Upper College Debate
Upper College Pupils Turn Chapel into House of Commons for First-Ever Parliamentary Debate!
During World War II, College’s Chapel served as a “back-up” House of Commons in case MPs needed to be evacuated from London. On Thursday 13 March 2025, Cheltenham College pioneered its first-ever Upper College Parliamentary Debate in Chapel.
Our student MPs, dressed in suits, began the evening in the Houses of Parliament’s ‘Strangers’ Bar’ (College Coffee) for sparkling wine (non-alcoholic) and nibbles before moving to the debating Chamber (chapel). The evening was planned out meticulously by two of our Upper Sixth; they sent out an online form to establish who would represent the leaders of the political parties—pupils attending were then organised into their political parties by House and sat on the appropriate benches.
The evening involved two debates with two different sets of speakers. The first motion was on the introduction of VAT to private school fees, and the second motion was on prisoners’ rights to vote. Our Speaker of the House played their part well in steering the debate but struggled when the Scotting National Party representative expressed outrage at the treatment of their constituents and refused to give up the microphone. After appropriate warnings, the Speaker of the House ejected the SNP representative from the chamber, re-establishing order in the House.
Overall, the evening was a great success and gave our pupils a real insight into the governance of this country.
