During half-term the College played host to the BBC’s flagship political debate programme, Question Time, for the first time in its history.
Pupils involved in both the Politics Society and Stage Management at the College were invited on to the set prior to filming, where they gained behind-the-scenes insight. Middle Fourth pupil, Josh Dixon, said, “We got to spend an hour with the production team, met the producer and floor manager, to operate some of the film equipment, and to sit in the broadcast truck to witness how a producer pieces together coverage of a live event. It was very interesting and interactive.”
The Politics pupils met Question Time host, Fiona Bruce, and took part in the sound check on set, with five pupils sitting as panellists and answering questions from the other pupils. Eight of the politics pupils then stayed on to view the recording from the Big School balcony, with Harry Patterson (C) joining Theo Mully (P) as pupil representatives in the audience.
The pupils involved were: Thomas Cross (Rn), Jason Kitcatt (Fa), Alex McWilliam (Fa), Josh Dixon (C), Jessica Strange (Wa) and James Mathews (GH), Issy Blackburn (R), Zoe Long (R), Harry Milne (P), Harry Patterson (C), Jack Briggs (P), Max Flanagan (H), Max Hunt (P), Sam Kirby (P), Caroline Lansdown (Wh), Freddie Mills (H), Ciaran Murray (P), Shiva Sadhu (F), Ayah Shehata (Cr) and Emily Vandrau (R).
During the show, representatives from the pupil, parent, OE and teaching staff body all asked questions of the panel: Labour’s Barry Gardiner; Tory Leadership candidate Rory Stewart; possible future Lib Dem leader, Jo Swinson; Brexit Party MEP, Alexandra Phillips; and Harvard Professor, Steven Pinker.
The BBC were very welcoming of our pupils and it was a great experience for all involved.
