PET(4) SAR 13

Petitions Committee

Consultation on petition P-04-432 Stop the Army Recruiting in Schools

Response from the Vale Youth Forum

Dear William Powell AM

The Vale Youth Forum (VYF) is made up of young representatives aged 11-25 from all over the Vale of Glamorgan who have been normally been elected or nominated from their school council, youth club, church group, scout group, Youth Offending Service team or any other youth facility to represent their peers.

The VYF is registered charity which works with young people who either live, work or attend an educational establishment in the Vale of Glamorgan.  The VYF works in partnership with the Vale Centre for Voluntary Services and the Vale of Glamorgan Council.  

The VYF members choose which consultations they wish to add their voice to and they decided they would like to respond on the subject of recruitment of 16 year olds by the armed forces in schools.  This is what they said:

· Bad Idea to recruit in Schools as I don’t like the idea of young people training to die.

· There is a Military Prep course you can do for GCSE so why not.

· Under 16’s won’t think about what they are signing up to and then they can’t leave.

· Your old enough to do lots of things when you are 16 like have a baby and they don’t force you to sign up so it’s ok.

· Good to have the information because careers advice in schools is awful.

· Its good money, you can get things.

· It teaches discipline and team work.

The group did not have any evidence of the armed forces recruiting from deprived areas as they had not been to any of their schools and had no evidence of the armed forces working differently in independent schools.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Helena Jones