STUDENTS at Chipping Sodbury school were given the opportunity to speak with members of parliament on Tuesday as Kate Green, Shadow Secretary of State for Education, and Wes Streeting, Shadow Minister for Schools visited the school with West of England mayor candidate and former Chipping Sodbury student, Dan Norris.

Following a tour of the site, students from years 11 and 13 posed a number of questions to the MPs and were in turn asked of their experiences over the past 18 months.

Headteacher Katherine Turner said she was ‘”immensely proud of the mature, passionate and eloquent” way in which her students discussed pressing topics including the decision that exam grades would once again be teacher-assessed.

Mrs Turner explained students grades will be decided using evidence from the standard of work produced over a period of time, using nationally agreed grade descriptors including results from mock and summer assessments and practical coursework.

The MPs asked students of their experiences and views on lockdowns and how they had navigated remote learning in two of the most important years of their schooling life.

Mrs Turner said she was enthused that armed with responses from the children, the MP s agreed to raise a number of issues with relevant bodies.

She added: “A big bonus for our students was the opportunity to speak to people who have a level of influence.

“I felt the MPs really listened and asked appropriate questions, focussed and responded fairly and followed up with sensible responses so the children felt they were listened to.”