An award-winning student is urging youngsters to follow in her footsteps and change Bradford for the better.

For the past 18 months Melanie Smith, 18, has been working for a young persons' think-tank aimed at bringing a more youthful touch to the district's political scene.

The Young People's Scrutiny Commission is made up of students, councillors and community representatives. It was established by the Council's young people and education improvement committee - young people work with experts to help shape policy, and have worked hard in the fight to end bullying in the district's schools.

But Melanie, a former Thornton Grammar pupil, is now stepping down as she prepares to study English and History at the University of East Anglia.

Only weeks ago Melanie received the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Award for Young People and a letter of thanks from the Princess's brother, Earl Spencer, in recognition of her work

Much of that work was achieved through the Commission and she believes it should continue. She had this advice for young people interested in taking up the Commission's vacant chairs: "Please, please do. It is very much worthwhile and it does not take up much time - just two or three meetings a month.

"I got involved in January last year after seeing a poster up in school. I like being involved and taking an interest and I think it is important."

She said the young people on the Commission were often surprised at how seriously their work on school bullying was taken by the professionals and the politicians: "You would get someone who would treat you like a child, but they soon realise you are not one - in some ways the Council took our ideas further than we expected them to."

Some of those ideas, backed up with evidence gathered through survey work, are bearing fruit and include the planned introduction of bullying logs at Bradford schools.

Melanie, of Clayton, Bradford, said: "It has been a very fulfilling and very pleasing, sometimes I step back and have to remind myself what we helped to achieve."

A new website, Youthunite.com, has now been set up to boost recruitment to the Commission.

It features a help and advice zone with links to a variety of other useful websites, information about what's on in the district and a message board where visitors can leave their comments or raise their concerns about issues.

Commission chairman Coun Andrew Thornton said: "The content and style of the site has been directed by the young people on the Commission and they have done a fantastic job.

"It is a useful first point of

contact for the work of the Commission and has links to other useful information as well as ideas for places to go and things to do."