DUP and SDLP candidates in the forthcoming local council election work together in a north Belfast secondary school.
Classroom assistant Jordan Doran with teacher Charlotte Carson are both vying for a seat in the Oldpark ward later this month.
Mr Doran is running for the DUP, after being co-opted onto the council in January, while Ms Carson is an SDLP candidate after joining the party two years ago.
She told the Belfast Telegraph: “Jordan and I have worked together for a few months, but I’d no idea he was involved in politics, let alone that he was a councillor.
"When I’m in school, my mind is focused 100 per cent on school and not party politics.
“After Easter, I walked into the staffroom and heard them joking and laying bets on who would finish further up the poll in May’s council election.
“I was a bit confused. I didn’t understand what they were talking about.
"Then Jordan said: ‘Do you know that I’m a sitting DUP councillor in Oldpark?’ I laughed my head off, shook his hand and we took a selfie together.”
Ms Carson last year ran as an SDLP candidate in the Assembly elections with the party stating she held a Masters Degree in international development and worked as a teacher at Hazelwood Integrated College in Newtownabbey.
She added that "the kids think it’s highly entertaining" that she and her teaching colleague Mr Doran will be going head to head in the forthcoming local council election.
"They like the idea of us pitted against each other," she said.
"They’ve brought it up with us and we encourage them to talk about the election.
“They’re too young to vote, but even if they weren’t, neither of us would try to influence them. It’s just good that there’s a bit of debate.
"It makes democracy more relevant and alive to them."
