Shailesh Vara MP visited Arthur Mellows Village College in Glinton, Peterborough, and met with senior staff as well as having a discussion with pupils.

Mr Vara met with Chair of Governors, Mr Gilmour McLaren, and Headteacher, Mr Mike Sandeman, who both updated him on developments at the college.

Following the meeting, Mr Vara met with some pupils and spoke about his role as a Member of Parliament and in Government with both the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Work and Pensions before taking a Question and Answer session. A wide range of topical questions were posed including on the EU referendum, Student Loans and the development of Peterborough.

Following the visit, Mr Vara said: -

“I enjoyed my visit to the College and was particularly pleased to meet with its pupils as well as the senior leadership.

The College has worked very hard over the years to provide a consistent quality education and its Ofsted rating of ‘Outstanding’ is testament to this. As always there were some challenging questions from the pupils on a variety of issues.”

Mike Sandeman, Headteacher of Arthur Mellows Village College said:

“It was a pleasure to see a sitting MP reach out to young people and engage with them on the topics of their choice. Mr Vara provided a template that many could learn from in terms of bringing young people into the political fold and involving them in the big issues of the day.”

Photo: Mr Vara is pictured alongside students and teaching staff from Arthur Mellows Village College.