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Students with visiting MSPs

School pupils have been invited to address one of the Scottish Parliament's Cross Party Groups following an ‘MSPs in Schools' event at Edinburgh's Royal Blind School.

The offer to present to the Cross Party Group on Sports was made after a handful of pupils from S1-4 spent a morning discussing leisure facilities with five MSPs.

Edinburgh South MSP Mike Pringle, whose constituency covers the school, joined Lothians MSPs Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, Robin Harper, Kenny MacAskill and Margo MacDonald at the session, the latest in a series around Scotland.

Pupils at the school prepared a presentation on the kind of sports they enjoyed participating in. The youngsters then revealed the findings of research they had prepared, and outlined ways in which they feel sports facilities could be made more accessible for young people with disabilities.

Access to sports facilities

One idea presented by the pupils – for a disability access card to make using sports facilities more affordable – was warmly received by the MSPs.

The hour-long session also covered areas such as funding for sport facilities, cycling lanes and coverage on television of athletes with disabilities.

Robin Harper, who is a member of the Scottish Parliament's Cross Party Group on Sports, invited the young people to bring their research to the Scottish Parliament to make a presentation to his fellow group members.

Following the session, Modern Studies teacher Rhona Butler said:

“It was a really interesting morning and the MSPs were very supportive of the points the pupils raised. This kind of event helps the pupils understand the relevance of the Parliament and how it works.

“The points that were made this morning came from them and it is wonderful for them to be invited to do a presentation to the Cross Party Group.”

"Superb contribution from pupils"

Mike Pringle MSP said: “I follow very closely the good work done here at the Royal Blind School and it will be a real pleasure when the pupils come to the Cross Party Group to present their case.”

Kenny MacAskill MSP said: “Sport is fundamental to a child's development, and this event has given us a clearer perspective on the particular problems faced by people with disabilities.”

Margo MacDonald MSP said: “The contribution from the pupils today – especially the idea about the disabled access card for leisure facilities – has been really superb.”

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton MSP said: “Several good points were raised at this morning's meeting and I'm particularly pleased than an invitation has been made for the pupils to address the Cross Party Group at Holyrood. With a continuing dialogue, continuing improvements can be made.”

Robin Harper MSP said: “I'm really impressed by what was produced. It has been an excellent morning.”

Background to the project

‘MSPs in Schools' aims to inform school pupils of the work of the Scottish Parliament, through the wider aspects of education for citizenship in Scotland, including motivation, values and participation.

The project has been set up by Hansard Society Scotland working with the Scottish Parliament's Outreach Services, Learning and Teaching Scotland, The Scottish Executive and Electoral Commission.