Children Quiz Minister in Live Video Link

Leading Government Minister Hilary Armstrong swapped the Chambers of Westminster for the classroom when she was quizzed by a group of schoolchildren during a live videoconference link-up.

Rather than facing the tough questions from opposition parties on the floor of the House of Commons, the Government Chief Whip was put on the spot by youngsters from a group of schools in County Durham who had congregated in the assembly hall of Crook Primary School. Hilary Armstrong decided to stay in the comfort of the House of Commons, just in case the questions became a little bit too tough, and linked in via videoconferencing technology.

The children from Crook, Willington, Willington C of E, Our Lady and St Thomas, Hunwick, Hartside and Sunnybrow Primary schools concluded their recent classes on debate and political issues with this exciting event.  The children had been taking part in the ‘Most Able and Talented’ after school club.

The ‘Most Able and Talented’ Group, or MAT Group, was formed in January 2004 for Year 6 children in the Willington and Crook cluster of the Durham Testbed Project. The children formed their own parliament with The Debate Busters, Mad About Talent and The Clever Club being the opposition parties. They had been debating the issues that have most affected them, including mobile phones in school, school uniforms, their community, smoking and the importance of ICT in schools.

The link up was organised by Crook Primary School’s Alex Freeman who said; “The children involved in the club had spent time learning about debate and political issues. We decided to take advantage of our advanced technological equipment to give the children the chance to fire demanding questions to the Chief Whip, Hilary Armstrong, our local MP.”

The children took part in a debate amongst themselves prior to the link up, and prepared well to give their local MP a tough time. The children asked a variety of questions, ranging from ‘Would you advise people to join the labour party?’ and ‘Do you think this country is a safe place to live?’ to ‘Is your job highly paid?’.

The link was made possible by the use of Videoconferencing technology provided to the schools by Direct Visual. Direct Visual’s James Keen has only been in the industry a short time, but is already seeing how the benefits are shining through. “The children have really taken to the technology, and most of the time find it easier to use than the teachers. Events like these allow the children to express themselves a lot more and also get more familiar with the technology.”

He then went on to say; “When I was at primary school, 11 years ago, the height of technology was the old BBC computers, and I couldn’t use those. What these children are achieving is unbelievable.”

Hilary Armstrong was also very positive about the events of the day; “The MAT Club is a very good thing for the children. It is important that they can have the opportunity to express their ideas and opinions freely with each other.”

She then concluded; “These children are very lucky to be a part of the Testbed Project, it has opened up many opportunities to them.”