BEING among young Australians quizzing Prime Minister Julia Gillard was a highlight of Excursion Week for eight Year 8 students from The Armidale School last week.
The boys were the only Armidale students and among a handful from regional Australia invited to be in the audience of ABCTV’s Q&A show, with the PM as the sole panelist.
Lachlan Knowles, of Guyra, was one of 30 from across the nation whose questions had been selected to be put to Ms Gillard. Lachlan wanted to ask the Prime Minister about the impact of mining coal seam gas in prime agricultural country – but just as it was his turn, the program ran out of time.
“I knew mine was next because before the program the director told us our order so the camera and audio people could be prepared. We then enjoyed what they called ‘the warm-up guy’ before the show started. It was disappointing not to get to ask my question, but it was still great to see the layout of a studio and how the show is put together,” he said.
Tom Wright said the questions asked by fellow students were most interesting.
“They ranged from how someone can become a prime minister to whether Australia has the right to be part of the nuclear debate as we don’t have any nuclear weapons, so they were very varied,” he said.
The show was an unexpected addition to the Sydney itinerary for Year 8, who also visited the Jewish Holocaust Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art and ate snails and croissants as part of their Excursion Week experience.
Year 6 students enjoyed the annual exchange with Mosman Prep School, Year 7 students were at camp at Pindari Dam, Year 9 stayed at the Yarrahappini ecology centre and Year 10 students visited Canberra. Junior school students also partook in excursions across New England.
