To mark UK Parliament Week and the upcoming general elections, St Edward’s School in Poole has held their own general election, creating a school version of the UK parliament system.
UK Parliament Week is an annual festival which takes places across the whole country, between 2nd and 8th November, to explore how the UK parliament is relevant to individuals and their communities. With the timely announcement of the UK General Elections set to take place on the 12th December this year, St Edward’s School in Poole held their own general election to help develop students understanding of parliament and the UK political system.
Students from years 8, 9 and 13 represented the Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Green Parties. Each student presented their position on two issues: environment and education. Their policies were then shared with their fellow students during tutor time throughout UK Parliament Week via ‘podcast-style’ election broadcasts. The broadcasts were prepared by each of the candidates with support from St Edward’s Politics Society.
Sara Sinaguglia, St Edward’s Subject Lead History & Subject Coordinator Politics, said:
“This year’s Parliament Week began just a few days after the historic announcement that a general election would be held in December for the first time since 1923. We decided to hold our own school election based on the UK Parliamentary system to give our students the opportunity to learn more about politics and our own voting procedures. Our candidates all did a sterling job in representing their parties and were well received by their fellow students.”
Once students had seen all three broadcasts, they were provided with a ballot sheet to cast their vote on Thursday 7th November. Votes were collated by the Politics Society, which consists of sixth form and lower school students, using FPTP before announcing the results on Friday 8th November. 746 votes were cast across the school, from years 7-13 with Labour securing a 39% majority of votes.
Michael Antram, St Edward’s Headteacher, said:
“The engagement of our students in the school elections has been fantastic. Each candidate eloquently and confidently represented their chosen parties and has done themselves and St Edward’s proud. We hope we’ve inspired many students to vote in the future when they are eligible.”
For more information on St Edward’s School, visit: www.website.network.st-edwards.poole.sch.uk/