Catching up with an ex-Primary Parliamentarian

July at Ignite! always involves lots of students undertaking their work experience placements with us and this year was no different, with eight young people joining us over a four week period. 

But this year there was a serendipitous surprise when we discovered that one of the students had actually been involved in one of our programmes as a younger child; in 2018, Lyba had been to Primary Parliament! Taking this rare chance to catch up with a Primary Parliamentarian years later, we asked Lyba to reflect on her experience both at Primary Parliament and in her more recent work placement.  

I'm pretty sure it was March 2018, I was chosen because I was a school councillor in Year 5, alongside one of my peers. I felt really weird going into the Council House because it was a building I always saw in Market Square but never actually knew the purpose of. I was shocked to find out that it was actually being used by the council.

I was put into a group with a few other students from different schools, and we had to come up with an idea related to the topic and present it in front of others. Primary Parliament really helped me develop my confidence because I was very nervous before presenting. However, after the presentation, I felt relieved to have done it. Over the last few years, I have delivered several presentations, and thanks to the confidence I developed through Primary Parliament, I was able to apply it in later presentations. I’ve found that my confidence has definitely improved.

I currently attend sixth form and am about to start my final year. I study Biology, Chemistry, and Psychology, and with these subjects, I am planning to apply for medicine and hopefully pursue a career in the medical field. Work experience with Ignite! truly exposed me to an environment I had never experienced before. Working with children and helping deliver the after-school sessions is definitely one of the experiences that stands out to me. I really enjoyed working with the children, who made me feel welcome. I had meaningful conversations with them and shared some funny moments as well. If I ever get another opportunity to work with Ignite!, I will definitely take it.