Isle of Wight Green Party share this latest election news. Ed
Three Isle of Wight 2021 election candidates were unexpectedly reunited when a Green Party Zoom call for candidates revealed that they had already met – over twenty years ago at school.
Claire Critchison (Chale, Niton and Shorwell) and Jaimie Bundell (Newport West) were pleased to discover that David Moorse (Shanklin Central) – better known as Mr Moorse to an estimated 4,000 Island children through the years – was also standing for election to the Isle of Wight Council on Thursday 6th May.
Covid restrictions have meant that the local party have been focused on campaigning in their own towns and villages, and had not met in person for over a year, so it was a big surprise for all three of them.
Moorse: A source of immense pride
David Moorse said,
“Having taught in a number of schools across the Island for 37 years I do quite often hear of past students doing amazing things around the world – such as a newly qualified Doctor practicing in Bournemouth during the pandemic, or another Doctor working in Somalia. But to find out that not only one but two former pupils were standing alongside me as Green Party candidates in the forthcoming elections is a source of immense pride.
“All those years of establishing school nature reserves, developing strength of character and social responsibility has resulted in energetic, creative thinkers such as Claire and Jaimie stepping forward and make a positive difference here for our Island community.
“It is fantastic to meet up again with such determined women who are doing everything they can to make things better for everyone here in the future.”
Claire and Jaimie were taught by Mr Moorse during his time at Trinity Middle School in Newport, which like many Isle of Wight middle schools faced merger or closure after the David Pugh Conservative administration reorganised Island schools in 2010.
Critchison: Such a supportive teacher.
Claire says,
“I have so many great memories and influences from my middle school teachers that have shaped my adult life choices, and Mr Moorse was a such a supportive teacher. He encouraged us to always question what is going on in society and stand up for what was important to us.
“This encouraged me to join many like-minded community groups and I credit him with giving me the confidence I needed to pursue opportunities out of my comfort zone. To find out we are all standing in the County Elections was just brilliant!”
Bundell: Sparked my involvement in environmentalism
Jaimie recalls Mr Moorse being the best teacher she ever had,
“His lessons were engaging and also fun. They amplified my love of science which sparked my involvement in environmentalism. I’ve gone on to study Planetary Science and also now how Climate Change impacts marine ecosystems.
“I remember on our last day at middle school he was writing short poems for each of us in our books. When he got to my name he could only scratch his head, so wrote about how it didn’t really rhyme with anything, which made me laugh!”
