Pupils at a Dovercourt school got a taste of democracy in action after taking part in an election to choose their school’s Member of the Sir David Amess Children’s Parliament.

Spring Meadow Primary School was transformed into a fully functioning polling station as part of the Children’s Parliament UK Mace Tour, with pupils voting for one of six candidates – all fellow students – as part of a national initiative giving children the chance to take part in democratic debate and have their voices heard.

With support from Tendring District Council’s (TDC) Election Services team, pupils learned how voters are issued with ballot papers, how to mark them in a polling booth, and why the principle of voting in private is such an important part of fair elections.

Children also took on key roles throughout the process, helping to run the polling station and dealing with real-life scenarios such as spoilt ballot papers, before the venue was turned into a count centre where votes were carefully tallied.

The result was officially declared by TDC Chief Executive and Returning Officer Ian Davidson, bringing the experience to a close with Remmie Arden, in year 3, elected as Spring Meadow’s Member of the Children’s Parliament and Paris Arekion, in year 5, designated as deputy.

Dignitaries and guests at the event included Sharon Evans, Children’s Parliament National Coordinator, Councillor Alan Todd, Deputy Mayor of Harwich, Harwich and North Essex MP Sir Bernard Jenkin and Anna Firth.

The Sir David Amess Children’s Parliament is a non-party political initiative which helps primary-aged children understand democracy, British Values and the importance of taking part in decisions that affect them.

Mr Davidson said: “Helping young people understand how democracy works is incredibly important.

“By bringing elections into the classroom, we can give pupils a real insight into the process and hopefully inspire them to take part when they are old enough to vote.

“This was a fantastic effort by the pupils, who took on their roles with real enthusiasm and showed a great understanding of how elections are run.”

Nicky Patrick, Executive Headteacher at Spring Meadow Primary School, added: “We’re always looking for ways to bring learning to life for our pupils, and this was a brilliant way of doing just that.

“The children really embraced the experience – from casting their votes to helping run the polling station – and it’s given them a great understanding of how decisions are made in the real world.”

Tendring District Council is encouraging other schools interested in running similar mock elections to get in touch with its Election Services team.

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