Petition

Make political education compulsory in our secondary schools

Rejected 13 signatures

What the petition asks

It is important that people know how our democratic system works, therefore the Government should seek to place unbiased and thorough political education on the curriculum, at secondary school level - whilst maintaining current guidance which ensures political impartiality in teaching.
Implementing compulsory political education in our schools would be an effective step, in the right direction, of tackling the giant of ignorance.

Not only would compulsory political education improve people's understanding of our democratic system, it would improve critical thinking skills and improve engagement with the system by which we are all affected.

Why it was rejected

The UK Government or Parliament was already taking the action it asked for.

Schools are already required to teach citizenship as part of the secondary national curriculum.

The citizenship curriculum includes content on how the United Kingdom is governed, its political system and how citizens participate actively in its democratic systems of government.

You can read the citizenship programmes of study for secondary school here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-citizenship-programmes-of-study/national-curriculum-in-england-citizenship-programmes-of-study-for-key-stages-3-and-4

If you would like to make a change to the current arrangements, you can start a petition setting out clearly what you would like to change, such as submitting a petition about making politics a core specific subject.

Timeline

24 Nov 2024 Petition opened for signatures
27 Dec 2024 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 13
Status Rejected
Rejected 27 Dec 2024

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 18 Aug 2026.