Painsley Students Celebrate Majority Win at Future Journalist Awards  

Painsley Catholic College is delighted to announce that twelve of its students have made the winners list of this year’s Future Journalist Awards.  The awards were announced during an awards ceremony held at Staffordshire University.

The awards are an annual competition hosted by the university’s journalism department and organised by third-year Sports Journalism students.  Open to young people aged seven to 18, the competition gives aspiring journalists a way to showcase their work, submitting an article, review, or blog, or creating a short video or audio clip.  Of the 18 awards available to secondary school students, Painsley students were awarded 12, an overwhelming majority.

Danielle Booker, PR lecturer at Staffordshire University, said: “We had a record number of submissions this year, with over 500 entries, and the standard of the work was extremely high.

“Due to the pandemic, this has been our first in-person awards ceremony since 2019 and it’s been fantastic to welcome our finalists and their families and teachers to the university.

“I think we have some extremely talented young people, ready to be the next generation of bloggers, vloggers, broadcasters and journalists.”

During the ceremony, special guest speaker Laura Watson, business editor at The Sentinel and Stoke-on-Trent Live, shared highlights from her career and provided advice on pursuing a career in media.

“It’s really important that we encourage children to get involved from a young age, so they know what’s expected of them,” said Laura.

“There was nothing like this around when I was at school, and I think the competition is a really good way of showcasing the industry to aspiring journalists.”

Sports commentator Seb Hutchinson, who completed a Master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism at Staffordshire University, recorded a special video message for the awards.

Seb has worked with the UK’s leading sports broadcasters such as Sky, BT Sport, and ITV, and has covered some of the world’s biggest sporting events, including the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Rugby World Cup, and the UEFA Champions League.

Each winner received a £50 Amazon voucher and an opportunity to take part in a Newsday experience in the University’s newsroom facilities.

Mrs Rachel Waugh, Principal at Painsley Catholic College said, “ I am thrilled and incredibly proud of our finalists, runners-up and winners. What an incredible achievement! All those who took part are to be congratulated on their amazing talents and achievements, this is a wonderful accolade for each of our students and indeed our college.”

The Painsley winners are listed below:

Years 7-9

Written Runner-up: Louis Mellor

Written Runner-up: Holly Jones

Written Winner: Millie Bradshaw 

Audio Runner-up: Lucy Kieher-Knapper

Audio Runner-up: Eli Hughes

Video Runner-up: Scarlett Nichols

Video Runner-up: Jacob Konen

Video Winner: Isabelle Histead 

Years 10-11

Written Runner-up:  James Thorley

  Years 12-13

Written Runner-up: Lucy Davies

Special prize winners:

VR Experience Winner: Lila Melnykevicova 

Co-op Hamper Winner: Elizabeth Booth