THIS week I made one of my regular visits to local schools to give pupils a taste of the democratic process. We typically come up with a law that the children would like to see implemented or abolished, have a debate with me acting as a giant-sized Mr Speaker and then put the question to a vote, complete with bellows of Aye! and No!

This time I went to All Cannings where an eager group were full of questions and vigour in debating the motion proposed by Ben and opposed by Trixie: that School Should Be Abolished.

There were some fabulous points made in the debate and a quick grasp of the arcane language of the House “I agree with the honorable Lady” and in the final vote and much to the relief of the teachers, the motion was not passed.

I think it is so important to help young people realise the value of what I call the Golden Ticket that they are given at 18 – aka the right to vote – and to urge them to use it. And, for those readers who think I might be on a Tory propaganda mission, rest assured that other than a name check for the Party that I am so proud to represent, we leave it at that.

I also urge schools to take advantage of the excellent educational programmes run by the Parliament Education Service (www.parliament.uk/education) which can form the basis of a great trip to London, and if we can help your school with a visit then please do contact my office in Devizes on (01380) 729358.

From there I went to Preshute School in Manton to discuss its ongoing work to find a site and funding for a new school – something I am determined to support as part of my local commitment to help all schools achieve good or outstanding status. The current team does a brilliant job of providing top-class education despite the old and crowded accommodation and there are encouraging plans for us to work on this year.

Also on the topic of education, I was heartened to receive a letter this week from Sam Gyimah, the Minister for Childcare and Education, confirming that the government is pushing ahead with its plans for a fairer funding formula and also looking at the problem of school census data only being collated once a year which can be a real funding handicap for schools in military areas with high pupil turnover. This is good progress that could help many of the schools in our area.