Talking directly to politicians about cost barriers at school

Organised by Aberlour, a Scottish children’s charity, the event offered an invaluable chance for young people to ask questions about the things that matter to them, which included costs at school, the closure of youth clubs and services, tackling child poverty and the difficulties young people are having accessing college places.

Liam came well prepared, having worked with the Cost of the School Day pupil group at his school on the subjects he would be covering. 

“These were ideas that we've had as a group back in the school, and just trying to broadcast that to the government and tell them what actually does need to be changed, and then actually pushing them to change that instead of them just saying 'oh we're going to do this and we're going to do that', and then continuing not to do that and making up excuses in the background about it. I think it's just trying to make that change for young people.”

Liam’s question was all about making sure Cost of the School Day approaches are available to all:

“How will you consistently tackle the Cost of the School Day? What would you do about making The Cost of the School Day consistent in all schools, cause at the moment it’s different in every school. So how can we make sure that schools are funded properly so that all children have a full stomach and are ready to learn?”

Each of the six politicians and candidates on the panel were asked to respond, and afterwards Liam gave his verdict on what they said:

“There was interesting points, there was also parts though, that I was kind of thinking that weren't so honest. But there was some points that they did make that I did understand and I think that there's quite a lot to take away from it. I've got a lot to take back to the group in our school.”

So what did Liam think of the taking part in the election event? He enjoyed the chance to get involved, and thought that “It's a good experience to go to.”