Year 6 did a General Election 2017 lesson. We started by agreeing to look at the manifestos of each political party fairly and not to bring in any stereotypes we might have. We looked about manifestos for each party (each with about 20 main points) and discussed them, asking questions as we went along. 
Mr Armstrong spoke about his week in Westminster last year and we had some thinking time to formulate our decision.

Whilst the rest of the class played a democracy and debating game in groups, we were asked to come to our'Polling station', where we received our Ballot Paper and voted - careful not to discuss our choice. 

Lots of children changed their mind and our results were as follows: 

Labour: 66%

Green Party: 17%

Conservatives: 6%

UKIP: 6% 

Liberal Democrats: 5%

The following day, we learned about 'Exit Polls', a 'hung Parliament' and the current situation. We will share our learning with the school next week in Assembly. 

What Year 6 said about the lessons:

“I learnt about the Polling Station and democracy. I remember that the exit poll is when you have ovted and some people ask a small group of people who they voted for and the estimate the result.” Ablah

“When we got to vote it was so much fun. I learnt what was a hung parliament – its where none of the parties reach the target of 326. This means they need to make deals with other parties so they can get to 326 seats. Also, when you vote sometimes they ask who you voted for so they have a rough idea who is going to win.” Suraiya

“One thing thiat stuck with me is that no-one won! I also found out what a hung parliament is.” Haider Ali.

“First I thought you had to tick the box but you really have to cross the box. I learnt about a hung parliament. The Conservatives had the most votes but decreased their seat number.” Amaan

“I learned that you shook look at the things the different parties said and it’s really intense when you’re watching to see who has won.” Ashraful

“I know how to vote using a ballot paper” Kaleem

“It was really interesting when we voted and I learned about the different policies. We then played a game about democrat” Hiba

“I liked learning about voting because before we learned about it I didn’t know much about the parties. I like voting in my class – when my parents voted it was exactly the same. I liked reading the manifestos because I learned a lot. I enjoyed the lesson and it was very exciting” Zahra R

“I like how we read the manifestos and discussed them. I like how we used the ballot papers to vote.” Tahmid

“I enjoyed when we voted - anything can happen and it was exciting.” Mohib

“I learned all the different party names and why they wanted to be elected.” Subhan

“I learned how they elect parties and what a hung Parliament it.” Basil

“I enjoyed learning about the different policies and all the different parties. I liked learning about a hung Pariament and the exit polls.” Nader

“I learned about debating and what a polling station is and what a hugn Parliament is. I enjoyed playing the debate and democracy board game.” Zahra