Institue for Citizenship

Schools Questions and Answers has launched for the 2011-2012 academic year, offering young people between 14-19 years old the chance to win the opportunity to work with the BBC to broadcast a debate live from their school!

Schools Questions and Answers is a Political Literacy and Citizenship Life Skills initiative supported by the Institute for Citizenship, Parliament's Education Service and the BBC. The Schools Questions and Answers Challenge uses the format of BBC ONE's Question Time and BBC Radio 4's Any Questions? as a springboard for engaging young people in democratic society and helping them discuss issues that affect them, their communities and the wider world.

Schools Questions and Answers builds on the Schools Question Time project that ran from 2003 - 2011, in partnership with BBC ONE's Question Time.

Schools Questions and Answers provides young people with the opportunity to engage with politics and citizenship

Schools Questions and Answers Challenge

• Record a 5 minute Radio or TV debate on a topic of your choice 
• Learn about politics, parliament and how to host a stimulating debate
• Win the chance for your school to host either an edition of BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions? or a BBC webcast (to be shown on the BBC Parliament Channel)!
• Applications close at 11.59pm on Sunday 4th December 2011.

Schools Questions and Answers Free Citizenship Resources Available All Year Round

• Five resource packs that support the Citizenship curriculum and Political Literacy.
• Helping improve students' Citizenship Life Skills including enquiry, analysis, debating and opinion forming.
• Engaging young people in society, politics and Parliament.

Free Teacher Training

• Parliament’s Education Service is running a series of free teacher training for teachers of political literacy within subjects such as Politics, Citizenship, Modern Studies and General Studies across the UK.
• These sessions are FREE and open to any teacher who would like to broaden their general knowledge about Parliament and to find out about how they can participate in the BBC News School Report and Schools Questions and Answers Challenge.
• They are primarily aimed at teachers students aged 11-19.

Young people will have the opportunity to work with the BBC to help produce a programme from their school

Get involved

The Schools Questions and Answers Challenge is a fun, accessible and exciting opportunity to develop the essential political and communication skills necessary for young people to become active citizens. 

Jonathan Dimbleby, Chair of BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions?, said, “It is really important to offer young people a forum to debate the issues they care about - and the rest of us need to listen. Schools Questions and Answers provides just this opportunity.”

David Dimbleby, Chair of the BBC One’s Question Time, added, “We can’t expect young people to participate in society unless we’re serious about listening to their views.”

To find out more and to enter, please see: www.schoolsquestionsandanswers.co.uk.