Students from schools in Cumbria and Devon will travel to London for a special parliamentary event in July. They will be leading a Roundtable Discussion on matters of religion and belief. The event will be held in the House of Lords and will be attended by parliamentarians, including local MPs, Sir Mel Stride and Tim Farron. The students will also take a tour of the Houses of Parliament, hosted by Lord and Lady Singh.
The event is the culmination of a national two-year funded project with the aim of empowering young people to have a voice as Young Ambassadors for Religious Education. The project has a particular focus on Freedom of Religion or Belief, and students and staff have explored how this relates to their communities, at both a local and national level. During the Roundtable Discussion, each school will present their activities as Young Ambassadors for RE, bringing questions for discussion to the MPs and parliamentarians present.
Speaking about the project: Tim Farron, MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale says: “I am really grateful for this opportunity to promote the importance of Religious Education in our schools to MPs and the government. Young people today are growing up in an increasingly religiously diverse society – they must be equipped with curiosity and respect, and RE is a crucial tool to give them. I look forward to promoting the need to those in Parliament.”
One of the highlights of the project for the South West students, from Okehampton College, has been the community Iftar (Ramadan fast-breaking meal) which the students hosted for the local Muslim community in March 2025. Over 80 people from the Okehampton area attended, supported by members of the Exeter Islamic Centre. The students have also made presentations at the Devon SACRE RE syllabus launch in June 2024, taken part in an online parliamentary event in November 2024, and spoken at the Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations at Exeter Cathedral in January 2025.
The North West project was originally launched at the Quaker Tapestry Museum in Kendal. The history of Quakers in Cumbria providing a powerful example of Freedom of Religion or Belief as Quakers faced opposition and persecution for their beliefs in the past. The students have also taken part in an online parliamentary event in November 2024, and have made presentations at the Cumbrian SACRE RE Conference in June 2024, and also a special event for Y10 pupils from ten schools across the North West in conjunction with Edge Hill University.
This project has been managed by AREIAC (the Association of RE Inspectors, Advisers and Consultants) and is funded by Culham St Gabriel’s Trust. Jane Yates, one of the organisers says, “It has been a wonderful opportunity for students from two Kendall school to take the lead on a high-profile national project for the North West. I look forward to joining them in Westminster for the culmination of the project.”
More information on the Young Ambassadors for RE Project https://www.areiac.org.uk/youngambassadors
More information about RE Hubs https://www.re-hubs.uk/