Young Reporters
Young Reporters has now been running for ten years as of 2022. It is an opportunity for young people aged between 12 and 19, to write a weekly column which is published in the Grimsby Telegraph covering a huge range of topics. It has also been a finalist and sometimes winner for many local and national awards.
Groups run throughout the year with each group lasting for 3 months, giving each member the chance to write 3 columns. Young Reporters was originally managed by NELC for many years but for the past five years it has been managed through the VANEL youth team (contact details below).
The Young Reporters group will meet on Wednesday afternoons twice a month at 82 Grimsby Road, the Big Local offices opposite the small Tesco, for two hours at a time. Commitment then will be to write 3 pieces of 600 to 700 words over the three month period with each person having agreed set deadlines for their pieces with support from the other members.
Articles appear in the Grimsby Telegraph Viewpoint section every Tuesday and are then available on the VANEL blog so that all articles remain available online.
Increasingly our young writers are also getting opportunities to prepare written pieces for other publications on specific subjects too.
This is a great experience for young people interested in writing.
“My daughter took part In Young Reporters a few years ago and received the Diana Award for this work. Her columns went into her portfolio, and proved a great topic to talk about at interviews. I would highly recommend students apply to this programme, particularly students who want to go into vocations related to English: writing, publishing, marketing and media. These industries require a portfolio of work as standard.” – parent of a young reporter
If you are interested in being part of this fantastic opportunity, or know someone that is, please contact John at VANEL (john@vanel.org.uk) or use this online form (http://vanel.org.uk/va/young-reporters-application-form/)
This opportunity has proved to be a positive addition to the development of CV’s as well as developing key transferrable skills most employers look for, including team work, meeting deadline, effective written and verbal communication, positive challenge and developing understanding of diverse issues young people face.
You can read all the articles by our young reporters on our blog here www.vanel.org.uk/va/tag/young-reporters/
Online application form is currently here. http://vanel.org.uk/va/young-reporters/
Contact
John Mooney at VANEL is the person to contact.
Drop him a line via john@vanel.org.uk
Learn more about Young Reporters idea on this Youtube video = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHRy0R8I7n4
Celebrating 10 Years
In 2022, Young Reporters celebrated 10 years. That’s dozens of young people who’ve written hundreds of published articles between them. And plenty of life changing experiences for them all.
Thoughts from prolific Young Reporter Grace:
There are genuinely no words, which is ironic considering I have written a total of nearly 25, 700 word articles for the paper, so having no words is unusual for a budding writer like me. But, over the past 2 years now I have been lucky enough to be apart of the young reporters programme. I began during the first lockdown, when I can admit, I was in a very difficult time in my life personally. I have always had a love for all things English and book related, but had never really considered the thought of writing as a career choice. Throughout 3 or more lockdowns I wrote about topics which were never talked about, topics which needed more awareness and topics which were close to my heart. I got the opportunity to use my brain for something which soon became the biggest passion in my life, and my biggest therapy. I have had so much feedback on my articles from teachers, friends, family, strangers, friends of family and even the radio! I have been able to use this programme for my own therapy but also for helping others so that they are able to feel a sense of relief that somebody their age, or just somebody in the area relates to what they are going through. Jenny allowed me into this programme without realising how much it helped me during lockdown, and allowed me to write freely, let me spread my creativity, edited my very long articles which were well over the word limit, and consistently emailed me with praise, check in’s and kind words. I am beyond proud to be apart of this programme with some amazing people, and I am insanely grateful that I now am looking to pursue writing as a career.
I cant wait to write more and to keep inspiring others I hope. Thank you for this opportunity always.
Also, read this recent article by Young Reporter Tomos with thoughts on 10 years of Young Reporters.
Award Winning

Links to Young Reporter articles in the IGNITE blog
Et Les Femmes?
Young Reporter shares her thoughts about women in male dominated sports. How far have things progressed and how much further do things need to impress. Read on.
British Sign Language
Young Reporter Alex explores how learning British Sign Language is a very positive step in helping communicate with deaf people. Read on.
Police time is precious, please don’t waste it.
Police time is critical. It is something that shouldn’t ever be wasted or taken for granted. But frustratingly, this is the case. Too much of the police time is taken up and wasted by the public, whether it be deliberately or not, it’s happening; and you need to be aware. Read this week’s article by our Young Reporter Rachel.
Can You Be the Hero of the Earth’s Story?
Our latest story from a Young Reporter deals with the environment, climate change and our role. Read on.
Info not Income. The latest article from our Young Reporters
Charlotte, one of our Young Reporters, shares her thoughts about homelessness and challenges us all to think differently. Read her story.
Cheerleading group soars to new heights
Cheerleading has taken over England in the last decade becoming one of the fastest growing and supportive sports there is. But you might not know a lot about it. Let Alex, one of our Young Reporters, tell you all about it.
Young Reporters a new chapter
At a meeting on 19th February our current Young Reporters and Peer Mentors welcomed the new recruits who will be writing for the coming months and thanked the outgoing Young Reporters for their hard work and interesting articles over the last four months. Read on for the whole article about this transition and to be introduced to our new young reporters
Better the balance, better the world. Celebrating International Women’s Day.
In this article, Kirsty from the IGNITE team explains the origins of International Womens Day, what the day is all about and reminds us of the event on the day that VANEL are leading in Grimsby. Read on for this interesting story.
Could you be a Young Reporter? Do you know someone aged 12-19 who enjoys writing?
The Young Reporters are looking for new young people aged 12-19 to take on a new challenge for the new year and join up to write about what is important to them. This is an ideal opportunity for young people to gain experience writing, get their work published and be heard about the topics they are passionate about. Read on to find out more.