Specially selected Bridlington children visited the Houses of Parliament and spoke with MP Sir Greg Knight

The children, from Martongate Primary School, were presented with an opportunity to ask the East Yorkshire MP questions that were close to their hearts.

The school is one of the few East Yorkshire schools which has piloted a Young RE Ambassadors project. This scheme has been nationally funded by the RE Council (REC).

Over the past year, four Year 6 children (11-year-olds) have had a very important and high-profile role as Young RE Ambassadors in school.

They meet once a week with subject leader for RE Lisa Atkinson to work on the project, which has included visiting a heritage project at St Mary’s Church and the Minster in Beverley.

A school spokesperson said: “After previously writing to Sir Greg Knight regarding local and current issues that concern them, such as water pollution, the cost of living and migrant crisis, the YAs were given the opportunity to meet with him in Parliament.

"They were given a short tour around the house, including the private Chapel of St Mary Undercroft and they had the opportunity to get their voices heard regarding the issues they’d identified.

"Sir Greg answered all their questions and told the YAs what the Government is currently doing to tackle them.

"Five 17-year-olds Ambassadors of Faith and Belief (AFaBs) from Ilford in the London Borough of Redbridge came especially to meet with the Bridlington YAs in Westminster Abbey.

"Previously, the students had met together via virtual Teams calls, so it was special for them to have the opportunity to meet face to face. Together they toured the Abbey discussing faith, belief, culture, community and day to day concerns related to belief.

"The Martongate staff and Young Ambassadors would like to thank the RE Council for supporting this once in a lifetime trip for our pupils and to Sue Holmes (Education Consultant) especially, for leading the project in supporting the YAs on their RE journey.”

The Ambassadors pilot is soon to be superseded by a wider national Pupil Voice project to harness young people in other regions across the country and linking them with parliamentarians, in advocating for Freedom of Religion or Belief, a key human right.