Pocklington Prep pupils planned, wrote and edited a School newspaper packed with articles which entertained the School community and raised money for charity.

The Pocklington Prep Press (PPP) was the brainchild of Year 6 pupil Lydia Bousfield, who is considering becoming a journalist when she’s older. She impressed English teacher Mrs Foster with her plans and recruited other children from her year group into her editorial team.

The group met over several lunchtimes to collect ideas, plan articles, conduct interviews and compile many different sections to appeal to a wide readership. Articles included School news and events, fun gossip (including ‘What do the teachers keep under their desks?’), book reviews, funny photos, interviews, recipes, baking tips and tricks, fashion and puzzles.

Lydia, the newspaper’s editor, said: “I thought it would be a great idea to get a bunch of friends together and make an interesting school newspaper, full of articles and activities that children like to read and do.” 

The 19-page newspaper was printed and sold last term for 50p a copy, with all the money going to St. Leonard's Hospice, York. The editorial team enjoyed themselves so much they have already started planning new articles for the next PPP.

Charlotte Marson, Deputy Editor, said: “Working on the PPP has really helped us develop great teamwork. It only worked because we all worked together. Girl Power!”

Amy Harrison-Little, Deputy Editor, said: “It was really enjoyable, we spent quite a long time on it and we sold it to all the children who wanted to read our great magazine.”

Lydia added: “Mrs Foster helped us all with organisation and gave us some great tips for putting the final touches to the newspaper. I am really proud of what we managed to do: we raised £30.50 for charity and we did it ourselves. Watch out for the next one!”