Mock Election Day at Senior School

The UK General Election has provided the ideal opportunity to enable students to use their voices to speak up for issues they care about and to exercise their right to political opinion. In the year which has been dubbed the ‘Year of Elections’, as almost half the global population head for the polls, we decided to make the UK election a memorable experience by creating the inaugural Blackheath High School Mock Election, designed to engage the whole school in an authentic and exciting real-time democratic event, complete with candidates representing the main political parties, hustings and a paper voting system. 

Blackheath High School acting as a constituency and Sixth Form students nominated themselves as candidates, representing all the main parties. They developed full-scale campaigns to gain support from constituents, students and staff. A range of posters were created, plastered (and sabotaged!) around Blackheath High. Political parties used their campaigns to fire accusations at their rivals over issues such as tax and the environment. 

Each party created campaign videos to show the school, encompassing their policies, referencing topical news stories (a milkshake played a large role in Reform UK’s video) and encouraging students to be more politically aware of issues concerning Britain and the wider world. Live ‘Question Time’ style head-to-head debates allowed younger students to understand their voting choices and make informed choices in an energetic, enthusiastic environment. Students of the BHS constituency scrutinised the candidates with questions such as: ‘What are you going to do about child poverty?’ and ‘How are you going to improve the NHS waiting lists and fund the NHS?’. 

Students also learned the logistics of voting – from registration, to how to use a polling station, to clear instructions on how to cast your vote on the day. At our Polling Station, voter turnout was high at 76%. With voting concluded by break time, the History and Politics Department counted the votes. As in the General Election, the ‘First Past the Post’ system was used to decide the winner.  

The Liberal Democrats were victorious in the Blackheath High School constituency, gaining an impressive 44% of the vote. In second place, with 22% of the vote was the Green Party, closely followed by the Conservative Party, the Labour Party and lastly Reform UK.  

Written by Renee Robinson, Year 12 and a candidate for the Conservative Party in the mock election. 

Deputy Head (Academic) Kristina Lewis added, “For the young women in our schools, it feels even more important to spark their political curiosity given figures from 2023 showing the number of UN member states with female leaders fell to 12, down from 17 in 2022. UN Women predicts that at the current rate, gender equality in the highest positions of power will not be reached for another 130 years. The aim of our mock election was to inspire a generation of intelligent and empathetic young women to use their voices to speak up for issues they care about and we’re delighted at how engaged they all were.” 

We reached out to political expert and BHS alumna Margaret Jay, Baroness Jay of Paddington for her thoughts: “I think school mock elections are very important as they introduce young people to the importance of voting and taking an active part in our democracy. One of my granddaughters turned 18 in June, and so just qualified to vote in this week’s General Election. She has also just finished A-levels so is away on holiday, but I’m glad to say she insisted on getting a postal vote. Another important piece of education!” 

Read Kristina Lewis’ article in the Blackheath High School in the Media.

Election Day at Junior School 

Meanwhile at Junior School, our pupils similarly got to learn about why the country is having a General Election, how the voting process works and how citizens can influence the way our country is run. 

To demonstrate how an election works and to encourage the pupils to be part of choices made in the school the School Council decided to hold our own election. Using suggestions given in one of our School Council playground surgeries, five options were selected to vote on. Year 5 and Year 4 councillors then prepared arguments supporting their chosen suggestion. 

• Orange Party – Pebble and shells for our new well-being garden 

• Green Party – More opportunity for Forest School for older girls 

• Purple Party – Pop up activities 

• Blue Party – Water feature for our new well-being garden 

• Red Party – Basketball Club 

Kristina Lewis from Senior School gave a very informative assembly talking about the democratic process. Then the School Councillors got their opportunity to win votes with their manifestos setting out their arguments for choosing their party. 

Everyone then got a chance to cast their vote in the school hall and get the pupil voice heard. 

The Art of Disagreeing Agreeably 

In this world of social media, fragmented news sources, ‘cancel culture’ and polarising politics, where a vast wealth of opinions, claims and counterclaims battle for supremacy, it feels more important than ever to help young people navigate the maze of diverse perspectives and understand the art of ‘disagreeing well’. Our Deputy Head Academic, Kristina Lewis, has designed an Enrichment Programme module for students in Year 7-9 to explore what disagreeing well looks like, and how to engage in civil discourse.   

Kristina explains: “Disagreeing well requires us to focus on the issue at hand rather than attacking the person expressing an opposing view, resorting to personal insults or engaging in toxic exchanges. By disagreeing with respect, we teach students to contribute to a culture of healthy discourse.  

“We often talk about the importance of diversity, which offers many positive outcomes but also means difference. And sometimes difference can involve disagreement, which can sometimes lead to division. Therefore, learning to disagree well is not optional, but rather a core survival skill.  

“Openness to engage with differing opinions constructively means we are willing to learn beyond the echo chamber of our social circles. Although it can often feel safe to surround ourselves with people who agree and embody similar ideas to our own, by embracing diverse perspectives, we open the door to a much deeper understanding of the world.  

“As we prepare our students to be the future leaders, thinkers, and contributors to society, mastering the art of disagreeing well empowers them to navigate the complexities of the modern world. It strengthens their ability to solve problems collaboratively, fosters resilience in the face of adversity, and ensures that their voices contribute meaningfully to dialogue. Democracy demands that we do more than simply shout at each other, and I’m confident that our school community is a place where reasoned dialogue can flourish.” 

• The course aims to teach students skills which might help when dealing with ideas they disagree with, beginning with some personal reflections around big questions such as:   

• Can you remain calm when other people say things you dislike?  

• Can you comfortably accept when friends or family reach different conclusions on a controversial issue than you might have reached?  

• Do you become emotional when you’re having a hard time explaining why you think another person’s views are wrong?  

• Have you ever become angry at another person during an argument? Why might this happen? 

Students also analysed an Oxford Union debate about whether Britain should be ashamed of Winston Churchill, listening to arguments put forward by proposition and opposition, before coming up with their own thoughts. The Oxford Union has been debating since 1823 and continues to offer an important space for often controversial issues to be discussed in an open forum.