AN annual BBC initiative to introduce young people to the world of journalism has inspired pupils at South Craven School.

Students took part in the 2016 BBC School Report News Day, and were among 30,000 pupils at more than 1,000 UK schools involved in the scheme.

The young people gathered news stories which they had to finish by a 2pm deadline, before putting them online.

The day for the South Craven news team began with an 8.25am press meeting where students reviewed the day's newspapers and analysed local, national and international stories.

This was followed by a 9.15am meeting to decide which stories to cover and to allocate responsibilities.

From 10.10am the pupils began gathering material, interviewing people and making film reports. As stories were written up they were forwarded to the editor for checking, then on to the IT dept for uploading to the website.

Year eight pupil Tansy Whitfield said: "It was a day of intellectually challenging work, a chance to do something different and a great opportunity to meet and work with students from other year groups. It was really, really busy and hectic!"

English teacher Laura Brear said: "Students have worked exceptionally hard, chasing stories, getting interviews and working to deadlines.

"They've coped really well with the organised chaos of the day, and certainly appear to have enjoyed the experience."