Politics Lessons for Ealing Green College ESOL Students

Fresh from a visit to Parliament in Westminster on Thursday, Entry Level 1 and 2 ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) students from Ealing Green College were treated to a visit from Rupa Huq, Member of Parliament for Ealing Central and Acton as part of their studies on the UK’s system of Government.

Rupa discussed her life as an MP, explaining the process for Prime Minister’s Question Time, MP surgeries and Select Committee meetings. She then took a range of questions from students about a wide range of topics including how she got into politics, how e-petitions can influence government, media coverage of MPs and the refugee camp at Calais.

She also stressed the importance of students and young people registering and turning out to vote in both national and local elections. She followed her Q&A session with a tour of the college led by Garry Phillips, CEO. They called into classes in graphic design, art and English courses, as well as a quick chat with other students, who will be visiting Parliament themselves later this year.

Following her visit, Rupa said she was impressed with the ‘spirited’ students, and talked about the importance of ESOL courses for new arrivals to the UK.

“I really enjoyed my session with students at Ealing Green College, they were very engaged and came up with some great and challenging questions. My mum arrived in the UK not speaking a word of English, but ESOL courses gave her the foundations to get into employment and eventually work for British Telecom.”

Garry Phillips said of the visit: “It is great to see the students actively engaging with British citizenship via their recent visit to the Houses of Parliament. We are extremely grateful to Rupa Huq MP for supporting the students and taking the time to take questions ranging from potential school shortages, the implications of Brexit and ESOL provision.