Julian Smith MP hosted his annual School Leaders’ Lunch, an event which brings together student leaders and head teachers from secondary schools in Skipton and Ripon.

Twelve schools were represented at the meal in Burnsall and the event was kindly sponsored by Skipton company, Principle Healthcare. This was the 8th year Julian had hosted this event, which he set up when he was first elected in 2010.

During the meal, Mr Smith spoke about his role as MP for the area before taking questions from the students. The questions covered topics such as affordable housing, tuition fees and infrastructure in our area.

The pupils also heard from Principle Healthcare Managing Director, Mike Davies, and Olivia Porter, a placement student at the company and ex-Skipton Girls pupil. They each gave an insight into their roles and gave advice on how graduates, apprentices and school leavers can succeed in their business environment.

Julian Smith MP said: ‘It was, as ever, a pleasure to meet these wonderful students and teachers. It was great to be able to chat with them and answer their thoughtful questions. I was also pleased to have Olivia there to talk about her experience of transitioning from school to further education and work. I was impressed to hear about the plans for their varied and exciting plans for the future.’