Mark Twain memorably remarked: “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.”

I was reminded of this when I recently attended the launch of a report jointly sponsored by Shakira Martin, president of the NUS union, and Vince Cable, leader of the Liberal Democrats. They are an unlikely partnership - he, formally dressed, avuncular, white and white-haired; she, young, black and anything but formal in speech and appearance.

But the age difference was the thing that most struck me, perhaps because we’ve become used to a creeping age segregation over the years, where it’s less and less common to see old and young speaking with one voice or sharing the same platform.

The fact is, the balance of the UK’s population is shifting towards the over-60s. As recent elections have shown, the old have very different priorities to the young. Who was it who said with regard to the Brexit vote, “The old have comprehensively shafted the young”? Oh, yes: Vince Cable.

I couldn’t agree more. Whatever else, all the evidence is that the younger generation - already struggling with an increasingly competitive exam system, unaffordable housing, job insecurity and rising student debt - feel that the EU referendum was a slap in their face. For many, it signalled a retreat by their elders from the internationalism and outward-looking perspectives that the young take for granted.

The NUS report is entitled Students Shaping the Post-16 Skills Plan. It’s very good - full of positive, constructive ideas based on extensive consultation with FE students. The recommendation that stands out for me is to lower the voting age to 16. Yes, please! If a 16-year-old can join the army, have a paid job, pay taxes and get married, then they should surely be able to vote in an election.

What’s more, if the right to vote at 16 were accompanied by a big new emphasis on things such as citizenship education, students sitting on apprenticeship panels, and student representation on devolved skills bodies - as also recommended - then we in the school and college sector could play a much stronger role in preparing them as citizens and voters.

The best way to ensure the voice of young people is given far more attention is to ensure that politicians and power-brokers have to engage with them and take action on their behalf. In short, to make them part of the electorate. It’s heartening to see that most political parties now support giving 16-year-olds the vote. And it’s worth remembering that each year nearly 750,000 16-to-18-year-olds choose to study in colleges - that’s enough votes to elect 20 MPs…

So hats off to Martin and Cable for banging the drum for students to have much more say in post-16 education. I, for one, am right behind them.

Andy Forbes is principal of the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London