Millthorpe School student councillors to become full members of the governing body

The two winners of the election at Millthorpe School, in Nunthorpe Avenue, will find themselves making major budgetary decisions and taking a hand in the appointment of new teachers.

Pupils at the school are currently forming parties and choosing candidates to represent those parties and possibly, ultimately, the student body.

Claire Lamb, the school’s head of student voice, said: “In some schools the student council lacks real power.

“What we are trying to create here is a system where students can experience the demands of real leadership and can make a lasting contribution to the school.”

Sian Rees, the school’s associate head teacher said: “It’s a big step to take, but we are confident that our students have the maturity and creativity to be able to make a very positive impact.”

Parties formed by the pupils have been asked to come up with priorities which they will campaign on.

For example, one party has chosen environmental issues as its key theme, while another has put sport and healthy eating at the top of the agenda.

Each party has its own campaign budget and next week local MP Hugh Bayley will visit the school to give candidates advice on how to run a successful election campaign.

Gareth Davies, assistant head teacher at the school, said it may be surprising to some that young people are as politically minded as they are. He said: “The general perception of young people today is that they are apathetic about local politics, but we certainly don’t think that is the case.

“When Millthorpe School ran its mock election last year, staff were astonished at how popular politics turned out to be with young people.

“Around a quarter of the school population were involved in actively campaigning and on the day every student turned out to vote.

“Not only that, many of the students involved showed a creativity and enterprise that was astonishing for their age.”