The Young Reporter Scheme kicks off for the fourteenth year running this month and students keen to experience life in the media, are busily signing up to get involved. The scheme, which runs for eight months from the beginning of the Autumn term through to April next year, is open to all school students from year 10 and above.
Students register through their schools and are given the task of writing eight short articles over the period, all of which are published on Newsquest’s regional newspapers.
This is an exceptional and unique opportunity and thousands of students over the years have taken advantage of this work experience and written some amazing articles, which they have used as reference on their CVs and UCAS applications.
Anthony Fitzgerald, Director of Careers at Kingston Grammar School, said: “Always a winner, this scheme has become even more appealing in the pandemic, with online mentoring and launches. It is the highest quality of virtual work experience.”
Today universities want more than just good grades. They want to see that students have gone the extra mile and this scheme allows them to do just that. They are given full support throughout the scheme and all schools are offered mentoring sessions and tutorials, giving them every opportunity to make sure they complete the scheme. At the end of it, those that have completed the task, compete for prizes and the winners attend a media award ceremony and a day at a London university, experiencing what it is like to be a journalist student.
During the scheme, students are given additional opportunities to compete for every month. They attend theatre productions and report on the shows, take part in press events, online activities and interview some interesting people, all arranged for them. They also have the chance of competing to have their articles published in the Student Comet, a quarterly newspaper published as an e-edition on the Newsquest Media websites.
Katie Hasler, Head of Sixth Form at Woodford County High School, said: “the Young Reporter Scheme is a great opportunity for our sixth form students to get involved with real-world journalism. It forces them to take a step outside their world of school and A Levels and to get involved in current affairs and local issues.”
The majority of students who have done the scheme in the past, have not necessarily wanted to pursue a career in journalism but all those who have completed the scheme, agreed that it helped them with time management, honed their writing skills and built their confidence.
Selin Akdemir, our year 12/13 winner from last year, said: “The Young Reporter Scheme was a wonderful experience, which helped me improve my writing and enhance my confidence. The process of finding interesting topics, contacting people for quotes and publishing articles in an actual newspaper, gave me the encouragement to consider a career in journalism.
This student secured an internship following completion of the scheme with KCW London, which is a monthly publication covering the West London boroughs.
Nandinee Thatte, our year 10/11 winner, said that she had loved taking part in the scheme as it had helped her improve her writing skills and gave her the opportunity to speak to people in her community.
To take advantage of this exciting opportunity, schools and students need to contact djarvis@london.newsquest.co.uk for further information.
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