Four students from King Edward VI School with a keen interest in the subject — Jack Gebhard, Connor Belshaw, Paul Frew and Oliver Barnes — attended the 'EurOpinions' event in the Council Chambers at Newcastle Civic Centre.

They took part in discussions with a panel made up of Members of the European Parliament Stephen Hughes (Labour) and Fiona Hall (Liberal Democrats) and Alasdair Hutton OBE, former MEP and now Convener of Scottish Borders Council.

The remaining panellists were former members of the European Youth Parliament (EYP) Richard Royal and Ben Marshall, who are now co-ordinators for the EYP Alumni.

The group of 16 to 25-year-olds from across the North East took part in workshops and a quiz to develop their knowledge and understanding of the European Union and issues facing Europe such as the environment, human rights, immigration and travel and unemployment.

Another activity was a competition where they had to come up with ideas about the best ways Euro issues can be presented to young people to get them interested.

Connor, who won the quiz, said: "It was a useful event for me as I learned many things about the European Union and European Parliament in general and how the North East benefits or loses out from people who know it well.

"This was important because I'm very interested in finding out how the world works and affects me, my friends and family and things on a grander scale.

"It was good that we got to do many different activities on the day as they kept it fresh and fun."

The free event was organised by learning and development organisation LSN on behalf of the European Parliament UK Office.

Bernadette Joslin, Programme Manager for Citizenship at LSN, said: "The event was a great citizenship learning opportunity for young people to come together to learn more about the European Union and consider how they can get involved and have a say about issues that affect their lives."