17 January 2018
Appropriately, at the end of a busy week of university offers and our Universities Fair, Sixth Form Politics and Economics students enjoyed a good discussion with Woldingham’s local MP, and newly-appointed Universities and Science Minister, Sam Gyimah.
As well as talking about young people’s involvement in politics, the students took the opportunity to ask questions of national, local and personal importance, including: ‘Would you change the electoral system?’; ‘How powerful are the whips and do you feel you always have to vote with your party?’; ‘What happens if you feel there’s conflict between the interests of your party and your constituency’; ‘Why do over-15s have to pay adult rail fares?’
Of particular relevance to Mr Gyimah’s new portfolio was a discussion about whether the university application system should be changed; the students shared both their views on this and their knowledge of systems used in other countries.