CHILDREN at Westacre Middle School have been having a taste of democracy recently by holding their own mock elections.

District and town council Richard Morris visited the school with two members of the Droitwich Youth Council to explain what the local council does, and all the children wrote their own speeches, outlining plans for what they would do for Droitwich if they were a member of the council.

Catherine Dooling, head of year seven, said: “The children came up with some fantastic ideas; youth clubs, free fitness classes in the park, a meet-up for young and old people to mix together, a dog park, family restaurants and park security. We were delighted with the imaginative and creative ideas of the children.”

Each year group voted separately for their preferred candidates and a shortlist of 12 made it onto the ballot papers.

Every child in the school then had a chance to vote using the equipment from the district’s own polling stations, last used for the general election.

The three winning candidates were Declan King, Charlie Harrison and Harry Jeys.