Pupils from Northdown Primary School, Margate, welcomed Polly Billington, the Labour Party’s parliamentary candidate for East Thanet, to their school last week to discuss her political aspirations and commitments to the area.
The interviewers were chosen from amongst the school’s ACE navigators, who are voted by their classmates to represent all pupil’s views.
Polly was grilled on her plans for the future of Margate and surrounding area, including housing, infrastructure, breakfast clubs, green spaces and how Labour intends to assist the poor and homeless. The school’s navigators discovered a little of what life is like as an ex-journalist and a politician as Polly talked all about her background and what brought her to stand as the Labour candidate.
Polly said she was impressed with how she was held to account by the children she hopes to serve if she is successful. The children asked a range of challenging questions as they unpicked her plans before Polly met with headteacher Matthew Harris to discuss his vision for the school’s future.
The interview has also been turned into Northdown’s first ACE transmissions podcast, which all pupils will be able to listen to.
The meeting, which was organised by ACE Lead David Read, allowed the youngsters to learn about how important decisions are made on their behalf.
David explained the idea behind the visit: “I am always looking for ways to embed the notion of community in our pupils, and meeting somebody who could be their spokesperson was an opportunity not to be missed.
“The children really enjoyed the experience of meeting and grilling a real politician and Polly very kindly gave her time to answer the children’s questions and see just what Northdown has to offer. It was a very rewarding afternoon.”
