A journalism trainer has welcomed six of his students being accepted onto a mentoring scheme aimed at stopping journalism from becoming “a closed shop for the privileged”.

De Montfort University senior lecturer Jeremy Clay has shared his desire to help  “change the face of British newsrooms” after the students joined the John Schofield Trust scheme, which aims to ensure people from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds are better represented in the industry.

The programme will pair them with an experienced journalist from the field they would like to specialise in.

Journalists involved in mentoring have included Jon Snow, Kay Burley, Ronke Phillips, Victoria Derbyshire, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Laura Kuennsberg and Emily Maitlis.

Jeremy said: “We’re thrilled to be working with the John Schofield Trust, and share its ambition to change the face of British newsrooms.

“Journalism, particularly at a national level, can seem like a closed shop for the privileged, which is why the mentoring the Trust offers is so important.

“We’re convinced our students on the scheme will benefit hugely from the guidance and encouragement of the professional journalists they’ll be paired with – and we can’t wait to see what they’ll go on to achieve.”

Final-year student Aliyah Sheth, pictured, said: “I have heard that being someone of colour and a female means my chances of success are not as great as it is for others.

“This is an opportunity for me to get some contacts within the industry and break down some barriers.

“When I was growing up I could not believe presenting the news was a job and thought it would be such a cool thing to do. You get to talk to people and let the audience know what is really happening in the world. People deserve to know.

“There has been a huge improvement in representation in the media industry over the last 10 years but I think we have a bit of a way to go. There are more black presenters now but, as an Asian, there is not somebody prominent who represents me.

“My dream job is to be a news anchor on the 10 o’clock news and that, as soon as people see me or hear my voice, they know who I am, that I am trustworthy, I am reliable and I can do the job properly.

“I feel some news presenters are abusing their power so being trusted completely by the audience is the dream really.”