London's brightest young journalistic minds have been recognised at a prize giving evening at this newspaper's HQ.

School students attended an awards ceremony at Quadrant House, Sutton, yesterday evening (Thursday, June 29) to mark the culmination of the 2017 Young Reporter scheme.

This was the ninth year of the scheme that allows students to work with Newsquest reporters and have their stories published monthly in online newspapers.

The five award categories, contested between 25 students in the Greater London area from years 10 to 13, included breaking news, events and interviews.

Newsquest's managing editor for south London and Sussex, Andrew Parkes, said: “The Young Reporter scheme is one of the best, most successful projects we have ever undertaken. It started originally in 2008 and has given thousands of youngsters the opportunity to have their work published and experience many of the challenges faced by journalists.

He added: “Some of our early participants in this scheme have already gone on to become fully fledged journalists, some on national titles but many, many more have reported back that the Young Reporter scheme helped them massively in their applications to university.”

A day at university to experience what being a journalism undergraduate is like is awarded to the winners.

Lawrence Potter, who runs the scheme at Bromley High School, said: "I am delighted by our pupils' success in the Young Reporter competition. It has been a pleasure to watch their journalistic style improve and mature over the course of the year. I look forward to reading their work in the future."

Prize winners included Freya McMurray (Tolworth High School) and Imogen Duke (Bromley High School).

Newsquest south London's current sports reporter Jake Bacon was a former participant of the Young Reporter scheme.

In September the new scheme year will commence and students interested in getting involved can contact djarvis@london.newsquest.co.uk for more information.