A Cumberland School pupil made his voice heard on the global political stage by telling German chancellor Angela Merkel how to build a healthy future.

Newham Recorder: Matheus, 15, went to Berlin to advice Angela Merkel at the J7 Youth Summit. (Pic by Unicef)Matheus, 15, went to Berlin to advice Angela Merkel at the J7 Youth Summit. (Pic by Unicef) (Image: Archant)

Brazilian-born Matheus Santos, 15, took a break from his studies to become one of six UK pupils to attend the Berlin J7 Youth Summit.

The meeting, supported by Unicef, aims to make sure young voices are heard at the G7 Leaders Summit in June by sending six representatives from each G7 country.

From May 6 to May 13, Matheus schooled the world-leader on “Building a healthy future for all: antibiotic resistance in fighting pandemics”.

“I have been seeing antibiotic resistance is an issue in a lot of newspapers,” he said. “I passionately wanted to tell people, especially Angela Merkel, we need to address this and raise awareness,”

The Plaistow politico, who sees his future as either a doctor or ambassador, said he valued the opportunity to present a suggestion paper to the leader.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he said. “She was a very humble person, very nice and she really wanted to listen to us and what we had to say.

“She was debating with us and asking questions.

“I hope that she really takes our views to the G7 Summit in June.”