THE next generation of budding journalists have been sharpening their skills ahead of the launch of their very own newspaper.

Pupils at Newton Aycliffe’s St Mary’s Roman Catholic school have taken over the reins of its own news sheet but they have plans to expand and produce their very own newspaper.

Some of the school’s highest achieving pupils have been invited to take part in the project with teacher Debra Hargreaves taking on the role of editor.

“The idea is to build up on what we are already doing,” she said. “The paper will be filled with news from the school for parents, pupils and anyone connected with the school, but we are also looking to the wider community.

“This will be a step in the right direction as we hope to be able to develop our own newspaper which will be a challenge for the pupils who will be involved but they are all up for the challenge.”

The plan is for the youngsters to produce a four-page newspaper filled with stories that they have written themselves and they hope to be able to sell advertising in it to help pay for the cost of publication.

As part of the project, Northern Echo reporter Graeme Hetherington visited the school to give advice and explain how newspapers are produced

Mrs Hargreaves added: “The children are all very excited about starting their own newspaper and we have chosen some of the best performing in the school to take part in the paper’s production.”