This week students at FHS have had the opportunity to experience the democratic process first hand by participating in a mock general election. This was organised by the politics department and Lower Sixth politics students stood as candidates. Our aim was to promote democratic engagement and to ensure that our young people have a clear understanding of the electoral process. It was a resounding success come up with enthusiastic participation from students across all year groups.
Lower Sixth politics students were selected at random to represent the five national parties standing across the UK. The students had to prepare manifesto summaries, make posters, and campaign for their particular party.  In the lead up to our mock election we held an informative assembly which covered the entire electoral process from calling an election and the importance of voting to the announcement of results. This ensured that our students had an appreciation and understanding of our election process.  We also held a poster competition, which was won by Atalanta in year 9 who designed a fantastic poster with the slogan ‘No vote, no say’.
This was followed by a hustings on Tuesday where our candidates each gave a speech on their party’s policies to encourage students to vote for them. On Wednesday we held a mock general election where everyone in the school, including staff, was invited to vote during morning registration. In total we had 22 constituencies, representing the form groups in school, and the staff. The results were announced in the playground at lunchtime. The Green Party were victorious with 11 seats, the Conservatives won 6, Labour 4 and the Liberal Democrats 1. The Green Party would be forming the FHS government – congratulations to Tessa and Sophia, who have promised a greener future at FHS and to all the politics students for producing such engaging campaigns. Hopefully we have inspired students at FHS to become politicians of the future and to see the value and importance of voting.
Ms Stansfield, Head of Sixth Form
