“We have found the programme of great value in recent years and our students have enjoyed participating in the programme. We delivered the programme during timetabled Literacy lessons, but this year, as the needs of our students are different, we decided that we need to focus more on developing the literacy skills of the students and will subsume some of the skills covered in the Irish News Programme into a media unit covered in Year 8. The programme is definitely excellent in terms of media knowledge and understanding and the articles were indeed interesting and engaging.”
In 2022, more than 6,000 students participated in the Young Newsreaders Project. Here’s what they had to say!
More than ever, it is important that young people know what news is real and what isn’t. Newspapers give you more background and put forward the different side of story in a way that social media cannot. We find that children may see something on YouTube or Instagram and then go find out more about it in the printed newspaper. They don’t see a newspaper as old fashioned, if anything they’re coming back into fashion among our young newsreaders. Children are bombarded with news about Brexit, Climate Change, Refugees, the border, local politicians. They need to be able to understand what is real news and what is fake. In the social media era where communications are delivery in 280 characters it is useful that young people see the truth behind the news.
Mrs Hughes St Mary’s High School
I loved the Irish News project. I really enjoyed using my press pass, because I felt like a real Journalist. When I was told that we were going to be able to interview anyone that we wanted for The Irish News I was ecstatic because that was one of the reasons that I signed up for doing the project. The Irish News Project is one of my favourite memories of Year 8. Doing the Irish News Project brought a smile to everyone in my class!
Laoise Tennyson
St John The Baptist’s College
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