hello and welcome to a special programme in which we'll be featuring some of the winning stories from this year's bbc young reporter competition. more than two and a half thousand young people aged 11 to 18 submitted their ideas, and 30 national and regional winners were picked from across the uk to film their own story with some of the bbc�*s programme—makers. this year, there were three categories — me and my world, coronavirus stories and uplifting stories. well, the winners were told they'd been chosen by some of the competition judges, and here's some of their reactions. i'm not calling you to find out more about your idea. i've come with some good news. are you ready? i'm delighted to say that... you are one of the winners... ..for this year's bbc young reporter competition! laughter. all right, thank you so much. you have won. wow! i'm speechless, it'sjust... it's amazing. yay! congratulations! thank you! hope you're ready to chat about it. yeah, i'm ready. congratulations, how do you feel? pretty amazing, to be fair. i can't stop smiling right now. oh, i'm so pleased! i'm really glad that my message got across, so, yeah. i'm really proud of you and everybody who worked with you. congratulations, and i can't wait to see your finished piece of news. thank you very much. oh, wow! laughter. i can't stop smiling either! the excitement is contagious. ourfirst report comes from 17—year—old hannah from south la narkshire. she chose to talk about the work she's been doing in a care home during lockdown and the importance of helping others. dealing with death is quite hard to deal with because obviously, these people don't have their family with them when it happened because of lockdown, so having to die in an isolated place is quite tricky. it's really devastating. i'm hannah, i'm 17 years old and i'm a cleaner at a care home as well as a student. i was basically at school working as a lifeguard when the coronavirus hit. the council asked for people who would be willing to help volunteer for work, and it is super needed. out of all the options i was given, i chose the care home. the cleaning isn't that bad. it's something you would get used to as you do it more and more, so i don't really mind it any more. i normally clean the residents�* rooms, so i would hoover and dust the main part of the room and then go into their bathrooms and give that quite a deep clean. i built a lot of good relationships with some of the people in the care home. you learn a lot when you work in there about their life experience in general, and we were the only people there to support them. a lot of deaths were very surreal and strange. it was quite hard to deal with, especially if you're a young person, you wouldn't expect it. that's why it made it a bit more shocking when it happened. it had a big impact on a lot of people in the care home. there were quite a few times, especially during the first lockdown, that i felt like i couldn't do it any more because it was just too much for me, especially dealing with death and just the work and how repetitive it was. but i pushed through it and i told myself that what i'm doing is good and it's helping people and i was there for a reason. i've seen a lot of people over social media and online that haven't followed rules and have posted about it and seen tonnes of people just really not caring at all about the situation. as a society, i feel like we should move forward and learn to look after each other and love each other more and it definitely support those who need it the most, definitely support those who need it the most, because i feel like we haven't done that enough beforehand. iam happy. i feel like i've accomplished quite a lot and i think what i've done has helped people, and i'm really glad that i stuck at it. so are we. i thinks —— our thanks to hannah. our next report is from 17—year—old ben. he's an apprentice footballer at burton albion. ben made his report all about the pressures of trying to make it as a professional. here's his story. there's been a couple of lads recently who have been released by clubs who have taken their own life. that shouldn't be how it is. young people are often overshadowed on the mental side. you kind of see, you're playing football every day, what can be wrong with you? well, who knows what's going on inside? i'm 17 years old and i play for burton albion football club. i'm a first—year scholar at the moment, so it's my first year of two years. there's loads of pressures and different kinds of things going on. the football's an hour and a half every day. you're leaving school, you're leaving your mates, leaving your whole kind of last 12 years, almost, to come and play football. and if you don't get a pro at the end of it, it's a big step to make. yeah, ijust kind of wanted to highlight the importance of the mental health side of the football. people think, "oh, you're a footballer, you're living life," and it's not that at all. you're going home, you're sore, you're aching, you've got to wake up the next morning. you've got to get through it, and... it's what you've got to do if you're a footballer. if you're not training well enough, you're out of the team, you don't play. it is hard. you're going home, you're not playing a tournament in 90 minutes and you're thinking, "well, what am i doing here?" so, yeah, i think highlighting the importance of that side of the game is vital. an academy footballer is... it's harder than people think. you're in every day, so it's monday to saturday, you've got gym training in the morning, you've got college monday, wednesday, thursday, you've got tactical sessions, you've got video sessions, you've got extras at the end if you want to do them. you'll be getting up early, getting home late — it's hard. at this club, if you don't do your work, you're not playing in the team. there's loads of different assignments with different teachers. it's a big part of the scholarship, doing the college work, yeah. yeah, it's not like anything else, i don't think. we're all mates, but you're fighting with each other. if he's taking your place as a pro contract, then you're not going to be happy. so, yeah, it's a bit fake in a sense that you're mates, obviously, but you want to be better than them and you need to be better than them if you want to be a footballer. i have got plans if football doesn't work out. probably uni. i've been looking at american and different english ones, but hopefully i'll get a pro contract. my whole life goal has been to be a footballer, so i'm trying to work towards that. yeah, i'm doing everything i can to do it. been on the different challenges of becoming of a professional footballer and i'm very pleased to say ben joins us now. firstly, congratulations and well done on winning the competition. fantastic story. you've completely opened my eyes and i'm sure many of the people watching today ofjust how challenging it is to go professional in a sport. challenging it is to go professional in a sort. . ., challenging it is to go professional inasort. . ., �* challenging it is to go professional inasort. ., ., �* ., in a sport. yeah, i mean, i'm not sure peeple _ in a sport. yeah, i mean, i'm not sure people realise _ in a sport. yeah, i mean, i'm not sure people realise how- in a sport. yeah, i mean, i'm not sure people realise how hard - in a sport. yeah, i mean, i'm not sure people realise how hard it i sure people realise how hard it really is. you kind of seen people who have made it and think they've done really well, they must be tough for themselves. they don't realise the hard work that goes into it. especially when it comes to professional football as we see the glamour, the amount of effort you put into it, and there's a serious chance that you may not become a professional. that must be quite an eye—openerfor professional. that must be quite an eye—opener for many people. professional. that must be quite an eye-opener for many people. yeah, definitel . eye-opener for many people. yeah, definitely. there's _ eye-opener for many people. yeah, definitely. there's a _ eye-opener for many people. yeah, definitely. there's a lot _ eye-opener for many people. yeah, definitely. there's a lot of _ eye-opener for many people. yeah, definitely. there's a lot of running l definitely. there's a lot of running that goes into preseason. you've got your gym work, your college work. there's a lot to go into making it professionally. yeah, i mean, doing the right thing means getting all that done and stuff and getting yourself the best possible chance. that's what i'm doing and what the rest of the lads on the team are doing. rest of the lads on the team are doinu. . ~ , ., , doing. talk us through the different ressures doing. talk us through the different pressures you _ doing. talk us through the different pressures you face. _ doing. talk us through the different pressures you face. on _ doing. talk us through the different pressures you face. on top - doing. talk us through the different pressures you face. on top of- doing. talk us through the different pressures you face. on top of the l pressures you face. on top of the actual sport, the athleticism, you also have to keep up with your school worth. it must be quite tough —— schoolwork. school worth. it must be quite tough -- schoolwork-— -- schoolwork. yeah, football is an hour and a — -- schoolwork. yeah, football is an hour and a half— -- schoolwork. yeah, football is an hour and a half every _ -- schoolwork. yeah, football is an hour and a half every day _ -- schoolwork. yeah, football is an hour and a half every day and - -- schoolwork. yeah, football is an | hour and a half every day and that's a highlight. you've got college stuff afterwards. you're doing stuff at home. seven, eight o'clock. get up at home. seven, eight o'clock. get up and do it again the same day. yeah, it's not rightly documented i don't think. i don't think people realise that's what you have to do. that's not how it works. it realise that's what you have to do. that's not how it works.— that's not how it works. it sounds relentless. _ that's not how it works. it sounds relentless, but _ that's not how it works. it sounds relentless, but it _ that's not how it works. it sounds relentless, but it does _ that's not how it works. it sounds relentless, but it does mean - that's not how it works. it sounds relentless, but it does mean that| that's not how it works. it sounds i relentless, but it does mean that by telling your story, you've opened this up to so many different people. tell us about the competition because of course, you filled your story with some of my colleagues. how did that work out with you —— films of your story. to how did that work out with you -- films of your story.— films of your story. to try and get my message _ films of your story. to try and get my message across _ films of your story. to try and get my message across kind - films of your story. to try and get my message across kind of - films of your story. to try and get my message across kind of come | films of your story. to try and get - my message across kind of come onto myself more than anybody else. when they said i won, it was a good moment for me. having all the cameras at the game, doing all those little videos, it was really good. in terms of giving advice to any other young reporters out there who want to get involved, what would you say? what your tips?— say? what your tips? 100%, throw ourself say? what your tips? 100%, throw yourself into _ say? what your tips? 10096, throw yourself into it. _ say? what your tips? 10096, throw yourself into it. it's _ say? what your tips? 10096, throw yourself into it. it's opened - say? what your tips? 10096, throw yourself into it. it's opened up - say? what your tips? 10096, throw yourself into it. it's opened up so. yourself into it. it's opened up so many options for me now. yeah, just throw yourself into it because you never know what's going to happen. you can't hold back thinking something might happen, something might go wrong. throw yourself into it and see where it takes you. looks, we wish you all the best and thank you so much for staring your story it's been really fantastic to hear it —— sharing your stories. it's also... thank you and congratulations. it's also. .. thank you and congratulations.— it's also... thank you and congratulations. how congratulations. thank you. how fantastic. let's turn now to a report from wilamena in cornwall. wilamena's desire to promote understanding about tourette syndrome made her one of the competition's regional winners. this is her story. five years ago, i woke up one day and i couldn't walk or even get out of bed due to disabling and violent full body tics. eventually, i got diagnosed with tourette's syndrome at the age of nine. what age did you first get diagnosed with tourette's syndrome? i was five years old when i first got diagnosed with tourette's. i started having my first symptoms when i was two. most people with tourette's have what's called a co—morbidity. that could be ocd, adhd, anxiety or depression. the co—morbidity that i have is anxiety and ocd. turns out i'm not the only one. adhd. ocd as well. ocd, adhd. what's really extraordinary is that you don't seem to tic very badly. i have a government—funded scholarship to attend a specialist music school where i board away from home and learn cello and percussion to an advanced level despite my disability. the moment my fingers touch the piano or the keyboard, iti completely disappears. they... they go away. my focus is for playing the drums. it almost overtakes the tourette's. even though tourette's can be hard, i try not to let it stop me from reaching my goals, even if myjourney of getting there is slightly different from everyone else's. talk to us and treat us like anybody else. we've created such a stereotype in the media. people don't understand the unknown, and that's what is stressful to people who have tourette's. has your tourette's changed at all as you got older? yeah, yeah. they're always... even each day has its ups and downs. i started just making small grunting noises from my throat. _ as i got older, they became more physical in my legs _ if you know me at all, i have all the tics. with tourette's, expect the unexpected. how do you think your life would have been different or where would you be now if you haven't discovered the world of music and how that help to cope with your tics? i honestly think i'd be either in one of two places. i'd be dead or injail. tourette's isn'tjust this disease that the media portrays it to be. i wanted stop being the punch line of every comedian�*s jokes. i want people to learn about what tourette's actually is. this is the real tourette's. thanks to wilhelmina for sharing her story. the competition was judged by panels ofjournalists from across the bbc who looked at the story ideas and decided on the national and the regional winners. newsround presenter ricky boleto was one of the nationaljudges this year. and roisin hastie, who works at bbc newsbeat, was one of the regionaljudges. i'm failed to say they both join us today. my goodness, what a tough competition! not only extremely high standards, but also, this year's competition was amidst coronavirus. the timing and everything else, just talk us through your experience. that's it because every year, we have entrance and they always surprise us. i have to say i was worried this year because for most young people, their world has got so much smaller over the last 12 months. as the pandemic to turn their lives upside down, but instead, what we got our fascinating insight onto how young people cope and how the relationships have changed but also what makes them tick. a few of my favourites have to be shareen, who said she didn't like her dad before lockdown, but the relationship has completely changed. they bonded. we also had some really strong journalism from some entrants who had nothing new for the table. we heard from is—year—olds zoe, who want to talk about the lack of support for teenagers who lost loved ones during the pandemic. but then still had to sit exams. that's something i've never really heard of before. we have refreshing stories about how young people are coping, notjust hearing the negative things about them going out, partying, and maybe some people ignoring the rules. but also how they've continue to work like 17—year—old hannah, who has been working throughout the whole of the pandemic. hearing these positive stories too. difficult to keep with us this year. incredibly, and i have — keep with us this year. incredibly, and i have to _ keep with us this year. incredibly, and i have to say _ keep with us this year. incredibly, and i have to say i _ keep with us this year. incredibly, and i have to say i really - keep with us this year. incredibly, and i have to say i really admired | and i have to say i really admired how they have done it because they brought some stories to our attention, this is incredibly personable as well. how do you choose a story? what stands out for you? what's important when it comes to storytelling? irate you? what's important when it comes to storytelling?— to storytelling? we tend to look for thins that to storytelling? we tend to look for things that we _ to storytelling? we tend to look for things that we haven't _ to storytelling? we tend to look for things that we haven't seen, - to storytelling? we tend to look for things that we haven't seen, when l to storytelling? we tend to look for i things that we haven't seen, when we think we've _ things that we haven't seen, when we think we've not really heard that story— think we've not really heard that story told. — think we've not really heard that story told, and that's what we love about _ story told, and that's what we love about young reporters, they bring up fresh perspective to the bbc. it's so important that those stories get out there — so important that those stories get out there. we might look at things where _ out there. we might look at things where somebody shows... and they wanted _ where somebody shows... and they wanted to— where somebody shows... and they wanted to investigate it. | where somebody shows. .. and they wanted to investigate it.— wanted to investigate it. i think ou've wanted to investigate it. i think you've got _ wanted to investigate it. i think you've got a — wanted to investigate it. i think you've got a big _ wanted to investigate it. i think you've got a big of— wanted to investigate it. i think you've got a big of help - wanted to investigate it. i think you've got a big of help from i wanted to investigate it. i think i you've got a big of help from your pet there. we can hear the pet, it's wonderful! when it comes to advice from anybody who wants to get involved in the competition to take part, give us a tip. what's the one thing they really need to think about? i thing they really need to think about? ~' ., , thing they really need to think about? ~' .,, ,., ., about? i think the most important thin for about? i think the most important thing for this _ about? i think the most important thing for this competition - about? i think the most important thing for this competition is - about? i think the most important thing for this competition is not i thing for this competition is not feeling that you have to have a polished story that is ready to go. the whole point of the bbc young reporter competition is to have that nugget of something new that we haven't heard of before, maybe. then we will do the rest. it's a difficult thing, it's quite imposing. the most important thing we can do is really get your story and help you to tell it, so if you have got something that is new, something we haven'