JOURNALISTS of the future met the reporters of today when they visited the News Shopper offices in Petts Wood.

The mission for the children of Southborough Primary School in Bickley was to learn how a news website and paper are put together so they could take their knowledge back to their classrooms.

They achieved their aim by speaking to several members of staff who were delighted to tell them about their working day.

First the youngsters took a trip into an area which is rarely seen by members of the public, the archive rooms on the first floor where bound copies of the paper are kept.

The children were excited to see how reporters who worked here decades before they were born told stories to educate and inform the readers.

Afterwards News Shopper’s news editor Dan Keel gave them the benefit of his years of experience with a money-can’t-buy journalism masterclass.

Teaching them the who, what, why, when and where of story-writing they all left the session with a clear idea of how to write the news.

Web editor Simon Bull shared the secret of News Shopper’s success online, showing them the website which keeps growing from strength to strength.

He told them how important it was for users, like themselves, to keep sending in news so the site continues to be miles ahead of the rest.

News Shopper editor Andrew Parkes: “It’s always a pleasure to welcome the journalists of the future into our newsroom.

“When I was their age I dreamed of being a reporter and I hope they have left with a great idea about how they could be a News Shopper journalist in the future.”