Politics students hone their negotiation skills
Posted on 22nd October 2025
Clockwise from left: Charlotte D-B, Arianna M, Bea C (Year 1) Elliott W, Alice S , Miles M-D and Molly H (Year 2)
Students from HSFC’s Politics department took part in a special enrichment seminar titled Tackling Polarisation: Developing Democratic Negotiation Skills.
Students welcomed Perry Walker a specialist meetings facilitator who has worked on many projects relating to democracy, representation of different views with a focus upon finding consensus.
On 8th October, he delivered an afternoon active skills workshop aiming at finding common ground through in-depth discussion. The topic chosen was the role of prisons in today’s society.
Students began by discussing the differing views on the best purpose and aims of prisons. They then sought to hone their negotiation skills through careful role play of characters with very different views. Priti Patel, Rory Stewart and Angela Davies.
Perry Walker has kindly volunteered to help develop the skills of our students many times over the years, and we look forward to hosting him again in the future.
Article by Marco Martinelli