Ashcott Primary School pupils meet Prime Minister Boris Johnson

From Churchill to Thatcher and Blair to Johnson, pupils from Ashcott Primary School have followed in the footsteps of political giants to cross the threshold of Number 10.

Four pupils – all young journalists from the school's award-winning Ashcott Compass newspaper – were invited to Downing Street to seek answers from the Prime Minister about the hottest question in British politics: Brexit.

On the day before Britain left the European Union, the Ashcott pupils attended a junior press conference to put the Prime Minister on the spot, and they were given a personal tour of Number 10.

The children even got to sit at the Cabinet Room table and try out Boris Johnson's own chair, used by every Prime Minister since Victorian times.

The tour was made possible by national children's newspaper First News, which last year named Ashcott Primary School as having the best primary school newspaper in the country.

While a dozen schools from across the UK took part in the press conference, it is the question posed by an Ashcott pupil that has since featured so prominently on Downing Street's own social networks, being viewed by many thousands of people across the world.

Ashcott head teacher Richard Briar said: "One of our journalists, Phillippa, wrote a question asking what the Prime Minister thought would be the opportunities and challenges for young people after we have left the European Union.

"The Prime Minister talked about what he thought the opportunities would be but told us not to worry about the challenges, he said they had been over-stated."

After the visit one of the pupils described the day as a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity.

They said: "It was very exciting how we had the chance to experience meeting Boris Johnson, ask him questions and tour Number 10.

"Normally you only get to see him on the television, but to meet him was something else."

Another of the pupils sat in the front row of the press conference and was also able to put questions to the Prime Minister's official spokesperson James Slack, even asking him if the PM was bossy.

"It was really cool sitting in the front row, with no-one between the Prime Minister and me," she said.

"It was awesome that Boris Johnson was right in front of me and looked at me when he answered the questions."

One of the young Ashcott journalists gave Mr Johnson copies of the Ashcott Compass newspaper, so that he could see the efforts of the 25 pupils who contribute to the school newspaper every half-term. 

"It was a really exciting day: you see Downing Street on the television and it's hard to believe that you are actually there, that it's not a dream," she said.

The fourth member of the Ashcott team said: "Words can't describe how it felt to be standing outside the door to Number 10, to be having our photographs taken."

The four junior reporters were accompanied by Mr Briar and teaching assistant Emma Frampton, an ex-journalist who organises the Ashcott Compass.