In return, the so-called "school chairmen" received merchandise and gossip from the record company.
The scheme, run by Universal Records, was a modern version of a fanclub. Then Media Guardian stepped in with what it self-importantly called "an exclusive investigation".
It quoted a disapproving head of education at the National Union of Teachers and put pressure on the record company to suspend the scheme. Which it did.
Not one of the children quoted in the original article had any complaints or misgivings. A spokesperson for Universal Records, the home of Busted and McFly, said: "We've been running the school chairman scheme for more than two years now and we've not had one single complaint from any child, school or parent. What's more, the children enjoy doing it."
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