The Young Journalist Prize asked pupils to enter an article on a subject that matters to them, and which could make a difference in their community. Submissions included racism, dementia, animal rights and climate change.

This year’s winning articles are written by Caiden Clift and James Leeder. 

Playing Out by Caiden Clift, age 11
New information from policy studies institute has revealed that there has been a dramatic decrease in children’s independence over the past 40 years. The study shows that only 25% of primary aged children are allowed to travel home from school alone compared to 86% in 1971 and that just 10% of 7 year olds have the freedom to play out in their local neighbourhood compared to 50% 40 years ago.

I believe it is very important that we take steps to encourage parents to allow their children more freedom.

I have played out since I was age 6 and now at age 11 I can appreciate the importance of my time spent playing out. I have learnt negotiating skills by trying to get out of being IT. I have learnt how to communicate with different age groups and nationalities. In games like hide and seek we learn how to be strategic and develop problem solving skills. I have come to recognise the importance of values such as honesty, gratitude, forgiveness and compassion. Without my mum or dad there to back me up constantly I have been able to find my own way and make mistakes that I might not have done with them there all the time. When we play out without parents looking over our shoulders every 5 minutes we are, without even realising it, preparing ourselves for adult life. In our time spent without direct adult supervision we are free to organise ourselves into a hierarchy, this allows us to work whether we are a leader or a follower and again prepares us for later life and knowing what career path might be best for our personalities.

Playing out builds confidence, gives us the ability to handle situations, increases connections with friends & neighbours, develops our character, improves coping mechanisms and teaches us the importance of personal contribution. Overall I believe playing out increases resilience in children and in turn creates a much happier childhood.

So why the big dip in children’s freedom? According to campaign group ‘Play England’ the main things preventing parents letting children out to play are: Traffic, lack of neighbourliness and ‘stranger danger’. The statistics actually show that between 1995 & 2014 the number of road traffic accidents has actually decreased and the number of violent offences has fallen too!

So, is it down to the fact that awareness of the risk is actually much greater and therefore parents are wrapping children in cotton wool? Adventurer Bear Gryls says ‘I think with kids if you teach them that there is no risk in life you are doing them a disservice. If you want to empower kids, you teach them how to manage risk, and do risk but do risk safely’.

I think we need to work together to create awareness of the importance of playing out and try to convince parents of children who don’t give their children independence that it’s as important as school work to children’s development.

The Consequence of Fast Fashion by James Leeder, age 9
The definition of fast fashion is to produce trendy clothes in the cheapest and fastest way. According to The Independent, the fashion industry is worth £2 trillion and £100m of used clothing goes to landfill in the UK each year. The average daily wage of a garment worker is £2 and an estimated 170million child laborers around the world works in the textile industry.

Shopping has become a way of life, a weekly pastime and sometimes an addiction for some. The main issue is that we don’t keep our clothes for a long time. For most people, they like to buy new clothes every month therefore clothes need to be cheap and trendy. Fast fashion is becoming disposable, easily accessible such as purchasing online and in supermarkets. The fashion industry can sometimes make you feel ‘out of trend’ very quickly.

Fashion chains like H&M and Zara introduce new styles as often as every two weeks. As soon as photos from fashion week go up online, there’s an immediate reaction of fast fashion stores rushing to duplicate the trend. How do they do it? By getting it made overseas from the cheapest manufacturer.

What are the knock-on effect of fast fashion and who makes our clothes? According to an article by Reverse Resources, roughly 40% of all garments are produced in China, Bangladesh and India, 20% comes from nearby countries (Pakistan, Vietnam, Indonesia, etc.) and the rest 40% from all around the globe.

Bangladesh is the worlds second-largest garment producer. In 2013, Rana Plaza building, a clothing factory in Bangladesh collapsed which killed over 1,200 Bangladeshi factory workers due to the bad working environment.

“Consumers have a big responsibility. They get things so cheap. They have to think about how these companies are doing business. The multinationals take our blood and our sweat,” said Nazma Akter, a former child factory worker and founder of the Awaj Foundation, which fights for labour rights in Bangladesh.

Before you buy another item of clothing, ask yourself, is it necessary? Is it another throwaway fashion to satisfy my desire? Do I really need it or is it just another item that will end up on the landfill? Who made my clothes?

“Buying clothing and treating it as if it is disposable is putting a huge added weight on the environment and is simply unsustainable” said Elizabeth L Cline, author of Overdresses, The Shocking High Cost of Cheap Fashion.

We can help the environment by changing where we shop and what we buy. For example, I recycle my old clothes, I turn my trousers into shorts when they are too short, I decorate my t-shirt to disguise any removable stains and lastly I donate my old clothes to a charity. I like shopping in charity shops because I find unusual clothes or toys. As my dad once told me, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.