Supportive students stand for elections

here was an impressive 93 percent turnout which managed to win the Academy a ‘Gold Democracy Award’ for encouraging students to take an interest in the democratic process through the UK Youth Parliament elections.

Students from Year 10 Holly Thompson, Jessica Hayler and Ben Beckinsale, and Year 11 student Ellis Brundle had all been working hard on their campaigns with the help of their teachers at the Academy,

The process began with a whole Academy assembly on the morning of the elections, led by Head of Humanities Mr Chris Marsh.

The assembly gave a background to the history of British democracy then followed by this Mr Rondel explaining the importance of voting.

The four student candidates were then introduced to the assembly to deliver their powerful election speeches.

The speeches included a summary of the key points from their manifestos.

During the day, Mrs Hudson’s classroom was turned into a polling station with the help from a team at West Sussex County Council.

The team brought in voting booths and ballot boxes in order to create a realistic environment of an election.

Students then had the opportunity to visit the classroom throughout the day to register and cast their votes.

The election process had a very positive impact on other students at the academy.

Year 9 student at the academy, Alex Chapman, said: “It was really interesting to have a chance to take part in the elections, making a difference in a small way. After reading the manifestos, I voted for the candidate who was passionate about issues that matter to me.”

This process has proved to be great start to the government’s new Politics initiative.