If the young people of Kent had their way Kent TV would be scrapped and there would be more teachers working in struggling schools.

That’s the top recommendations of the Kent Youth County Council who got the chance to hold a debate about the authority’s budget yesterday.

The group of 11 to 18-year-olds decided that as the council’s TV channel had low viewing figures, getting rid of it would have the least effect on the population of the county and the money saved could then be ploughed into something else.

Struggling schools, they decided, would get better if more teachers were drafted in to help educate pupils.

One of those involved was 13-year-old Samuel Watkin from Maidstone.

The Oakwood Park Grammar School student said: “There were so many options to choose from and you had to take into account job losses and council tax increases. If you cut something you had to spend something else so it was a difficult balancing act.”

Samuel is one of the 48 students that have been elected onto the Youth Council.

Politics is something he has a real passion for and something he wants to get into when he gets older.

He said: “Most of the people I speak to at school really don’t care about politics but what I’m trying to do in my position is make politics more of a mainstream thing for young people. It’s really important that young people learn about politics because they’re going to be the people that are running the country and voting in 10 years time.”

All of the young people’s ideas will be fed back to KCC’s cabinet and their recommendations taken into account when the council’s budget is set next year.