Woodhey High School was invited to a special event in The Houses of Parliament to celebrate 10 years of Barclays Life Skills, in recognition of the fantastic work on the project, led by Mrs Gratrick. Mrs Gratrick was recognised for her fantastic dedication and support of the project and invited two students to the event. Alisha and Alishba in Year 11 accompanied Mrs Gratrick, as they both benefitted from taking part in the programme. Here is what they have to say about the trip:
We got selected to go to London and visit the Houses of Parliament to discuss our thoughts and opinions on the Barclays Life Skills programme, which we took part in when we were in Year nine. After we checked into the Clermont Hotel, which was phenomenal, we then later on arrived at the Houses of Parliament and met the MPs and the Lords. We spoke to James Daly, the MP of Bury North and told him that we were representing Woodhey, however he had met some of us before at a previous Barclays event we participated in. We then met with the CEO of Barclays International. He was very pleased to meet us and told us that we seemed like amazing students and explained to us how the future is not scary and it's something to look forward to. The highlight of the evening was meeting with Baroness Karen Brady. She really inspired us in many different ways and gave us some life changing advice, she took us to the terrace of the House of Lords and told us that she sees an amazing amount of potential in us both and that we can be anything we want to be. To top everything off, we got selected for a private tour of the Houses of Parliament the following day, which James Daly kindly sorted out. That was very exciting for the both of us, as we learnt the history behind it all and experienced the amazing architecture. In conclusion, all together it was an amazing event as we learnt so much about the future and were given some amazing advice. We are both so grateful for being given the opportunity, it was honestly amazing!
By Alisha and Alishba, Year 11
