Jo takes up Bishopbriggs pupil's classroom invitation

4.49.00pm GMT Thu 14th Feb 2008

Jo was delighted to be invited to the school by one of the S3 pupils

Jo Swinson accepted the invitation of one bright pupil at St Ninian's High School today, when she visited the school to speak to Standard Grade Modern Studies pupils.

S3 pupil Julie Green took the initiative to invite Ms Swinson to take part in a Q&A session with her class, and the East Dunbartonshire MP was put on the spot by pupils today on topics such as ageism in politics and women's representation.

During the visit, Jo also met with S6 Advanced Higher Modern Studies Pupils to discuss their dissertations on tackling crime and the prison system.

Commenting after the visit, Jo said:

"Though school visits are regularly on my agenda as an MP, I was so impressed that Julie took the initiative to invite me to St Ninian's herself that I made it a priority to meet to her Modern Studies class.

"The 6th of February saw the 90th anniversary of women's suffrage, and one of the issues the class wanted to talk about was the situation surrounding women's representation today. The fact is, the UK Parliament has a long way to go to achieve equal representation of men and women. The Equal Opportunities Commission estimates that at the current rate of progress, full equality will take 200 years to achieve.

"Encouraging an active interest and participation in politics among young people can go a long way towards tackling gender inequality and other imbalances in our democracy."

Related Link:

St Ninian's High School