On the eve of BBC School Report News Day, Chris Gray from the BBC News channel describes the preparation he’s done with St Thomas’ School.
‘Their knowledge of editing software and camera shots was very impressive’
I was attracted to BBC School Report having worked with young people before, and I was keen to do it again. I would’ve jumped at the chance to do something similar when I was at school, aged 11 and interested in journalism.
On this project, I have been working with St Thomas’ School in south London, with some Year-7 pupils to help develop their story.
They were researching how different people learn and how teaching must adapt to those different types of learners, whether they are audio, visual or kinaesthetic learners.
The students I met conducted a study with the rest of the year group, analysed the results and will be following up their results with interviews with people in the school who focus on types of learning.
At the BBC, I am a Broadcast Journalist on the BBC News channel. I work in the heart of the newsroom at New Broadcasting House as well as on location, working on many stories that develop throughout the day. The role can take you from political outside broadcasts at Westminster to major sporting events such as the Olympic Parade.
So far, with the pupils at St Thomas’ I've shared my knowledge of compiling a TV news feature, and the elements that go into production.
The most enjoyable parts were seeing how excited the pupils were when talking about the elements of a news report, and the different ways to show a story; then helping them film and develop their news understanding.
The most surprising thing was how adept the pupils are with new technology. For example, in one of the practice stories, one group looked at how schools were using coding to help teach IT skills.
Their knowledge of editing software and camera shots was very impressive considering their age. I was struck by the willingness the students had to work as a team and get stuck in with the basics, such as surveying their year group and emailing potential interviewees. Those tasks are the most laborious and time consuming on a story, but the students grasped very quickly that without solid data they wouldn't have a story at all.
The project taught me that the BBC has a lot of adapting to do to keep up with the younger audience. I'm 23, and only left school seven years ago, but the way schools are teaching their children, in of the new technology available, is way beyond what it was when I left.
So by the time these Year-7 pupils are adults the way they consume news will be fundamentally different even to my generation.
BBC News needs to make sure the way we distribute our content is still relevant to this younger audience - a task which is already well under way.
What a treat to work with a great school. Outreach for School Report is a great opportunity for both BBC staff and the young people.
