‘My school was divided by Brexit’

When I awoke on Friday morning to the news of Brexit, to say I was devastated would be an understatement.

As a 14-year-old school student about to take my GCSEs at Bedminster Down School, I do not yet have the right to vote, yet I cannot help but believe that this vote will affect my generation’s lives the most.

When it comes to democracy I have always had a tendancy to trap myself in a social media bubble where I am surrounded by like-minded people who use mocking Nigel Farage as a coping mechanism for any political crisis.

I tend to grow unintentionally ignorant to any other viewpoint that isn’t liberal and like my own. After Brexit, my fears for the future are more prominent than ever before.

I watched the news on Friday morning as the pound began to drop in value. “We’ve already lost billions of pounds,” the headlines read. That’s when the questions began to rise: will I ever pay off the student loans I may have in the future? Will I be able to afford a house? A mortgage?

It’s saddening that the older generations could not take sympathy on us when casting their vote. Seventy five per cent of 18-24-year-olds voted remain but in democracy’s eyes this is over-ruled, despite the fact that the referendum has made our futures the most uncertain.

When I entered school that morning, the anger was more present than I had ever witnessed at home. My tutor room was naturally segregated, the remain supporters on one side, leave on the other.

There was a lot of shouting; remain supporters, clearly, angry and upset. Leave supporters were mostly twelve-year-old boys, spouting xenophobic nonsense around the classroom, clones of their parents with no actual education or reasoning behind their opinions.

In their defence, one thing that is undoubtedly present amongst young people trying to form their opinions on politics is that there is not enough information being spread.

There is so much misinforming, false information and generally just not enough communication with young people about the country’s political stance. In the past, if we had requested a teacher talk to us about any political issue, they would just tell us that they cannot as they might “influence us” or “push their opinions on us” when, I believe, this is simply not the case.

We need unbiased political education so we raise a more informed, educated and socially aware generation that can bring this country back to its feet. 

This had been a typical scene in my school for many weeks, a political debate turned bad. However, for me, I would rather this scene would occur than no debate at all.

In my opinion, nothing is more upsetting than asking someone’s opinion on a political topic and having the person reply with “I don’t care” or something similar.

This, without a doubt, offends me more than someone expressing an opposing opinion to my own or people having a shouting match. On Friday, I saw a Facebook status from one of my friends that said the following: “Every status about the EU is getting boring!!! It is what it is!”

I don’t think this is the right attitude to have; we need to continue having this conversation. We need to keep political debates present in our society, and we cannot let misinformed judgements decide our future. 

Throughout all this I am fortunate to be in a household where we are undivided. All of my family members voted remain. However I have heard stories of how my friend’s houses have been divided.

I believe we needed the EU, but with the vote now over I hope to take my fear and turn it into motivation to work as hard as possible to secure my future in such an unstable, divided country.

And throughout this, I think it is important that I remain aware of my privilege as a British-born, white girl from a stable financial background – I am getting the better-end of the deal post-Brexit.

In these times I hope that we try and work together as a community to support, protect and help those who may be a target of xenophobia-orientated hate crimes as I fear they will become evermore present throughout this country.

Hannah is a student at Bedminster Down School

Read more: Revealed: Bristol’s Brexit hate crimes