THREE Basingstoke teenagers have been having their say on a popular national radio programme.

The students from Cranbourne Business and Enterprise College were interviewed for BBC Radio 4’s consumer affairs programme, You and Yours, in a feature about attitudes to youth.

Scott Haskell, Rosie Humphries and Francesca Magnani, all 15, spoke candidly about their views on education, politics and the community.

The programme was broadcast on Tuesday, April 2 in an hour-long episode titled ‘Should we involve children and young people in decisions that affect them?’

It was linked with the news that the Children’s Commissioner for England has said that more schools should involve pupils in the recruitment of teachers, and the fact that next year, anyone over the age of 16 will be able to vote in the Scottish independence referendum that takes place in the autumn.

Questions were raised about what areas of their life children and young people should be involved in making decisions about, such as the delivery of sex education, their teachers, how their school is run, what age they can vote, and how healthcare is delivered.

Presenter Winifred Robinson discussed whether children and young people are always mature enough to be involved in decision making and what adults need to do to ensure children are capable of making these decisions.

The Year 11 students from Cranbourne were interviewed by BBC Radio 4 reporter Adam Kirtley, who said: “It was important to hear directly from a group of teenagers.

“The Cranbourne staff were really helpful and let me talk to the students about a range of issues. They held strong and interesting views – not always the ones you would expect.”

Nick Fleeman, deputy headteacher at Cranbourne, added: “We were delighted to be asked to take part, and our students spoke brilliantly on behalf of their peers.”