The children of St. Mary’s CE Primary School asked Grant Shapps burning questions during his visit last week.
The school in Welham Green invited the Secretary of State for Business to get a tour of the school, to see the work the school does and get the children to come up with their own questions for the politician to answer.
Children questioned Grant about his job - asking if he worked for it or was given it - if he cared about the village and wondered if he was a celebrity.
The headteacher at the school, Adrian Petty, said: “Grant Shapps did a Q and A with Years 3, 4 and 5, and he got a tour of the school so he can see what we do here.”
Year 5 of came up with questions all by themselves after their teachers explained to them who Grant Shapps was.
Adrian said: “None of the questions were doctored by us teachers but they ask the most difficult questions. It was the children’s panel, and they send the curveballs around.” 
During the question round, a student asked Grant if he got offered his current job or if he got to choose, to which he answered: “I have never told anyone this before but I’m going to tell you. When I was talking to Rishi Sunak in the summer, I told him if I was ever going to be in his cabinet, one of the jobs I would really like is Business Secretary. So, I sort of did ask for this job.
“But I also loved my old job when I was Transport Secretary under Boris Johnson, and I asked him about that job as well.”
He later added: “I went to see Liz Truss as I had been in the cabinet three years prior, and she thanked me for the work that I did and said that she didn’t have any room at the inn and so I just wished her luck but six weeks later she is the one who made me Home Secretary.”
Grant also called his job as Home Secretary as his work experience/internship week as it only lasted six days.
Another student asked what Grant did at the cabinet, and he said: “I am the Business Secretary, so I look after all the businesses in the country or at least I am supposed to be the person that helps them out.” 
Even though Grant Shapps has gone back into the cabinet, the school appreciated that he took the time out of his busy schedule to make time for the visit. Grant Shapps said: “I defend the local school here completely. This is my area so I can make time in my diary for it.”
Finally, another Year 5 student asked Grant how much he cared about our village, to which he answered: “I live locally so a lot of the things that happen occur on your doorstep and you end up using all the same services such as dentists and shop, so I really like representing the area I have lived in.”
On his tour of the school, Grant commended the teachers for the work they do and was appreciative of the multi-use of plastic bottles, which were painted and placed in the garden as poppies. 
A teacher also explained that children use the playground based on their imagination where huts turn into doctor surgery’s, bear hunts take place, mud kitchens are played with, and caterpillars are kept until they turn into butterflies and released. 
The school also talked about the work they do with Oaklands College to give the students a chance to work with kids and tutor and mentor them to teach kids around the ages of four or five.
Adrian has been the headteacher at the school since Easter this year and he added that not a lot of people knew of the school as it was quite small, so it was "nice to have the local MP visit and show support" so more people could find out about them.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here