We are excited that, in partnership with Brightside, we have launched an online mentoring scheme for 17-year-olds living and/or studying in disadvantaged areas. The scheme will give sixth form students a flavour of what it’s really like to work in the news industry. We have designed activities about the news industry and created a library of resources, including clips of past participants on our face-to-face mentoring scheme explaining why they chose to be a journalist. We are delighted to have expanded Brightside’s model with an experience day at Falmouth, Nottingham Trent and Sheffield Universities so that participants can have a hands-on feel for filing reports, operating cameras and buttons in the gallery, and talking to current undergraduates.

Not surprisingly, given the generosity of journalists, we have had a huge number of volunteers stepping up to be an e-mentor. It is clear that unlocking social mobility within the UK news industry is a very current issue close to both our supporters’ and your hearts.