And in addition to overhauling exams, I’d also like to see every school in England with a fully qualified counsellor on the staff, whose responsibility it is to work with the pupils and staff who suffer from mental health and wellbeing issues.
— Layla Moran
From a young age, pupils are put under immense amounts of pressure in high-stakes exams. Often, they’re made to feel like their whole future depends on how they perform in these narrowly focussed tests.
Apprenticeships, when they are delivered well, have the potential to offer massive benefits to our employers and our economy as a whole by upskilling our workforce, and offer a vital alternative to those who feel that a more academic route is not the right one for them.
Studying abroad should not be something that only the wealthy can afford. Every student deserves the opportunity to experience other cultures, make new friendships, share ideas and widen their horizons.
The benefits of studying abroad are huge. You can pick up a new language, develop a love for another culture, and pick up new skills, hobbies and work experience to boost your CV.
By refusing to give 16- and 17-year olds the vote, the Conservative Government are risking worsening voter apathy and being on the wrong side of history.
Brexit has certainly exposed an ugly underbelly of our democracy. It is clear to me that we must ensure that the many Leave voting communities must never be left behind again.
We boast of being one of the oldest democracies in existence and it is a point of pride for many of us that British society represents a beacon of hope for repressed peoples living in authoritarian states around the world.
The creative industries, a source of optimism in recent years owing to, among other things, a resurgence on the world stage of British music, have come out foursquare against Brexit.
The war against sexism is portrayed increasingly a battle long ago won. To which my response is, 'if only'.
I’ve been a fan of Eddie Izzard since school.
My subjects were maths and physics. I truly appreciate the value in sciences, but understand the difficulty finding and retaining teachers for these subjects, especially when most of my Imperial cohort ended up as management consultants or in finance.
As a former teacher, it pains me to watch such an essential and rewarding profession suffer due to government neglect.
It is vital that MPs take the issue of climate change seriously and support the students in their activism. They can rest assured that I certainly do.
We need a government that takes climate change seriously, one that doesn’t shunt it to the side-lines.
Climate change is the biggest issue facing our planet. Extreme weather hit every populated continent in 2018, killing, injuring and displacing millions.
I believe that Brexit, whether it’s a bad deal or no deal, is a big deal - too big for anyone to ignore - but it’s not a done deal.
The primary aim of our schools should be to help children grow into happy, healthy and confident adults, equipped with the skills to achieve their goals in life and work.
By allowing many adult learners to retrain and upskill throughout their careers, colleges provide expertise for key sectors.
Our tired, old politics is tearing at the seams. The Lib Dems have returned to their local roots, just as a more pluralist politics is desperately needed.
Outside the EU, studying abroad will become the reserve of the wealthy. Inside the EU, it’s an opportunity available to almost everyone.
The future of British politics is not the pale, male and stale stereotype of tradition. Things are changing for the better.
Liberal Democrats have been leading the fight for a People’s Vote and we’re getting closer to that with each day.
Luckily for me, my views align with those of my constituents and party; the Liberal Democrats are unabashedly pro-European and are unapologetically up-front about our pursuit of a democratic way to stay in the EU.
Brexit stops Britain from being Great Britain.
Sure, sexism is not confined to the Conservatives. Harriet Harman has suggested that Gordon Brown didn’t make her deputy prime minister because she was a woman.
A united, functional opposition really could stop Brexit.
A no deal Brexit could bring Britain to a grinding halt and threaten the wellbeing of our country.
The actual teaching itself becomes lost in a sea of paperwork and teachers soon realise that the very reason they entered this profession constitutes only a fraction of their working day.
For all the farcical invoking of Blitz spirit, Brexit isn’t merely an absurdist experiment in English nationalist nostalgia - it is the most audacious example yet of a futuristic Russian nationalism that seeks to divide and rule Europe.
As a former teacher, I know how frustrating it must be to watch students walk out of class, particularly if they have important exams on the horizon.
We need a completely different type of economy - one which is truly green, sustainable, and embeds the biggest issues of the day into its heart.
Politicians need to realise that words have consequences.
More and more people - Leavers and Remainers - from every region, every political party and every walk of life, are demanding a vote on the final Brexit deal before we leave the EU.
Of course, the damaging pressure of competition and high-stakes testing isn’t limited to the impact on children themselves. It filters down to pupils because of the pressure on school leadership and teachers in turn, to perform well in Ofsted inspections and league tables.
To me it is just common sense that we should be making apprenticeships readily available to every young person who wants to go down that route - and encouraging people to consider taking this path just as readily as we would encourage someone to look into a university degree.
Liberal Democrat councillors have a well-deserved reputation for being fantastic community representatives, and these results are testament to the incredibly hard work of our existing councillors and our campaigners.
Finding your feet in a new country provides an enormous boost to your confidence and independence.
I became an MP in 2017 and have been around to watch Liberal Democrat party membership soar.
I like the idea of a Citizen’s Assembly that has been used in Ireland, providing a forum in which to discuss the nuances of an issue before deciding if and how it should be put to the people.
Brexit is the most complex and difficult political decision our country has had to take in mine and many other lifetimes.
Hospitals don’t have enough beds, staff shortages are being exacerbated by the uncertainty surrounding what Brexit means for EU nationals and our ability to access new cancer treatments is under threat.
Certainly anyone who complains of sexism is marked down as humourless.
The more I hear about Eddie Izzard’s political agenda, the more sympathetic I feel. I cheer him on in his cause, but I fear he faces an uphill battle.
The important point is Brexiteers said that this would be easy, that we could leave and enter a post-Brexit nirvana, a land of milk and honey that will satisfy their ideological dogma and make the people happy. Sadly, this deluded dream has run out of steam.
I miss the classroom and the bit I miss the most is the one-on-one personal interactions with the students, those moments when they surprise you with their insightfulness, or their cheekiness.
Food banks have told us of the increasing donations of, and demand for, tampons and pads which are gratefully received by women struggling to afford them.
Climate change poses a serious threat to global prosperity, security and wellbeing.
We want to encourage a move away from polluting vehicles, aiming to ban new diesel and petrol cars by 2030, and expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
I believe that Theresa May is going to end up with a botched Brexit that will satisfy no one and make sure that calls for a people’s vote on the final Brexit deal will only get louder.
