Artificial intelligence, lowering the voting age and the state of the jobs market have all been debated by schoolchildren in Wakefield as part of a nationwide study.
Dame Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner for England, visited Outwood Grange Academy on Thursday as part of the “Big Future” survey she is conducting with one million schoolchildren across the UK.
The survey was set up in response to the government lowering the voting age to 16 ahead of the next general election, with the commissioner saying she wanted to find out young people’s “biggest concerns” and “their hopes for the future”.
Dame Rachel said children were “not getting what they need in terms of policy”.
The 14 and 15-year-olds who spoke to Dame Rachel offered a mixed view on how optimistic they were about their future prospects in life and work.
One student, Celine, told her: “I’m hopeful for the future because I’ve got a really great education. However, I am worried about climate change.”