About the BBC Blog

“Audiences are at the heart of everything we do” – it’s one of the BBC’s core values, printed on our ID passes. But some of those audiences are harder to reach than others. For example children and News don't always seem obviously compatible, so at BBC News School Report, we aim to engage young people with news by showing them how to make their own reports.

We working in partnership with teachers at more than 1,000 schools, who use the lesson plans and resources on our website to teach their children how to make the news – for example, how to find and research stories, and conduct interviews.   

Then in March, we hold News Day – one special day when more than 30,000 11 to 16 year olds become part of one big news team, creating their own reports and publishing them on their school website.

School Reporters also appear on BBC programmes to tell their stories, reporting for everything from Breakfast to The World at One.

Two teenage girls from Birmingham co-presented Woman’s Hour this year and made a big impact on the audience, with one listener getting in touch with the programme to say it was “thrilling” to hear them on air.

“Teenagers being shown in such a positive light via the media instead of being run down and portrayed in a negative way… I am a secondary school teacher and believe me, these girls represent the majority. More of this please…” – Radio 4 listener

The project is open to any UK school providing secondary education and we work with every type of school you can imagine – from academies and schools for pupils with special educational needs to pupil referral units and independent schools.

This diversity ensures that the excellent journalism our young reporters produce reflects the diverse voices of young people across the UK – and it’s why we won the journalism category at the 2013 European Diversity Awards.

But the project has a legacy beyond what makes it on air and on the web. Independent research has shown that School Report has real educational value and pupils themselves tell us what a difference taking part has made to their lives. 

 “I honestly cannot describe the impact that School Report has had on me. To put it lightly Birmingham City Uni would in all likelihood not have accepted me without the experience I gained through School Report,” – former School Reporter, writing to Radio Northampton

Young people are a part of our audience - reflecting their interests and their concerns is vital. 

Over the next few months, School Reporters will be reporting on the future of education and the issues they face at school. They’ll be investigating the changes being made to exams, looking at how well schools are preparing their students for the world of work and holding the people making the decisions about the future of education to account.   

So stay tuned – there’s a lot we can learn from our young people.

Helen Shreeve, is Editor of School Report

• Watch a video about How School Report can benefit your students