BBC reporter Sarah Ransome recently visited Coombeshead College in Newton Abbot to share some of her experiences with journalism hopefuls. The visit was part of preparation for BBC News School Report Day on March 22. Student Jake Smith reports on the visit...

What's life like being a roving reporter for the BBC? We found out when reporter Sarah Ransome worked with Year 8 students at Coombeshead College.

She explained how things work at the BBC and what's involved in a day's work.

Sarah said that the most uninteresting interview she had ever had was with Britain's fattest dog! She was hoping it would bark, but it didn't bark, so she had to speak to the pet owner instead.

I asked if she still got excited when she heard herself on the radio? She found that question hard to answer, but eventually she said yes.

Her job involves phoning people, travelling to exciting places and interviewing all sorts of people.

The job has its exciting moments, like when she nearly got trapped on a beach in the middle of a live interview. She had forgotten to check the tide times!

Luckily she managed to save herself and the equipment.

All the students really enjoyed the day, it was good fun and interesting.

Student Summer Wight said: "I thought the day went really well and we learned lots of things about interviewing people.

"We saw all the equipment that Sarah carries around with her every day, including a mixer which she uses to send recordings and interviews to the main BBC news studio in London.

Fellow student Tom Wells said Sarah gave students a taste of the life of a BBC news reporter.

He said: "She explained how shows such as Newsround were put together and gave them an idea of the pace you need to work at to produce a programme like that.

"We then each planned a practical way how to report and verify a few of that days big stories including Jade Goody's 'racist' comments on Big Brother and the British dominated Golden Globes awards.

Sarah gave us a few examples of situations she has experienced from the good - reporting on an exciting alligator sighting in Cornwall, to the bad - spending all day waiting on a Cornish cliff top waiting for some remains to wash up whilst being forced back by the strong wind and lashing rain, and the ugly - losing her voice at the exact moment Ellen McArthur returned from her round the world trip, when she was first on the scene!

She finished off the day by giving us some valuable advice: "The best way to achieve success as a news reporter is to try reporting at every opportunity you get."