Boys and staff from across the school headed to the polls this week to take part in a mock election.
Boys taking part were all studying A-Level politics, with Upper Sixth Formers standing for each political party and Lower Sixth Formers counting the votes cast. The aim of the election was to give boys an interactive and realistic insight into what it might be like to experience a real election and count.
The candidates were:
Green Party – Thomas Baddeley and Fabian Wyer-Roberts
Liberal Democrat – Huw Burton-Pye and Hugh Williams
Scottish National Party – Thomas Hudson and Joseph Maravala
Conservative Party – Dylan Mitchell and Samuel Bayley
Labour Party – Mark Neyshtadt and Luke Dover
Election addresses were placed on prominent noticeboards while the candidates went about generating an election campaign, which involved creating a manifesto, producing leaflets and posters, outlining policy areas and reasons to vote for them. The final part of their campaign was delivering their speeches to the whole school in a special election assembly. An authentic ‘hustings’ style meeting was also held, to give boys the opportunity to question each candidate on a range of different areas.
The school was divided into seven constituencies: the six houses and staff, with universal suffrage for all boys and staff.
Polling day took place on Thursday 7 December with boys and staff able to make their vote before school, at short break, at lunch break and after school in the Great Hall Foyer with polls closing at 5pm. Three different ballot papers were issued in order to compare three different electoral systems: First Past The Post, Supplementary Vote, and Proportional Representation.
The Scottish National Party Candidate, Upper Sixth Former Thomas Hudson, told us, “I decided to stand as a candidate due to my enjoyment of politics. This mock election gave me an opportunity to engage with something I am interested in and the struggles and successes of campaigning.”
Mock elections such as this are important as they give students a chance to be involved in an event that they may have to wait years to actually take part in. It gives an opportunity for them to engage with politics if they do not usually do so, and also gives the representatives a chance to experience the election process in greater depth, with preparation required through speeches and hustings.”
The election was led by History and Politics Teacher, Mr Henry Vann, who as an active respected local councillor has had first-hand experience of standing as a candidate and being part of an election and count.
