IT’S not every day Oxford students get to give a front bench MP with a reputation as a political bruiser a grilling in their class.

But that’s exactly the opportunity youngsters had yesterday when shadow chancellor Ed Balls dropped in to The Cherwell School.

Mr Balls was invited by Oxford East MP Andrew Smith to give an economic lesson based on the recent budget to a room filled with 130 pupils.

He was quizzed on quantitative easing, the new planning system, youth unemployment and the cuts. But not all the teenagers were impressed.

Ahmed Yusuf, 17, from Oxford Spires, said: “I have heard that rhetoric all before. It’s repetitive and it’s the same old stuff.”

But Matthew Arnold pupil Charlie Woods, 18, was more impressed.

He said: “I think it was really good and he could be the next Labour leader. I found it very engaging.”

There were pupils from Cherwell, Oxford Spires Academy, Wheatley Park School, Cheney School and Matthew Arnold School.

One Wheatley Park pupil asked him if he would admit he was wrong if Chancellor George Osborne’s cut in the top rate of tax turned out to be successful. Mr Balls parried away the first enquiry, but then conceded he would when the teenage boy persisted.

By the end Mr Balls, who studied at Keble College, was left asking if there were any lighter subjects to discuss.

He said: “What you find when you talk to students about economics and politics is that they really care and they ask the difficult questions.

“It was good to be back in Oxford and I am always keen to come back.”

It fell to Cherwell’s head of economics Tony Gray to ask the easy question when he asked Mr Balls who his choice for England manager would be, with the shadow chancellor going for Norwich manager Paul Lambert.