Year 12 Politics visit to the Department of Business & Trade

On Thursday 4th June, Year 12 Government & Politics students from Oasis Academy Hadley were privileged to visit the Department of Business & Trade (DBT) in Whitehall. The visit was organised by Ulrich Medjiako, an alumni of OAH’s predecessor school, Albany Secondary School. Now working as Business Intelligence Lead at the DBT, Ulrich is passionate about supporting young people into employment and plays a leading role in organising school outreach opportunities.

During the visit, students learned about the important role played by the civil service within government. As well as finding out more about the different roles and career opportunities on offer with the civil service, they also participated in a panel discussion and Q&A with a number of leading civil service officials who each talked about their own work and career paths.

On a tour of the DBT’s historic Grade II listed Old Admiralty Building, which is located in the heart of Whitehall next to Horse Guards Parade, students learned how the OAB had been bombed during the Second War and how, during that period, a number of famous people worked in the building. These included former Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, and James Bond creator Ian Fleming.

In the final session of the day, in what was the highlight of the visit, students were divided into groups, each working with a civil servant coach to formulate their response to a real-life policy scenario. Using their teamwork and knowledge of the competing roles played different government departments, the students were tasked with preparing and presenting a ministerial briefing paper to the Prime Minister.

Thanks to Ulrich and the other staff at the DBT for hosting the students and providing such a valuable insight into the working of government!