Student joins Question Time panel

Eighteen-year-old student, Suzanne Burlton from North London will appear alongside the politicians on BBC One's Question Time tonight.

"It's a great opportunity, and a real honour to be chosen to represent young people"

The school leaver won a UK-wide competition open to young people to take part in a special schools edition with a youth flavour.

The programme is being produced by a team of students who were nominated as winners of the 2009 Schools Question Time challenge and have worked alongside the normal production team.

It will be broadcast live on BBC Three at 8pm and will also be shown in its usual slot later on BBC One.

Also on the programme are Health Secretary Andy Burnham, shadow culture secretary Jeremy Hunt, Sarah Teather of the Lib Dems and Shami Chakrabarti of Liberty.

Suzanne was selected to take part in a UK wide competition where potential panellists submitted mobile video clips of themselves to the BBC website.

From all the applicants five finalists were selected to audition in Sunderland on Thursday 18th June 2009, with David Dimbleby in a "mock" filmed edition of Question Time.

Comments from the public about this film were taken into account to help select the winner to appear on the programme from Salford.

Great opportunity

Suzanne is hoping to go to the University of Cambridge in the Autumn and enjoys theatre and volunteering at her local Oxfam shop.

She would like one day to pursue a career in politics or broadcasting, and is excited about the prospect of sitting on the Question Time panel.

She said: "It's a great opportunity, and a real honour to be chosen to represent young people."

Pupils from Bristol Grammar School, Bede Sixth Form College in Stockton-on-Tees, Pate's Grammar School in Cheltenham and The Tiffin Girls School in Kingston upon Thames have also been involved in all aspects of the production process, suggesting editorial ideas, researching and taking on production roles.

The editor of Question Time, Gill Penlington said: "Tonight's Question Time studio audience will be made up of young people, many of them first time voters.

"Major issues are being raised about the future of our economy and about democracy in the 21st century. It is vital that young people take part in that debate"

"The programme will be driven by their issues and concerns - topics that matter to many viewers.

"And the student producers are keen for people to submit their views on what should come up via the Schools Question Time website."

The programme will be broadcast live on BBC Three for the first time ever - going out at 8pm.

BBC Three controller Danny Cohen said: "Broadcasting this youthful edition of Question Time is part of BBC Three's ever-growing commitment to serious factual programmes.".

New voters

David Dimbleby will be joined on the show by a Question Time panel and a specially selected studio audience of mainly new voters, 16 to 25 year olds who have never voted before.

They will question the panel on a range of topical issues affecting young people across the country.

David Dimbleby said, "With a General Election due before next June, attracting young voters is essential.

"Major issues are being raised about the future direction of our economy and society and about the nature of democracy in the 21st century.

"It is vital that young people take part in that debate. Schools Question Time provides young people with the skills to do that and opportunities to ask the right questions of the right people.

"I have enjoyed working with the student producers who want to provide a forum for young people to hold politicians to account on Question Time."

Popular channel

Student producer Tom Shane said: "We want to get more young people involved in politics and by broadcasting on BBC Three we are directly interacting with people our age.

"Young people sometimes see politicians and politics as removed from their lives and by broadcasting live on BBC Three we are trying to give young people the opportunity to interact with politics, democracy and current affairs through a very popular channel."

The Schools Question Time Challenge, now in its sixth year, is a national initiative from Parliament's Education Service, the Institute for Citizenship and the BBC.

It aims to help pupils learn about citizenship, contribute to stimulating political discussions, improve their speaking and listening skills and engage with members of the community.

Secondary schools across the UK entered the Challenge online at www.schoolsquestiontime.org describing the issues they would discuss during their ideal Question Time and the panel they would select to debate those issues.

From the entries, judges chose 10 finalists and each school receives a £250 cash grant from the Institute of Citizenship, supported by Parliament's Education Service, to stage their event. A team of judges attend each event to select the four winning schools.

Two students from each of the four winning schools then work with David Dimbleby and the Question Time production team to produce a real BBC Question Time programme.

They are involved in all aspects, from making editorial suggestions to researching and taking on production roles for the programme.

All UK schools can still benefit from the Schools Question Time Challenge, even if they choose not to enter the competition, by downloading free resources from www.schoolsquestiontime.org

The educational resources include teacher's notes, lesson plans and activities and aim to help pupils form opinions, improve their speaking and listening skills and engage with politics and issues that affect them as citizens.

The Schools Question Time Challenge 2010 will launch in September 2009, with new resources for an election year giving more young people than ever the opportunity to debate and interact with politics.

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
BBC School Report
SchoolsQuestionTime.org
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