Xaverian College strives to enrich the curriculum with real-life learning opportunities, ensuring students have the skills, experience and qualifications that will prepare them for their future career or higher-level study.
When studying A Level Politics, students learn through dozens of real-life political scenarios and broaden their worldview through debate, and a wide range of enrichment.
The department regularly welcomes elected officials, academics, and journalists to share their perspectives in workshops and lectures.
Andy Burnham, Greater Manchester Mayor, who visited the College as a mayoral candidate, recently returned to talk about his experiences of developing the role, the impact of the role on the region and what further powers and policies he would like to pursue. Andy talked about the success of ‘Our Pass’, the bus pass for 16–18-year-olds which he recently introduced, his work to reduce homelessness and a current policy project on ending violence against girls and women. He also provided an insight into his journey into politics and his experience in government before answering numerous questions from students.
Afzal Khan, Labour MP for Manchester, also visited the College to talk about his politics career and his views on the current state of politics and this year, year 13 students also had the opportunity to meet Lord German, former Deputy First Minister of Wales during ‘Learn with the Lords Online’, a live 40-minute Q&A session where young people, aged 7-18, can put their questions to a member of the House of Lords.
Alison Hall, Assistant Divisional Lead, said: “Having political figures from local, regional and national politics come in to meet and talk to students is vital to demystifying politics and showing that anyone who is passionate and determined can get involved in politics at any level.”
Alongside the array of guest speakers, the College also encourages and supports students to visit events across the country that will help enhance their knowledge, including yearly trips to Parliament, where students get to watch the Ministerial Statements from the public gallery.
May Bagnall, a former Alderley Edge School for Girls pupil, joined the College in September 2021 to study Politics, Psychology and Philosophy, Ethics and Theology. May attended UK Labour’s first gala dinner of the year, which was rumoured to be the largest North West Labour Party gathering for over 10 years, in March at the Grand Suite of the Vermillion restaurant in Manchester.
Commenting on her experience at the event, May said: “There were over 700 local business leaders and Labour Party members in attendance, it was a privilege to be there. Sir Keir Starmer MP, Leader of the Labour Party and footballer, Gary Neville, hosted a discussion followed by a Q&A focused on local politics, grass root initiatives, and even drew comparisons between politics and football. Sir Keir Starmer MP went on to outline his plan for the next two years leading up to the general election before the event was rounded off by a raffle hosted by Angela Rayner MP, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.
“I chose to study Politics at Xaverian because I’ve always had an interest in current affairs and the role of Government in taking decisions which affect our daily lives. My sisters also both work in politics, one in the Civil Service and one in Local Government, so we are always talking about all aspects of politics.
“The experiences I have had to date have cemented my aspirations to continue studying Politics at University. I’d love to work in a humanitarian role in the future – my dream job would be working with the United Nations!”
With plans to change the world in the future, this summer, Politics students are due to progress to some of the UK’s leading Universities, such as, University of Oxford, London School of Economics and Political Science and University of Leeds, to study a wide range of courses, including, Philosophy, Politics and Economics, International Relations and History.
As one of the largest providers of post-16 education in the region, Xaverian College offers exciting opportunities to over 2500 students. To find out more, visit Xaverian.ac.uk – Explore Your Future!
