A headteacher has defended his decision to allow pupils to interview a senior member of the British National Party.

A senior official for the controversial far-right party was invited to address a classroom at Matthew Moss High School about whether the hijab, a headscarf traditionally worn by Muslim women, should be banned.

Simon Darby, the BNP's deputy leader, was phoned by 14-year-old students who were supervised by a teacher as they asked him questions over the phone about the French government's ban on wearing the hijab in schools.

The interview with Mr Darby was part of a news reporting project and headteacher Andy Raymer suggested contacting the BNP to encourage pupils to be 'critically curious'.

He said: "A group of students, who will be taking part in the BBC News Day next week, had a practice session.

"One group decided they would like to do a story on the French government's ban on the wearing of headscarves in schools.

"They contacted a range of people and political parties to get some views on this and this included a phone call to the BNP, made initially by the teacher working with the group.

"The students then took over the phone to put their questions.

"Matthew Moss encourages its students to be 'critically curious', one of the attributes of effective learners.

"The event was managed responsibly by the teachers working with these students and the press interest in their work will give them another angle to report on for News Day. "

The interview has prompted concern from Rochdale MP Paul Rowen, who also participated in the project.

Mr Rowen said: "I was concerned about pupils phoning up and particularly about them being encouraged by teachers to speak to an organisation like the BNP.

"I have no problem with them expressing their opinion because this is a democracy.

"But this is not something that I would encourage."

The interview was conducted as part of the BBC School Report News Day event, which gives 11-14 year-old students in the UK the chance to make their own news reports.

These reports will then be linked online by the BBC for News Day on Thursday.

But Mr Raymer says the interview with the BNP will not be included in the final report.

He added: "Their frustration was the BNP did not actually answer the question, so they could not use this interview in their report."

Simon Darby said: "The phone call came out of the blue and a teacher rang to ask if I minded speaking to pupils.

"Hats off to the school and I hope the teacher involved doesn't get carpeted for this.

"It is a sensible thing to do to make classes more exciting and it is interesting to speak to a member of the BNP to get it straight from the horse's mouth."