Visit to Palace of Westminster

As Jack Petchey Award winners Majorie in 9.9 and I were given the opportunity to visit the Palace of Westminster in February. Organised by the Jack Petchey Foundation, the trip included tours of the House of Commons and the House of Lords along with a meeting with local East Ham MP the Rt Hon Stephen Timms.

In the House of Lords we were lucky enough to see Queen Victoria’s dressing room which was quite big for a dressing room and contained a toilet which was only accessible by sliding the wall open! We looked at the many portraits hanging on the walls, and one particularly fascinating painting demonstrated the determination that the artist must have needed to paint from scratch straight onto the wall.

We were then taken to see the place that Queen Elizabeth herself is not allowed to enter: the House of Commons. Finally we got to meet Stephen Timms, MP. All the students were allowed to ask the MP questions and we felt that he is doing the best he can with everything going on. I was very impressed that he let everyone ask him questions and didn’t just give one word answers. I was also surprised to learn that in the past he had been a Governor of Little Ilford School for 34 years. At the end of our meeting he handed us all his business card, telling us that if we had any problems or questions to not hesitate to call him. Although I missed a history lesson that day, the visit was a history lesson in itself. It was a trip to remember, so thank you to the Jack Petchey Foundation for organising such a memorable day and thank you to Stephen Timms for giving up his time to talk to us and answer our questions. Nabila, 10.9