Brexit Is Coming...

Our last couple of lessons in International Studies have been all about Brexit: Britain and Northern Ireland leaving the European Union. The UK Prime Minister Theresa May is due to trigger Article 50 tomorrow so we thought it would be a good time to take a look at the subject and figure out what's really going on!

In order to understand Brexit, we realised that we needed to know more about the history of the EU and the UK (a union made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). We like to explore history a little differently in International Studies... As a result, the students split into two groups and performed ready-made scripts to gain more knowledge on these two topics.

Once the students had learned more about the origins of the EU and the UK, we turned our attention to the present day. We examined the reasons why David Cameron  (the previous UK Prime Minister) decided to hold an EU referendum (or vote). We also looked at the arguments from the "remain" and "leave" campaigns as well as the results.

Our second Brexit lesson focused upon the Treaty of Lisbon (2007) and Article 50. The students learned that the process for a country leaving the EU is not simple at all! Rather, the country must officially "trigger" Article 50 and a two-year negotiation process begins. (Below, we have one student enjoying his Lisbon Treaty hat!)

We explored the differences between a "soft" Brexit and a "hard" Brexit, discussing issues such as the single market and the customs union. For example, in a "soft" Brexit the UK might have access to the EU single market in return for some freedom of movement while a "hard" Brexit might mean no access to that single market.

Our class then focused upon the possible effects of Brexit upon the UK. After all, Scotland's First Minister (Nicola Sturgeon) has already called for another Scottish Independence Referendum (though Theresa May does not approve).

It was soon time for another performance! The class once again split into two groups and performed two stages of Brexit: the voting and the current aftermath. How did the students do this? By using pictures and spoons, of course!

Watch out for our full Brexit video coming soon...

- Chloe