Beacon Students Get to Question a Political Legend

A group of Sixth Form students from Beacon had the opportunity to question some leading figures from the world of politics at a recent conference in London. Among the speakers were Vince Cable from the Liberal Democrats who provided an erudite analysis of the recent financial crisis and Diane Abbott who outlined the future direction of the Labour Party. Author and academic, Anthony Seldon, claimed that the next General Election will be a lot closer than most people expect while civil rights campaigner Peter Tatchell outlined his battle to reform the electoral system. Lord Norton of Louth provided a robust defence of the current House of Lords and John Micklethwait, editor-in-chief of The Economist, spoke with great passion about the impact of religion on politics, and also fielded an excellent question from Beacon’s Zach Virgo.

The best, however, was reserved for last with the appearance of the grand old man of the Left, Tony Benn. He spoke resolutely on the subject of “Peace, Freedom and Jobs” and fielded a question from Year 12 student, Adam Drew, on the lack of political participation in the UK. As if to prove that he has lost none of his charisma he received a standing ovation from an auditorium full of students who were not even born when he retired from active politics.

Mr Milne, Gifted and Talented Coordinator, was delighted with the way the students had interacted with the speakers and the confidence and maturity they had shown in their questioning. “A growing number of Beacon students are fascinated by the world of politics,” he said, “and today showed that many have the skills to go on and pursue a career in political life.”