Election fever has hit St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School in Langley - and being under 18 has not deterred pupils from making for the ballot boxes.

The school in Langley Road has been holding its own ' general election' this week and three enthusiastic students have stood as candidates.

Michael Sutherland, 17 has stood for Labour, Liam Danagher, 17 - the school's head boy - has stood as a Liberal Democrat, while Jagjit Tandon, 16 is the hopeful Conservative.

It has all been taken very seriously with pupils allowed to vote during the break in specially prepared booths, carefully scrutinised by 17-year-old returning officers Zuzanna Bilkiewicz and Joseph Manning.

Wednesday lunchtime saw the three candidates 'make their pitch' to the whole school, while answering some of the probing questions pupils has popped into boxes placed next to the ones they put their voting slips in. All great fun of course. But there was a serious purpose behind it all.

Head of business studies and deputy head of sixth form at the school Christina Killick said: "We are trying to teach pupils British values, the whole notion of individual liberty, tolerance of other peoples' views.

"The students who are too young to vote have proved to be the most politically active."

The school held its own mini-referendum last year to let students vote on whether they wanted to stay in or leave the EU.

That was a huge success - and by the way, they voted to remain.