Making their vote count

Pipers’ girls experienced all the drama of the General Election yesterday when they took to the polls in the Pipers Mock Election. Mirroring the activity in polling stations all around the country the girls were invited to cast their votes for one of the candidates from the four represented parties: Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Green.

The school was split into voting constituencies based on the different sections of the school community as follows:

Woodlands – for girls in Reception to Year 2
Jubilee – for girls in Years 3-6
Founders – for girls in Year 7 and 8
Upper South Wing – for girls in Year 9 (and staff)
Café – for girls in year 10 upwards

Prior to the day the candidates (all Year 10 girls) had campaigned for the other girls’ votes, researching and presenting the policies of their party and using display boards to get their message across. There was also a hustings session to allow for some debate.

Following the poll and the all-important count the Pipers’ result was as follows:

Conservative                 4 seats
Green                           1 seat
Labour                          0 seats
Liberal Democrat          0 seats

So in the Pipers poll it was a resounding success for the Conservative party who achieved something of a landslide.

Mock Election organiser, Miss Scott, said “It is incredibly important for our girls to participate in activities such as this. Not only so that they have an awareness of current events and the world around them, but also so that they can develop their understanding of the importance and value of a democratic society. I’m sure that taking part in mock elections will stand them in good stead for when they are older and able to vote in the real thing.”