Piers Morgan was just 28 when he became the country's youngest national newspaper editor, but a youngster living near Norwich is to go one better by achieving his first editorship aged just 10.

While other children from Spixworth spent their Christmas holidays opening presents and socialising with family and friends, Sam Rowlands was penning an email to his school calling for a student newspaper to be set up.

And teaching staff at Woodland View Junior School in Ivy Road, Spixworth, were so impressed by the youngster's plea that they decided to establish a paper – and make him its first editor.

Emma Adcock, headteacher at the school, said: 'Being an English specialist as well as headteacher I was really excited. We're all looking forward to it.'

Miss Adcock said a paper would be able to not only hone the pupils' English skills but also encourage creativity too and help get the school more involved in the community.

The year four, five, and six students involved in the project visited the Evening News's offices at Rouen Road in Norwich earlier this year and used the visit as an inspiration about where to start and what to do.

She said: 'The visit gave us lots of ideas about different aspects of the newspaper and what we would need to think about. The children were already excited but that visit really got them so inspired about what they wanted to achieve, We got back and set up an editorial team. '

Sam, who lives at Chestnut Avenue with his parents Paul and Miranda, is no stranger to the media following the tragic death of his sister Alice, aged just 15 days old in 2007.

Since her death, from a rare liver condition, the Rowlands' family have raised more than �48,000 for Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) which provides accommodation for families whose loved ones are in hospital miles from home.

Mr Rowlands, 40, said: 'We're really, really proud of him. He had this idea, then started dismissing it, but I said no it's a really good idea. We're really chuffed with what he's done – it's a real confidence boost for him. He's really, really excited about the whole project.'

The editorial team, who are aged between 10 and 11, has been split up into different sections, each responsible for different areas, which they discovered after looking at the Evening News and its sister paper the EDP to see how they are laid out and presented.

The paper, which will be called View the News, will concentrate on school life and different aspects of what happens at the school from pupil issues to staff features and sports reports as well as things like puzzles and fun pages.

The first edition is expected to be finished in the summer. Misss Adcock said initially she planned to produce one edition a term but hoped to be able to produce more as they got more experienced.

Have you got a quirky story from Spixworth? Call Evening News and Spixworth patch reporter Peter Walsh on 01603 772436 or email