Budding young journalists in Birkenhead will be offered extensive mentoring as part of a new partnership aimed at diversifying newsrooms in the UK.

The link-up between the John Schofield Trust and Birkenhead Sixth Form College will see up to ten students from English and Media Studies courses take part in a twelve week programme and be given access to established and successful journalists from the likes of the BBC, ITN and Sky.

They will have regular and structured conversations covering the students' interests, giving insight into the media sector and developing relevant skills and confidence.

John Schofield Trust CEO David Stenhouse said: “The Trust’s aim is to ensure that UK newsrooms are representative of the audiences they serve, not just in diversity but in terms of economic background.

"Not every aspiring journalist has access to a trust fund and can work unpaid internships to get their foot in the door.

"Birkenhead was picked as one of the partner locations as it is a place of so much potential but not always full of opportunities for young people to develop as journalists – we want to contribute to changing that.”

Head of Student Development and Careers Leader at the College, Jo Wood said: “We are delighted to be able to offer this fantastic opportunity to our students.

"BSFC’s extensive careers programme is designed to ensure that our students make well-informed decisions about their next steps - the opportunity for students to be mentored by industry professionals is a brilliant way to facilitate this.”

The John Schofield Trust is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and will be taking part in a fundraising campaign to keep the mentoring programmes running in the future, you can read more about it and have a donation doubled at johnschofieldtrust.org.uk

On completion of the of the twelve week scheme the students will become John Schofield Trust Junior Fellows, a title which they can use on university applications and CVs for future job opportunities, as well as taking advantage of the network of journalists involved in the Trust.

The Trust was founded by the friends and family of John Schofield, a 29-year-old BBC journalist who was killed while reporting in Croatia in 1995.