WATCH: Little learners make their mark to elect leadership

Vyash Naidoo is the democratically elected head boy and Nienke Venter the democratically elected head girl.

May 29, 2024

Siphokuhle Mpanza 1 minute read

The youngest voter in the room showed his little marked thumb.

Polling for their school leadership yesterday (May 28) put Brightbridge Academy students ahead of the national voters.

Witnessing the school’s first election of this kind was parents, teachers and students in attendance. The goal of the effort was to teach learners about elections and the processes involved in exercising democracy.

Ryan De Kock and Zian Venter flashing their ID cards.

Zia Shaik’s campaign speech outlined that she wants to be the best she can be for the greater benefit for all in the school.

The campus head, Chilindi Venter, stated that each learner has a voice that counts. She believes that students should learn how to use their voice and that by taking part in the election, they will realise the strength of their opinions.

“This is your school, and you get to help shape it by choosing leaders who will make a difference,” Venter told the students. “Additionally, knowing how leadership functions will enable you to identify and develop those qualities within yourself.”

Campus head Chilindi Venter watched with pride as the children excercised their rights.

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Parents were filled with pride as they saw the posters at the voting station with the candidates’ pictures and fascinating speeches.

“It is a great idea to introduce our children to what it takes to be a responsible, good leader,” said Reiner Erasmus, a happy father of one of the candidates, said about his daughter Ava’s campaign for head of girl. Lily, Ava’s sister and cheerleader, supported her dad’s enthusiasm.

At the voting station, lines of students, teachers and parents snaked across the hall while the “IEC” personnel of the day distributed ballots, inked thumbs, allowed them to make their X and cast ballots and ensure they were all carrying their “IDs.”

Fourth graders Talitha Ndlovu, Thabo Motaung, and Zachary van Tonder were all very excited to cast their ballots, but they had one thing in common: they did it based on the speech content rather than on their own preferences.

The school is pleased to announce that Vyash Naidoo is the democratically elected head boy and Nienke Venter the democratically elected head girl, while all the other candidates, Ava Erasmus, Zia Shaik, John de Villiers and Michael Pedro, were appointed as class prefects of their respective grades.