The Petersfield School (TPS) is set to hold its own parallel general election, dubbed ‘TPS Votes’ on Thursday 4 July. All students will be excused from lessons to cast their votes, using ballot papers in a booth set up in the school’s Studio space. The results will be tallied on the same day, with the outcome shared with the school community the following day.
In preparation for this event, year 10 student journalists have been diligently researching the policies of the five national parties, with a particular focus on issues that most significantly impact young people. Their findings have been compiled into three informative videos, all of which are available on the TPS YouTube channel.
The school has provided comprehensive support for this initiative, organising candidate events and special assemblies to educate students about the workings of parliamentary democracy and general elections.
TPS extended invitations to candidates from the five national parties standing in East Hampshire, the constituency where the school is located. Recognising that the student body hails from approximately seven different constituencies, TPS opted to invite national party candidates. These candidates participated in a series of ‘TPS Question Time’ events, allowing students to engage directly and pose questions about their policies. Following these, TPS’ student journalists conducted one-on-one interviews with the candidates.
The full recordings of the TPS Question Time events, along with the candidate interviews, have been made available to all TPS students.
Mark Marande, Headteacher of TPS, expressed his enthusiasm for the initiative: “We are very passionate about engaging our students with the general election and politics more widely. We want them to get in the habit of voting, grappling local, national and global issues and exercising their democratic rights. I have been hugely impressed with how much enthusiasm the students have shown for grilling our local candidates and learning about the manifestos of the different parties. We have shared with them the importance of being active participants in their society and I am very encouraged for the future led by them and their generation.”
Neil Strowger, Trust Leader at BET, said: “Through innovative teaching methods, Bohunt Education Trust’s approach to education is to prepare students to become ‘game-changers’ with the knowledge skills and confidence to positively impact society. This inspired approach to civic development at TPS fosters political engagement and prepares students to be informed future citizens.”
