MORE than half of Wycombe's schoolchildren say abuse is their biggest fear. Research carried out by the Wycombe Area Youth Council found a majority of youngsters from every secondary school revealed it was the issue which most concerned them.

The term "abuse" was broken down into categories, including substance abuse and teenage and family relationships.

These worries took centre stage when more than 60 young people and teachers visited Wycombe District Council's chamber, in Queen Alexandra Road, High Wycombe, for the youth council's 2005 conference last month.

The aim was to inform and educate young people about abuse and give them details of the different services available.

Vicky O'Brien, chairman of the Youth Council, said: "Abuse is a hard topic to tackle and the youth council has met the challenge head on by making it the subject of this year's conference.

"Young people need to be informed about difficult issues and to know their rights and the services available to them."

The conference consisted of four workshops each run by a specialist.

Children also had the opportunity to question representatives from Buckinghamshire County Council and Wycombe District Council.

The youth council had earlier distributed a questionnaire to students and, along with abuse, found other concerns they had included cruelty to children and the cost and quality of school dinners.

The youth council represents young people and aims to find out their views on important issues.

Members, who are elected in Year 10 and can serve for two years, work closely with other agencies and are often consulted on projects in the area.