The Young Reporter award ceremony took place last night at the offices of Newsquest in South London. In total, there were thirty three awards given to twenty seven students from schools within the Greater London area.  

Jodie Bowen from Croydon High School and Shane Ward from Charles Darwin School were the two top reporters for 2016 and both these students each scooped three awards.

In addition to top reporter, Jodie won highly commended in the breaking news category with her article about a ‘pile of rotten fish’ and winner in best interview about the ‘Croydon riots.’

Shane, who won the commended category for his interview article about the 'Westerham bypass debate' and winner in best feature about a '301 year old tradition in Westerham' as well as winning top reporter, said: "Both participating in, and being a winner of, the Young Reporter scheme are immense honours and I'm so glad I was given the opportunity.

"I cannot recommend it enough for any budding young journalists out there."

The evening was a huge success and Liberty Martin a previous top reporter in 2014, was one of the presenters. She spoke about her time involved in the scheme and said how it had been a great introduction into journalism, which she plans to study on completion of her A ’Levels.

Croydon High School had an excellent night winning six out of the thirty three awards as well as top reporter.

Donna Edmonds, Head of English at Croydon High, said: "Croydon High were thrilled to be allowed to take part in Young Reporter again this year. Our four finalists enjoyed an amazing evening of success, taking home awards in multiple categories including Best Reporter for year 10/11 for Jodie Bowen. It was a tremendous showcase of the enormous talent and tenacity that exists amongst the youth of London. A memorable and inspiring evening for all involved."

As part of their prize, all twenty-seven winners also won a university day. The idea behind this is for them to experience life as an undergraduate and this year Kingston University hosted the event.

During that day, the students produced The London Comet, a newspaper made up purely of their stories. To view the online version of the paper click on http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk//launch.aspx?eid=74723d2f-7148-4abf-960d-1028538b866f

The scheme starts up again in September of this year so if your school is not involved, then why not apply to join the hundreds of young people who compete in this project every year. For more information contact Diana Jarvis at djarvis@london.newsquest.co.uk