This Thursday 9th October, four pupils from Etone College attended the first meeting of the Nuneaton Youth Parliament, hosted by Nuneaton's MP, Jodie Gosling, at Nuneaton Town Hall. The Nuneaton Youth Parliament brought together Schools and Colleges from across the Parliamentary constituency.
The Mayor of Nuneaton and Bedworth, Bhim Saru, attended the start of the Parliament, wishing the pupils a successful meeting and thanking them for getting involved in local democracy. Following this the pupils discussed, in small groups, one thing that they enjoyed about Nuneaton, and one thing they would improve. There were a variety of excellent answers, praising Nuneaton's close knit communities, but also suggestions that improvements could be made in public transport and road infrastructure.
The pupils later debated the desired values for the Youth Parliament, using the Nolan Principles (ethical standards expected of public office holders) as a starting point. Our Etone pupils argued that the most important Nolan Principle is integrity, which also happens to be one of Etone's Learner Values!
Later on, pupils had a chance to do some questions and answers with the local MP, Jodie Gosling, which included discussions regarding housing, anti-social behaviour and town centre regeneration. At the end of the meeting, pupils agreed the core areas of focus for future meetings of the Nuneaton Youth Parliament - which included safer communities, environment & leisure, and education.
Before the meeting closed, pupils were joined by Councillor Nicky King, the Borough Council Cabinet member for Business and Regeneration, who spoke to pupils about what the local authority was doing for town centre regeneration.
