As the United Kingdom geared up for the general election on Thursday 4 July, our schools wanted to ensure the voices of those who cannot vote yet are still heard. Although the voting age in the UK is 18, this initiative emphasises that the opinions of younger students are equally important.
In a bid to engage students in the democratic process, a parallel election was held across our schools to coincide with the national event. The initiative allowed students to cast their votes for candidates running to be our local members of parliament, simulating the actual voting process.
Much like the Student Voice Council elections, this parallel election gave students a platform to express their views on a much larger scale.
Each school was provided with resources to run their parallel elections, including custom ballot papers for each constituency and ballot boxes to ensure proper voting procedures.
Twenty-two Ormiston schools took part and when polls closed the results were as follows:
| Conservative | Green | Labour | Lib Dem | Reform | Independent/Other | Spoiled | Total votes cast |
| 390 | 883 | 2178 | 564 | 2060 | 604 | 145 | 6824 |
| 6% | 13% | 32% | 8% | 30% | 9% | 2% |
In addition, Student Voice leads were asked to send their results to be included in a nationwide tally conducted by the Association for Citizenship. Many of our schools also shared pictures of their election activities on social media using the hashtag #OATvotes and tagging @OrmistonAcads.
All resources shared with the schools were made available online, ensuring that every academy had what they needed to participate fully in this exciting democratic exercise. This initiative not only provides a practical lesson in citizenship but also highlights the importance of every individual’s voice in shaping our future.