Last week members of Portsmouth’s King Richard Project accompanied local MP Sarah McCarthy-Fry to 10 Downing Street.  They had the opportunity to meet the Prime Minister’s wife, Sarah Brown, and were given a full tour of the building which has been at the heart of British political life for nearly three hundred years.

The King Richard Project is a unique scheme started in 2004 by Paulsgrove Baptist Church in Partnership with King Richard School.  The scheme targets young people who are in danger of leaving school with no qualifications, and gives them the chance to study outside the formal structures of the classroom.  Results so far have been impressive, and the project now provides for more than twenty students.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry said “It’s not everyday I get to take constituents to No. 10, and I was delighted that members of the project had the opportunity to talk about their experiences with Mrs Brown.  This is exactly the sort of scheme we should be promoting, and I was really interested to learn about the tremendous work being done right here in Paulsgrove.”

“It was a privilege sharing with our MP and the Prime Minister’s wife what’s been happening through the church in our community.  Churches empowered by a biblical vision can be a real asset to their communities.” – Revd Mark Seager, Paulsgrove Baptist Church