PONTELAND youngsters gave their local politicians a grilling during a special Question Time event in the village.

Three students from Ponteland High School were selected to take part in the debate with Hexham MP Guy Opperman, county councillor Peter Jackson and Ponteland’s mayor, Coun. Carl Rawlings.

The event, which took place at the village’s Memorial Hall, was organised by Ponteland Community Partnership.

First established in 2003, the partnership is re-launching itself and aims to ‘put the heart and community spirit back into the civil parish of Ponteland.’

Ponteland Question Time was organised to celebrate the relaunch whilst engaging with the area’s younger generation.

Part of National Democracy Week, the event featured a panel of six speakers who tackled topics such as lowering the voting age, the price of further education and the impact of the gap between the young and old.

Representing the younger generation of Ponteland were Michael Dwyer, Molly Hall and Elliot Barker, all sixth form students and members of the high school’s debating team.

And on the other side of the fence were Guy Opperman, Peter Jackson and Carl Rawlings.

The event was chaired by former Ponteland High School head boy and UK representative of the European Youth Parliament, Dan Brown, who gave each delegate time to speak on the issue before throwing it open to questions from the audience.

Ponteland Community Partnership chairman Alma Dunnigan said: “We felt that Ponteland Question Time would give young people the opportunity to put their view across and be challenged.

“It went down extremely well, the students were great; they were well prepared and presented themselves well.

“And the youngest member of the audience was 10 years old and he asked three questions.”

The students were presented with certificates at the end of the evening and another positive outcome is the formation of a Ponteland Youth Forum which will have a place with the partnership and the Ponteland Neighbourhood Planning Group.

Students are now being sought to help work on a new terms of reference for their forum.

The partnership has also recently conducted a survey carried out by the youth service team to find out what people aged between nine and 16 would appreciate being provided with in their village.

The Ponteland Community Partnership has pledged to continue to consult with the community for ideas, opinions and new projects whilst improving communication via Pont News & Views and a new website at pontelandcommunitypartnership.co.uk