School and college students put local politicians in the hot
seat today in a ‘Question Time’ style debate hosted at St Andrews High School.
The panel consisted of Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader
Willie Rennie, Labour’s education spokesperson Claire Baker, Kirkcaldy constituency
MSP David Torrance and editor of the Fife Free Press Alan Crow. The event –
dubbed the ‘Fife Youth Initiative’ – was chaired by journalism lecturer Marie
Penman and was the first to be held in Kirkcaldy.
Students from Adam Smith College, as well as Kirkcaldy and
St Andrews High School pupils put the panelists through their paces with
questions on a range of current issues, from independence to emergency
contraception.
The ‘Fife Youth Initiative’ was recently created by Adam
Smith College and has been designed to get young people more involved in
politics.
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| From left to right: Marie Penman, Willie Rennie, Claire Baker, David Torrance, Alan Crow |
“Today’s experience gave the students a chance to become
more in touch with politics and to really make their voice heard on the issues
that matter most to them. I can’t wait to see more events like this set up in
the future.”
As blows were traded between party members on stage,
15-year-old Kirkcaldy High School student Hollie Higgins took the chance to reflect
on how watching a live debate differs to watching on tv.
“It’s much better to see it with your own eyes because you
pick up on much more. You get much more engaged because it’s exciting to watch
them argue!”
After the debate, Patrick Callaghan, headteacher of St
Andrews High School, congratulated the students and the panel and expressed his
hopes for the future.
“Holding debates like these are an excellent way to
encourage pupils to take an interest in politics which is fantastic. It’s also a
tribute to our growing links with Adam Smith College, so, I’m very happy.”
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