
Primary school pupils from Bridlington have visited London and the Houses of Parliament.
Martongate Primary School in Bridlington is one of very few Yorkshire Coast schools which have piloted a Young RE Ambassadors project. This project has been nationally funded by the RE Council (REC). Over the past year, four Year 6 children (11-year-olds) have had a very important and high-profile role as Young RE Ambassadors in school. They meet once a week with Mrs Atkinson to work on the project, which has included visiting a heritage project at St Mary’s Church and the Minster in Beverley.
Their role includes:
· sharing their enthusiasm and interest for RE, thereby gaining leadership experience
· sharing their perspective with adults who work to support RE in the school and local community
· developing communication skills in successfully disseminating information to others in school
· meeting with RE Ambassadors from other schools to talk and share ideas about why RE matters
· identifying important issues within school, the wider community, nationally and globally, to raise awareness and make a difference, through Pupil Voice.
On Wednesday 7th June, four Young Ambassadors (YAs) from Martongate went to London to visit the Houses of Parliament. After previously writing to their MP, Sir Greg Knight (Conservative), regarding local and current issues that concern them, such as water pollution, the cost of living and migrant crises, the YAs were given the worthwhile opportunity to meet with Sir Greg in Parliament.
They were given a short tour around the House, including the private Chapel of St Mary Undercroft and they had opportunity to get their voices heard regarding the issues they’d identified. Sir Greg answered all their questions and told the YAs what Government is currently doing to tackle them.
Five 17-year-olds Ambassadors of Faith and Belief (AFaBs) from Ilford in the London Borough of Redbridge came especially to meet with the Bridlington YAs in Westminster Abbey. Previously, the students had met together via virtual Teams calls, so it was special for them to have the opportunity to meet face to face. Together they toured the Abbey discussing faith, belief, culture, community and day to day concerns related to belief. Comparisons were made between the diversity of society in the very different locations of Redbridge and Bridlington. Both groups learned a lot from their exchanges. The AFaBs also met with their own Ilford North MP, Wes Streeting (Labour), Shadow Secretary of State for Health & Social Care.
The Martongate staff and Young Ambassadors would like to thank the RE Council for supporting this once in a lifetime trip for our pupils and to Sue Holmes (Education Consultant) especially, for leading the project in supporting the YAs on their RE journey.
The Young RE Ambassadors pilot is soon to be superseded by a wider national Pupil Voice project to harness young people in other regions across the country and linking them with parliamentarians, in advocating for Freedom of Religion or Belief, a key human right.
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