A regional daily has run a special edition paying tribute to teenagers on its patch affected by the coronavirus crisis.

The Jersey Evening Post published a front page wraparound in honour of the island’s school leavers who were forced to finish their compulsory education without taking exams or enjoying the usual celebrations because of Covid-19.

The wrap featured images of some of the 1,005 local students that made up the class of 2020 in Jersey.

Inside, there was an uplifting front page congratulating the teenagers, a leader column praising them for their handling of the situation but also urging them to be proud of their achievements across their whole time in education and a double page spread packed full of messages from their teachers.

The edition was inspired by a conversation with a Year 11 student who felt that she and her peers were finishing their compulsory education feeling deflated due to the impact of Covid – which meant exams were cancelled, as were proms, leavers’ assemblies and other traditional celebrations.

It was published on Thursday, the day that schools in Jersey broke up for the summer holidays.

JEP assistant editor Lucy Stephenson said: “This group of young people will forever be known as the cohort who did not get to take their GCSEs because of the pandemic and we know that some have found it really difficult to deal with.

“One young woman I spoke to said after all their years of hard work at school it felt a bit like they had never existed.

“That certainly isn’t the case and we wanted to show them that their community cares and we recognise their achievements, which after all are about a lot more than just exams and result anyway.

“The feedback to the special edition has been extremely positive and we wish this group of young people all the very best for the future, whatever they choose to do next.”