CHILDREN at a Winchester school put their MP through his paces in a special interview.

Steve Brine was a guest on Otterbourne Primary School radio broadcast and was grilled by Year Five children about his roles and responsibilities as an MP.

In true journalistic style the children heavily researched Mr Brine's work and asked him about balancing family life with being an MP and even visited the Houses of Parliament before the interview.

Mr Brine, a former BBC radio broadcaster, gave the children tips.

Headteacher of Otterbourne Primary School, Alison Langrish, said: “The Year 5 children, who conducted the interview of Steve Brine, were incredibly excited at the prospect of interviewing their local Member of Parliament, especially since their recent visit to the Houses of Parliament.

“They showed great maturity and commitment in their preparation for his visit - undertaking research, planning appropriately polite but probing questions and managing their obvious excitement."

“Steve's visit helped the children in many ways - in valuing the school's radio programmes and the appreciation of the different skills which need to be employed when interviewing VIPs and which are incredibly important in many other contexts.”