Due to the tube strike yesterday, we were unable to make our planned visit to the Houses of Parliament. However, we didn’t let that stop our learning! Instead, we brought Parliament to the classroom and spent the day exploring how it works in practice.
We began by learning about the two Houses: the House of Commons and the House of Lords, and how they work together to make and check laws. We also looked at constituency maps to begin understanding how voting systems work across the UK. This led to lots of thoughtful and insightful questions about political parties, leadership, and the different types of elections, including local elections, general elections, and referendums.
We also linked our learning to British Values, recognising how Parliament reflects principles such as tolerance, democracy, and the rule of law. We discussed how MPs must work together respectfully, even when they disagree. We also had the opportunity to watch part of PMQs, seeing MPs in action and hearing how debates are conducted at a national level.
To bring our learning to life, we set up our own ‘mock’ Parliament. We had a House of Commons, a House of Lords, and even a monarch to give final approval to proposed bills. Our first debate focused on the motion: “School should start at 10am.” The House of Commons raised strong arguments both for and against, including concerns about parents’ working hours and the potential impact on routines and learning time.
After an initial vote against the proposal, the House of Lords reviewed the bill and suggested amendments. They proposed a compromise: a school day starting at 9:15 and finishing at 3:45. Following a confidential ballot in our classroom polling station, the House of Commons agreed. The proposal was then presented to the monarch, who signed it into law. The process helped us understand how checks and balances work in real life.
Although we were disappointed not to visit the Houses of Parliament, we enjoyed a mini trip to the park for lunch, where we played games with our friends, used the parachute, and even brought out Twister. It was a brilliant way to enjoy the day together.
In the afternoon, we held a second debate on the motion: “School uniform should be banned.” This time, we carried out research and used statistics to strengthen our arguments. We split into for and against sides and presented our views clearly and respectfully. Key points included the cost of clothing for families, equality among pupils, comfort, and concerns about individuality.
Once again, our House of Lords reviewed the debate and suggested a compromise: allowing PE days to be non-uniform, with clear expectations that clothing must be appropriate for school and sport. They also suggested avoiding football shirts to help prevent division or exclusion. The Commons debated these amendments before voting in favour, and the monarch once again gave approval. As the debate concluded, the House of Commons became very lively, with calls of “Order!”
Despite the change of plans, we had a fantastic day. We deepened our understanding of Parliament, democracy, and British Values, while also working brilliantly together.
If you could change one law to improve school life, what would it be and how would you make sure it is fair for everyone?
I really enjoyed learning about Parliament even though our trip got cancelled. I really enjoyed going to the part and playing all types of games
This was SO fun!!! I loved learning more about the Houses of Parliament! I also loved going for a picnic! Thank you:)
It was so fun I loved it . I wish we could do it again !
It was so fun!
I really enjoyed the lesson and the trip.
If I could change one school law it would be that you can leave your classroom if you get too stressed.
i think that it was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo fun i wish we could do that again even if we didn’t go to parliment it was still super fun.
The Parliament lesson was extremely fun for me even though the trip got cancelled!
I especially loved going to the park and playing with my friends!
THANK YOU x 100000000
We had a fabulous lunch in the park and played plenty of fun games.In class we debated twice on ‘should school start at 10am or not?’and our second debate was about’should school be uniform free?’.We voted on these and had took turns being the house of Lords and the house of Commons. It was great fun!
If you could change one law to improve school life, what would it be and how would you make sure it is fair for everyone
Own clothes because you can express how you are feeling in your clothes and it is more comfortable.
If l could change one school law it would be you could leave your class when ever you want to take a break.You could go onto the roof and there would be adults supervising up there.
If I could change one thing in school it would be PE time .I would like to have around three hours of PE.To make it fair ,I would make sure there are atleast 6 water breaks.
If I could change one law at school I would make teachers receive a higher pay rise funded by more auctions, own clothes days, possibly bake sales and more clothes sales. It would make it fair for everyone because children can take part in more fun activities and the extra pay would help the teachers and if there would be any left over it could be used for the school. By the way thank you for the opportunity to do such fun debates.
This was really fun and the best part was eating lunch in the park.
my rule would be that during summer term, each child gets to eat ice cream every breaktime or lunchtime.To make up for the profit, each child has to bring in one pound to cover the cost. Adults like Ms Coleman, Ms Forster Adams or Ms Robinson can have a free ice cream as they’re adults. Each child can have only one ice cream per day to make it fair.
This was a really fun day.If I had to make a new law about school it would be that there would be more vegeterian food options so that evryone could try it .