News

We are so proud of Alassane Wone for giving an excellent account of himself and our school.  Against stiff opposition from 5 other schools including Sixth Formers, Alassane has been voted in as Deputy Youth MP for Wokingham. He gave an impassioned speech which we have included below and answered questions on his Manifesto with confidence.  Well done Alassane!

 

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Alassane Wone, I am in year 10, I am a proud and active member of the Forest’s School Council.

I am applying to be a Youth MP because I believe I can make a difference within and for our community, especially in these harsh times when we are coming out of the pandemic, witnessing the suffering in Ukraine and facing rising cost of living that will affect the most disadvantaged.  My school’s ethos is ASPIRE, and for me, to ASPIRE is to face these challenges  whilst always maintaining mutual respect as a key to success.

My main goal is to build strong bonds in our community and to build a healthy and diverse environment for my generation and the next. I know we are already diverse,  however from my personal experience, this needs to improve on the ground level:

1. We need to be accepting of each other's differences. 
2. We need to empower those who are more sensitive, vulnerable and reluctant or scared to voice their opinion.
3. We need to help those who are less fortunate than ourselves.

I believe our main priority should be to create a community that accepts ideas without judging. We all need to accept changes that are beneficial for our society with open arms and believe that change lies within us. The Dalai Lama said “ Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.” These are powerful words- and words of wisdom- which we can all learn from.

As conscientious young thinkers, we all have the ability to improve the cohesion and understanding within our communities by seeking to fulfil our own and others' potential to change our society for the better. With the time we are given on this planet, we should aim to leave a positive and profound impact on as many of those we get to meet or reach.

In doing so, we can take advantage of our ability to accept ideas from those who do not necessarily share our own thoughts on culture or values. Wokingham is a mixed and diverse society, and in my passionate view, it is all the better for it. Acceptance means following the British Values and in particular that of Mutual Respect and Tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. I believe we should all contribute to the universal strength of our community by accepting those from different cultures, heritage, beliefs and every other factor that in the past we have chosen to ignore or be unconsciously biassed towards.

The strong bonds I witnessed within my own community strengthen my resolve to be a thoughtful, respectful and kind young person…I would bring these qualities if I were  successful in this process. I have always regarded myself as a young person who is humble, who has integrity, and who is wishing to be a role model, which embodies the qualities needed to be the Wokingham Youth MP.

As my final thought, I would like to use an old Icelandic Proverb, which goes like this…

“A wise man changes his mind, a fool never will.” If this is the truth, I for one would never wish to be considered a fool!

Thank you for listening".

Alassane Wone - The Forest School