Students swapped their studies for a week on the Post team, producing an edition of the newspaper with stories that both impressed and inspired.

The group from Barking & Dagenham College were seen out and about in the borough speaking to residents, fire crews, council leaders and tattoo artists – to name but a few – in a bid to find the biggest and best local news.

At a ceremony marking the end of the “takeover” week, which ran May 28 to June 3, each student was finally able to see their hard work in print and reflect on the new skills and experiences they’d earnt.

Sports student Sam Dixon said: “We’ve all learned so much on this experience and really enjoyed it. For us it’s a huge achievement and I’m just so happy to see all our work in the paper – it’s incredible.”

Jacob Ranson, who studies business, said: “It’s really great to see the hard work we put into the paper has paid off.

“I got more confidence speaking to people, and knowing what you’ve got to put into a story has definitely made me more interested in journalism.”

The nine-strong team was under the guidance of the Post’s regular news team, but wowed the reporters and editors by bringing their own ideas for stories to the table, finding the confidence to ask questions of both experienced councillors and total strangers.

Student editor Emillie Rix, 17, even sniffed out and wrote the story that made the paper’s front page and was, for a time, the most-read story on our website.

Barking and Dagenham Post executive editor Michael Adkins said: “It’s been a huge success. All the students involved have grown throughout the takeover process and they should all be very proud of themselves, as we are of them.

“When it came to producing the paper last week, some of the stories that members of the group were tackling would have been difficult even for a fully-fledged journalist let alone a student.”

Get your copy of the Barking and Dagenham Post’s student takeover edition in shops now.

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