Newsknight’s Bill Bowkett met up with Kamal Ahmed as he visited the school to discuss the EU Referendum with eager VI Formers.
The current Economics Editor for BBC News took part in a Q&A session with Year 12s and 13s on the topic of Brussels. June 23rd will see many Year 13 students being able to vote on Britain’s membership of the European Union. The assembly, organised by Ms Brando, gave students a fantastic opportunity to not only voice their opinion on the issue, but also broaden their understanding through the expertise of Mr Ahmed. Mr Ahmed opened his account by asking the pupils whether the UK should leave the EU.
Jerome Leach in Year 12 was one of the students in the audience who thought Britain would be better off leaving the EU. “The EU in incredibly undemocratic and leaving would give Britain greater powers,” he said. However, Year 13s Janvi Bhalla thought that Britain is better off remaining in the EU, arguing: “I have not heard any real convincing reasons to leave.”
In his speech, Ahmed talked about the importance of economics in this debate. In regards to free trade, families and microeconomics. He talked about the “engagement of people, which has been huge at the moment.” Even though the current opinion polls suggest that the country is more likely to stay than leave, “The end result and impact that will be left is difficult to tell.”
After his talk, students lined up a variety of questions to the BBC journalist on the topic of the EU and impact of a ‘Brexit’ – Britain leaving the EU. Issues that were discussed included human rights, immigration and isolationism. There were further questions about UKIPs approach to the EU debate and how the referendum could affect the leadership of the next Prime Minister.
Overall, the debate was incredibly engaging and interesting for all. Former Hertfordshire MYP Monica Yianni tweeted that: “It was amazing to hear Kamal Ahmed to speak to Year 13s and my politics class about the EU Referendum.”
Mr Ahmed concluded his speech with: “It was good to meet you and you’ve been a great audience.”