Lord Coe with Sofi and Lauren at the Olympic Village
A pair of budding journalists from Tonyrefail Comprehensive School had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join the BBC News School Report Day at London’s Olympic Village.

Year 9 pupils Sofi Sheppard and Lauren Rees attended a press conference with Lord Sebastian Coe and were able to put questions to the world-famous Olympian.

The young roving reporters enjoyed the exciting chance to visit the Olympic Village when they launched their own blogging website through their English GCSE course.

The classroom-full of pupils were shown the benefits of modern technology as a way of learning and many of them took the initiative to use school cameras and start developing news reports in the area.

When the BBC learned of their kills and sharp eye for news they were invited to visit the Royal Mint in neighbouring Llantrisant and present a report on the Olympic Medals being struck there.

Impressed by their enthusiasm, BBC then invited two of the pupils to visit the Olympic Village and meet Lord Coe. The visit was supported by Key Worker Nichola Morgan, employed through Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s pioneering the Building the Future Together project, which is part financed by the European Social Fund through the Welsh Government.

At the press conference the duo asked the athlete, “What has been the biggest challenge of organizing the Olympics?”

Lord Coe gave them an extensive interview when he discussed the challenges being faced, including the time-constrains as the Paralympics begin just 10 days after the Olympics end.

The Tonyrefail classmates also enjoyed a tour of the Olympic Village and stadium before heading home to Rhondda Cynon Taf. This week both of the pupils gave a formal presentation to the Governors of Tonyrefail Comprehensive School about their experience.

Headteacher Elaine Keeble explained, “Our pupils have enjoyed taking part in this BBC News School Project and have benefited greatly from doing so. On the Report Day we had pupils working hard in school and Sofi and Lauren interviewing Lord Coe in London. The pupils will never forget their experience as young BBC reporters and we are very proud of their achievements."