Finalists with MCC Chairman County Councillor David Dovey
The finale of the inaugural ‘Run the Council for a Day’ contest took place on Thursday 10th April when seven lucky youngsters shared the role of “Acting Chief Executive” of Monmouthshire County Council.
Dressed in smart school uniform, the children spent the day working alongside councillors and officers at the authority’s HQ in Usk. They also witnessed a full council meeting and took a tour of the building.
The youngsters, all from Monmouthshire, saw off “incredibly fierce” competition from nearly 100 other entrants to claim their place.
They were selected by a four-strong panel of judges, which included former MP and Strictly Come Dancing star Ann Widdecombe and the bestselling author Lucy Christopher.
Winners included Amelia Worsley, eight, from Usk, Bethany Woollard, nine, from Abergavenny, Anna Thomas, 12, from Raglan, Stuart Pass, 15, from Caldicot, Ruth Chohan, 15, from Abergavenny, James Taylor, 15, from Caldicot, and Angharad Clarke, 15, of Llanfoist.
The overall winner was Sean Cupis, who attends the Dell Primary School in Chepstow. Sean, 11, amassed the greatest overall score.
Each winner received glowing praise from the judges and from Councillor David Dovey, the council’s Chairman.
Councillor Dovey said the contest, the first of a kind, was an “overwhelming success”, adding: “It was a great privilege to meet the young people who came in to run the council for a day. We often dismiss young people as being disinterested; these young people prove just how wrong that view is. They came to us full of ideas, interested in what we do and keen to learn more. I really enjoyed spending time with them and am looking forward to seeing what they go on to achieve in life.”
He added: “I know that the judges were impressed with all of the entries that we received proving that young people bring fresh ideas. It’s a fantastic start to a competition that aims to engage young people in the democratic process and I warmly congratulate each and every entrant.”
The competition was open to children aged between seven and 18 who live within the administrative boundaries of Monmouthshire County Council.
Almost 100 children entered after hearing about it through the authority’s Twitter and Facebook accounts. These were “painstakingly” whittled down to 28 finalists and judges David Davies MP, Lucy Christopher, Ann Widdecombe and Cllr Peter Fox had the task of selecting eight clear winners.
Amelia Worsley, who attends Usk CiW Primary School, focused her entry on the environment. It read: “If I was in charge of MCC I would encourage people not to swear or smoke near children. Smoking causes lots of litter and can damage people‘s health. Stopping smoking will save money and lives. I would also make dog owners clean up their dog’s poo otherwise all of Monmouthshire will be full of dog poo and I don’t want that!”
James Taylor, a year-11 pupil at Caldicot School, said the competition was a “fantastic opportunity” for young people to have their say. His entry added: “If I ran MCC for the day, I would make sure that all plans for the regeneration of Caldicot’s town centre and Caldicot School were complete. Also, I would make sure that dates for the completion of these projects had been set and that people in the local community had been informed of these dates.”
Overall winner Sean Cupis, from Chepstow, said education and children’s safety was paramount. Sean’s entry added: “If I was in charge of MCC, I would make sure that recycling is used more and that residents stop littering. I would make sure there is a leisure centre or swimming pool close to areas for children. Libraries will have a wider range of books and a more secure [borrowing] system.”
Each of the eight winners also received prizes from Engage to Change, the council’s youth initiative.
Tracey Thomas of the council’s Youth Service said: “We were delighted to have been involved in this event, and would like to congratulate each of the entrants for taking the time and trouble to make their voices heard.”
Peter Fox, the leader of the council, hopes the contest will now become an annual event.
“The first Run the Council for a Day competition was fantastic, but we hope to make next year’s event even bigger and even more exciting,” he added.
