Pupils from East-the-Water Primary School share ideas with Councillors from Torridge District Council on Bideford Town Centre

On Tuesday 7 October 2025, Torridge District Council hosted a Democracy event for year 6 students at East-the-Water Primary School, to give them a feel for how democracy works on a day-to-day basis. 

The interactive session invited students to give their thoughts on the future of Bideford town centre.  Through a series of group tasks involving mind mapping and a democratic voting session using real life polling booths and ballot boxes, the year 6s were encouraged to think about what makes a great place to live and their own priorities for its future.

The activity sparked a spirited and engaging series of discussions among the students, each contributing their unique perspectives and insights. All the students showed great enthusiasm and had interesting ideas about how they could improve their town.

Olly, one of the students attending the event commented: "It was great learning how the council worked and how Bideford might be improved in the future. We got to vote on which choices we would prefer which was fascinating."

The mind maps and suggestions generated by the students will be shared with the Bideford Regeneration Board - so there's every chance that some of these ideas and proposals could become a reality.

Councillor Jude Gubb, Torridge Councillor for Bideford East said:

"I would like to thank the staff and pupils of East-the-Water Primary School for taking part in this event.  It is extremely important that we engage and listen to the youth of today, so I hope that we will be able to run similar sessions in the future.  The children should be extremely proud of themselves - their enthusiasm was quite contagious."

Councillor Huw Thomas, Torridge Councillor for Bideford East said:

"I was extremely impressed by the ideas that came from the pupils and the way that many of them thought quite deeply about what they wanted - for Bideford as a town, for their own futures and for others.

"This event showed that there are some very bright children in East-The-Water and that they shouldn't be underestimated. They really are our future and the care that they gave to this challenge left me quite optimistic."

Sean Matthews, Subject Lead at East-the-Water Primary School, said: 

"This session gave children a first-hand insight into how decisions are made in their community and the importance of having a voice. Pupils learned about the roles and responsibilities of local councillors and were able to look at their local community through an entirely different lens. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the councillors and council staff who gave their time to make the workshop such an engaging experience."

Oct 25