Voting in by-election daunting and confusing for students

One thing that became clear as I chatted to students at Coleg y Cymoedd is that they're proud to be from Caerphilly.

"It's truly a beautiful place and everyone is so friendly… it's a lovely place to come from," said one.

While they knew a lot about the area - the town's castle, the surrounding valleys and sense of community - their knowledge about politics was not as good.

In fact, they described the prospect of voting in Thursday's by-election to elect a new Senedd member as "daunting" and confusing".

"Voting for the first time is confusing," said Sion, 17.

"I don't know a lot at all, there isn't a lot of information at college at all for people my age."

He is not the only one who admits to finding it daunting, as 17-year-old Connie says she and her friends have had similar feelings.

"We're all a bit misinformed, we don't really know what's going on," she said.

"Our conversations revolve around that we don't know what is going on with different parties."

Caerphilly goes to the polls to elect a new Senedd member after the sudden death of Hefin David.

These students - aged 16 and 17 - will be able to vote for the first time.

It is only the second time that people under 18 have been allowed to vote in Wales – the first being in the Senedd election in 2021.

Sion, 17, has said that voting for the first time is confusing

However, Connie is unsure how many young people will vote.

She added: "I think a lot of people will go out and vote, but probably not as many that should, because of the lack of education and understanding about it.

"A lot of people don't feel like they need to vote because they don't know what's going on."

Another thing that they describe as a significant barrier to voting is a lack of education on politics at school.

Lily studies politics at Coleg y Cymoedd and feels a responsibility to help her classmates.

"For me specifically, a lot of my friends ask me about politics... but obviously I'm just a teenager, I don't know all that much," she said.

"Some people don't even know how to vote, or what political parties do or even how government works."

She believes there should be more of an emphasis on political education in schools and colleges, adding that people are interested, but just do not think they know enough to vote.

"I strongly believe that education on politics is nowhere near good enough," adds Seren, 16.

According to Connie, 17, it is a privilege to be able to vote in the Caerphilly by-election

The Welsh government said: "Supporting learners to exercise their democratic rights is a mandatory part of the curriculum.

"In the lead-up to the Senedd elections in May 2026 and local government elections in 2027, we will continue to fund organisations to deliver projects that aim to increase the availability and quality of democratic education in schools."

The students described turning to social media for information - something they admitted could be dangerous.

"I see things on social media that make me believe they're true, and then I speak to someone and find out they're not," said Sion.

"It's really difficult.

"We kind of live in an era, I don't want to say of fake news, but like there's a lot of information that's spread around that isn't right from radical media."

Lily says the rise of Artificial Intelligence has made the situation more complex, adding: "It's really hard to find out what's true or not."

Seren is concerned some people may not see young voters as serious.

"When political parties start hopping on TikTok trends, it's clear they're trying to reach young voters… but in weird ways," she says.

"Just because we're younger, that doesn't make us any less serious.

"At the end of the day, everyone's vote is equal."

Lily, 17, says she would quite like to be a politician when she's older

It was clear how deeply these students care about their community and their desire to see positive change.

Despite the challenges they described in accessing accurate information, they expressed that having a voice in the Senedd was incredibly important to them.

"It's a great privilege for young people to be able to vote," said Connie.

"It's our future and it's very important that we get a say on what we want," added Sion.

Lily said: "I think we should vote because it will affect us the most... we're the ones who have to live with the consequences."

Seren is 16 years old and studies politics at Coleg y Cymoedd