A PRIVATE school has defended its decision to let a student stand as a candidate for the far right British National Party (BNP) as part of a mock election.

Yarm School, on Teesside, has come under fire from teaching unions and politicians after a year ten student at the fee-paying school represented the extremist party.

However, headteacher David Dunn said the school vote was meant as an academic exercise and they had wanted it to reflect the national elections happening at the same time.

Mr Dunn said: "I think it would be wrong to exclude a political party because they were extremist. We wanted students to see all the different political groups and we would assume they were intelligent enough to make up their own minds."

Stockton South MP Dari Taylor said she was appalled by the school's behaviour.

She said: "It's alright saying you want to reflect national politics, but the fact is what you're talking about here is a party, which through its racist policies, actually opposes open democracy.

"I'm staggered that a school prized for its academic excellence could have even contemplated doing this."

The mock election was organised by a politics teacher and sixth form students.

Mr Dunn said the BNP candidate was a female student of ethnic origin.

He said she only stood for the far right group as a joke after no one else volunteered.

The BNP candidate won 31 votes - most of them from her own year group.

Also standing were candidates for the Communists, the Greens, the Scorched Earth Party, the Monster Raving Looneys, as well as the three main parties.

Mr Dunn said: "It is my understanding she volunteered as a joke and made a point of criticising the BNP. She made no effort to campaign and in fact most of the people who voted for her were her friends."

But Mrs Taylor said: "There is no joke here, let me say. This is a vile and awful party and to do this is quite simply unacceptable."

Sue Percival, a member of the national executive for teaching union Nasuwt, said: "I would say this was very inappropriate behaviour from a school."