BUDDING journalists at Mill Green School, Newton, learned the tips of the trade from a Warrington Guardian reporter.

The six children in class five of the Mill Lane special needs school asked reporter Miranda Newey a series of question and tried their hand at writing shorthand - a form of writing used by journalists to maximise the speed of writing and transcribing.

The pupils showed the Newton reporter some of their own articles written following a trip to The Slattery, a choclatier in Whitefield, Manchester.

The stories by the pupils, aged between 11 and 14, detailed how the class watched the different chocolate shapes using different moulds and coloured chocolate.

Pupils were even given the opportunity to taste the chocolate on the April 16 visit.

Having learned that reporters always need to find out the answers to who, what, when where, why and how before writing a story, the children are now prepared to become journalists at their school.