Matt Lee, co-writer and director of Ruling Class, at Ibstock Place School in Roehampton where the series will be filmed.Josie Parkinson

When I was 13, I cared less about who was running the country than I did about Gossip Girl. But what if my favourite show back then had actually been about politics? I’d probably know a lot more about the political system and a lot less about where to buy frozen yoghurt in Manhattan. This is (more or less) the thinking behind Ruling Class, a hopefully upcoming miniseries created by a team of seven Cambridge students and recent alumni.

With a target audience of 11 to 14-year-olds, the series’ creators describe it as “School of Rock crossed with The West Wing”. If, some how, that isn’t enough to excite you, co-writers Nathan Miller, Matthew Lee and Mark Danciger have promised to combine “the wacky, anarchic humour of the British with the witty back-and-forth of the American sitcom.” The series will follow St Olive’s, a private school that embarks on an experiment by giving students the power to run the elections for Head Boy and Girl under a parliament-like system. The story follows the scandals, dreams and egos of the competitors.

Of course, this tantalising comedic premise is complimented by a laudable social aim: to get young people interested in politics and combat the wall of voter apathy faced by our generation.

“Young people often think that politics has no relevance to them – they cannot vote and therefore have no representation in government”, explains Danciger, “In Ruling Class, we show a world where kids have the power to really change things.” In doing so, the team hopes to get young people interested in political participation – with the pilot due to be completed ahead of next year’s general election.

The writers aim to communicate with young people without talking down to them. “It doesn’t patronise a young audience, something I personally always hated as a teenager”, says Miller. They are also wary of promoting any particular political stance. “Young people especially are vulnerable,” explains Lee, “and it’s so easy to manipulate someone with dramatic music and poignant images”. 

Yet in this cruel world, originality, talent and a social conscience are not enough to make a television series. The Ruling Class team have the backing of O2 and the Dryden society but they are still raising money to have enough funds to film and produce a pilot for the show. The Cantabs from Hughes Hall, Trinity, Christ’s, Queens, Fitz, Caius and Corpus Christi are hoping that their fellow students will donate – visit the Ruling Class Indiegogo page to find out more and to donate before the 19th September deadline.

One day you could be scrolling through Netflix and think, ‘I got that show off the ground. Go me’. Wouldn’t that feel good?