Over the four months, the students had their hands full, from researching for articles to interviewing people and taking photographs.

Some of the winning articles were included in an eight-page publication which was distributed to local schools and bank branches on February 5. Today it is being handed out to the public along with the free daily am730.

A total of 380,000 copies were printed.

The Little Reporters programme was aimed at allowing students to experience the spirit of the marathon and give them hands-on experience in journalism.

A group of Form Four students from Buddhist Tai Hung College said although they weren't enthusiastic writers, they were keen to take part in the scheme.

'We learned that we would be going out for interviews and conducting research,' said Apple Poon Yi-ting, 15.

'We wanted to give it a try. We wanted to learn interviewing techniques and to see what the whole process is like.'

To enter the contest, the group wrote an article on green living. They interviewed people from the Green Living Education Foundation, who set up a stall at the recent Book Festival held at Victoria Park.

Each team member had a different role: Apple conducted the interviews; Bella Chan Heung-ning and Sara Chu Yan-yi did the research; and Cherry Lai Cheuk-yan and Bobo Ho Wing-yan took the photographs. More editing was needed because three reporters were working on the same story, they said.

They wrote two more articles after going through to the second - and final - round. One was on warm-up tips before taking part in a marathon, while the other revolved around the history of the race and how it has influenced the city's economy.

'In writing about the economic impact, we went around the neighbourhood, interviewing people on the street,' Cherry, 16, said. 'I felt a bit embarrassed at the beginning. I was afraid that people would refuse.'

Luckily, the 'little reporters' had no such problems. Their neighbours were very friendly.

Beforehand, the students visited the offices of am730, where they were shown a video of how a newspaper is produced and were taught interviewing skills.

The most difficult task was to ask good questions, Bobo recalled. 'We put ourselves in the interviewees' shoes and tried to ask questions which were not too sensitive,' the 15-year-old said.

Although they had no plans to become reporters, the students said the programme was a good learning experience.

Cherry, who has been taking photographs for the past few years, said she was impressed by the photo-editing techniques used by professionals.

Sara said journalists were busy and had to meet tight deadlines. 'If I was working in the media, I would miss my family very much,' the 17-year-old said.