Three Plymouth High School for Girls students shortlisted for Youth Parliament

Three exceptional students at Plymouth High School for Girls have been shortlisted to represent young people across Plymouth in this year's Youth Parliament, alongside nine other finalists. 

Plymouth High School for Girls is part of the high-performing Thinking Schools Academy Trust, which leads 18 successful primary and secondary schools in Medway, Kent, Plymouth and Portsmouth.

The Youth Parliament is run by the Local Authority as a way to bring students from across the wider community together and empower them to use their voices to represent young people in the region and make a difference to education in Plymouth. The representatives, who are aged between 11-18 years will meet once a week to drive change in their local areas and influence national matters. 

With only 12 young people selected from the region, the school is delighted that three of these inspirational students attend Plymouth High School for Girls. This reflects the school’s commitment to supporting and equipping their students to use their voice for positive change through a range of initiatives such as the Student Council and the Head Student Team. 

The girls have been campaigning on a range of issues that matter to them the most. Their campaigns have centred on issues such as violence against women, increasing body positivity and tackling poor mental health within schools.

Leaders and staff at the school were incredibly proud of the three students for using this opportunity to address complex but imperative societal issues and to have done so with passion, understanding and maturity. 

Each of the three students has enjoyed coming up with creative ways to engage their peers in discussions around the issues they care most about and to raise awareness of their campaigns. This has even included borrowing ideas from traditional American campaign styles, such as creating pins and badges, as well as canvassing in their local community. 

The final round of elections will take place in secondary schools across the city over the next few weeks, and Plymouth students will have the opportunity to vote for their new representatives. Two Members and Two Deputy Members of the Youth Parliament will then be appointed in March.

Simon Underdown, Headteacher at Plymouth High School for Girls, said: “Student leadership is an integral part of life at Plymouth High, and we are delighted that three of our students have been shortlisted to be amongst the twelve candidates selected for City wide Youth Parliament elections. We held an election morning on the 9th of February to enable everyone at school to cast their vote and to engage in the democratic process.

“Youth Parliament elections are part of a rich tapestry of student leadership at Plymouth High. Our Head Student Team and Earth Alliance plan and manage many of the activities in school and across our Trust whilst our House leaders and subject captains run varied and interesting activities throughout the year.

“We wish our three candidates in the Youth Parliament elections the very best of luck and know that if they are elected, they will make wonderful additions to student voice across the City.”