Young Reporter kicks off for 2019/20

Millie Adams (left) & Aleena Joshy (right); last year's Top Reporters.

Schools are back and so is the Young Reporter Scheme, which is starting up for the twelfth year running this month.

Students are already chomping at the bit to get their teeth into this brilliant extra-curricular activity and schools and colleges are championing the scheme to a new cohort of pupils, eager to take up this exciting challenge.

Jenny Greenland from Carshalton High School for Girls, who has run the scheme for many years, said: “This experience is so much like being a journalist; finding a story, writing about it and uploading to a real news website within the deadline.”

Open to year 10 through to year 13, students sign up with Newsquest to write eight articles over eight months. All their articles are published on our online newspapers and it gives them the opportunity to build up a portfolio of their work to use with their CVs and UCAS applications.

Over the years, this amazing scheme has gained huge popularity, giving students a voice and an opportunity to experience life in the media. It is unique and exciting, taking them out of their comfort zones, honing their writing skills and building their confidence as they work alongside our own journalists, reporting on events happening in their area.

Tessa Bartholomew, from Hampton School, said: The Young Reporter programme is an excellent scheme for teenagers and I thoroughly recommend it to all schools.’’

This is an opportunity not to be missed, especially for those students studying media or for those wishing to pursue a career in this field.

If you interested in joining our team of Young Reporters for 2019/20, then please email

djarvis@newsquest.co.uk for more information.