Melksham Oak students win seats on first ever youth council

TWO Melksham Oak School students have both won seats on the Wiltshire Youth Council following a successful election campaign. 

13 year old Jedidah Mundia and 17 year old Tom Hiscocks will join 39 other young people from across Wiltshire to take their seats on the first ever Wiltshire Youth Council. 

89 candidates from 21 schools and the local community took part in the election process with almost 5,000 votes cast across the county. The elections ran from 31 January to 4 February and young people voted online via their school to select their preferred candidate. 

About his new role, Tom told Melksham News, “It is a great honour to represent the school and the community – we have a voice now at the council. I am open to any ideas that the students want to put forward and I will work closely with the community to put forward a united front to the council.

“I’m trying to ensure that everyone in the school has a voice, and it would be great to open up a way for us to give feedback.” 

Jedidah said, “I want to give youth a voice and bring more diversity to the council. From the pictures I have seen of councillors, there are not a lot of people like me.” 

In their roles as Wiltshire Youth Councillors, Tom and Jedidah will:

• Meet up with Wiltshire Council leaders and have their say on local decisions.

• Work with area boards to ensure funding for youth projects has the right impact for them and their peers. 

• Inspect services to ensure they represent young people’s best interests. 

• Communicate with their peers so young people’s views are properly represented. 

• Have the opportunity to shadow council leaders as a shadow youth cabinet member for a particular area of interest. 

The 41 youth councillors are asked to commit one evening per month to attend a full youth council meeting, which will focus on issues important to the young people. They will also be expected to talk to their peers about the issues and represent their views. There will also be training to support them in their roles, covering topics including debating, running a youth inspection and delivering presentations. 

Wiltshire Youth Council has also recruited Special Advisors, these are young people that ensure that the views of the underrepresented are heard including young carers, children in care, LGBTQ+ young people and military families.   

Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for children’s services, cllr Laura Mayes, said, “Congratulations to everyone who took part in this process and well done to those who were successfully appointed. Having your voice to champion causes which are important to you and your peers is key to our work and I look forward to working with you in the future.” 

You can also follow the youth voice team on Facebook and Instagram, search for ‘Wiltshire Youth Union’. 

Melksham MP Michelle Donelan said, “Delighted to meet the two winning candidates for the Wiltshire Youth Council from Melksham Oak Jedidah Mundia and Tom Hiscocks. The inspirational pair will help ensure local youth services are aligned to what young people want and need.

“I am looking forward to meeting them again after their first council meeting.”

Alan Henderson, principle of Melksham Oak added, I am extremely proud of our newly elected Youth Council candidates, and congratulations must also go to the other 5 candidates for taking part in the election. It is of course a fantastic honour to be part of the first group of young people elected to this position.

“Student voice is a very important part of any school and the Youth Council it is an amazing opportunity for young people to feel that their voice is important and influential in the wider community, and to be part of making decisions that could really impact our town and surrounding area. I can’t wait for them to get started and I look forward to seeing what positive differences they can make.”