Caroline will meet students at Dorothy Stringer School as part of this year’s Parliament Week [1].

Parliament Week is an annual programme of events to inspire people to participate in democratic life.

Organisations around the country will join in a week-long programme of activities and events designed to inform, inspire and connect people all over the UK with parliamentary democracy.

In Brighton, Caroline will visit Dorothy Stringer School at 10am on Monday 18th November, and meet the recently formed Junior Leadership Team.

The student-led team has been set up to make sure that pupils at the school have a say on the issues that affect them.

This includes decisions on the curriculum, future planning, the quality of teaching and the school ethos.

The Team will face challenges that Caroline encounters on a daily basis, such as how to make sure that the voices of those they represent are heard, and how best to achieve change.

This year's Parliament Week also includes a focus on Women in Democracy, celebrating women’s contribution to UK democratic life and exploring how their voices can be better heard.

As well as her high profile work on media sexism, Caroline has worked to make parliament more family-friendly for women, for example, campaigning against late night sittings.

Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion, said:

“Parliament Week is a fantastic opportunity to think about democracy, and to explore what it means to us all in our daily lives. I’m really looking forward to meeting with students at Dorothy Stringer, and swapping stories with them.

“I hope that Parliament Week will support the students in developing the confidence and skills to speak out on issues that concern them.”

Thomas Soud, Year 11 student , Chair of JLT and Senior Prefect said:

“Youth participation is incredibly important in organisations run for young people. That’s why Stringer set up the Junior Leadership Team; to make sure our views and the views of our peers are heard and have an impact on how things are done in the school and classroom.”

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors:

[1] Parliament Week 2013 (www.parliamentweek.org) runs from 15 - 21 November. It is an annual series of events and activities, co-ordinated by the House of Commons with support from the House of Lords, which aim to raise awareness of Parliament and encourage people to engage with the UK’s democratic system and its institutions. A number of organisations, such as the UK Youth Parliament and the Hansard Society, are joining with Parliament Week to host events about democracy and political engagement.

[2] For media enquiries about Parliament Week, please contact Gary Calder or Anikka Weerasinge,Media and Communications Service, House of Commons on 020 7219 1123/0849.