Year 10 Heathfield Community College students interviewed Huw Merriman MP as part of BBC School Report on 16 March.

Students challenged their MP on the government’s funding for schools and on the decision to provide more money to open new grammar schools at a time when existing schools don’t have the funds needed to sustain current provision.

Huw Merriman said "The students at Heathfield asked me probing questions and I suspect that a career in journalism awaits them. The questions on education were topical at a time when more funding is needed. As Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for the BBC, it was a pleasure to combine my support for the BBC with that of my local school.“

Apart from school funding and grammar schools, students from a range of year groups reported on a number of other stories for BBC School Report on Thursday 16 March, from the mental health issues facing teenagers today, to political issues such as Brexit and Trump’s state visit, to interviews with author Jenny McLachlan about her new book ‘Stargazing for Beginners’ and with former Director of Learning at Apple, Dr Rankin. The news was created in a variety of formats: filmed broadcasts, recorded broadcasts on Radio Heathfield and written articles which will also appear in the College newspaper ‘The Vine’. All the pieces created were submitted to the BBC via the School Report login and updates were posted on the College BBC Report Twitter account @HCC_BBC_Report and on the College Website throughout the day. View reports using the link below.