Politics lessons pupils actually enjoy

Population Decides is a free, non-partisan UK politics game. Classes run the country, set a Budget and argue both sides of the big issues, with every figure sourced.

Start a class leagueFree. No pupil emails or accounts needed.

How class leagues work

Start a league
Open the game and choose a league name, like "10B Citizenship". You get a six-character class code.
Pupils join with the code
They open populationdecides.com/play on a phone, tablet or laptop and enter the code, using a first name or nickname.
Play and compare
The league shows how the class answered each day's question and how their Budgets compare. Individual answers are only shown if every member agrees to share them; otherwise you see totals.
You stay in control
As the league's creator you can rename it or remove anyone. Removed members can't rejoin.

Three ready-made lessons

Each takes about 45 to 50 minutes. They fit Citizenship at Key Stages 3 and 4 in England (Parliament, elections and how public money is raised and spent), Modern Studies in Scotland, and PSHE.

Lesson 1: Be the Chancellor

How the government raises and spends money

Starter (5 min): ask the class to guess the biggest thing the government spends money on. Reveal it in the Budget simulator.
Main (25 min): in pairs, pupils open the Budget simulator in the game and set a Budget one decision at a time. Their goal: keep borrowing under control without making the public too unhappy.
Plenary (15 min): compare a few Budgets on the board. Who raised taxes, who cut spending, who borrowed more? What did each choice cost?
Exit question: name one trade-off you had to make, and who it would affect.

Lesson 2: Both sides of a hot issue

Weighing arguments and evidence

Starter (5 min): pick one hot issue (for example energy bills, small boats or the tax freeze) and read the plain-English summary together.
Main (25 min): groups take an option each and build the strongest case for it using the page's facts. Then they swap and argue the other side.
Plenary (15 min): everyone answers the question in the class league, then look at how the class split.
Exit question: what's the best argument against your own view?

Lesson 3: Who speaks for us?

MPs, Parliament and elections

Starter (5 min): find your school's MP using the school postcode on the Your MP page.
Main (25 min): go through the big votes. Pupils say how they would have voted, then compare with the MP. Use the promise tracker to see which pledges were kept.
Plenary (15 min): draft a short, polite letter to the MP about one vote. The game's Write to your MP tool helps.
Exit question: how would you change a law you disagree with?

Useful pages for lessons

Safe for the classroom

Non-partisan: we never tell anyone how to vote, and each side's case is written to be equally strong.
No ads in the game, and no account needed to play.
Under-13s can play, but we don't store any profile information about them. Asking about age, region or past votes is always optional.
Read our privacy notice.

If your school's web filter blocks it

Population Decides is a new website, so some school filters haven't classified it yet, or file it under politics. If pupils see a blocked page or a security certificate warning, ask your IT team or filtering provider to allow populationdecides.com (and its pages, such as populationdecides.com/play). It is a free educational site with no ads, no chat between users and no pupil accounts.

Using this with a class? We'd love to hear how it went, and we can add topics you need: hello@populationdecides.com