A classroom mock election: a week-long form-time activity
This toolkit is designed for something the Hansard Society's excellent nationwide programme doesn't cover: a mock election you can run any time of year, in form time, without waiting for a general election to come along. It runs across a single school week — roughly 15–20 minutes a day across five days — and it works as a self-contained activity. No specialist materials required.
It comes in three versions, one for each broad age group. The progression is deliberate: at primary, students invent their own parties to make their school better; at secondary, they engage with trade-offs and broader issues; at sixth form, they can — if you want — represent real political parties and argue positions they don't personally hold, which is the gold-standard outcome of civic education.
Pick the version that matches your year group and adapt it freely. The non-partisan principles, however, apply throughout.
The non-partisan ground rules (all ages)
- Equal time for every represented party or group. Same number of minutes to speak, same poster space, same access to materials. Always.
- Teachers don't signal their views. If you wouldn't say it in front of an Ofsted inspector, don't say it during this activity. Where students disagree, let them debate it — don't weigh in.
- Discuss policies, not people. Students argue for and against a position; they don't ridicule or stereotype anyone who holds it.
- Plan ahead for contentious topics. Some manifesto ideas will be controversial. Have a thought about how you'll handle it before, not during.
- Sense-check the balance. Are the same students always representing the same parties? Are some viewpoints getting more airtime than others? Adjust mid-week if needed.
Version 1: Primary (Years 5–6)
Concept: "What would make our school better?" Students form their own parties (3–5 groups) and campaign on positive ideas about lunchtime, breaktime, the playground, the canteen, equipment, school trips — things they can actually picture and care about. Avoid national political issues entirely at this age. Keep it positive: parties campaign for things, not against other parties.
Explain what an election is in plain terms: people give ideas, everyone votes, the most popular idea wins. Split the class into 3–5 parties of similar size. Each party picks a name, a colour, and a leader. They start brainstorming three ideas that would make the school better.
Each party finalises their three pledges, written clearly so any classmate would understand them. The teacher can help refine vague ideas into concrete ones (e.g. "make lunch better" → "more choice of fruit at lunchtime"). Parties also start making one poster each.
Posters go up on the classroom wall. Each party prepares a short speech (one minute, one speaker per party) explaining their three pledges. Encourage them to say why their ideas would help, not just what the ideas are.
Each party gives their speech. After all speeches, classmates can ask one question per party. Keep it firm on time so every party gets equal attention.
Set up a polling station: a box with a slit, blank ballot slips listing the parties. Students write an X next to their choice, fold the slip, post it. Two students act as counters with the teacher overseeing. Announce the winner and — if there's time — discuss which pledges from any party the class would like the school to actually consider.
What primary children take away: the basic shape of an election. The ideas of pledges, posters, speeches, voting and counting. The experience of making a choice in private and seeing the result. Don't worry if they can't articulate this — the muscle memory is the point.
Version 2: Secondary (Years 7–11)
Concept: student-invented parties on broader issues. Parties campaign on issues that affect the school, the local area, or young people generally — things like school policies, local services, climate, transport, online safety. Students begin engaging with trade-offs: if you spend more on X, you have less for Y. The teacher's job is to make those trade-offs visible without telling students which side of them to land on.
Class brainstorms 10–15 issues that affect young people in the school, locally, or nationally. Split into 4–5 parties. Each party picks 3–4 issues to focus on, plus a name, logo and colour. Encourage range — if every party is campaigning on the same three issues, the election won't be interesting.
Each party writes a short manifesto: their position on each chosen issue and one concrete proposal for each. Encourage students to think about who else might be affected and how they'd pay for what they're proposing. The teacher's prompts here are key — ask "what's the downside?" rather than "is this a good idea?"
Parties produce campaign materials: a poster, a one-page leaflet, and a short script for a hustings speech. If the form group has phones available and you're comfortable with it, parties can also draft a 30-second "social media post" version of their pitch — drawn or written, not actually posted.
Each party gives a two-minute speech. Then classmates ask questions — and crucially, parties get to challenge each other's positions, briefly and respectfully. The teacher chairs strictly: equal time, no personal attacks, redirect any "yeah but you're stupid" into "what specifically do you disagree with?"
Vote and count as in the primary version. Then — and this is the most important part — discuss the result. Did the most popular party have the most popular ideas, or the most popular presentation? Did anyone change their mind during the week? Were there any policies from the losing parties that the class actually liked? End by asking how a real election handles the same questions.
What secondary students take away: the experience of building, defending and questioning an argument. The realisation that good policy involves trade-offs. The skill of disagreeing with someone's idea without attacking them as a person. These are some of the most transferable skills civic education offers.
Version 3: Sixth form / Year 12–13
Concept: real political parties, real arguments. Sixth form students are old enough to research a real party's manifesto, represent its position fairly, and defend ideas they don't personally hold — which is the most demanding and most valuable thing this activity can do. Crucially, with the voting age being extended to 16, many sixth formers will be enfranchised before they leave school. This version is preparation for the real thing.
An important note before running this version: this is the model where the non-partisan ground rules matter most. Students are representing real parties with real views, some of which will be controversial. The teacher's role becomes more like a referee than a director.
Decide which parties to represent. A balanced selection from the parties currently sitting in Parliament is the safest starting point. Split the class into groups, one per party. Important: students should not just pick the party they personally support. Either allocate randomly, or — better — deliberately give students a party that isn't their first choice. The skill being built is arguing fairly for a position you don't necessarily hold.
Each group's research task: find the party's current published positions on three or four issues the group selects (housing, climate, education, healthcare, immigration — whatever they want to focus on). Use the parties' actual websites and manifestos, not commentary about them.
Each group writes a short statement of their party's positions on the chosen issues, in the party's own framing. They then prepare two things: a two-minute opening speech, and answers to three anticipated tough questions (the group should think of these themselves — what would a sceptic ask?).
Each party gives its opening statement. Other students ask questions. The teacher chairs strictly: equal time, no personal attacks on parties or their supporters, no ridicule. If a student asks a loaded question, the teacher rephrases it neutrally.
This is the optional but high-value session. Each party defends one position they hold that the rest of the class is likely to find difficult. The student representing the party doesn't have to personally agree with the position — they have to make the strongest case for it. After they've done it, classmates can challenge, and the representing student has to respond as their party would. This is the skill: defending a view you may not share, on its strongest terms, without misrepresenting it.
Run a secret ballot. Two students count, with teacher oversight. Announce the result.
Then ask: did anyone vote differently than they would have at the start of the week? Why? Whose argument shifted them, and what made it work — was it the policy, the framing, the speaker? End by discussing what this means for real elections: how do voters in the real world actually decide? Is it always about policy, or is it sometimes about presentation? What does that mean for what voters should pay attention to?
What sixth form students take away: the genuinely transferable skills of researching a position fairly, representing it accurately, defending it under scrutiny, and recognising the difference between an argument's substance and its presentation. For those about to turn 16 or 18 in time for a real election, this is direct preparation.
What you'll need (any version)
- Paper for posters (A3 or A4)
- Coloured pens / pencils
- Blank ballot slips on Day 5 — a simple printed list of parties, one per student
- A box or container with a slit cut into it for the polling station
- For sixth form: access to research time (in or outside form time) for Day 1
A note on running this around a real election
If a real general election happens to be coming up, the Hansard Society's nationwide Mock Elections programme provides a fuller toolkit, a national result to compare against, and a 50-year track record. This classroom version is designed for the gaps in between. Both have value — and used at different times, they complement each other.
Sources and references: Hansard Society research on citizenship activities and adult engagement; Department for Education national curriculum for citizenship (2013); UK Parliament Education Service. For the sixth form version, real party positions should be drawn from each party's official website and current manifesto rather than from secondary commentary. Designed for use in UK schools.
For teachers
Used this in your school? We'd love to hear how it went and what we should add for the next version.
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