CHAWSON First School invited in MP Nigel Huddleston recently, taking him up on an offer he made to visit every school in his constituency.

Mr Huddleston was given a tour of the school, visiting the classrooms and talking to staff and pupils, before some of the older children hosted their own version of Question Time in the school hall, putting questions to him about the issues that mattered to them.

Headteacher Helen Wallace, said: “We were very pleased to be able to show off our ‘good’ school. The children asked such thoughtful and enquiring questions, and this was a fantastic opportunity for the children of Chawson who are the voters of the future.”

One of the questions was from pupil Harry Clarke, who asked what the government was doing to protect the environment, while Heidi Shipway asked what a typical day was like for an MP.

Mr Huddleston added: “I really enjoyed my visit to Chawson School I had a great tour of the school and was very impressed by overall atmosphere and energy level. In all classrooms I entered the children were all clearly very engaged, and had a great relationship with teachers and teaching assistants.

“I particularly enjoyed the Question Time session which was set up exactly like BBC Question Time and I even entered the room to the Question Time signature tune. The children had prepared some very interesting questions ranging from what we should do to protect the environment, to why I wanted to be an MP, but the question which generated most audience interaction was one who asked how long I thought the summer holiday should be. Opinion was mixed on that one.”