Fleetwood MP inspires students during visit to Rossall

An exclusive group of Rossall sixth form students, interested in politics, had the opportunity to have a question and answer session with Ms Smith about current issues including Brexit and the state of the Labour Party.Ms Smith recounted tales of her political endeavours and described her journey of how she became a politician, from school to the Houses of Parliament, despite not studying politics at university.Year 12 student Amber Brown said: “I thoroughly enjoyed Cat Smith’s visit as I’m inspired by her feminist views and strong opinions.“She told us not to be afraid or intimidated by the predominantly male atmosphere in Parliament which is inspirational to all young girls who are thinking of a career in politics.”Ms Smith joined the students for lunch where she reiterated how important it is for young people to get their voices heard. Year 12 student Rebecca Heyes added: “Ms Smith really made me think about how politics affects everyone individually. Later, Ms Smith sat down with Rossall School’s first female headteacher Elaine Purves, who said: “It waswonderful to welcome Ms Smith to Rossall.“We are always looking for opportunities to inspire our students and it is extremely important to us to convey the message to them, that they can be anything they want to be, irrespective of their gender.”Ms Smith said: “I enjoy visiting all schools in my constituency and have written to all schools letting them know I am happy to talk to their pupils about democracy and what MPs do.“Rossall’s sixth formers had varied questions for me from the day in the life of an MP to what our country will look like after we leave the European Union, pertinent because some of the pupils were from EU states who come to Rossall for their studies.“I hope I inspired them to take a keen interest in current affairs and politics and I look forward to visiting all the schools in Fleetwood over the coming months and years.”