questions about the council’s role in their lives. The councillors were grilled on topics such as the lack of bus transport from Headley to secondary schools and what they were doing to tackle climate change.  They asked the councillors and officer what their proudest and toughest decisions had been too.  After this, Gold class engaged in a real debate in the council chamber.  Our children debated the importance of using Ecosia search engine against the impact of boycotting palm oil on the planet’s health.  They listened very well to each other, responded to each other’s points and stated their case incredibly well.  Chairman Toby Spiller wielded his gavel expertly! Councillors and council staff present were very impressed by their conviction and debating skills. We received an email from Cllr Cowper after the event, in which he said:

 

‘I wanted to tell you how proud I was of your year 6 group when they took part in National Takeover day.'

'The pupils showed a real interest, took part with enthusiasm and engaged extensively with officers and councillors.'

 

We would like to thank EHDC for opening their doors to our students. It was a worthwhile experience.