Ten Downing Street is calling for a secondary school pupil from Wheathampstead who will star in a new political reality TV series called Election going out on (July 16). Jac Coxall, aged 14, spent three weeks of his summer rushing around London and compet

Ten Downing Street is calling for a secondary school pupil from Wheathampstead who will star in a new political reality TV series called Election going out on (July 16).

Jac Coxall, aged 14, spent three weeks of his summer rushing around London and competing in rigorous tasks for the CBBC programme. Election aims to find a true leader among the country's young people, and Jac was one of 10 lucky contestants who moved into the Election Leadership House in August after completing three rounds of auditions.

The programme, which is presented by Angellica Bell, follows the fate of two teams who must compete against each other to impress head judge Jonathan Dimbleby. Jac and his comrades had to complete challenges on a daily basis to prove their leadership skills and avoid eviction, and tasks included conducting a River Thames boat tour and conversing with foreign politicians at a fancy banquet.

Jac, who is in year 10 at Sandringham School, said the show sparked an interest in politics and added: "As I learnt more about it, I became more interested in the subject. And we had really friendly mentors such as Anne Widecombe and Ken Livingstone who gave such good advice. I had a brilliant time and I'm still in contact with all the new friends I made."

Jac's mother Lisa said that the show has been life-changing for her son and added: "Jac will never have an experience like that again.He came back a different person!" Although Lisa could not reveal where Jac came in the competition, she did say that the whole family - including Jac's 17-year-old sister Paris, and younger brothers Kane, nine, and Gage, eight - were very proud of him.

As well as entering any competition he can get his hands on, Jac also enjoys performing on stage. He is taking GCSEs in both dance and drama, and has appeared as an extra in productions such as this year's Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. Jac is also heading to London tomorrow (Friday) to perform a street dance at the Britain's Got Talent auditions.

The 10-week series premiers today on BBC1 at 4:45pm, and will culminate with two finalists going head to head at the House of Commons. Each will present their own manifesto to a judging panel of children and the winner will visit Number 10 to present their ideas to the Prime Minister.