Grovelands Primary School children visit Hailsham Town Council offices

The pupils were given a tour of the Mayor's Parlour and Fleur de Lys Meeting Room in Market Street and met with the Mayor of Hailsham, Cllr Paul Holbrook and the Town Clerk, John Harrison. The pupils then attended a questions and answers session, at which the Mayor and officers gave a rundown of the workings of the council and its activities, services and projects, in addition to information about the role of Town Mayor and Town Clerk.

The experience helped give the school children a better understanding of how local democracy and decision-making works, and a further visit from the School Council will take place next year when pupils will be given the opportunity to find out more about the Town Council's youth projects division - Hailsham Youth Service - and its associated youth council.

After giving a talk at the Town Council offices, the mayor and school children visited the community fridge operated by Pass It On (In Your community) CIC and situated in Hailsham High Street, whereby the pupils presented an array of food items as donations.

"It is always a pleasure to meet with children from different schools and to provide them with some information on the role of the Town Council, our various services and activities and of course, the work of the town mayor in the local community," said Cllr Holbrook.

"It was a pleasure to meet Grovelands pupils and staff today - everyone concerned participated with enthusiasm, which is great to see. We should never underestimate the intelligence of the young minds we have in our town!"

Cllr Holbrook added: "I'm confident that the pupils enjoyed this experience thoroughly and were able to gain a lot from it, including an understanding of how a town council operates and how democratic/decision-making processes are conducted."

"Any other schools in Hailsham who think their pupils would benefit from a visit to the Town Council offices in the next school year will always be welcome and should get in touch with us."