When Michael Fabricant accepted an invitation from Michael Hall, a Year 4 student at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Michael Fabricant didn’t know what would confront him when he visited on Friday 10th July.

“The class had been studying politics for the General Election and the 8 and 9 year olds were very clued up” says Michael Fabricant. “After answering a couple of questions, class teacher Alex Williams and I decided to do it in Parliamentary fashion. So instead of putting your hand up to ask a question, they stood at their desks with Mr Williams acting as Mr Speaker and controlling the booing and cheering.

“Questions ranged from my motivation for entering politics, a day in the life of an MP, and how varied I find the job. Some of the questions were so specific, I didn’t know the answer such as in what year the Conservative Party was formed and how old is David Cameron. Fortunately, 9 year old Rhys Davies, acted as one of my civil servants, looked it up on the internet, and passed me notes – just like would happen in the House of Commons. The answers are 1834 and 48 years old, by the way.”

Photos show Michael in the Year 4 classroom tackling questions and with the whole class outside.