A TOTAL of 50 prefects from Buttershaw Business and Enterprise College have been inaugurated into a new student parliament by the Lord Mayor.

Lord Mayor of Bradford councillor Doreen Lee welcomed the democratically elected prefects in the council chamber at City Hall, where political decisions affecting the lives of all in the district have been taken for almost 150 years.

Head girl Ellie King loved the venue, who said: “It gave us the chance to visit a place of politics and meet important people like the Lord Mayor and our MP for Bradford South Judith Cummins.

"Meeting these people and listening to them talk inspired me to want to make a positive difference in the school as head girl”.

More than 172 put themselves forward to join one of five departments in the student parliament.

These included the department for Education, the department for Health and Wellbeing, the department for the community, the department for communication and the department for the environment.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

Prefects got the chance to choose a department about which they are passionate.

As part of the application process, students had to write a personal pledge which detailed what they wanted to achieve if they were elected.

Pledges included: “I pledge to help those without a voice and those afraid to speak out” by Ben in Year 11 and “I pledge to make sure every student has a healthy lifestyle and is happy in school” by Hannah in Year 8.

The Lord Mayor of Bradford said: “The Student Parliament is one of the best ideas I have heard recently, bringing a living sense of democracy to the College. It is wonderful that the students now have elected representatives as prefects, which I am sure will have a positive and meaningful impact on the daily lives of all the students”.