Tristan student questions UK Speaker
St Mary's School part of international consultation
Photos from Philip Kendall, Kelly Green and UK Parliament Week website
Savanna preparing to take part in the event holding Speaker Bear
10-year-old Savanna Green represented other students of St Mary's School when she submitted questions to the House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsey Hoyle during a special international event linking many UK and UK Overseas Territory schools.
This occurred in a well-publicised UK Parliament Week designed to provide educational resources to schools to enable students to learn more about how the UK Government works through Parliament. One of these is a distinctive 'Speaker Bear' that can be seen in two scenes on this page and on many web posts.
Savanna during the discussion - showing Sir Lindsay Hoyle on screen
Savanna's first question and Sir Lindsay Hoyle's response.
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Like other schools, St Mary's School on Tristan da Cunha received a pack of resources to support learning in classrooms. Led by Headteacher Peter Foster, one project introduced the idea of voting in an election and to celebrate the arrival of much improved internet bandwidth at school all the children from Class 2 to 4 watched a special American election edition of BBC Newsround. The voting took place shortly afterwards and the children decided who they would have chosen as President. |
| On Wednesday 20th November 2024, Tristan da Cunha was amongst a small group of schools world-wide to take part in the live Question and Answer session with the Speaker. | |
| Representing other students, Savanna took part in this live event, using a laptop in the Post Office and Tourism Centre. She was able to ask two questions, relating to climate change and protection of Tristan's Marine Protection Zone from illegal fishing and potential pollution. | |
| It is significant that the recently-installed Starlink communications system meant that the link-up with Whitehall could be made using a laptop and local wi-fi – a great example of how this system has transformed the quality of internet provision on the island. | |
| Left: The on-screen guide to participant OTs. |
Administrator Philip Kendall was quick to congratulate Savanna saying "St Mary's School student Savanna Green did a fantastic job today representing Tristan da Cunha in conversation with Mr Speaker as part of UK Parliament Week. Well done Savanna!"
Summing up the importance of the Parliament Week educational programme, House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsey Hoyle said:
"Thank you and well done to everyone who took part in UK Parliament Week 2024. I am glad to see so many young people across the UK, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies getting involved and learning about Parliament."
You can see and hear the Speaker's full statement on: Speaker's video statement
Certificate of participation for St Mary's School
Speaker Bear has cropped up a lot on TdC recently
