Local Democracy Week takes place this year from 14 – 18 October and Solihull Council are organising events aimed at Sixth Form students to encourage them to get involved in politics and to increase democratic engagement.  Local Democracy Week is an annual event where local authorities from across the UK and the rest of Europe will be organising events to meet and engage with their residents.

In Solihull, we are organising events that will foster democratic participation at grass roots level and our focus this year will be young people.

We are organising two events; Question Time and our annual Sixth Form Schools’ Debating Competition.  Our main audience will be sixth form students (aged 16-18), however if any year 10 or 11 students who are keen to take part would be more than welcome to attend.

Question Time

This year will see our very first question time event that will take place on Wednesday 16 October at The Studio at The Core Theatre, Theatre Square, Homer Road from 1.30pm – 3.30pm.  The format will be the same as the TV programme and I am inviting students to come and quiz their local representatives on topics that affect them locally in Solihull.  It will be a great way for the students to meet the politicians behind the decisions that affect them every day.  We have a great line up of senior councillors and a business leader in Solihull. Please see the attached poster for more details.

Sixth Form Schools’ Debating Competition

Last year saw the launch of our first ever Solihull Sixth Form Schools Debating Competition and we are repeating the same event this year on Friday 18 October from 1pm in our Council Chamber.  Last year saw students from John Henry Newman College, Solihull School, The Sixth Form College Solihull, Tudor Grange Academy and Arden Academy all competing for the honours.  Solihull School walked away with our prestigious trophy and will be looking to retain their title this year.  Just like last year, the event will be webcast live on the Council’s website, so family and friends will be able to watch the proceedings and the students taking part will be able to look back at the debates.  You can view the 2018 debates by going to our webcast library.  Teams are made up of four students (three debaters and a timekeeper) and a training session has been organised on Wednesday 2 October from 1 – 3pm to assist the young people taking part and to give them some top tips for debating.  Please see the attached poster for more details.