BBFC launches biggest-ever Youth Panel to give more young people a voice in the film classification process

• British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) launches its biggest Youth Panel to date, with two new strands for children and teens aged 7 to 15, taking its total to 44 members.

• Expanded panel now spans ages 7 to 21, with members selected from all four nations of the UK to ensure a diverse range of perspectives that reflect today’s youth.

• New members met for the first time in London on Saturday to watch and review films, discuss BBFC campaigns and policies, and help shape classification decisions.

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has launched its biggest-ever Youth Panel to give even more young people a voice in the decisions that shape what the UK watches on its screens.

It marks the third round of the BBFC’s Youth Panel recruitment, which now spans ages 7 to 21 and includes two new strands — BBFC Kids and BBFC Teens — alongside the existing BBFC Young Adults panel, bringing its total to 44 members.

The Youth Panel gives young people the opportunity to engage directly with the film classification process, with members watching and reviewing films, sharing their views on BBFC campaigns and policies, and contributing to discussions about the BBFC’s Classification Guidelines that millions of people across the UK rely on when deciding what to watch.

A key part of the BBFC’s mission is to ensure everyone has a say in the standards that underpin its age ratings - including the youngest audiences. With UK cinemas noting a clear shift in young people overtaking older audiences*, the voices of young people are more important than ever in the film classification process. By expanding the panel to include children alongside teens and young adults, and recruiting from all four nations of the UK, the BBFC aims to ensure its classifications continue to help families make confident, informed decisions about what is right for them to watch.

During their two years on the panel, members will have opportunities to learn about the role of the BBFC in the film and entertainment industry, network with other industry professionals, make valuable connections for the future, and create content for official BBFC channels. The panel is open to young people of all backgrounds, ensuring that it can provide genuine pathways into careers in the creative industries for those who might not otherwise have access.

The newest panel members met for the first time on Saturday 25 April at the Curzon cinema in Bloomsbury, London, where they watched and reviewed films including Inside Out 2, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Jaws. They discussed their views on BBFC campaigns including its Create the Card competition for Toy Story 5 and the policies that underpin BBFC Classification Guidelines, gaining first-hand experience of the BBFC's classification process.

The Kids and Teens panels will meet twice a year in-person, and the Young Adults panel six times a year, combining in-person and virtual sessions. Members’ involvement in these sessions will inform classification issues and decisions, and feed into other educational and outreach work to ensure BBFC policies continue to reflect the needs of young people.

Natasha Kaplinsky OBE, President of the BBFC, said: “I’m delighted to welcome our biggest-ever Youth Panel. At the BBFC, we believe the voices informing our decisions should reflect the diversity of young people in the UK, which is why our new members join us from all four nations, from a wide range of backgrounds and across different age groups. We received hundreds of applications, so they should all be very proud of themselves. Their love of film and their commitment to helping shape the future of age ratings truly shone through. This is just the beginning, and I can’t wait to continue working together.”

Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said: “At a time when the debate around children’s online safety has never been more urgent, it is vital that young people are not just the subject of discussions about regulation, but active participants helping to shape them. The BBFC’s Youth Panel is a brilliant example of what participation for children from all backgrounds looks like in practice, with young people getting a genuine say in the decisions that affect their lives.”

Kelly Powell, Publicity Manager and Curzon Film Content Commissioner from Curzon said: “At Curzon, we’ve seen a significant shift in our cinemas, with younger audiences increasingly becoming the driving force and over-indexing in cinema seats. It is vital that the classification process reflects the world they live in, and we are thrilled to see the BBFC expand its Youth Panel. We are proud to host the launch of the expanded panel; giving young people from across the UK a seat at the table doesn’t just empower the next generation of film lovers- it ensures that the industry remains relevant, inclusive, and attuned to the voices that matter most.”