Hitting the headlines

A group of budding Year 8 journalists experienced life in the newsroom today when they recorded and edited a live interview with actor, Sir David Jason, before posting it on the school website.

You can watch the interview by clicking here.

The activity was all part of the girls’ involvement in BBC School Report. This year is the 11th annual School Report News Day with secondary school children at more than 900 schools around the UK taking part. You can find out more and see what other schools have been doing on the BBC website - http://www.bbc.co.uk/schoolreport

Since the beginning of the year the girls have been meeting on Wednesday lunchtimes to plan the project and explore different types of journalism, discussing the articles and films they would like to produce.

Prior to the News Day the girls worked hard planning their questions and scouting out the best location for the interview with Sir David to take place. As the focus of the piece was on the importance of Drama and Theatre, the most appropriate place was the Arts Centre Theatre - one of the School’s newest facilities which seats up to 280 people and is fully equipped with not only a large and flexible stage, including orchestra pit, but also state-of-the-art sound and lighting facilities.

During the interview the girls asked Sir David a variety of questions including “How did you get into acting?”, “Do you think that Drama is valuable in schools?” and “What do you think about the fact that the new GCSE Drama syllabus doesn’t require pupils to watch live performances?”

Following the recording it was off to the editing suite to work on their film in order to get it ready for the 2pm production deadline.

English teacher, Miss Maddock, who has been running the activity with the girls said, “I’ve been involved in the BBC School Report for a number of years now and it is a really fantastic opportunity. Watching the girls learn new skills like video editing and working with cameras is always a joy. I also think the chance for them to work with organisations such as the BBC at a young age is an invaluable one - it opens a whole new world of career possibilities for them, whilst engaging them in current affairs. We are incredibly grateful to Sir David Jason for giving up his time today and all the girls hope that he is pleased with the end result!”