A DUDLEY politician paid a visit to Redhill School in Stourbridge to help raise students’ interest and aspirations in a wide range of careers and opportunities.

Ian Austin, MP for Dudley North, dropped by to chat to pupils at the Junction Road school as part of a ‘character education programme’.

As part of his visit, the teens asked the MP searching questions, including what inspired him to become a politician and his views on the European Union.

Mr Austin told the students of his personal story, about how he grew up in Dudley and had always had an interest in politics.

When asked about what interested him about education and how he came to be on the select committee for education, Mr Austin said: “The only way we’re going to be able to attract new jobs in the future, so that you get good jobs when you’re older, is by making education a much bigger priority, so that we have got the skills in this area that new industries need, to give young people the best opportunities, the best chances of getting good and prosperous jobs in the future.

“This is why we’ve got to make education the number one thing.”

He also spoke to the pupils about his father, who came to England just before the Second World War from the Czech Republic, as well as how his experiences had created an interest in what is going on in the world.

Headteacher Stephen Dunster said: “We were delighted to welcome Ian Austin to our school.

“We are also very grateful for the time he gave to chat to our pupils and we are sure they will have learned a great deal from what he shared with them.”