15 January 2013 Last updated at 12:18

Practice News Day: Sign up for School Report's latest dress rehearsal

Pupils from Birmingham's Saint John Wall Catholic School with West Bromwich Albion footballers Shane Long (left) and Gareth McAuley

The countdown is under way for the third School Report Practice News Day of the 2012-13 academic year - the perfect way to hone your team's journalistic talents.

Thursday 24 January is a chance for schools, teachers and pupils to give it a go and see what stories they can report and what lessons they can learn for the main News Day on 21 March.

School Report will run a live text commentary page all day to keep people up to date with all the reporting going on in classrooms around the UK and will arrange to contact your school for the latest news.

Here's our coverage of December's event to demonstrate how the day works.

One of the highlights of our second Practice News Day took place in Salford where a group of School Reporters from Oasis Academy interviewed BBC Breakfast presenter Sally Nugent.

Remaining Practice News Day dates

• Thursday 24 January 2013

• Friday 15 February 2013

There are plenty of national and international topics you may want to cover this time around - or you could report on something closer to home.

What you report on is entirely up to you. If you don't know where to start get some ideas by watching the Finding news masterclass.

But if you want some food for thought, three days before Practice News Day is the inauguration of US President Barack Obama. For tips on political reporting read this guide from the BBC's Adam Fleming.

The publication of the latest school league tables might encourage your School Reporters to reflect on what they think makes a good school or report on something special going on in your classrooms? Don't forget things going on right on your doorstep are worth reporting on too!

The day after our Practice Day, the National TV Awards take place. How much television do your students and their friends watch - and how many hours are viewed by you and the other staff at your school?

The following Sunday, the 13th Holocaust Memorial Day is commemorated around the world. Are there any events going on in your area or are there any Holocaust survivors living locally who the students could interview?

If you are a football fan, the fourth round of the FA Cup also takes place that weekend. Is your local team involved and if so, is there a good story to report on - especially if it is one of the smaller clubs?

For some sport reporting tips why not share our Reporting Sport video masterclass with your students?

Or of course you may already have some ideas of your own that you want to pursue!

Carshalton High School for Girls pupils edit material for their live broadcast during December's Practice News Day

The main News Day in March will see students work to a 1400 GMT deadline to create video, audio and text-based news before publishing it on their school website by 1600 GMT.

So schools taking part in a Practice News Day might like to rehearse some of these elements, or just get to grips with the newsgathering and production side of the project - it's your call.

There will only be one more Practice News Day after this one, so opportunities to fine-tune your journalism operation before the pressure is on in March are running out!

And if you have a topic, or perhaps a newsworthy interviewee, which could be of wider interest up your sleeves, let us know.

Schools may also run their own practice News Days on any date they choose if it's more convenient - again, just let the School Report team know when.

Planning to take part?

Please let us know using this form so we can try to arrange to find out what you are up to on the day and give you a mention:

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