Blogs and school meals a winning combination

A secondary school pupil from Manchester is the latest teenager to win a £150 voucher to a high street store of her choice thanks to a teen website.

Lauren Donegan, from Trinity Church of England High School in Hulme, entered the national blog competition on lifestyle website www.yougo4it.co.uk with a funny story about getting a newspaper for her mum.

On the site students have the opportunity to write a blog about a recent day in their life and the writer of the winning blog receives this fantastic prize. Lauren was presented with a gift voucher to New Look in a school assembly.

Young people can send in amusing videos, contribute to message boards, vote on topical issues, see what's 'in or out' and read blogs from sports stars such as Leon Taylor and Andy Turner.

The site also includes health information, school lunch menus, exercise and lifestyle advice, and has been approved by the Eating Disorders Association, Diabetes UK and Allergy UK.

A dedicated study section has been added to the website to help students understand how our bodies work when doing various sports. Visitors can also see what's on the menu in their school by visiting the 'Tuck In' section.

Councillor Bernard Priest, Manchester City Council's Executive Member whose responsibilities include school meals services, said: "I'm very pleased that Lauren's story won her a prize. The website is a good way for young people to find out important information about health and the importance of a good diet in a fun way."

Michelle Hargreaves, marketing officer for Manchester Fayre, Manchester City Council's catering service, said: "We launched www.yougo4it.co.uk/manchester in September with the help of 18-year-old heptathlete Lucy Boggis.

"Lucy is aiming to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games in London in 2012 and she really inspired the young people to visit the site and find out more. We are delighted that a student from Manchester has won this competition.

"Nationally secondary school meal numbers have dropped over the last few years and we want to get across the importance of healthy eating to young people in Manchester. Blogs, podcasts, funny videos, message boards and elite athletes are the tools that are used on the website.

"These are all things students are familiar with from other websites they enjoy and everything has been created and written with young people in mind. Lauren was just one of the many pupils from Manchester who visited the site to find out more."

There is currently a new blog competition running as well as a video competition. Both have a £150 voucher prize and the closing date for entries is Friday 28 March 2008.

Media contact:

Martin Hellewell, tel: 0161 234 3729