Awesome learning experience

Ask any young student interested in media  to put into words their dream workplace of the future, it may sound a little like this:

“State-of-the-art building, colourful and with open spaces to work in and inspire creativity, access to the very latest  technology… free cinemas , a free gym, the choice of 13 cafes and a Little Waitrose to pick up dinner before heading off home for the evening….” Sounds great, huh?!

Well, that’s exactly what our Year 7 and Year 11 media students found when they visited the London HQ of Sky Studios. And they had the inspirational time of their lives!

Sky recently transformed its headquarters in West London to embody the media company’s ‘believe in better’ vision. Sky Central unites more than 3,500 people across three levels as they work together to deliver world class entertainment to millions of customers globally. By 2030 Sky plans to be globally ‘carbon net zero’ with emphasis on using wind turbines, solar panels, collecting rainfall to flush their loos and electric company cars.

The company offers the ‘Sky Up Academy Studio experience’ for secondary pupils- the media magicians of the future. Young people are shown Sky’s broadcast facilities, and take part in an interactive learning experience in a studio where young people write, film and edit their news report or trailer.

Visiting on separate days, our Year 7 and 11 students embraced the scheme whole-heartedly!  Each group was given a specific topic to report on - ‘Wild events across the world’ for Year 7 and ‘Extreme Weather’ for Year 11. The groups chose individual roles based on their particular interests and strengths and worked effectively as a team. Crucially, they were working against the clock – just like a real report team – and had to work quickly through the stages of planning, directing, presenting, filming, producing, editing and broadcasting the report ‘live’.

Students were impressed with the touchscreen editing facilities, the large studios and filming equipment.

They had great fun in the wardrobe department and loved using the special effects – think trees being blown away in the back as a reporter talks to the audience about the extreme weather experienced in coastal Dorset….

Students learned about the career journey of a member of staff, from apprentice to junior to senior leader. Absolute passion and heaps of hard work were very much at the heart of her message.

The students really enjoyed themselves and saw, with their own eyes, the sort of Media opportunities open for them in the future.

Staff commented upon the students’ exemplary behaviour and enthusiasm.

Thank you to Head of Media Mrs Glendenning and Co-Head of Year 7 Mrs A Taylor for leading both trips and a BIG THANK YOU to Sky Studios for hosting such an awesome event for our boys!