Harrogate student visits Downing Street during the most dramatic political week of the year
During an unprecedented week in British politics, a local student was hand-picked to visit London and the heart of the action.
Blessed Mahovo, 20, from Harrogate was taken on an exclusive Tour of Number 10 Downing Street on Friday (1 July 2016), where he got to see where Britain’s biggest political decisions are being hashed out.
Blessed, a pupil at St John Fisher Catholic High School, is a student with the Social Mobility Foundation (SMF), a charity that supports high-achieving young people from low-income backgrounds to realise their ambitions.
He joined 30 other sixth-formers from around the UK who travelled to the capital for this once in a lifetime opportunity.
Blessed said:
Absolutely incredible. Something for us the younger generation to take into the future.
David Johnston, Chief Executive of the Social Mobility Foundation, said the following about the trip:
This trip was a reward for how hard the young people worked this year. The young people selected for this visit were those that have been very engaged with the programme so far – building good relationships with their mentors, attending events around the country and making the most out of the opportunities we are able to provide. This trip proved a great reward for them having worked so hard this academic year.
With 33% of MPs having attended private school compared to 7% of the population, the students that the SMF works with know the barriers they face in reaching the elite professions, not least within politics.
Now these young people have seen where the Cabinet meet and change the course of their futures, they are more determined than ever to fulfil their career ambitions.
The SMF opened a North West office in 2014 in order to reach out to talented students across the region.
