Celebrating Bahrawar: A Finalist for Leeds Children’s Mayor

We are delighted to share that Bahrawar, one of our Year 6 students at Dixons Trinity Chapeltown, is one of the finalists in the race to become Leeds Children’s Mayor.

This is a fantastic achievement and a wonderful opportunity for Bahrawar to represent the voices, experiences and ideas of children across our city and within Chapeltown/Harehills. We are incredibly proud of his ambition, leadership and commitment to making a positive difference.

Bahrawar has chosen to stand for Child Friendly Leeds Wish 1: that children and young people have the support they need to look after their mental health and wellbeing. His manifesto focuses on making mental health support easier for young people to find and understand. His ideas include bringing information about available support together in one accessible place, creating resources for schools and developing opportunities for young people to talk openly about their wellbeing. His manifesto demonstrates the importance of listening to young people and ensuring that they know where to turn when they need support. It also reflects something we value highly at Dixons: encouraging our students to think deeply about the world around them and to consider how they can contribute positively to their communities.

By taking part in the process, he is developing his confidence, communication and leadership skills, while learning how to express his ideas, listen to different perspectives and speak up about something that matters to him. He is also gaining valuable experience of representing others and thinking about how ideas can become meaningful action. Opportunities such as this help our young people to understand that their voices matter. They encourage them to be ambitious, to take responsibility and to recognise that they have an important role to play in shaping the communities they are part of.

For Bahrawar, this is also an opportunity to learn from the other young people standing alongside him and to experience first-hand what it means to campaign, represent others and contribute to a wider civic conversation.

At Dixons, we believe that young people should be encouraged to dream big, develop their confidence and understand the difference they can make. We are particularly proud to see a member of our school community putting himself forward for an opportunity that reaches far beyond the school gates. Whatever the outcome of the election, Bahrawar has already demonstrated courage and ambition by standing as a candidate and sharing his ideas with the people of Leeds.

It is important that, as a community, we lift up our young people and give them opportunities to be heard. When we encourage children to take on leadership roles, share their ideas and advocate for issues they care about, we help them develop the confidence to become active and positive members of society. We are therefore incredibly proud to support Bahrawar on this journey. His campaign is a reminder of the talent, ambition and potential that exists within our school community.

Have your say!

Voting is now open for the Leeds Children’s Mayor election. Anyone under the age of 18 who lives in Leeds can vote, and each voter can choose two candidates. All votes are equally weighted.

We encourage our students and families to take some time to read the candidates’ manifestos and think carefully about the ideas and priorities that matter most to them.

You can read the candidates’ manifestos and cast your vote through the Leeds City Council website:

Leeds Children’s Mayor elections and candidates

Voting closes at 5pm on Friday 25 September. The new Leeds Children’s Mayor will be announced at a civic reception on Tuesday 13 October.

We wish Bahrawar every success as he continues his campaign. We are proud of him for putting himself forward, proud of the ideas he is championing and proud to see one of our young people taking his place in the wider Leeds community.