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From the archive · Press release
Question Time at St Winefride's
Pupils at St Winefride's Catholic Primary School put their questions on housing and world affairs.
Originally published 26 November 2001
From the archive. Between 1998 and 2003 this domain carried the constituency website of the Member of Parliament for East Ham. This page keeps one of its items as a historical record, with the original date restored. East Ham Ledger, which publishes the site today, is an independent magazine and has no link to any MP, party or Parliament; contact details and the names of private individuals have been removed, and lost pictures have been replaced with credited photographs of the places concerned.
Pictured today: Photo: David Anstiss / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Stephen Timms, Minister of State for School Standards and East Ham MP, visited St. Winefride’s Roman Catholic Primary School on Friday. Mr Timms attended an "Achievement Assembly" in which hard-working pupils were rewarded for their efforts, and was shown around the school’s new facilities. But the highlight of the visit was a "Question Time" style debate in which around 50 pupils - aged between 9 and 11 - took Mr Timms to task over a variety of issues.
Although the pupils posed many insightful questions, amongst the most perceptive was about the difficult housing situation in Newham. Mr Timms explained that the current shortage of affordable accommodation was largely due to general increases in house prices over the past few years. Although this situation - which sees over 1000 families living in Bed and Breakfast accommodation - is far from suitable, Mr Timms explained that the Government is aware of the problem, and is providing the funds to build extra houses for Newham.
Many other politically aware pupils asked a range of questions on a number of key issues. A popular topic was the current war in Afghanistan, with pupils demonstrating real concern for the world they live in. The East Ham MP commented that although it was unfortunate that military action had to be carried out, diplomatic efforts were exhausted and those responsible for the tragedies of September 11th had to be taken to account to ensure that such events would never happen again.
Following the visit Mr Timms remarked: "I was very impressed with their perceptive questions. The pupils at St.Winefride’s seem to have a real understanding of the world around them, and it is great to see so many pupils taking an interest in politics. At a time when apathy is the order of the day, it is very encouraging to see that these voters of the future share a real concern for the well being of others"
