A FORMER Northwich student has been making headlines in a national newspaper.

Maeve McClenaghan, who studied at Sir John Deane’s College, had an article published on the front page of The Independent in December.

She works at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and has been looking into stories about parliamentary access, lobbying and MPs financial backing.

Maeve’s mum Roisin Dunn, an assistant principal at SJD, said: “Maeve has researched a couple of big stories used in the Guardian and Times but this was her first front page by-line.”

Maeve, who currently lives in London, studied A Level English Literature, History, Spanish, Theatre Studies and General Studies and left the college in 2003.

She said: “SJD certainly influenced me and really prepared me well for the challenges of university, it was a great stepping stone from high school to university life.

“The wonderful Mrs Darby was my form tutor there.

“She was incredibly supportive and really encouraged me to aim high and work hard.

“Spanish classes with Ms Vitti were a real highlight and definitely set me up well for my travels, as since college I have studied in Spain and Costa Rica and worked for Amnesty International in Chile.

“I also found Sue Harding’s English Literature classes challenging me to think outside the box, question my assumptions and carefully analyse texts, all skills I use day to day when researching articles.

“And Chris Spring’s Theatre Studies classes were a great influence – and I have continued to enjoy drama ever since.”

Maeve has just returned from Barbados where she interned for a short time as a journalist at the national online paper Barbados TODAY.

Before that she studied an MA in International Law and Human Rights in Costa Rica.

She has also kept up her interest in acting and has appeared in shows in Nottingham, London and the Edinburgh festival.

Maeve said: “The main thing I got from SJD was the confidence to know I could immerse myself in new challenges, with new groups of people and still succeed.

“I am just starting out in journalism but thanks to SJD I have the skills and confidence to keep going.”

Her recent article can be seen online at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/lobbying-calls-for-transparency-over-former-mps-access-to-parliament-6277136.html?origin=internalSearch.