Total votes
5-11 votes
11-16+ votes
We celebrated Refugee Week (16th-22nd June 2025) for our 35th VoteTopic of the year, by exploring the stories of refugees and displaced people from around the world. The lessons highlighted parts of the world where people are currently seeking refuge from, and then Secondary, College & 16+ students discussed the way these situations have been discussed in the news, particularly in relation to the word “refugee”. Primary pupils heard about the lived experiences of refugees and considered what they had learned from each account.
Secondary, College & 16+ students discussed, “Do we view the term "refugee" positively?”, while Primary 7-11-year olds considered, "Should we learn more about the experiences of refugees?" and Primary 5-7-year olds voted on the question, “Should we hear more refugees' stories?”
37,075 young people voted on this topic.
Yes because it is good to learn about other people's experiences better and it helps people be more respectful and empathetic.
Most people do not know the true meaning of the word 'refugee', but I think it has better connotations than 'immigrants'.
From what we know about narratives in the media, news and from conversations outside of school, the class felt that, unfortunately, there are a lot of negative and misinformed perceptions. The class felt that within the room, this negative perception is not shared and not representative of their personal view.
