On Wednesday 27th September, Professor Sir Vernon Bogdanor visited CLC for a masterclass with SFC students where he discussed his latest book, the suffragettes, and various political and world events.
Sir Vernon then held a talk entitled ‘Can the UK constitution survive modern politics?’ at the PAC for the wider CLC community to enjoy.
Below is a passage from two students who attended the masterclass:
We knew of Sir Vernon from our Politics lessons, as the constitution expert. Therefore, his insight on this topic was invaluable to both our course and general interest.
We were lucky enough to partake in a workshop with him, where we explored topics ranging from early suffragist movements, to alternative electoral systems and his thoughts on Brexit. This also gave us the opportunity to ask Sir Vernon some probing questions and hear his thoughts on matters we cared about, as well as share our own views.
After the masterclass, students and teachers from schools across Cheltenham joined us in the Parabola Arts Centre to delve deeper into Sir Vernon’s area of expertise: the constitution. Naturally, like any good politician, his opinions divided the room, but it was interesting to discover his views. We particularly enjoyed his comments on devolution and how this has changed the functioning and application of the constitution in the United Kingdom. We eagerly await his answer to the question, ‘what is your favourite constitution?’.
This was followed by a delicious supper where Sir Vernon generously gave us more of his time to answer any further questions and engage in lively debate around the dinner table.
Meredith and Sukhmani, SFC2
