At the start of May, Mr Fletcher took the Year 9 class on a fascinating trip to the Palace of Westminster, as part of their citizenship education. The class went in through the Sovereign’s Entrance at the base of the Victoria Tower. This entrance is not open to the general public, but is used by the Monarch whenever entering the Palace, such as for the State Opening of Parliament – a ceremonial tradition that dates back as far as the 14th century. They had a tour of Parliament, which included both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, as luckily neither were meeting on the day of their visit. They were also able to view bills laid out ready to be discussed in Parliament. 

As well as appreciating architects Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin’s Gothic Revival buildings, a style of architecture they helped popularise in the 19th century, the pupils were also able to go into the medieval Westminster Hall, famed for its hammerbeam roof, and one of the only survivors of the 1834 fire that destroyed most of the palace. More recently, Westminster Hall was the centre of international mourning as many thousands came to pay their respects at Queen Elizabeth II’s lying in state.

In a workshop as part of their visit, the class were asked to come up with petitions; Mr Fletcher and Mr Wayman acted as the panel, offering critiques, then each petition was voted on by the class to decide which one should be debated in Parliament. The pupils’ vote went to a petition to introduce AI checks to social media posts to stop inappropriate content before it is uploaded.

After a fun time gaining insight into how the United Kingdom is governed, plus soaking in our rich architectural history, the class enjoyed lunch together in St James’ Park before catching the train back to Cambridge.

Mr Fletcher was interviewed about our screen free approach for an article published by The Daily Express. He is quoted explaining:

‘”A calmer environment where children can actually engage with words patiently and have normal interaction with teachers is cognitively vastly superior to the deluge of information that the digital makes possible.”‘

The article goes on to say:
‘[Heritage’s] strong values are borne out by impeccable results: last year, Heritage achieved the second-best GCSE results in Cambridge, a city overrun with high-performing schools. They also set the school apart from most, if not all, other schools in the UK, as well as from the general thrust of national educational policy, through which children are fed a staple diet of tech.’

‘As I glimpse into a classroom at Heritage full of engaged, focused pupils, not a screen in sight, I think back to Fletcher’s words: “What we actually want as educators is direct access to the thoughts of the child. I want to know it’s not being manipulated by AI or ChatGBT or cut and paste. So just write it in an exercise book. It’s so clean. It’s so pure. Why would we not want that?”’

You can read the full article here.