St Bees School has welcomed parents and members of the community to a mock election campaign.

Parents, staff and members of the local community were invited to watch the students present their ideas should they form a political party.

It was part of the Global Awareness Programme, which aims to develop character, encourage teamwork, leadership, independent learning and confidence in public speaking.

GAP lessons open up the students to a number of important issues the world currently faces, allowing them to form their opinions, presenting to and debating these with the rest of the class.

In the lead up to the election, the latest challenge looked at political parties and the idea of persuasion

Pupils were tasked with finding their own political party, creating a manifesto, and presenting their proposals to the public to persuade people to vote for them.

For two hours every week the GAP programme gives opportunities to students to develop all these skills and, importantly, the maturity they need to grow these competencies.

Presenting their arguments to a group of internal and external judges gave students the chance to receive further constructive feedback to build upon.

A ballot was cast at the end, and the ‘People’s Action Party’ led their party to victory.