Secondary students from across region urged to engage in politics

Secondary school students from the West Midlands have been gaining insights into the significance of democratic engagement at the University of Birmingham.

The School of Government at Birmingham, is renowned as one of the UK's foremost institutions for academic research in politics and democratic participation, hosted the event which saw hundreds of Year 9 students from schools in the area joined the Future Voters Forum, a day of activity including a mock parliament and an opportunity to design their own political party.

Students also heard from Dr Peter Kerr from the Department of Political Science and International Studies about some of the latest research around parliamentary democracy.

The event is part of the RAISE programme in collaboration with the School of Government, which aims to support secondary school students by raising aspirations and breaking down perceived barriers to higher education. The programme includes events for students from year 7 to 11, and sessions are designed to motivate and inspire students around particular subjects, and in the long term raise achievement at GCSE.

RJ Taylor, one of the students who attended the event said:

“Politics is especially important for young people because a lot of people aren’t aware of the how the country is run, and young people do need to understand how politics influences every part of life”

“I really enjoyed the day [at the University of Birmingham] and particularly enjoyed the experience of creating a political party.”

Jules Singh, Senior Outreach Officer at the University of Birmingham who helped organise the event said:

“With 2024 being an important year for politics in the UK and around the globe, inspiring and engaging young people with politics is an important civic responsibility that we take very seriously at the University of Birmingham.

“The RAISE programme is designed to give students an opportunity to critically engage with politics in a fun way and to raise aspirations about studying the subject. We’ve been really impressed with the way the young people engaged with the event and taken the topic seriously.”

The Future Voters Forum is one of many events planned as part of the RAISE programme, and the team organising the event recognise the importance of engaging young people with politics throughout their school years.

Jules Singh continued:

“As part of our civic responsibility, we recognise regular calls from think tanks and charities to ensure that critical engagement with politics is embedded within education. The Future Voters Forum provides students with a way to think more about the important role that politics has in our lives and how they can use their voice, as well as their vote in the future.”