Guided by Lord Bilimoria, our students learnt fascinating facts about the history and workings of Parliament.
The LucEnt Challenge 2022-23 was officially launched last November when Lord Karan Bilimoria came to Lucy Cavendish College. As well as giving a truly inspiring speech, he kindly invited students to visit the House of Lords.
On Friday the 17th of March, a group of College students together with Lucy Fellow, and LucEnt founder, Bruno Cotta, and STEMM and Enterprise Programme Manager, Rachael Burcher, took up that invitation and headed to the Palace of Westminster in London for a fantastic afternoon of fascinating insights.
The group met in Westminster Hall, recently the site of the late Queen’s lying in state. After explaining some of the history of the 900-year-old Hall, Lord Bilimoria guided the group first to the Parliamentary chapel of St Mary Undercroft to appreciate the ornate decoration but also the plaque commemorating Emily Davison’s overnight concealment in the parliamentary estate during the 1911 census – hidden in a broom cupboard as Emily herself was on that night. There followed a tour of St Stephen’s Hall, the House of Commons, the Lobby and the House of Lords, which gave all an introduction to the architecture, history and current workings of the UK Parliament. The visit concluded in one of the committee rooms, where Lord Bilimoria took the time to hear about students’ backgrounds and interests and answer their questions about his experience of entrepreneurship, business, and parliamentary life.
Sandeep, one of the students who attended says, “Thank you so much for giving me a chance to visit the UK parliament - The visit was very well organised and highly enriching.”
View more images below.
House of Lords slideshow by Lucy Cavendish