Budding reporters at schools across south London and Surrey are taking part in an exciting new competition which recognises and rewards journalistic talent.

For the past two years hundreds of secondary school students have been writing stories and taking pictures for the Schools Correspondents section of our website.

From reporting on royal wedding street parties to articles on knife crime, sporting events and interviews with MPs the range and quality of their work is truly outstanding.

The Young Reporter Awards were launched this year by this newspaper and sister newspapers across the area to reward those who have produced the very best work in this academic year.

This month more than 50 schools who have been taking part in the scheme will nominate their students for awards in the following categories – best article, best photograph, quirkiest story, extra mile and overall winner.

There are two age categories, years 10 and 11 and years 12 and 13 with great prizes on offer including designer clothes, camping gear, Kindle electronic books and the chance to work with professional reporters and photographers.

All the winners will be invited to an awards ceremony in Sutton on June 30.

The judges tasked with picking the winners include the editors of the South London Guardian and the News Shopper series plus a representative from Roehampton University, the main awards sponsor.

Group editor Sean Duggan said: “There have been so many excellent articles posted by our schools correspondents in recent months that choosing winners is going to be a challenge. Winning in a competition like this will give a big boost to anyone thinking about becoming a journalist or photographer.”

Local schools taking part include ACS Cobham International School, Brooklands College, Claremont Fan Court School, Esher College, Heathside School and Hinchley Wood School.

See the work produced by the schools correspondents at elmbridgeguardian.co.uk/yoursay/schools.