AN MP faced a rather unorthodox question time at the Bourne Academy after being invited to talk to students by the deputy head girl.

Conor Burns, MP for Bournemouth West, said it was the first time he had ever been asked which kitchen utensil he would rather be, among questions about national policy.

He said he would be a “lemon and lime zester” because he was interested in scraping below the surface to find the truth.

The event on Friday was organised by Gracie Prince, 15, who approached the MP while she was seeking community figures to give the students an insight into the wider world.

She said: “I am delighted with how the talk went. The idea was to find out more about how everything is run, but it was also an opportunity to show what we can do here at the academy.

“It was brilliant that our MP was able to come, we had a lot of questions for him about education and what the government is doing to provide jobs for young people, and it brought home just how much politics affects us.”

Mr Burns said he was impressed with the political awareness of the students.

“We have covered everything from the European Union, through Thatcher, Catholicism, euthanasia and the war in Afghanistan, I have been very impressed,” he said.

“I have been to the academy a few times recently, but it is the first time I have been invited by a student, or asked what kitchen utensil or superhero I would rather be.

“This is a great opportunity for me as well, both to hear from local young people, and show that we politicians aren’t remote figures pottering around London, we are community figures.”

The MP said the superhero he would most like to be would be Spiderman.

Richard Youngs, the academy’s business director, stressed that Gracie had organised the meeting with little involvement by the academy.

He said: “It is wonderful that Gracie has done this off her own back, all we have done is provided a room, and she has done a lot of work.

“It is a great opportunity for the students, they have asked a varied set of questions, some serious and some more bizarre, but it all gets them thinking and makes their education real.”