Held at Mary Immaculate High School in Wenvoe on Friday, March 20, the event brought together Year 11 pupils from five high schools to question Senedd candidates ahead of Wales’ upcoming election on May 7.
With 16-year-olds eligible to vote in Wales for the first time, the hustings gave students a chance to challenge representatives from seven political parties on issues including health, transport and the cost of living.
Samantha Dickinson, assistant headteacher at Mary Immaculate, said: “We were thrilled that the students had the opportunity to ask questions that are really important to them.
“The wide range of responses they received from the politicians demonstrates how lucky we are in Wales to have such a thriving democracy.”
She said it was especially valuable for first-time voters.
Ms Dickinson said: “Politics is so important, and for these students voting for the first time in this election, this event really opened their eyes to the range of views out there.
“We’re really proud of the head team who organised such a successful event.”
Pupils from Corpus Christi, St Illtyd’s, The Bishop of Llandaff, and St Teilo’s also took part.
They questioned politicians from the Conservatives, Greens, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, Propel, and Reform UK on topics including social media, bullying, inclusion, and the cost of living.
The event also included light-hearted quick-fire questions about pets, holidays, and reality TV.
Mary Immaculate’s head team received hustings training from The Politics Project, a non-partisan democratic education and engagement organisation, and took part in practice debates.
Welsh Conservative candidate Callum Davies, Green candidate Anthony Slaughter, Labour’s Peter Bradbury, Liberal Democrat Rodney Berman, Plaid Cymru’s Zaynub Akbar, Propel’s Neil McEvoy, and Reform UK’s Joseph Martin all took part.
