CREATING a newspaper can be fun, as members of a Stroud college adult literacy group learned on completing a course at the Gazette offices in Dursley in 1986.

The group of 10 was invited to use the facilities at the paper’s head office by publishing director John Cox. 

Adult education organiser Sue Pugh said that writing articles and producing a two-page newspaper during the six-week course had been very rewarding for the group. 

“We were delighted to run a group there, it was a great opportunity. The course was a chance to practise writing skills through reading and using newspaper office computers.” 

The class wrote articles on a wide variety of subjects for the newspaper including reports on snorkelling, weddings, the dentists’ ongoing pay dispute and crime reports. 

After writing the stories the group had to paste it up and even took their own photographs to add the finishing touch of authenticity. 

“It was really very successful and great fun as well. 

“We enjoyed it enormously,” said Mrs Pugh.

A similar 12-week course was set to begin at the Gazette’s sister paper, the Stroud News and Journal, the following week.