Election Fever hits Vandyke!

In the build up to the 4th July general election, students at Vandyke have been involved in an engaging mock election programme.

Our cohort of A-Level politics students produced an informative and thoroughly researched assembly delivered to all year groups, and have subsequently led the mock election days. The assembly focused on explaining the purpose of elections, how the electoral system in the UK works and emphasising the importance of voting in an era of ever declining political participation, especially amongst the younger generations.

The manifestos of the 5 main political parties standing in Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard were then explained and broken into various areas of policy to give students a clear idea of who they could vote for in our mock election.

At the resulting mock elections, turnout has been pleasing, with 65% on average per year group. During all occasions, there has been a real buzz of interest and enthusiasm, with lots of discussion amongst a clearly engaged group of students, many of whom both voted and canvassed others to do so. The students have run the polling stations, taken the electoral register and done the counts to simulate the process expertly.

While most of our current students are likely to miss out on voting in a general election for the next 5 years, the process has helped student engagement in the issues that affect them, see how the election process works and foster a deeper interest in the political world that affects them all.

Our inspiring politics students themselves have led this superbly, and it’s safe to say that a career in politics and public speaking awaits many of them!