US Ambassador visit to CTK

Matthew Barzun, US Ambassador to the UK, hosts interactive and insightful session with over 130 Christ the King students

Students at Christ the King (CtK) Sixth Form College enjoyed an unrivalled opportunity to share their views on international events, foreign policy and the comparative advantages of life in the US and the UK with someone with specialist, first-hand knowledge – the US Ambassador to the UK.

Matthew Barzun dropped in to CtK’s Lewisham campus to meet students drawn from all three college sites studying for A-levels in Government & Politics, History and Law.

And Mr Barzun was as good as his word when he told his audience: ‘This is not going to be a lecture… I want to listen to you and hear what you have to say.’

He used the session to explore perceptions of one another’s countries and examine where there were shared values and where they diverged – and why.

In a series of interactive voting sessions, while a large proportion of students said they thought ethnic minorities were better provided for in the UK and 98 per cent believed emergency medial care was better in on this side of the Pond, two-thirds said they would like to live and/or work in the US at some point in the future.

Turning his attention to America’s reputation abroad, Mr Barzun handed out paper and pencils and asked his audience to draw a picture of what most concerns and upsets them about the US. Almost half the students drew pictures of black males being shot or scenes related to guns or lack of gun control.

Before leaving, Mr Barzun urged the CtK students to keep in touch with him: he provided them with his email address and his Twitter feed.