BAYLIS Court school pupil Raakhi Sharma, 17, has made it to the House of Commons - where she made her case for 16-year-olds to be given the vote.

Raakhi was representing Slough Youth Parliament as members joined other UKYPs from across the country at the House of Commons to debate one of their next big campaigns.

It was the fourth year Slough has been represented in the House of Commons debate.

Ending knife crime and allowing 16-year-olds to vote had been selected as the UKYP’s next national campaigns.

These motions were two of five debated in the House of Commons chamber in a special session chaired by the Speaker of the House of Commons, Rt. Hon. John Bercow MP, and broadcast live on BBC Parliament.

Raakhi Sharma said: “It was an unforgettable experience and inspiring to see so many passionate young people.”

More than 200 UKYP members aged 11 to 18 took part in the debates nationally. Topics were voted for by young people during the Make Your Mark ballot – the biggest youth consultation in the UK, which asked more than a million young people to select their top issues during September.

This has been a record breaking year for Slough as 11,215 young people participated in the ballot through their secondary schools or local youth groups. Slough achieved the highest percentage turnout for the South East region and the second highest in the country with a 95 per cent turnout.

Sixteen secondary schools took part in the ballot, as well as Langley College and youth groups from the YES Consortium and Active Slough.

The five issues with the most votes in Slough were ending knife crime, mental health, equal pay for equal work, tackling homelessness and a curriculum for life.

Councillor Shabnum Sadiq, Slough Borough Council's cabinet member for children and education, said: “I continue to be inspired by the young people of our town and the passion they have for Slough.

“This year’s exceptional 95 per cent voting turnout clearly shows how engaged and interested Slough’s young people are in politics and the big issues that affect them both now and in the future."