Warwickshire News Mine

More than 50 young people aged 10 to 19 from across the county entered the competition, which is run as part of Warwickshire County Council’s annual Local Democracy Campaign.

The theme for this year’s competition was the environment and a high standard of entries were received on subjects including climate change, recycling, graffiti, pollution and even the destruction of the rainforest!

For the first time this year, as well as entering a written article, young people also had the option of submitting an audio or video report.

Teachers were asked to short-list submissions from their schools, to create a list of 24 top entries that went through to last week’s grand final.

A panel of judges including Councillor John Burton, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Schools, Councillor Richard Grant, Chair of the Children, Young People and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and Councillor Jill Dill-Russell, also a member of the committee, decided on the winning entries from three age categories – year 6, years 7 to 9 and years 10 to 13.

The winners are:

Year 6 category:
• Rebecca Guice of Alveston C of E Primary School in Stratford-upon-Avon, for a report on Warwickshire schools and recycling.
• Daniel Maher of St. Marie’s Catholic Junior School in Rugby, for a report on global warming.

Years 7 to 9 category:
• Andrew Ballantyne of Alcester High School Technology College, for a report on human influence on the environment.

Years 10 to 13 category:
• Amber-Jayne Barras of Manor Park Community School and Specialist Arts College in Nuneaton, for a report on litter and vandalism.
• Thomas Venus of King Edward VI College in Nuneaton for a report on rubbish and the environment.

All the winners will be treated to a trip to BBC Coventry and Warwickshire’s studios where they’ll get the chance to produce an hour of the radio station’s morning shows. They’ll also be showcased on the Warwickshire County Council website.

Councillor Richard Grant, Chair of the Children, Young People and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee, said: “The Local Democracy Campaign is all about taking part and taking power, and we have actively encouraged young people to do just that and air their opinions on issues that they care about.

“We were delighted to receive so many entries to the competition and were very pleased that we received video and audio reports from young people as well as written articles.

“There was a very high standard of entries this year, which made judging really tough – but we think the winners thoroughly deserve the title of Young Journalist of the Year and we hope they enjoy their day out at BBC Coventry & Warwickshire.”

For more information on Warwickshire County Council’s Local Democracy Campaign, visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/localdemocracy.

Link to WCC