'But what's going on with Simon Cowell?'

The girls of St Joseph’s School, Castlebar, Co Mayo 1 Louise Sammon 2 Eimear McHale 3 Claire Kelly 4 Deirdre Murray

The girls of St Joseph’s School, Castlebar, Co Mayo 1 Louise Sammon 2 Eimear McHale 3 Claire Kelly 4 Deirdre Murray

On social networking

Deirdre Murray: “A lot of young people are joining Facebook. It’s a bit more sophisticated than Bebo. Twitter is becoming more popular. You can use it to follow celebrities, including some great comedians, as well as let people know what you’re up to.”

On the 1980s

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Claire Kelly: “The fashion, the blazers, the big hair and the mad platform shoes are all back.”

On Irish band The Script

CK: “This Irish band are getting really big. They had a gig in Castlebar and it was sold out. Their music is really good, they have a great sound and are kind of different.”

On The X-Factor

DM: “It’s brilliant this year! The new live audience is so good and really builds up the tension. But what’s going on with Simon (Cowell)? He’s turned nice and soft, and he’s become really funny.”

On Big Brother

Eimear McHale: “Good riddance to it.”

On the recession

EM: “We’re sick of all the talk in the media. It’s making us feel as if we’ll never get a job, and we’ll have to stay in school forever. When people hear more about the recession, it makes them even less likely to spend their money.”

On skinny celebrities

Louise Sammon: “Constant pictures of really skinny women in magazines make girls feel they have to live up to it. You’ll often read that even slim women like Cheryl Cole are planning to lose weight.”

On Swine Flu

LS: “No one in our school has it . . . yet. It doesn’t sound pretty. We’re going to Bundoran for a school trip next week, and the fear is that if one person gets it, the whole class will have to go home.”

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