Pupils Visit Scottish Parliament as Part of John Smith Centre Schools Programme
Published: 17 February 2026
Commentary
In late January, the John Smith Centre delivered the second phase of its new schools programme with a bespoke visit to the Scottish Parliament, in partnership with the Scottish Parliament Education Service.
Late January was a busy time for the John Smith Centre as we delivered the second element of our brand-new schools programme, a bespoke visit to the Scottish Parliament.
One hundred pupils across the three schools participating in our pilot programme experienced a full day visit to the Scottish Parliament, which we delivered in partnership with the Scottish Parliament Education Service. It was particularly exciting for many of the S5 & S6 pupils as not only was it their first ever visit to the Scottish Parliament, but it was also their first visit to Edinburgh – there was much excitement on arrival at having a glimpse of Edinburgh Castle en route through the city.
The morning began with small group tours of the Parliament before an education session based around scrutiny and accountability within the Scottish Parliament, with a particular focus on the role of committees. This led nicely on to the afternoon session where, once refuelled by some lunch, pupils took part in a mock committee meeting on a topic they all had an opinion on: banning mobile phones in schools. With pupils taking on the role of either a witness or an MSP, a lively discussion ensued with pupils very much getting into their roles and the ’MSPs‘ enjoying the opportunity to interrogate the witnesses and employ some debating skills.
At the end of the day, the pupils reflected on how much they had enjoyed the event: “It’s been really good, I’ve had loads of fun and done lots” and how much they valued being able to be in the Parliament itself, compared to watching clips of it on a screen: “It was really nice to see it in-person, in real life.”
We’re pleased to be delivering such a vital programme for young people in areas of high deprivation and so, we are very grateful for the support of the programme’s co-founder Dr Marie Macklin CBE, who is generously funding this pilot.
The final element of the programme is still to come on Monday 8th June, as we host all the participating pupils for a Pupil Politics Conference at the University of Glasgow – connect with the John Smith Centre to hear more in June.
First published: 17 February 2026