Students campaign for voting age to be lowered

STUDENTS are waging a media campaign to lower the voting age from 18 to 16.

Pupils at St John Fisher Catholic High School, Newcastle, are hard at work creating banners and posters to support their cause as part of a project for GCSE citizenship.

Charlotte Barber, aged 14, from Audley, said: "We have to raise awareness of why people should support Vote 16.

"Our next step is to approach local libraries with our posters and banners.

"We just think we can make informed decisions, so we should be able to have our say."

Pupils have also designed a logo, pictured, and Charlotte has written an article entitled 'Old enough to fight for their country but not old enough to fight for their views?'

In it, she says: "At 16, you are old enough to pay taxes and get married, so why not vote?

"All children are taught citizenship from the age of five.

"Therefore, by 16 are more than capable of making a proper, informed decision on who they think should run our country.

"If the UK did lower its voting age, it would have the lowest voting age in Europe."