Its crunch time for the ‘Great Biscuit Election’!
21 Oct 2009
Mark is to pay a visit to Ashton High School on Friday 23rd October at 2.30pm, to oversee ‘The Great Biscuit Election’. Year 10 and 11pupils (electorates) will vote for a biscuit (candidate) which will be the only biscuit allowed to be eaten for the next five years. After the results are in, Mark will hold a question and answer session with the pupils of Ashton High School.
'The Great Biscuit Election’ is being used to replicate the process of a General Election. The pupils are being taught the importance of their vote in an election and how it will have an impact on their lives for the next five years.
Each candidate represents a biscuit. The biscuits represent certain ‘types’ of policies and messages. The candidates are the ‘Chocolate Bourbon’ which is about selling an attractive message. It looks delicious, but will it be able to deliver what it promises? The ‘Plain Digestive’, ‘what you see is what you get’. It concentrates on the essentials, but does it lack vision and can it react well to change? The final candidate is the ‘Jammie Dodger’ which has a ‘hard outside and a soft inside’. It looks interesting, but is its policies sensible?
The electorates listen to the candidates debates and make their vote. After the votes have been counted and verified the winning biscuit will be the only biscuit the electorates are allowed to eat for the next five years.
During the question and answer session the Year 10 and 11 students of Ashton High School will have the opportunity to ask Mark about a wide range of issues.
Mark said: “I think it is a great idea to replicate the election process in this way to encourage pupils to vote in elections when they become eligible to vote. This will also give them food for thought about what the consequences of not exercising their democratic right. I hope that the pupils will see how politics can bring about real change both locally, nationally and internationally. I am also looking forward to exchanging views with the pupils and will also be interested to see the outcome of the election”.
Jeanette Smith, Progress Leader Key Stage 4 and Head of Citizenship Studies said: “We really appreciate Mr Hendrick coming to talk to the students as part of the Citizenship Programme at our school. The students raise hundreds of pounds each year in active citizenship projects and to have the added support of our MP is most welcomed.”