Citizenship: 'Students need to feel they are part of society'

Schoolchildren don't often think about their local Member of Parliament, but those who do will dismiss him or her as a distant figure, in a boring suit, with no relevance to their lives whatsoever.

The Hansard Society's project, MPs in Schools, aims to counteract such thinking by bringing the two sides together. Under it, schools get resources to help them teach about Parliament and the electoral process, while MPs are encouraged to get stuck into their local schools. And reports from the first schools to try it is that this can mean the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

At Roseland Community School, in Cornwall, Year 10 pupils acted out a day in the life of an MP, looking at issues such as fox-hunting, farmers' problems and school admissions, in front of their local MP Matthew Taylor.

The school also staged debates on the monarchy and the legalisation of drugs. ("We came out as pot-smoking monarchists," says Roseland head David Parker wryly.) In addition, the school has sent pupils to visit Parliament, and had students' work on display in the House of Commons library.

The school already has an active school council, and includes pupils in many aspects of running the school, including interviewing prospective members of staff, so working with the local MP fits in well with its democratic ethos. "Students need to feel they are part of society and that they owe a percentage of respect and tolerance to every member of that society," says David Parker.