Northern Ireland pupils at No10 to quiz Boris Johnson on job prospects

It was Prime Minister’s Questions with a difference last week as two schoolchildren from Coleraine got the chance to quiz Boris Johnson about their career aspirations.
Ballysally Primary School pupils Keeley Riley and Daniel Drawmer, along with school principal Geoff Dunn and P6 teacher Mrs Deirdre McKeown, meeting Prime Minister Boris Johnson at Downing Street.Ballysally Primary School pupils Keeley Riley and Daniel Drawmer, along with school principal Geoff Dunn and P6 teacher Mrs Deirdre McKeown, meeting Prime Minister Boris Johnson at Downing Street.
Ballysally Primary School pupils Keeley Riley and Daniel Drawmer, along with school principal Geoff Dunn and P6 teacher Mrs Deirdre McKeown, meeting Prime Minister Boris Johnson at Downing Street.

Ballysally Primary pupils Keeley Riley, 11, and Daniel Drawmer, 10, went toe-to-toe with the PM as part of the Primary Futures initiative – giving children the opportunity to experience life as a political journalist.

School principal Geoff Dunn MBE and P6 teacher Mrs Deirdre McKeown were also in London for the special event, which included a behind-the-scenes tour 10 Downing Street.

Last year Ballysally Primary hosted the first ever Primary Futures event in Northern Ireland where children had the opportunity to meet and question more than 40 volunteers, from quite a diverse range of backgrounds, all doing different jobs.

Ballysally PS staff and pupils outside No10 Downing StreetBallysally PS staff and pupils outside No10 Downing Street
Ballysally PS staff and pupils outside No10 Downing Street

Mr Dunn said: “The experience of visiting 10 Downing Street and meeting the PM and his staff will live long in all our minds. The children and staff felt the importance of the occasion when we heard that this was the Prime Minister’s only press meeting that day – the day before Brexit! It was such a surreal day filled with anticipation, excitement, intrigue and sense of history.”

Mr Dunn added: “The Prime Minster was captivating and had both children and adults hanging on his every word. However, what struck me most about the whole day was how naturally Daniel and Keeley quizzed members of Downing Street staff about their jobs – how they came to be there, what the good parts and the not so good parts of their daily work lives were and even how they found the commute.

“This truly reaffirmed to me the impact that Primary Futures is having on an ongoing basis in the lives of pupils in our school. I would recommend this initiative to all primary schools as a means of raising aspiration.”

For further information on Primary Futures is available at www.primaryfutures.org