Chris Grayling visited Epsom College to preside over a debate entitled Will Driverless Cars Cause More Problems Than They Will Solve?

The Conservative MP for Epsom and Ewell contributed his expertise and played a full part in the debate between two classes of M4 PSD pupils.

The debate was initiated by VotesforSchools, a weekly online voting platform that connects young people with issues inspired by the news agenda and encourages debate and a voting habit that will last for life. The debates are designed to support a school’s Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) curriculum.

This particular debate resulted in 22% of pupils voting that driverless cars will cause more problems than they solve and 78% voting that driverless cars will not cause more problems than they solve.

Director of Welfare, Helen Keevil, has been working with VotesforSchools since its foundation over a year ago to ensure that topics for debate are relevant, robust and enjoyable to deliver for teachers and fun to participate in for the pupils.

Popular topics over the last few months have included male and female leadership styles in the run-up to US presidential election, whether the Olympic spirit is still alive at the Olympic Games, should school councils deal with bullying issues, the need for more Grammar Schools in the UK and whether the selfie culture is healthy.

“VotesforSchools is a great way to engage young people with current affairs in the classroom, with an online weekly vote on a topical issue. It gives them the tools to understand the democratic process and the importance of informed decision-making,” said Helen Keevil.

www.votesforschools.com