This pandemic proves why children need to be educated about politics

From Brexit buses to dodgy donors, lies pepper the political discourse like landmines. Young people need to know how to detect – and diffuse – them, writes Ellie Fishleigh

Boris Johnson on a visit to The Discovery School in West Malling, 20 July, 2020 (Getty Images)

It’s an unspoken truth that an understanding of politics is treated rather like an appreciation for olives: you’re expected to develop it over time, entirely of your own accord. But this generation of students needs politics on its plate from a much younger age.

Your exams were cancelled. Your parents are on furlough. You’re wearing a mask. But you can’t explain why.

Despite being on the receiving end of policy decisions that are changing both their everyday lives and their future prospects, young people are still expected to make sense of the world with a curriculum that leaves political education out of the equation. If ever there was an apt turning point, this pandemic is it.