A selfie to remember as Horsham school pupils take photo with Michael Gove

Laura Fuller, 15, and Annabelle Goldsmith, 14, were invited to interview Mr Gove as part of the BBC News School Report initiative on Thursday March 27.

The pair were just two of 12 pupils invited to speak to Mr Gove, after more than 30,000 young people had participated.

Laura said: “It was a great opportunity to see behind the scenes at the BBC and to be a part of it.

“A lasting memory for me will be when I asked Mr Gove if we could have a selfie with him. He agreed and I think it shows that even politicians have a sense of humour.

“On the day we saw Michael Gove the politician and Michael Gove the person.”

Annabelle added: “It was fantastic to work with the BBC and have the opportunity to challenge Michael Gove about matters that affect young people.

“I don’t actually agree with many of his plans for the future of education but it was good of him to listen to our points of view and I hope that he will think about what we said.”

Laura and Annabelle had previously recorded a short video of questions that they wanted to put to Mr Gove, and sent it to the BBC.

The girls spent the morning with BBC journalist Fiona Bruce, had a tour of the BBC newsroom and filmed a piece for the One Show.

They are two of a group of 26 Millais students working on a variety of news stories.

Andy Skinner, Millais School enrichment and community awareness co-ordinator, said: “I have watched their confidence grow over the weeks and was impressed at how quickly Laura and Annabelle adapted to the additional pressures in London.”