School votes for Monarchy

LEWES Priory School gave a jubilee welcome to the Lord-Lieutenant of East Sussex, Phyllida Stewart-Roberts, on Friday.

The Lord-Lieutenant and her husband made their way to the school hall for a debate on the future of the monarchy.

Their progress was accompanied by fanfares especially composed by Year 7 students for the occasion.

Before the debate began, Mrs Stewart-Roberts gave Year 10 students a brief resume of the historic role of the Lord-Lieutenant and the kind of duties she may be called upon to perform on behalf of the Queen.

The motion for the debate, drawn up by the students, was: 'This House believes that the monarchy is good for Britain.'

Speaking for the motion, Lloyd Russell-Moyle put it to his fellow students that 58p a year per citizen for the monarchy was a small price to pay for all the benefits that accrue to the country as a whole.

He gave the recent jubilee rock concert as an example. '58p for a great party every 25 years can't be bad!'

Jordan Savage spoke against the motion, calling for a republic with a democratically elected leader.

She cited some of the less serendipitous comments made by the Duke of Edinburgh over recent years and the unhappy marriages of the Royals as reasons for finding it difficult to respect the monarchy in its present form.

Chairman, Josh Burrows, then opened the debate to the floor of the House, expertly fielding questions about republican examples set by recent American presidents, the importance of tradition, and the role of the monarchy in joining the nation together

In the vote that then followed, Priory School students made it clear that they believed that the monarchy is good for Britain, surprising many members of staff in the hall.

The vote, however, came as no surprise to the Lord-Lieutenant!