Washington Trip - Government and Politics Dept
Sixth Form pupils studying Government and Politics had an incredibly successful trip to Washington DC, exploring the American political process from a first hand perspective. The Department had a behind the scenes tour at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, sat in a session of the US Supreme Court after which they met Eloise Pasachoff, the top law clerk of Sonia Sotomayor, for a private meeting to discuss American judicial process and met with Kylie Smith, the Northern Virginia Campaign Coordinator for the Bob McDonnell Campaign for Governor and engaged first hand in phone banking for the candidate’s election (which he went onto win, no doubt with the help of Charterhouse’s own).
The pupils also had the chance to see the open sessions of both the House of Representatives and the Senate where they saw the likes of John McCain, Joseph Lieberman, Robert Byrd, Patrick Leahy and others not fifty feet from where they were sitting. That evening, furthering the relationship that Charterhouse is developing with the College of William & Mary, the College hosted Charterhouse at its Washington DC office for a roundtable discussion on environmental policy that featured current members of Barack Obama’s administration as well as leading members of environmental nonprofit groups. On our last day in Washington DC the pupils met Glen Caroline, the Head of Grassroots at the National Rifle Association to discuss the impact of the 2nd Amendment and the success of the NRA as a pressure group.
The trip was not all business however as the pupils were able to tour some of America’s greatest monuments and museums on the Mall of the Smithsonian, experience the cuisine and nightlife that Georgetown and Old Town Alexandria have to offer, and even enjoyed a special barbecue hosted in their honour by Mr Knight’s family who lives in Northern Virginia which featured a few OCs amongst others key to the success of the Washington experience. This was a trip that will certainly be remembered by all of the pupils in the years to come!
Jesse Knight
Head of Governement and Politics