The aim of this research was to investigate the potential for issue-based civic education. Applying the concept of critical pedagogy to civic education, this article presents the findings of a study conducted in a primary school class in a socio-economically deprived area of the United Kingdom. The analysis of interview and focus group, participant observation and class discussion data suggests that critical, issue-based models of civic education can engage young people in conceptualising their own roles in both politics and civic life more generally. By moving away from a fact-based institutional model of civics such as set out in the National Curriculum, students' interest was also facilitated by the ability to make their own decisions about which issues they most wanted to engage with.