Students Cassie Irving, Eilish Newbury, Jessica Wilson, Dan Walls, Jack Elliot, Lewis Bullen, Tom Maughan and Tom Feaheny were joined by lecturers Nigel Green and Carol Green.

They visited the European Parliament, where they saw hundreds of MEPs from across the 27 member states join in the plenary session. They also saw the President of the European Council, Herman van Rompuy, being interviewed as part of a live TV debate.

The students interviewed five Yorkshire and Humber MEPs and are now writing stories and features to be published or broadcast in regional media in the coming weeks. Topics covered included the region being represented by a BNP member, whether young people are disengaged from politics, job vacancies and internships for graduates, the future of the Euro and media freedom.

The students also had the opportunity to meet and pick up tips from top journalists, including Rory Watson, from The Times, before attending the European Commission, where they saw journalists question officials over allegations of corruption and nepotism. They also saw the parliament and commission press centres, where media releases on a vast range of issues are produced in more than 20 languages.

Despite a gruelling schedule, the students had time to take in some of the sights of Brussels, including the restaurants and bars around the Grand Place.

Tom Feaheny, who did a live interview for East Leeds FM radio station while in Brussels, said: “

I’m very interested in politics and I’d like to work in Brussels one day. We worked hard and had a lot to do but there was still time to relax and have a look around Brussels in the evening. It was a fascinating trip and I’m really glad I went. It allowed me to see at first hand what we’d learned on the module.”