Alcester’s Andrew wins Young Journalist award
A pupil from Alcester High School Technology College has scooped first prize in Warwickshire County Council’s Young Journalist of the Year competition – a day ‘behind the scenes’ at BBC Coventry & Warwickshire.
Twelve-year-old Andrew Ballantyne’s writing skills shone through in an article he wrote about the work and living conditions of migrant vegetable pickers.
The Young Journalist competition was organised by Warwickshire County Council, in conjunction with BBC Coventry & Warwickshire, as part of the county’s Local Democracy Campaign, ‘Take Part, Take Power’. Young people in Warwickshire were encouraged to get their voices heard and write about issues that affect their lives.
In his article, Andrew says: “This issue affects me because I see and hear the foreign migrant workers in my village. I also see the green semi-portable caravans that they live in whilst on the bus, on my way home from school.”
County councillors, Cllr John Burton, Cllr John Whitehouse and Cllr Richard Grant judged the competition and picked Andrew’s article as the best of the bunch. Announcing the winner, they said: “We considered Andrew’s article was very well written and he displayed an individual approach to a topical issue.”
Andrew claimed his first prize when he visited BBC Coventry & Warwickshire’s Open Centre last week.
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire Broadcast Correspondent, Sue Curtis, said: "Andrew really made the most of his day with us. He made his broadcasting debut on Annie Othen’s Mid Morning programme and joined her in the studio to chat live about the competition and his hopes for the future. Look out Jeremy Paxman! I’m sure he’s got a great career ahead of him.”
Andrew’s winning article is available to read on this website (see the link below), and will also be published in the June issue of ‘Warwickshire View’, the award winning county council magazine that is distributed to households across Warwickshire.
Over 130 young people aged 11 to 18 from across Warwickshire entered the Young Journalist Competition, which was organised to give young people a voice as part of the Local Democracy celebrations.
Entrants were encouraged to write about anything that affects their lives, such as an issue facing their community or school, or a global issue.