Welcome Lord Mayor

On Tuesday, 05 May we were pleased to welcome Gerald Vernon-Jackson, CBE, the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, to speak to Year 8 students. The Mayor explained what his one-year role involves and discussed some of what makes Portsmouth such a  great and historic city to be part of. Discussion included the theatres, being the home of the Royal Navy (and the new carriers securing that status for another 40 years), how Portsmouth was made a city the same day Elizabeth II was born and the importance of Portsmouth FC.  The Mayor covered some fascinating details about our city, including that 3 billion bananas are imported through the port every year, that Portsmouth Port is on course to become the world's first zero emissions port by 2050 (which will improve our air quality as well as helping tackle climate change) and that we have a unique claim: every King or Queen over the past 600 years has walked down the High Street in Old Portsmouth. The Mayor also took questions  and allowed one pupil to try on his 6kg gold chain! We are very grateful to the Mayor for the visit.