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Fabian visits Allerton High School

Meeting future citizens at Allerton High School February 27th 2009

Fabian Hamilton MP returned to the classroom on Friday 27th February to meet pupils at Allerton High School learning history and citizenship. At the instigation of Deputy Head Teacher, Heather Scott, Fabian was invited to meet two groups of pupils who had asked for help with their studies.

Fabian explains parliamentary procedure to Year 10 pupils


Year 10 pupils studying citizenship are entering a competition promoted by the House of Commons which involves designing, scripting and acting a short parliamentary debate which is videoed by the pupils themselves. Fabian talked in depth and responded to the many questions they wanted to ask about his work and the procedures and protocols that are used at Westminster. (Test your own knowledge with the quiz questions at the bottom of the page.)

The meeting provided a memorable moment in the school experience of the pupils concerned. Not many people fully understand the role and duties of an MP and the work that parliament undertakes. The peculiarly British overlap of responsibilities that some MPs carry being both a legislator and a member of the government at the same time was explained as was the importance of the work of backbench MPs who scrutinise possible new laws and make sure government ministries work well.

Heather Scott Deputy Head explains the Citizenship curriculum to Fabian Hamilton

Younger pupils studying the rise of Nazism in Germany and learning of the evils of racism aslo had a chance to hear Fabian talk about some of the Holocaust survivers he had met and to relate how members of his own family had been caught up in the purge of Jews in Europe before the Second World War.





Fabian meets budding historians and some possible future politicians


Fabian remarked later that the questions raised by pupils from Allerton High School were every bit as searching and relevant as those of MPs doing their job at Westminster.