ROMSEY Town Council recently hosted a youth democracy event for year 10 pupils, with the aim of giving them a better understanding of local government and how to vote in elections.
Romsey School and Mountbatten School pupils had the opportunity to quiz Romsey and Test Valley councillors and had the chance to vote on issues using real ballot boxes.
The pupils also listened to officers from Test Valley Borough Council who talked through the Government voting process and Hampshire Youth Parliament.
Organiser Cllr Chris Birkett, from Romsey Town Council, said: “This is the first time we have held this event, and the feedback has been fantastic. Not only did pupils leave with a greater insight of the roles that local councils undertake, but also the knowledge on how they can make their voice heard.”
The initiative was part of the Make Your Mark campaign, which is the UK Youth Parliament’s largest youth consultation and runs annually in March.
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Pupils were asked to take part in a ballot which gives 11–18-year olds the chance to select the issue they think most affects them and their peers. Drawing from a long list of ten topics, the ballot for 2024 includes issues such as crime, safety, transport, and international relations.
Vicky Hall, careers adviser and Hampshire Youth Parliament lead, said: “It was a pleasure to support Romsey Town Council at the youth democracy education workshop at the town hall. Such a great opportunity to listen and gather their votes from the students at Test Valley schools, on the topics that matter the most to them.”
The votes cast at the youth democracy event were added to the official Make Your Mark results for 11 – 18-year-olds living in Hampshire. On the day, the top topic was culture, media, and sport. In second place was jobs, the economy, and benefits. Across the 25,000 young people who voted in Hampshire, climate change came out on top, followed in second place by health and wellbeing.
The Mountbatten School hoped the event would be repeated. Megan Roodt, head of humanities, internationalism and geography, said: “Staff said that it was excellent for our students to experience the democratic process first-hand, and our students really enjoyed having their voice heard. We think it is vital that our students see themselves as stakeholders in the local community and this achieved just that.”
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