A free summer journalism school has been launched with the aim of inspiring disadvantaged teenagers to consider a career in the industry.

Darlington College has announced the initiative in partnership with the National Council for the Training of Journalists, which will feature sessions in multimedia content generation as well as talks from journalists including Northern Echo editor Gavin Foster.

Attendees on the course, which will run from 10 to 13 July, will also have the chance to work towards the NCTJ’s Level 3 Certificate in Foundation Journalism qualification with delivery of two of the qualification’s modules included in the course.

A follow-up trip to the Echo’s newsroom is also planned for those involved, who will all be aged between 14 and 18, during October half-term.

The course forms part of a scheme announced last month by the NCTJ which is aimed at helping around 100 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into journalism.

It was launched after the organisation’s annual Diversity in Journalism report found that 73pc of journalists come from the highest social classes compared to 44pc of the general workforce.

Will Gore, pictured, head of partnerships and projects at the NCTJ, said: “NCTJ research shows that the journalism industry remains dominated by people from relatively advantaged backgrounds.

“This outreach project will provide opportunities for less privileged youngsters to see that journalism can be for them too, and we’re delighted that the first pilot programme is shortly to get underway at Darlington College.

“We’re looking forward to seeing participants develop their skills and hopefully using this chance as a springboard to further training and a career.”

Paula Willis, curriculum manager at Darlington College, added: “We are delighted to be delivering this opportunity for budding journalists from the North-East region.

“The outreach project is a great opportunity to identify talent and prepare them for a career in this field.”

As well as the summer school at Darlington College, the NCTJ will also initially work with City of Liverpool College, Glasgow Clyde College and North West Regional College to target 14 to 18-year-olds and encourage those from disadvantaged backgrounds and lower social economic groups to enter journalism.

Each participating college has proposed and designed their own programmes, which will include the delivery of a unit from the NCTJ’s Certificate in Foundation Journalism qualification, engagement from a guest speaker and a group project, such as a news day or creating a Tik Tok video.

The programme at City of Liverpool College will target Year 12 and 13 students across the city and will feature four afternoon sessions on Wednesdays in October, starting on 4 October.

North West Regional College’s after-school programme is aimed at 16 to 18-year-olds and will run for eight weeks from September to November.

A visit to BBC Belfast is also planned for attendees to learn about opportunities in journalism available to them.

At Glasgow Clyde College, the programme for 14 to 16-year-olds will run over three weeks in January 2024 and is set to feature a trip to Sky’s studios in Livingston.