My Week: A marginal victory for the Welsh Nats: Sarah Prescott drums up support for Plaid Cymru in her school's mock elections

Sunday I wake up late in morning with the horrible feeling that I have forgotten to do something. I realise that I have homework to do and scratch away in my room at my A-level maths project. 10.30pm: I remember with horror that I haven't written my election speech. I have been volunteered to stand as the Plaid Cymru (Welsh nationalist) candidate in the mock European elections at my school. I get out the Plaid Cymru manifesto and write my speech, hoping everyone at school is asleep tomorrow.

Monday I creep into school, trying to avoid the A-level politics class running the election. I am already committed to speaking at the sixth-form assembly on Wednesday, but I have a horrible feeling I shall be bullied into giving other speeches. I discover that my maths

teacher is off, which means my project stays in my bag. Everyone else in Cardiff seems to have the flu. I can't wait to catch it myself.

Tuesday Have had to endure jokes about Plaid Cymru from my history teacher, who is from Swindon, and have been issuing Plaid stickers and posters around the school. I find some of them have been plastered around the nearby village, but a surprising number of people have been coerced into voting for me. Unfortunately, my maths teacher is back, and I hand in my coursework after all. Wednesday I arrive early with my Plaid rosette and the speech from Sunday. Nerves are starting and I worry about whether I sound like a cross between a psychotic Enid Blyton and Mar-

garet Thatcher. As I walk to the front, images of Hitler waiting for ages at the Nuremberg rallies flash through my mind. I wait for them to shut up. I make eye contact with the audience, to try to make them vote Plaid.

However, by the time I get

to speak, the audience is suitably anaesthetised (the Liberal Democrat had gone on rather too long, I think). They seemed pleasantly surprised at my speech's short duration, but still a little mystified as to its content. Later I see the history

teacher driving out of school, he sees the Plaid stickers and the rosette, gives the thumbs down and tries to run me over. Luckily, he fails and I spend the day campaigning.

Election day The day of reckoning. People at school are beginning to get sick and tired of me. I go to vote and take a peek at the politics class busy countingthe ballot sheets. Some of my friends are doing last-minute campaigning right by the ballot boxes. Now it is just a question of waiting. Meanwhile, I go to my maths lesson. My teacher gives me the coursework back to perfect over the weekend. I am told that some ballot papers were mislaid, and my economics teacher offers to sell me some cheap. Very few of the fifth- form voted, as today was their leaving day, and the

overall turnout was about 25 per cent. Perhaps Brussels would be interested at the level of excitement that the mock Euro-election has caused. Although there were Labour, Liberal Democrat and Plaid Cymru candidates, no one was willing to stand as a Conservative. This is surprising as the school is in one of the more affluent parts of Cardiff and our MP (a Tory) is an old boy. Perhaps it is time for John Major to get really worried]

Friday I finally hear the results of the election: Labour 240 votes; Liberal Democrats 90 votes, Plaid Cymru 79 votes. Although I have come third, I am quite pleased. I think Plaid Cymru started off with only low support and at least I have been able to raise awareness of Plaid Cymru and persuade quite a few people to vote for it.