Thorpe House Langley Preparatory School's Speaking Out For Animals (SOFA) Club went to London, pictured here outside the Houses of Parliament.

A group of young animal enthusiasts have gone to London to learn more about their cause.

To send a link to this page to a friend, simply enter their email address below.

The message will include the name and email address you gave us when you signed up.

Email address

  Send link

To send a link to this page to a friend, you must be logged in.

The Speaking Out For Animals (SOFA) Club from Thorpe House Langley Preparatory School, on Yarmouth Road in Norwich, took a trip to the Houses of Parliament and the national headquarters of The Dogs Trust.

The young pupils went on a tour of both the House of Lords and House of Commons, as Sue Cole, SOFA leader, explained.

She said: “Entry to Westminster Hall, the oldest part and where the trial of Guy Fawkes took place, was awesome.

“The whole tour was fascinating and the children were able to see the differences between the two houses as well as the marks on the door to the House of Commons, left by Black Rod, when he is sent to summon the Commons to the House of Lords for the Queen’s speech.”

After lunch, the SOFA Club then travelled across London to the Dogs Trust HQ in Finsbury, where they met the organisation’s chief executive, Clarissa Baldwin OBE.

The pupils were given a tour of the offices and then held a meeting in the Trust’s boardroom and enjoyed tea and cakes with presentations by the director of marketing and manager of communications.

Sue continued: “SOFA members were able to interview Clarissa and to ask her how SOFA could continue to promote their campaign for all dogs to be microchipped by law.

“We will be writing thank you letters to Clarissa, who thought the children were amazing, and producing a display of the day.” Alec Rijks also presented a cheque for £100 from the SOFA Club funds, to pay for the microchipping of the Dogs Trust’s rescued dogs.

Headteacher, Simon Marfleet, added: “We often receive comments on the appearance and behaviour of our children, but the comments following SOFA’s trip to London were extremely positive.” It was a busy week all round for the school though, with year three pupils attending an Egyptian day at the Castle Museum and year six pupils coming to the offices of the Evening News and EDP on Rouen Road in Norwich to learn how we produce our newspapers.

Is your school going away on a trip? Call reporter David Freezer on 01603 772418 or send your photos direct to the Evening News at www.iwitness24.co.uk