A UNIQUE classroom believed to be one of the first of its kind in the country is being set up in Leigh Town Hall on Tuesday.
A committee room will be transformed into a working classroom in a bid to teach schoolchildren about local government and the democratic process.
The "voters of the future" will be able to explore local issues that affect their daily lives and stage debates that will help them understand how local government works in practice.
The initiative, staged by Wigan Council during Local Democracy Week, is being seen as timely on two fronts.
Education Secretary David Blunkett has decreed that "citizenship" should become a compulsory part of the school curriculum by 2002, while the council has become increasingly concerned at the declining turn-out in local elections.
Wigan Council Leader Peter Smith said: "The future health of our society rests on the commitment of young people to the principles of democracy, and their willingness to play an active part in the lives of their communities."
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