Politics Society
Politics in the school continues to flourish with ever increasing numbers of boys studying the subject at AS and A2 level. We have continued to make politics in Bangor Grammar School an active pursuit rather than just a purely academic subject with the aim of producing active citizens who will make a positive contribution to our society.This year there have been a number of highlights in our calendar. Our local M.P. Lady Sylvia Hermon gave us an excellent insight into the life and work of a modern Member of Parliament, which was followed by a question and answer session in which she fielded a wide range of questions with great skill and patience. We are in the Politics Department extremely grateful to Lady Hermon for all the help and assistance she has given us over the years.
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Hain also visited the school at a time when we were still waiting on the announcement of funding for our new school and when the debate over academic selection was at its height. That this visit took place was due in no small measure to the initiative and enterprise of Aaron Jamison (Y14). Peter Hain met briefly with the Headmaster, the Chairman of the Board of Governors, the Politics staff and some senior pupils before addressing the Politics Society in the Library. Mr Hain spoke of his own education and his involvement in the anti-apartheid campaigns of the 1970s. Questions from the floor followed which dealt with post primary education and various aspects of the peace process. The boys enjoyed the opportunity to question Mr Hain and we greatly appreciated the time he spent with us.
We also were pleased to welcome the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland David Lidington MP, and we enjoyed his time spent with us.
The year finished with a debate again held in the library on the future of post primary education in Northern Ireland attended by a range of party spokespersons. Sammy Wilson represented the D.U.P., David McNarry the U.U.P. and Dominic Bradley the S.D.L.P. The parties outlined their positions on the issue and then took questions from a well informed audience of staff and pupils.
Politics students also represented the school at the Model United Nations General Assembly held in the old Senate Chamber at Stormont which continues to be an excellent experience for our representatives where they can meet and interact with students from all over Ireland, both North and South.
Congratulations are also due to Stephen Dunne (Y13) who spent a number of days at Westminster shadowing Jeffrey Donaldson of the D.U.P. This was a great experience and one Stephen thoroughly enjoyed.