In partnership with Wolverhampton Library Service

Edition one: The Big Dry

Stop the press. Your class has a story to file.

Free to enter
Years 4–6
West Midlands primaries

Young Reporter is a news-writing competition for primary schools. Your class gets the press pack, writes the report, and votes for the one that deserves the front page.

Sign your class up See how it works

Takes two minutes. One form, one teacher, any number of classes.

We're looking for the best young reporters in the West Midlands

The rain has stopped. Reservoirs are dropping, fields are cracking and the rivers are running low. Farmers are worried. Families are being asked to save water. Nobody quite agrees what should happen next.

Somebody needs to report it properly. That's the job we're giving your class.

Every child becomes a reporter. They all get the same press pack: eyewitness interviews, facts and figures, and voices from people who see the drought completely differently.

Their task is to sift it, weigh it up, and write one news report that tells the public what is really going on — and what they think about it.

They write it in BoomWriter. Then the class reads every entry anonymously and votes for the report that deserves the front page. That winning report goes forward to represent your class in the next round.

It's free, it fits the writing you were teaching anyway, and it gives a real audience to a piece of work that would otherwise be read by one person with a green pen.

What the children get

The press pack

Written for Years 4 to 6, ready to use on screen or printed off. The three interviewees deliberately disagree with each other — that's the point.

Interview 1

The farmer

Crops failing, a livelihood on the line, and some hard words about how water is used elsewhere.

Interview 2

The resident

Life under a hosepipe ban: brown lawns, small sacrifices, and a healthy dose of scepticism.

Interview 3

The conservationist

Rivers, fish, birds and insects — and what happens to all of them if this carries on.

Fact file

The figures

Rainfall, reservoir levels, temperatures and water use — numbers to quote, compare and explain.

The brief the children see

Write a news report for your local paper about the drought. Write it as though every family in your town will read it over breakfast tomorrow.

A reporter who simply copies out all three interviews hasn't done the job. A reporter who decides what matters most, and says so, has.

Open with a headline and a first paragraph that tells the reader what has happened
Use facts and figures from the fact file to show how serious it is
Quote at least two of the people you interviewed, and say who they are
Explain why people disagree about what should happen next
End by telling your readers what you think, and why

Five steps

How it works

You only have to do the first one.

You sign up

One short form. We set your class up in BoomWriter and send the press pack and lesson plan.

They read the pack

Whole-class read, group carousel or independent — however you like to run it.

Everyone writes

Each child drafts their own report in BoomWriter. You see it all as it's written.

The class votes

Entries shown without names, so children judge the writing, not the writer.

Champion goes through

Your class winner is entered against champions from schools across the region.

The anonymous vote is the part children remember. It's the first time many of them read thirty different attempts at the same task and have to say, out loud, what makes one piece of writing better than another.

For teachers

It's writing you were going to teach anyway

News reports are already on the Key Stage 2 menu. This gives you a reason to write one that isn't “because it's on the plan”.

Curriculum coverage
Curriculum area	What the competition covers
English — composition	Writing for a real audience and purpose; choosing form and vocabulary to suit it
English — non-fiction	Headline, lead paragraph, quotation, attribution and balance
English — spoken language	Justifying a judgement about writing during the class vote
Reading comprehension	Retrieving and comparing information across sources that disagree
Geography	Climate and weather, the water cycle, human impact on the environment
Science	Habitats and living things under pressure

What you get

The full press pack — three interviews and a fact file, differentiated for Years 4–6
A lesson sequence you can follow as written, or cherry-pick
Model text and a child-friendly success criteria sheet
Your class set up in BoomWriter, with login codes issued for every child — no email addresses needed
The class vote run and counted for you

What it costs

Nothing — and not much time either. Sign-up is one form. There are no entries to post, no cover sheets to fill in, and nothing to mark before you enter: the class vote picks your champion, not you.

What the children get

An audience. Their writing is read by the whole class and judged on its merits, and the best one leaves the classroom and competes against schools across the region. For a lot of children, that's the first time writing has felt like it counted for something.

Who and when

Key dates

Any primary school in the West Midlands can enter, Years 4, 5 and 6. Enter one class or every class in the key stage — each runs its own vote and sends forward its own champion. Mixed-age classes welcome.

Stage	Date
Sign-up opens	TBC
Sign-up closes	TBC
Press pack released to schools	TBC
Writing window	TBC
Class votes complete by	TBC
Round 2 results announced	TBC
Final result announced	TBC

Sign up now even if you're not sure when you'll fit the writing in — the window is wide enough to drop into most half terms, and you can pull out with no fuss.

Prizes

There's something worth winning at the end of this, and we'll announce exactly what shortly. Prizes: TBC.

Questions?

Email us at support@boomhub.app and a real person will answer.

Questions teachers ask

Do we need to already use BoomWriter?

No. We set your class up and walk you through it. If you've never used it before, the whole thing takes about ten minutes to get your head round.

What does the teacher need to do?

Next to nothing. The Boom team manage the project from end to end. All we need from you is class time for the children to read the press pack, write their reports and vote.

How long does it take in class?

Plan for around three sessions: one reading the press pack, one writing, one voting and discussing. Plenty of classes stretch it further and use it as a full non-fiction unit.

Do the children need individual logins or email addresses?

They need individual logins, but no email addresses. Boom uses a simple login code system: your school has one five-digit code that every child uses, and each child has their own five-digit student code alongside it. Nothing to set up per child and nothing for them to remember beyond two short numbers.

How much marking is there?

None before you enter. The class vote picks your champion, so you're not choosing between thirty pieces yourself.

Can I enter more than one class?

Yes, and we'd encourage it. Each class votes separately and sends forward its own champion.

Is the drought real?

The scenario is fictional, but it's built on droughts the UK has genuinely been through, and the facts and figures the children work from are realistic. Nothing in the press pack is frightening — it's about people coping, disagreeing and looking after things.

What happens to the children's writing?

It stays in your BoomWriter class. Champion reports go forward to the judges, and we'll always ask before using a child's writing anywhere public. First names and year group only — never a full name.

We're not in Wolverhampton. Can we still enter?

Yes. Wolverhampton Library Service is our partner, but the competition is open to primary schools across the West Midlands.

What if we sign up and then can't do it?

That's fine. Tell us or don't — there's no penalty and nothing to return.

Put your class on the story

Fill in the form and we'll set your class up in BoomWriter and send you the press pack. One form covers as many classes as you want to enter.

We'll only email you about this competition. No pressure to buy anything.

Young Reporter is run by BoomWriter. This edition, The Big Dry, is in partnership with Wolverhampton Library Service.