TALENTED pupils from a Hampshire school have reached the final of a prestigious competition to design a state-of-the-art political website.

Youngsters from Hounsdown School in Jacobs Gutter Lane, Totton, have made it to the last five of the Hansard Society's Web Design Challenge.

The winning school will construct the education charity's innovative new website, Being Heard, which will contain information on current affairs, politics and other matters of interest to young people.

Fiona Booth, the Hansard Society's director of citizenship education, said: "I was delighted by the very high standard - these five finalists all display great talent and understanding of the subject.

"We are looking for a sharp, innovative design that will present current affairs in a way to engage 11- to 14-year-olds."

The youngsters will attend a prize-giving ceremony at London's Design Museum on Wednesday afternoon.

Culture minister David Lammy will be at the event to watch the winning school's website go live.

More than 500 UK schools took part in the Web Design Challenge.

The competition was organised by the Hansard Society and the Design Museum in conjunction with Culture Online, part of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is supported by Microsoft.