Page 75 - Phonebox Magazine September 2012

A Conservative Opinion:
and why some people (mainly authoritarian adults) were making comments about ʻGCSEʼs being too easy.ʼ Mark immediately disagreed with this statement. He explained how he felt the standard of education for young people has risen in the UK over the past 20 years, but the standard has been running parallel to it. I agreed with his point that students believe they are ʻnot good enoughʼ if they do not achieve an A or A* grade, but Mark mentioned how education is not always about attainment: equally about adding value for each individual pupil – he
“In an ideal world we wouldn’t be upping fees, but if we are to maintain the university network and the quality of education in the UK as ‘one of the best in the world,’ we probably are going to have to ask students to make a contribution.”
chatting with our local MP, Mark Lancaster
By Tom Revitt
As part of my work experience with the Phonebox magazine, I had arranged to conduct an interview with local MP Mark Lancaster, whilst on my visit to parliament, to ask a variety of questions, both with relation to the local area, as well as issues affecting myself and the rest of the youth population. Divided into four main sections, our conversation included talk of Markʼs early life, current affairs of the present day, his plans for the future of our local area, and his own personal opinions of our government as a whole.
Ellington, by a mere 70 votes.
A keen viewer of ʻNewsnight,ʼ Mark told me he would often be shouting at the television, to which his father eventually told him “stop shouting at the telly and do something about it!” Mark simply replied, “Ok, Iʼm going to become a Member of Parliament.”
When returning from the army, Mark had lost all interest to take up his original engineering degree at Newcastle university: he simply wanted to join his father in his fireworks business. However, his father refused to employ Mark unless he went to university. By this point, Mark had lost his place at Newcastle.
Enrolling into Buckingham University as an alternative, Mark still wasnʼt keen, but he
felt that the O level system would allow this to happen. He said there would be no intention to simply ʻcream offʼ the best pupils and ignore the rest, by the nature of the eleven plus test. As far as he was concerned, he wanted to see an education system with greater focus on the individual to maximise their potential. His ʻgut feelingʼ was that, should the system make a comeback, it would be slightly different from the traditional teaching methods.
Markʼs early life
Mark started his life in Kimbolton, where his father was the school chaplain. His family owned a firework business; Mark told me his first memories of
eventually found Business Studies very enjoyable, and went onwards to Exeter University to gain an MBA Masters in Administration. It was from here that his interest
Homing in on schools in the Milton Keynes area, I asked Mark of his plans for the future of education. He stated that the standard of education in Milton Keynes is ʻon the rise,ʼ and that he wants to ʻdrive upʼ the overall standard. ʻThe key thing,ʼ he mentioned, is to allow governors, parents and teachers to have a degree of control over how our schools are run, rather than being instructed from a centralised government system. He believes that the whole education system should operate from the ʻtop downʼ not ʻbottom up,ʼ in the sense that we should ask employers what skills they want their new employees to have, so as to tailor our education to their needs.
this were “getting
my head on my
fathers mixing
bench, seeing
and smelling all
of the wonderful
colours as he was
mixing the chemicals to make his fireworks.” He also mentioned his memories of helping his father set up the fireworks display outside Buckingham Palace for the Queenʼs silver jubilee.
“I think you have to study something you enjoy: life should be fun, and the more you put into something, the more you’ll get out.”
Mark had no interest in the political system whilst at school; when he left, joining the army was his only real interest. He wanted to join the Ghurkhaʼs, and so joined them in Hong Kong on a gap year commission. From here, he continued in the TA. Being a firework maker by background, Mark knew he was “always destined” to end up in the bomb disposal team. He believed that playing this role in times of war contributed as a positive aspect to the situation, as well as being ʻchallenging but enjoyable.ʼ
surfing, actually” Mark replied, “I had to find the balance between doing a Masters degree and doing what I wanted – I think you have to study something you enjoy: life should be fun, and the more you put into something, the more youʼll get out.”
Education and Transport
Moving onwards, the next part of my interview delved into the miscellany of current affairs – I asked Mark for his views on the matters.
A common bugbear for teenagers at present is the cost of university. Mark quoted: “In an ideal world we wouldnʼt be upping fees, but if we are to maintain the university network and the quality of education in the UK as ʻone of the best in the world,ʼ we probably are going to have to ask students to make a contribution.”
Leading on, I asked for his opinion of the O- level system making a potential comeback,
I told Mark of my extensive plethora of negative experiences the local bus network has brought me in Milton Keynes. He stated that the biggest challenge in Milton Keynes is to connect the rural community of North Bucks with the city. He told me of his work with local bus companies to ensure rural areas (such as Olney) where bus companies do not gain as much profit as inner city routes are served and effectively subsidised by Milton Keynes council. He mentioned that we do need to invest more and encourage links between services to provide cheaper
After returning from the army, Mark received a phone call, asking him to stand for council. After being told he would not stand much chance of being successful, Mark was elected for Huntingdon council at first, then
Continued over
in government grew. Why Exeter? I asked. “Well I rather enjoyed
Phonebox Magazine 75