As you may recall the Sixth Form held a mock election a while back. This required them to declare their manifestos to allow us, as a school to decide who to vote for. The aim of this whole process was for young people to gain an idea of the ideologies of the different parties and which one would be most suitable to offer them what they desire the most. This was to give students an insight about the elections, prompting them to learn about politics, so when they are allowed to vote, they will be prepared.
We got the opportunity to speak to two Sixth Formers, Ali Balhas and Mohamed Isse, who informed us a little bit about the election. During the process of the election a sense of leadership was acquired by the Sixth Formers. Also, it allowed students who did not know a lot about politics to widen their knowledge. Usually when teachers conduct assemblies, students disregard what is being said, however as it was led by their fellow students everyone payed more attention.
Compared to real life elections there were some similarities and differences. The Sixth Form election was more ‘straight up’, as Mohamed told us. ‘In the real elections, parties indirectly tell you stuff without telling you that they are definitely going take such actions. In the Sixth Form election, they would directly tell you what changes will happen, however a politician would say it in a way that he wouldn't give himself away. However, when it came to the voting part it was the same, you would come, write your name and choose the party you're voting for."
It was a success because a lot of people voted. Also, when the students voted they knew why they were voting for that party as they understood more about the political side. In addition, the Sixth Form students learnt a lot from the experience itself. Firstly, it is not hard to get into politics you need to make sure you have good communication and leadership skills. Furthermore, in preparation for the assemblies they conducted, they had to research information so they learnt about the different parties, what they had to offer and which one was most suitable to meet their needs. This allowed them to be more confident when explaining their point. When asked what they would change if they were to repeat this it was to make sure everyone voted and if it weren't for such short notice they would have been able to produce an even better outcome than they did.
The Sixth Formers outdid themselves taking on such a role, bringing the school together and teaching them about politics. also, congratulations to labour team, who won the crest elections with an outstanding
Words by Manar Al-misaidi
Mock Elections