Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel has selected a teenager from Lancashire to join David Cameron's commission on Shoah education.

Charlotte Cohen, 17, was one of a six-strong panel of youth ambassadors chosen earlier this month to work on developing educational tools to help future generations learn about the genocide.

She was picked to become a commissioner this week after impressing Professor Wiesel, a Nobel Prize-winning academic and author, with an essay on keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive. She will take her place alongside the Prime Minister, leading politicians, academics and celebrities.

She said: "I was in a history lesson when I was called out and told I had a call from the Prime Minister's commission. I feel very honoured and shocked. My role is to represent the youth of Britain. It's exciting."

Miss Cohen, who was the only Jewish pupil among the six ambassadors, lives in Carnforth and is a boarding pupil at York's Queen Margaret's School. She became involved in the commission after joining a Holocaust Educational Trust project and becoming an ambassador for the charity. "I took part in the Lessons from Auschwitz programme and it was a revelatory experience. It turned the Holocaust into a contemporary issue for me," she said.

"In my essay I looked at issues such as the blood libel and historic antisemitism. I'm Jewish but I have not had any experience of antisemitism. I'm lucky to live in a very tolerant society."

Miss Cohen joined the other youth panellists at a session discussing the Shoah in Downing Street a fortnight ago. "We were told to come up with ideas and concepts that the commission might use."

Mick Davis, chairman of the commission, said: "I'm delighted Charlotte has been selected. It's crucial we ensure young people are part of our work.

"We received nearly 800 entries for the competition for youth ambassadors and the standard was incredibly high. I know Charlotte will make a significant contribution."