On 1 July, the Law and Politics Department at St Joseph’s was delighted to welcome our local MP, Kate Osborne, to school for a Q&A session with Year 12 students who study Law, Politics or History. Kate was elected Jarrow MP in 2019 and is excited to be visiting schools in her constituency now that COVID restrictions allow.
Kate began by explaining about her career and how she became an MP to those present, who were socially distanced and also comprised a number of students listening virtually, including students from St Wilfrid’s who study Law and Politics at St Joseph’s.
The Paxman-esque students were then invited to ask questions of Kate, who answered extremely candidly on topics such as local infrastructure, the recent by-election defeat in Hartlepool, the way Labour can move forward and regain power, Tony Blair, Sir Keir Starmer, the NHS, equality for women and LGBTQ+ people and Scottish independence. Mr. Mather, Head of Law and Politics, was extremely proud of the students who asked questions. They showed great maturity and knowledge of current affairs and were a credit to our school.
James Mole, a Politics student at St Joseph’s, said “I enjoyed meeting Kate Osborne, she is a very interesting character and gave a good insight into her life as an MP. It’s was interesting to actually get to talk to someone in that position, and see how what I learn about in A Level Politics is applied in the actual world.”
Emily Martin, a Politics student at St Joseph’s, said “I thought it was super insightful to eventually hear politics from someone who is actually fully involved – rather than just through social media.”
Mr. Mather, Mrs. Robson and all the students would once again like to express our huge gratitude to Kate for giving up her time for this session and, especially, for remaining beyond the scheduled time to continue the discussion with our students. It was an extremely valuable experience for all and we look forward to taking Kate up on her offer of working with her again in the future, hopefully at Westminster!
