Sheffield school pupils to take part in world’s first online Children’s Parliament ahead of COP26

Up to 650 British children aged between seven and 11 will be matched to Adult MPs in the British Parliament for the world’s first virtual Children’s Parliament, taking place three days before the COP26 United Nations Climate Change conference in Glasgow.

Athelstan Primary in Sheffield has been selected to attend the live event, with three of its student councillors representing the school.

The key topic of debate will be climate change, but it is also expected to touch on other issues, such as our Covid-19 response.

Speaking about the virtual Children’s Parliament event, Steven Abrahams, head of partnerships, Microsoft teams at Microsoft, said: "Microsoft is pleased to be providing the platform to make this bold initiative a reality through Teams. It is so important to give children a voice when it comes to their future, and we’re looking forward to hearing all of the things they have to say about these critical topics.”

The 90-minute Microsoft Teams virtual ‘parliamentary’ session will be held at 5 pm on Friday, October 29, in a British House of Commons-style virtual ‘chamber’, with half of the children representing Her Majesty’s Opposition and half Her Majesty’s Government.

The late Sir David Amess, who was tragically killed last week, was due to be MP Champion for the event.

The Children’s Parliament mirrors Sir David’s enthusiasm for both children and the parliamentary process and will continue as a tribute to him.