After entering the BBC’s Young Reporter Competition, Amherst Pupil, Emily, was over the moon to find out that she was selected as the East Midlands’ winner amidst over a thousand entries. 

The annual competition encourages 11-18-year-olds across the UK to talk about their own stories and to report on issues that particularly matter to them. 

When she submitted her competition entry, Emily had no idea what was to come and, after filming her very own news broadcast, we asked Emily all about her experience. 

Could you tell me about your competition entry – what was your story about? 

The story is about my dog, Star, and how she became a therapy dog at my Grandad’s care home. We registered her with the national charity, Pets as Therapy, and about a year later, I found out that I’d won the BBC Young Reporter Competition. 

Whilst taking Star to visit my Grandad, we noticed how much the other residents also enjoyed seeing her, which gave me the idea to look into Star becoming a therapy dog. My mum and I thought it would be way too complicated, but actually it’s a really easy process! 

Can you tell me a bit more about Star and her role as a therapy dog? 

When Pets as Therapy came out to us to do an assessment, they noticed she had a really calm temperament which is what they look for in a therapy dog. Once she became official, other residents were able to fuss her and play with her. 

Star also really helped me and my family when my Grandad passed away; she was a big comfort to us all during that time. We now take Star back to the care home which looked after my Grandad once a month in his memory. 

What was your favourite part about the BBC Young Reporter competition? 

Probably when I got to go into the BBC studio because it was really nice to see the interview being edited and I also got to go into the actual studio where they record BBC East Midlands today. The studio was a lot smaller than I’d imagined but it was still like a classic TV studio.  

Seeing myself in the news report was like a dream but it was all a bit too much for Star, who fell asleep in the studio! 

How did you find the experience of filming the interview? 

We filmed for half a day to create a two-minute clip, which took a lot more time than I expected, but I got to find out how much fun it is! It was a completely new experience, and it was amazing to see it all come together. 

How did you feel once you found out that you won the East Midlands competition? 

I felt really excited, and I couldn’t believe that Star had really won – I’m really proud of her. I think my Grandad would be really proud of both me and Star too. 

Everyone at Amherst would like to say a big well done to Emily for her amazing achievement, who should be so proud of sharing such an inspiring story. Congratulations Emily!