BBC Young Reporter Competition 2024
This opportunity is now closed for story submissions. Winners of the BBC Young Reporter Competition 2024 will be announced in June.
What is the BBC Young Reporter Competition?
It’s an opportunity for young people to report with the BBC.
We are looking for original stories about their lives or the world around them, or relating to subjects and issues that particularly matter to young people.
Anyone aged between 11-18 years old and living in the UK can enter.
If the idea is successful, it could appear on TV, radio, online or on social media - produced with the help of BBC journalists, producers and programme makers.
What kind of stories are we looking for?
There is just one story category: Me and My World
Ideas for reports can be a personal story - something related to the experience of family, friends or community - or about an issue or experience particularly relevant to young people.
Ideally, story ideas will be original: something that hasn’t been widely reported on before, or that can help bring a new and unique angle to a subject.
Here are some of the winning entries from last year – take a look to be inspired and see the subjects that have been successful in the past.
Please also read the tips about how to write a strong idea at the bottom of this page.
Entries can be made by an individual or as a group.
Parent/guardian (or teacher) permission is needed to enter.
The rules for the competition are here.
The privacy notice which tells you how we will use entry information is here.
You can also apply to the BBC Young Reporter Competition in Welsh here.
The most original and interesting stories will be put in front of a panel of presenters, reporters, senior editors and producers from BBC programmes and platforms, such as Newsbeat and Newsround, as well as BBC Sport, Radio 5 Live and The One Show.
Shortlisting and judging will be done in two age categories: 11-15 and 16-18 years old.
All stories which reach the shortlist stage will be checked prior to final judging to make sure they are factually true, accurate and legally sound – so make sure yours is!
Stories will be judged on ‘editorial merit’ – that means the strength of story, originality, and the personal story or background around it. Judges will be looking for a range of diverse stories from across the UK.
There will be national and regional winners, so there's plenty of opportunities for story ideas from across the UK to be shared with a wider range of BBC audiences.
Stories will not be broadcast until all judging is completed and so the idea still needs to be interesting and relevant after June 2024.
You need to answer the following question:
- Why do you want to share your story and why you think it is interesting for a wider audience?
This gives us a bit of background about why you think the BBC should tell this story and why you particularly want to help report it.
Entries should explain why you think you reporting the story or issue will bring a unique perspective to it. We also want to know how you would widen your report to look at the issues around the subject, not just your own experience of it.
Don’t forget news stories do not have to be negative - perhaps you have an uplifting story suggestion which is inspiring and upbeat about you or someone you know who has bought a positive change to another person’s life or about something uplifting happening in your local community you think should be reported on?
Find more top tips about how to spot and source news stories with the BBC Young Reporter journalism video masterclasses here.
We don’t need a finished story or report, just the outline of your story suggestion and information about the idea we want to hear about – so don’t worry too much about how it is written or recorded.
To help inspire and show the range of different subjects previously reported on you can see all the 2023 BBC Young Reporter Competitions winners stories here.
To help inspire you here are some of the stories from previous BBC Young Reporter Competitions winners:
Ben and Theo both wanted to investigate how AI is being used in schoolwork so we joined them up with Hazel to produce a report. It broadcast on BBC Breakfast, Radio 5 Live and the BBC World Service ‘Tech Life’ podcast.
Angelica’s report reflects the impact poor and overcrowded housing can have on young people and featured on BBC London TV, radio and online.
David wanted to investigate the lack of ethnic diversity in primary school teaching - he wrote his report and spoke about it on Radio 5 Live.
Rose’s story about Dyscalculia and the difficulty in navigating numbers featured on BBC News and the Access All podcast.
Jaipal produced a report about surrogacy, something her family has benefited from, with BBC Midlands Today.
Tegan’s report about scoliosis was produced with Newsround and featured on TV, the website and TikTok.
Ben’s story, produced with BBC Sport, reflects the reality of being a football apprentice and the impact it can have on players’ mental health.
Neha produced a report about a campaign to prevent the redevelopment of allotments and green space in her local area.
Zoe reported about her personal experience of bereavement and the impact this can have on taking exams.
Hazel highlighted the lack of diversity in the Scottish school curriculum.
Shireen shared her experience of how the coronavirus lockdown changed her relationship with her dad – in a positive way!
Football referee Ryan reported on the abuse he receives from players and spectators.
Morgan reported about upskirting.
Jake, Elliot and Jed shared their story about campaigning for a local skateboard park.
Zoe produced a story with BBC Breakfast and Newsround talking about life with dwarfism.
Salma loves football but not everyone respected her right to play. She told her story about overcoming barriers to inspire other girls to get into the sport.
Annabelle shared her experience of having the menopause as a teenager.