Young people have unveiled some surprising benefits of life under lockdown in a new booklet.

The initiative from the London Borough of Havering saw children between the ages of eight and 17 explain how they learned new skills, got fit, set up new initiatives, got closer to their family and even attended a round table event with London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Their stories are now featured in a new virtual booklet – Life in Lockdown.

Councillor Robert Benham, Havering’s Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Families, said:

I hope these stories will allow us to learn from our young people – their coping mechanisms and how their creativity and talent has helped them through a very difficult time.

I’d like to say a huge thank you to each of them for sharing their stories.

Among the young people taking part is Jay, 17, who said:

Like many others in lockdown, I’ve used the opportunity to get into running, starting off with small 1k-2k runs and progressing up to 10k, which I believe has done wonders for not only my physical health but also my mental health as it has allowed me to constantly make goals to reach and exceed.

Kaycee, 10, said:

One of my favourite things that happened during lockdown is me and my stepdad got closer.

While Ideja, 17, linked up with 21 students who have an interest in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). She said:

I wanted to be the first to link Kosovar students and UK students, all with a mutual love for STEM.

I also had the opportunity to reinforce my leadership skills and continue socialising through virtual, international meet-ups.

The booklet can be viewed online.