Warwickshire News Mine

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Pupils go live on air at BBC Coventry & Warwickshire

Five lucky Warwickshire school pupils spoke live on air to thousands of listeners when they got the opportunity to be young reporters on BBC Coventry & Warwickshire’s Breakfast programme with Liz Kershaw.

Rebecca Guice of Alveston C of E Primary School in Stratford-upon-Avon; Daniel Maher of St. Marie’s Catholic Junior School in Rugby; Andrew Ballantyne of Alcester High School Technology College; Amber-Jayne Barras of Manor Park Community School and Specialist Arts College in Nuneaton; and Thomas Venus of King Edward VI College in Nuneaton, all won Warwickshire County Council’s Young Journalist of the Year competition – and on Friday got the chance to research, write and record their own special news reports for the BBC station, as well as speak live to DJ Liz.

More than 50 budding young journalists aged 10 to 19 from across the county entered the competition, which was run as part of the county council’s annual Local Democracy Campaign.

The pupils won the Young Journalist Competition for news articles they wrote about the environment. But they decided to put together special reports on issues including the Rugby Western Relief Road, youngsters playing musical instruments, the proposed co-location of King Edward VI College and Nuneaton and Hinckley Colleges, litter and vandalism in Nuneaton’s Riversley Park, and encouraging young people to get into engineering for the radio station’s Breakfast show.

The young journalists were invited in to the radio station’s studios in Priory Place, Coventry, earlier in the week to meet the production team and discuss their ideas for their special reports.

Competition judge, Councillor Richard Grant, Chair of Warwickshire County Council’s Children, Young People and Families Overview & Scrutiny Committee, said: “There was a very high standard of entries to our Young Journalist Competition 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 enjoyed their time at BBC Coventry & Warwickshire.

“Our 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.”