A 15-YEAR-OLD girl from Burnham has been working tirelessly to make sure young people in Sedgemoor have a genuine say over issues that affect them.

King Alfred School student Thrinayani Ramakrishnan is a Member of Youth Parliament, and collected over 1,000 ballots from young people in the district, to find out what issues the Youth Parliament should debate and vote on, during its sitting in the House of Commons in November.

She said: “I am really happy to say that I managed to get 1011 young people in my local area to vote in the Make Your Mark campaign and have their say.

“I think this is important because it is every young person's chance to choose the issues that affect them and prove that they are interested in politics and democracy.”

In total, 478,000 people across the UK aged 11-18 voted as part of the Make Your Mark campaign.

The top five issues chosen by young people were: - Securing the vote for 16 and 17-year-olds in all public elections and referendums - Providing better work experience opportunities - Making local authorities with youth unemployment rates of 20% or higher come up with specific strategies for tackling the problem - A zero-tolerance approach to bullying in schools, plus better training for staff - A national curriculum which broadens knowledge of topics including politics, sex, relationships, cultural awareness, community cohesion and finance.

Thrinayani will be joining MYPs from across the UK for a debate on the key issues, chaired by MP John Bercow, during Parliament Week, which starts on November 15.