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BBC Young Reporter Competition: Winners announced

BBC BBC Young Reporter Competition trophyBBC

The winners of this year's BBC Young Reporter Competition have been announced.

More than 2,500 young people aged 11-18 submitted original and interesting story ideas to the competition, which is in its third year. It gives young people the chance to make their own story with BBC programme teams, producers and reporters.

With three categories to choose from:

  • Me and My World
  • Coronavirus Stories
  • Uplifting Stories

young people from across the UK shared the issues and untold stories relevant to them and their lives.

Following a tough round of shortlisting and judging, 30 winners from across the UK were chosen to produce their reports with the help of some of the BBC's programme-makers and producers.

Judges included editors from across the BBC as well as presenters and reporters, including Huw Edwards, Laura Kuenssberg, and Nikki Fox from BBC News, Radio 1's Greg James and Katie Thistleton, The One Show's Alex Jones, BBC Newsbeat's Roisin Hastie and Ben Mundy, Newsround's Ricky Boleto and BBC Three reporter Ellie Flynn.

This year's BBC Young Reporter Competition winners are:

Me and My World (11-15 years)

Winner: Tia, 15, Wales. The challenge to find clothes that fit when you're a wheelchair user and always sitting down.

Runner-Up: Keyaan, 11, East London. The stigma within the Bangladeshi community of being part of a single parent family.

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Me and My World (16-18 years)

Winner: Ben, 17, South Derbyshire. The experience of being an apprentice footballer at a professional club.

'Highlighting mental health in football is vital'

Runner-Up: Alex, 16, Wales. Having a Special Guardian and how it has kept her out of the care system.

Coronavirus (11-15 years)

Winner: Shireen, 15, Essex. How she really got to know and like her dad in lockdown.

'My dad became my best friend in lockdown'

Runner-Up: Zoe, 15, Tyne and Wear. Dealing with the death of her mum during lockdown and the lack of support for grieving teenagers taking exams.

Coronavirus (16-18 years)

Winner: Hannah, 17, South Lanarkshire. Working in a care home as a key worker during lockdown.

"We were the only people there to support them"

Runner-Up: Jessica, 18, Manchester. Dealing with anxiety and depression during lockdown and the lack of support services.

Children’s Commissioner: Bereaved students need more help

Uplifting (11-15 years)

Winner: Declan, 13, Nuneaton. How fishing gave him his confidence back and helped him his dad and granddad bond during lockdown.

Runner-Up: Emmerson, 14,South London. A jazz loving teen, who was the first UK attendee at an annual American jazz camp.

Uplifting (16-18 years)

Winner: Jamie, 17, Merseyside. Growing up in foster care and the positive impact it can have.

Runner-Up: Suzanna, 17, Croydon. Life as a teen mum - breaking the negative stereotypes.

Group (11-18 years)

Winner: Adam and Tavish, 13, Watford/Hertfordshire. Cyber-crime - why it's a problem and tips on how to help protect yourself.

Runner-Up: Jasmine, 16, Sheffield. Founded an advice and campaign group for young women who have been misdiagnosed while suffering painful gastrointestinal conditions.

Northern Ireland

Winner: Fionn, 12, County Down. Overcame severe asthma to pursue his sporting ambitions.

Runner-Up: Rowhyn, 16, County Londonderry. A young underwater explorer who wants to showcase the beauty around Northern Ireland's coast.

Scotland

Winner: Hazel, 16, Inverclyde. History, as taught in Scotland, is especially lacking in Black British content.

Young people want to see themselves in what they learn in school

Runner-Up: Isla and Imogen, 13, Perth. Why is there a lack of diversity represented in gaming characters?

How diverse are computer game characters ask BBC Young Reporters Isla and Imogen

Wales

Winner: Faith, 17,Wrexham. Living with OCD - breaking the stereotypes and stigma by being a UK young ambassador.

Faith Dodd lived with undiagnosed OCD for about five years

Runner Up: Osian, 16, Caernarfon. A young footballer who fears for the future of his local club because of the impact of coronavirus.

You can read Osian's story here.

England (South/East)

Winner: Hannah, 17, Bedfordshire. Making it as a model while living with a disability.

'I didn't want scoliosis to stop me being a model'

Runner Up: Amelia, 18, Surrey. Living through her parents' divorce while being in the same house as them through lockdown.

England (South/West)

Winner: Oscar, 17, Taunton. 'I witnessed transphobia towards my mum'

Runner-Up: Wilamena, 14, Falmouth. How music helps cope with Tourette's Syndrome.

Wilamena, was diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome at the age of nine

England (London)

Winner: Neha, 13 Isleworth. How her local allotment is under threat from redevelopment.

Allotment redevelopment: 'You can't build a community on concrete'

Runner-Up: Ore, 17, South-east London. Why is learning about personal finance and managing money not a core subject in secondary schools?

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England (Midlands)

Midlands: Alfie, 14, Shropshire. The impact Covid has had on cancer treatments for children.

You can read more about Alfie's report here.

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Runner Up: Isobella, 11, Shropshire. How the pandemic has affected people who are deaf and blind.

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England (North)

Winner: Olivia, 12, Northumberland. Life as a ginger - the last acceptable insult.

The girl on a mission for 'ginger justice'

Runner-Up: Chance, 13, Hull. How street art affects how we feel about where we live.

The first exclusive reports have been produced in collaboration with BBC journalists and producers - within the BBC's Covid-secure guidelines, including social distancing and remote recording.

Winning stories will be broadcast across the BBC this week, including Newsbeat, Newsround, The One Show, BBC Radio 5 Live, The BBC News Channel, BBC Sport and a host of regional television and local radio programmes. All other winning reports will be produced at a later date, once Covid restrictions are relaxed.

The winners' announcement comes on the final day of the annual BBC Young Reporter Festival. The five-day event, which ran from 10-15 March, provided thousands of young people with the opportunity to connect with a series of virtual lessons, careers workshops and Q&A sessions with famous faces from Radio 1, Asian Network, Match of the Day and BBC Three.

Tim Davie, BBC Director-General, said: "BBC Young Reporter provides budding journalists with an amazing opportunity to share the stories that matter to them with the nation, alongside the skills they need to tell accurate, trustworthy stories. It's great to see so many applications and I congratulate all of this year's winners."

Watch a BBC News Channel special programme "BBC Young Reporter Competition - The Winners"here.

Follow us on Twitter @BBCYoungReport / #BBCYoungReporter