A SOUTHALL teenager beat out thousands of hopefuls to be the chosen representative for the borough on a visit to the House of Parliament for International Women's Day.

Villiers High School sixth-form pupil Naurane Asif was selected despite "very strong opposition" by MP Virendra Sharma for her "thoughtful and intelligent" application letter.

The 17-year-old joined youngsters from across the UK for the special tour of Westminster as part of the international day of celebration on Tuesday 8 March 2016.

During the visit she sat in on an equality committee, heard from a panel of inspirational women and spent time chatting with Mr Sharma.

Naurane, from Southall, said: "At my school their are a lot of inspirational female teachers like Ms Collie and Ms Fitzgerald who have done amazing things with their lives like go to Oxford University, join the Army and work for huge corporate companies.

"When you are taught by people like that it gives you confidence and belief that you can also achieve amazing things.

"Then of course there is my mum who is my absolute hero. She was very proud that I represented Southall but I'm very proud of her for being such a strong women."

Naurane, who is currently studying for four A Levels, said the visit has encouraged her to follow a career in business.

She added: "The panel was the best bit of the day. Hearing from women who run their own companies and have senior positions at top corporations. I want to be like that one day.

"At Villiers High School they make you work hard for exams but they also put a lot of importance on personal development, which I think will be important in my future career."

Villiers Headteacher Remo Iafrate said: "The school is very proud that Naurane represented the school at such an important occasion.

"At Villiers High our vision is for every student to passionately engage in learning and to be able to succeed in a rapidly changing world.

"I am confident that Naurane is able to put her experience to great effect in the future and to inspire other students at Villiers High School.