Do the young hate politics?
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Schools Question Time
There was a real buzz around the school hall in Harrogate.
Question Time, the BBC's longest running political programme was in town.
The audience had shuffled in; the questions prepared; microphones tested; the carefully selected panel in place and what must be one of the most recognised TV theme tunes was echoing off the walls.
Everything was as familiar as... well... Question Time.
But the chairman's seat occupied for decades by a Dimbleby was being filled by an 18-year-old sixth former.
Eleanor Pick was part of the team which had spent months organising the event. Harrogate Ladies College is a regional finalist in the BBC's 2011 annual Schools Question Time competition.
The team immediately came up against the realities of producing an audience participation show.
Eleanor told me that their star-studded "wish list" of panellists had included Foreign Secretary William Hague and Stephen Fry.
William Hague was apparently too busy helping run the country.
Stephen Fry never got back to them.
The BBC's Schools Question Time competition, run jointly with the Institute for Citizenship, is aimed at trying to pique the flagging appetite for politics amongst 14 to 19 year olds.
Even here, at one of the poshest schools in the country, another of the organising team admitted that quite a few of her friends were not interested in politics.
But sixth former Isabelle Dmaree-Cotton said they would probably come along to the event anyway so maybe her enthusiasm would rub off on them.
Seventy miles south a similar event was being held at Worksop College in North Nottinghamshire.
The College, another top-rated fee-paying boarding school, is the second finalist in the Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and North Midlands region.
The organising team had managed to pull in a couple of local MPs and a businesswoman as panellists but they also included one of their own sixth formers.
As for the very young not liking politics? Well, a young lady called Rosie challenged that theory.
At 13 she is the youngest member of any Question Time panel I have ever seen.
She and sixth former Jack Robinson- a relative ancient at 18 - put their views forward with an eloquence and maturity that took the breath away.
Who was best? Well, not for me to say. The winners will be announced on 9 April.
The prize? The chance to take part in putting together a real edition of Question Time this summer.
Oh - and don't worry about putting David Dimbleby on the wish list of potential chairmen. He does it anyway.
I'm Len Tingle, the Political Editor for BBC Yorkshire. You can see me most Sunday lunchtimes when I hit the road with the Politics Show's live satellite truck. I also reflect the region's politics on Look North, the BBC's local radio stations and our web pages. Welcome to my blog.
© 2012
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