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Young reporter scheme helps schoolgirl win Oxford place

A newspaper scheme to help budding reporters has helped a schoolgirl land a place at Oxford University.

Marianna Spring, left, was involved with Newsquest South London’s Young Reporter scheme, which sees potential young journalists write regular articles for the News Shopper’s website.

She became involved with the project in 2011, when she was in year 11 at Sutton High School and received a prize for that year’s best article. She continued to write regular pieces for the website since then.

Marianna has now been offered a place at Oxford University, where she will study French and Russian, after tutors there were impressed with her involvement in the journalism scheme.

She told the News Shopper: “The tutors were highly impressed by the scheme and I have received an offer to study French and Russian.

“I just thought you’d like to know the extent of the impact your scheme has had on me personally and how much it impresses so many people I tell about it.”