On 12 October our very first group of Dickens Social Reporters ventured into the Lord Mayor of London's extraordinary residence in the City of London, the Mansion House.

This was the launch of our Social Reporters Project which gives young people the chance to report on important social issues affecting young Londoners - street life, education, housing, work and home life. Charles Dickens was concerned with and wrote about all of these issues so our young people will be following in his footsteps.


The visit to Mansion House was an exciting chance for the Social Reporters from several London boroughs to find out not only about the lavish décor, but also about the Lord Mayor's role, part of which is to make projects like ours possible, with funding from City Bridge.


On this particular day, Alderman David Wootton, Lord Mayor, was preparing to host a dinner for three hundred members of the Financial Services Authority, so we were particularly grateful that he was able to find time to chat with the Social Reporters over tea and biscuits about their plans to work with authors, journalists and photographers.

Get involved

There's still chance to become a Dickens Social Reporter. Contact Claire Styles on Claire.Styles@readingagency.org.uk to find out more.