Pupils’ passionate ideas inspired district councillors

Students from 14 schools in the district attended the annual Three Rivers Youth Council at the main council chamber of Three Rivers District Council on Monday 2 March.

The children learned what working life was like at the council and what services and projects it is responsible for. The Chair of the Council, Cllr Stephen King, Youth Champion’s Cllr Jon Tankard, Cllr Chris Lloyd, Cllr Ciaran Reed, and Cllr Narinder Sian briefed the pupils on their roles and how local democracy works as well as being asked some challenging questions from the students.

Later in the day, the pupils were tasked with creating posters and presenting an idea they would like to see happen at their school – with the winning idea by popular vote receiving £1,000 from the council to become reality.

It was a tight vote, but the winning team was Christ Church Chorleywood Church of England Primary School. The pupils proposed three initiatives focused on enhancing the playground and outdoor learning spaces:

• Development of growing areas to support gardening and environmental learning
• Creation of a sensory garden to provide a calming and inclusive space
• Improvements to the school’s recycling facilities to encourage sustainability

Cllr Tankard said: “It was inspiring to see how much the students care for their respective schools and their passion on how they could make their schools better. Their enthusiasm and innovative ideas inspire us all to take meaningful action.”

The schools that participated were:

Yorke Mead, Arnett Hills, Eastbury Farm, Little Green, Malvern Way, Christ Church Chorleywood, Chorleywood Primary, St Peter’s, Russell, St Johns, Shepherds, Maple Cross, Harvey Road, and Ricky Park.