A group of students from Gower College Swansea visited the Houses of Parliament earlier this month as part of the UK Youth Parliament movement.
Scott Russell, a Level 3 Technical Theatre student from the Gorseinon campus, was joined by Sian Bolton, Jack Scott and Gwen Griffiths on the trip.
Scott, who lives in the Rhondda Valleys, has a long term interest in politics and has participated in various youth council initiatives in his local area.
Prior to the event, there was a ballot in which young people were invited to choose which five – from a choice of ten topics - were the most important to them. The selected topics were then debated in London.
The young people chose transport, lowering the voting age to 16, tackling racism and religious discrimination, a curriculum for life and NHS funding.
“This was an amazing experience for us all,” says Scott. “We all feel very passionate about involving young people in decisions that will directly affect their lives.”
The Youth Parliament will now focus on the campaign to allow voting at 16, with a secondary focus on the ‘curriculum for life’ which teaches essential practical skills to young people such as managing finances.
ENDS
You can watch the debates here
Sian's speech can be found here