Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, has today joined students from four local schools in an event giving young people a taste of politics.
As part of the city’s Centenary programme, the Schools Debate challenged students to step into the shoes of MPs to debate a range of issues.
Eight teams tackled realistic debate topics with a Question Time style event taking place in the afternoon.
Teams came from St Thomas More Catholic Academy, Ormiston Horizon Academy, Haywood High School and Discovery Academy. Students from the City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College also supported the event.
At the end of the debate students cast secret ballots to choose the team that had most persuaded them with their arguments. The final decision was based 40 per cent on the vote, with the remaining 60 per cent scored by the three judges.
The winning team was ‘The Architects’ from Discovery Academy – the proposers of ‘This House believes that under 16s should not have access to social media sites’. Their clear arguments and teamwork impressed both students and judges. All of the students who took part were praised for their creativity and engagement.
Councillor Steve Watkins, Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent, said: “The Schools Debate is a brilliant way to give young people a real understanding of how politics works. The creativity, insight and enthusiasm they showed is inspiring, and it gives us real confidence that Stoke-on-Trent – and the country’s - future is in very capable hands."
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