The kids are all write Six finalists in our search for new talent

Not Vicky Pollard ... young mum Max Barua

A SUPERMARKET shelf-stacker, an outspoken redhead and a fed-up wheelchair user are among the six finalists in our search for a new Column Idol.

Our hotly-contested competition, backed by the charity Media Trust, is in its third year – and, once again, hundreds of young people leapt at the chance to get their voices heard. Each finalist will team up with a Sun journalist, who mentors them through the writing process.
Next month they will each pitch their idea to a judging panel, including Sun columnist Lorraine Kelly and singer Labrinth.
The winner gets the opportunity to see their work in Britain’s most popular paper.
Here the finalists talk about their ideas.

Teen mums are not all like Vicky Pollard

MAX BARUA, 21, from Camden, London, is a freelance writer. She says:
I want to write about the effect society’s attitudes can have on young people – particularly teenage mothers.
I’m 21 and have a five-year-old son and, although life isn’t difficult, it’s incredibly tough trying to get a foot in the door when so many people are closing it on me.
I feel that the only teenage parent that represents me is Vicky Pollard – NOT the way I want to be represented.
The attitudes I’ve had to deal with have been really horrific. Luckily, I’m quite sturdy and hard, but if I wasn’t so determined I think someone would’ve broken me.
I’d go for job interviews and the conversation would be great. But as soon as they found out I was 16 and had a baby, the tone changed.
I had the right attitude and was the perfect candidate for the job but I was stereotyped and that clouded the employer’s judgment.
This really isn’t fair – and it happens to young people all over. I want young people to be better understood, they shouldn’t be written off. I’m so grateful for this opportunity to make my voice heard.

This is a chance to achieve my dream

Shelf-stacker ... Aaron Dew

ROGER CRUMP

AARON DEW, 20, from Welwyn Garden City, Herts, works in a supermarket. He says:
I’m so excited to be in the final six. Column Idol is a fantastic opportunity because I love writing. I think my generation doesn’t often get listened to, so it’s a really exciting chance for that lucky someone to be heard.
I want to talk about Islamophobia, which I think is on the rise. My dad converted to Islam when I was 13 and it really opened my eyes. I was bullied at school because of it – the kids joked about dad being a suicide bomber.
Katie Price wrote about Column Idol and that was what spurred me to enter. I’d love to be a journalist or a novelist. But I stack shelves in a supermarket and there was no way I could afford to go to university. So this is a chance to achieve something I could only dream of.
When you read about my generation we’re often branded “no hopers” and “feral youth” but then something like Column Idol comes along and I think there is hope.
I like The Sun – it’s fun and accessible. If I had a column, I’d like to write about politics and diversity.
The sitcom The Office was what inspired me to write.
It was so funny yet very subtly written.

I’ll show that I’m not defined by disability

Not defined by disability ... Jessica Long

DANIEL GRAVES

JESSICA LONG, 22, from the West Midlands, has scoliosis and has trouble walking unaided. She says:
I’m really chuffed to be selected for the final six. I’d love to win, but what’s most important for me is to have my writing ability affirmed. Because of my disability, there are things I can’t do.
To take part in Column Idol, I’ve got to travel to London and the Media Trust team have really supported me and have offered to put me up in a hotel. And I’m really looking forward to honing my journalistic skills.
The one thing I don’t want to do is whinge about being disabled. I have scoliosis, a deformity of the spine, and get severe muscle spasms that make my legs weak. It’s too much pain for me to walk unassisted.
I’ve had people cross the street to ask what’s wrong with me. It happens five times a day, so I’ve made a game of it and started lying.
The best one was that I’d fallen off an elephant.
I like to see how far I can push it with these people, who I call The Noseys.
I want to show that I’m not defined by my disability.

Our troops deserve footie-hero worship

Support the Forces ... Ibrahim Khalid

Louis Wood

IBRAHIM KHALID, 18, from Ilford, Essex, is a student. He says:
I’d like to write about the gulf between the Armed Forces and footballers in terms of both pay and respect.
A footballer gets £150,000 a week for kicking a ball about, whereas the starting wage in the Forces is from £15,000 a year. The Sun does a lot for the troops, with organisations like Help for Heroes, and I hope my column could make an impact too. There’s a time for football, but there should also be a time for the troops.
I’m in the Army Cadets and in April I went on an exchange with some other Cadets to Hong Kong. That really opened my eyes – over there they take the Forces much more seriously. Our Government are making so many cuts in the Forces, it’s unreal. I’m disgusted by the “support” their families get – after all, these guys might not come back to their families.
And to think that Mario Balotelli can’t even put on a bib, yet he’s a hero.
Those in the Forces should be the ones hero-worshipped. You only get one life, so to risk it for your country should be respected.
I really hope this opportunity lets me make a change.

I’m opinionated like Clarkson

Opinionated ... Alexander Wood

INS News Agency Ltd

ALEXANDER WOOD, 24, from Reading, works in marketing. He says:
Column Idol is such a fantastic opportunity for me.
A columnist has got to be on top of the news, interesting and relevant. I admire the controversy of Jeremy Clarkson and Rod Liddle.
They’ve both got something to say and they’re opinionated – which is essential for a columnist.
I’d say I was opinionated. I want to write about education’s slide in society.
University isn’t the ticket to a safe professional job like it once was. Degrees in film studies from dead-end institutions will only take you one place – the dole queue. Suddenly that £30,000 doesn’t seem such a sound investment.
After uni I slipped into an office job. I hope Column Idol halts the descent into Middle England madness.

I’d make a stand for gingers

Team Ginge ... Laura Hogan

DANIEL GRAVES

LAURA HOGAN, 21, an online marketing exec from Birmingham, says:
I’d like to write a column about prejudice against redheads. It’s a form of bullying which should be taken more seriously than it is.
I’m a redhead so I’ve grown up hearing names thrown at me, but I wouldn’t change my hair colour for the world – I love it.
My column would focus on why being a ginger is great and why the rest of the world should embrace it more.
Did you know there’s a National Ginger Day? And that Nicola Roberts started a Team Ginge?
I want to show redheads that it’s OK to be ginger and that you should love your hair colour.
Ginger does not equal minger.