Lower Sixth Politics student Liam Velani writes about a trip into Westminster to visit the Supreme Court and Palace of Westminster

In Spring Term a group of Year 12 students embarked on the short trip to Westminster as part of our A-level Politics course.

We visited the Supreme Court and the Palace of Westminster, both central institutions within the system of governance for the country. At the Supreme Court, we had a detailed tour of the different chambers, learning about the court’s various functions and its legal role. We had the privilege of watching a current legal case centered around a dispute over copyright laws, which was conducted by Lord Reed, the Deputy President of the Supreme Court and various other justices. This proved to be a good learning experience for gaining a greater understanding of the court’s work, with particular emphasis on its relatively new and modern status.

In the afternoon, we were taken on a guided tour of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, with the opportunity to sit in the gallery and watch the proceedings in both chambers. This included a debate on the European Union Referendum, and a backbench business discussion on the merits of beer and the importance of pubs.

The location of our tour allowed us to come into contact with various MPs and public officials, and we managed to see Jacob Rees-Mogg, Andrea Leadsom and the Speaker John Bercow.

Following this, we attended a workshop on political elections, where we learnt about the various voting systems through an interactive mock election. This trip was an incredible experience to further understand the important nature of our political system, and it proved beneficial in supporting the work we are doing in class as part of our course.