WINNERS ANNOUNCED NOVEMBER 16, 2019
CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS!
Our young journalist competition for children aged 8 to 11 years old returns. It’s a fabulous opportunity for Key-stage 2 pupils to engage in non-fiction writing, practice asking questions, and communicate about issues that are important to them. Our winners last year included moving and inspiring podcasts on homelessness and anxiety, a rousing argument for why girls can be as good as boys at running, and why children should be allowed to vote.
This year our focus is on learning from the past, and the challenge is for children to interview someone from another generation, at least 40 years older than they are. The aim is for them to learn from that persons past, in order to better understand how we got to where we are today.
It could be a grandmother’s escape from a war-torn country, a great uncle going on strike for better pay, a neighbour who was the first girl in their family to go to school or College. How can we then link what they experienced to similar situations in the world today? The plight of refugees from Syria and Venezuela, female council workers in Glasgow striking for equal pay, or college tuition stopping young people who can’t afford fees from going to College.
We are offering the option of doing either a podcast or a written piece.
It will be judged by Lizzy Amanpour, Producer, Channel 4 News, Thomas Peak from the Forum on Geopolitics at Cambridge University, Amelia Foster. CEO of Sapere and Felicia Jackson, Chair of the Learn2Think Foundation.
The overall winner gets a Kindle Fire 7 and a trophy, and becomes the Learn2Think Foundation Young Journalist of the Year, 2019. Runners-up will receive signed books and activities from Learn2Think. The entry deadline is 2nd November 2018, with the winners announced on 16th November 2018.
The challenge
We will be assessing the entries using the following criteria:
This year our focus is on learning from the past, and the challenge is for children to interview someone from another generation, at least 40 years older than they are. The aim is for them to learn from that persons past, in order to better understand how we got to where we are today.
It could be a grandmother’s escape from a war-torn country, a great uncle going on strike for better pay, a neighbour who was the first girl in their family to go to school or College. How can we then link what they experienced to similar situations in the world today? The plight of refugees from Syria and Venezuela, female council workers in Glasgow striking for equal pay, or college tuition stopping young people who can’t afford fees from going to College.
We are offering the option of doing either a podcast or a written piece.
It will be judged by Lizzy Amanpour, Producer, Channel 4 News, Thomas Peak from the Forum on Geopolitics at Cambridge University, Amelia Foster. CEO of Sapere and Felicia Jackson, Chair of the Learn2Think Foundation.
The overall winner gets a Kindle Fire 7 and a trophy, and becomes the Learn2Think Foundation Young Journalist of the Year, 2019. Runners-up will receive signed books and activities from Learn2Think. The entry deadline is 2nd November 2018, with the winners announced on 16th November 2018.
The challenge
- We would like to see either;
- a written article of up to 500 words (but less is also fine)
- a 3-4 minute podcast (check out apps such as Anchor)
- it must include quotes from at least one interview with someone at least 40 years your senior (include who the person is and why they were chosen for interview)
We will be assessing the entries using the following criteria:
- Topic: It should be something that matters to you; is important to lots of people (or should be!); is something you believe more people need to know about
- Your own voice (not your parents or teachers): Uses your own words; don’t
- make it sound like a homework assignment; make it original, moving and persuasive – good journalism can change people’s minds and gets them to take action
- Reasoning: Is thoughtful; encourages debate; is not one-sided
- Interview: Good quality questioning; plan your questions in advance and make sure they are relevant and challenging; you don’t need to include the full interview, just pick the most useful bits and make sure you use at least one quote; try and surprise us with who you choose
- Research: Breadth; showing your sources; remember that while a strong argument is important, so are facts show us yours are from a credible source - If you are claiming something as fact or quoting someone else, show us how you found it out. Writing about a government report? Link to it. Quoting the prime minister? Link to the source. Referring to old news stories? Find the link.