Edge Forum

Tuesday 23rd March, 2010

Talent Match - Andrew's work experience at Sky

By Admin

We got in touch with the amazing talent resourcing team at British Sky Broadcasting and sent Andrew Bontiff, Edge Learner Forum member and Sport Journalism student, to British Sky Broadcasting for a 3 day work experience placement in February.  Andrew talks us through what he learned from his experiences:

 

Hi my name is Andrew Bontiff and thanks to the Edge Learner Forum I completed a work experience placement at Sky News/Sports News.

 

My three days spent there was superb and extremely inspiring. Since finishing the placement I have had a real buzz and have just been eager to better myself and continue the positive energy I absorbed there.

 

 The whole experience was fantastic, while all the staff were friendly and welcoming. Always willing to offer advice and share how they got into the industry.

 

I found that the placement was really beneficial and was what I call a ‘perfect match’. I am huge sports fan with currently studying Sports Journalism at the University of East London. Following my previous work experience placements at the BBC and with Channel 4, I always hoped I’ll on day get the chance to possibly go to Sky Sports and further my career, however never thought the opportunity would come so soon. This just shows that any aspirations we all have are achievable and are in reach.  To be given the opportunity to shadow around and learn from industry specialist was just amazing and I will carry on using this experience as something to aspire to and hopefully one day I’ll be there again.

 

On my first day, throughout the hour and a half journey on the tube I was just packed with thrills along with the odd butterflies in my stomach. The nerves were soon dashed away when I finally stepped foot in the building and started recognising some of the faces you’ll usually see on the telly. That was when it sunk in and I realised that I was finally there and I was not going to let the occasion faze me.

 

After a brief tour around the Sky News studios I was soon in full swing, asked to get involved in the action. My first duty was to read the presenters script, followed by learning how to use the editing equipment. Working in the news room for a 24-hour programme means responding to any breaking news and delivering in out to the audience. My journalistic skills were soon put to the test when I was asked to write an article. Never did I realise it was actually for it to be published online. My initial thought was that it was just a task for me to undergo and a chance for them to see how I work. What a start that was. Already I was feeling like a part of the team. That was the highlight of my day and probably the whole placement.  It would take something really special to take that away from me.

 

However I did get to sit on the desk next to presenters Ian Payne and Georgie Thompson, two of the household names of the channel, whilst they were live on-air, albeit off-screen. It felt so wired seeing them correspond to the whole nation with me just a whisker away. I had pair of headphones which was wired up to the show’s producers who were signalling information to the two presenters. If you ever thought being a presenter was nice and easy, think again. The job is much hard than it looks and they deserve full credit for responding to all pieces of information they are receiving and at the same time reading the auto-cue camera.  

 

Other duties entailed working with the runner, searching for footage in the sports library, which would then be edited ready to use for the show. Much better than making cups of tea!

 

For all the fun and excitement working at Sky Sports News, I quickly observed how much of a demanding place it is to work there. I also felt as if I could have possibly expressed myself more over the three days but found it difficult as I was with a new team each day. Due to the timetable and rota of the staff at the impressive Sky Sports News complex I had to almost start all over again and introduce myself to people and get to grips with what roles they had at the company.

 

I fully acknowledge that there are some people who will look up to me and would jump at the chance to do the same things so therefore it is vital to take these opportunities with both hands when it comes and just enjoy it. Now I’ve had a taste of the action, it has only spurred me on to come back here one day. I can definitely see myself working here in some capacity in the future. This has given me much high confidence which can only benefit me.

 

My advice to anyone wanting to work in the media industry is to never lose faith and always be on the lookout for placement opportunities. Never be put off by the name of the company and feel that you’re not good enough to work there. If you have a passion for something then keep at it and the chance will come.

 

The unfortunate problem for young people is that we are often portrayed in a negative way. There appears to be a lot of focus on the youth doing the wrong things, when there are many of us who have dreams and always strive for success, doing the right things in life.

 

 I without doubt would recommend this placement to anybody who would like to gain some experience in the sports media/journalism industry.

 

I am ever so grateful for all those at the Edge Learner Forum, who made this possible and would like to wish everyone involved all the best.

 

Andrew Bontiff 

 

 

Talent Match – Making work experience work for YOU!  If you, like Andrew, want to get your foot in the door and gain some work experience in a particular field, drop Lauren a line at:  lauren@shm-ltd.co.uk  explaining what your dream placement is, why you’d be suited to it and she’ll do her best to make it happen (see the homepage for more details).

 

Thursday 11th March, 2010

Feb 2010 Forum Meetings

By Admin

Nottingham Learner forum have two new leaders, Danniebelle who is the Forum Leader and Mandy who is the co-ordinator. 

 

We also have a new venue at The Stone Soup Project, where we will be meeting for two whole days within the half term and end of term breaks.

 

The first meeting for 2010 was on 17^th Feb when we met with the elders to discuss the responsibilities and projects for this year.  Aaron, Leanne  and Charlotte were keen to take on lead roles and to work with the younger members on the set projects.

 

On 18^th Feb we met with all the members and discussed the projects for the year and who wanted to be involved in which project.  Certain members are going to look at the face to face surveys, getting new members (full and associate) and role models.  They will report back on any ideas they have at the next Forum meeting March with a view to getting started. 

 

We have three members who will attend the Steering Group meetings and national events.  These three also want to get involved in Edge Instead. 

 

We discussed the Youth Commission on-line survey and will revisit  this at the next full meeting. 

 

We also discussed having t-shirts, caps and bags printed, with the Edge logo on.  Mandy is looking into this. 

 

We plan to meet with the elders before the next full Forum meeting so they can help with the planning of the meetings and to recap on the projects.

 

Wednesday 24th February, 2010

Schools Council Conference York

By Admin

On Weds 24th Feb Marty and Jenni ran a session for the York Schools Council Conference at the Guildhall Building.   The session had been written by Emma and Jess working with CJ and was run three times with around 45 young people from York Schools.   The session was all about understanding the Edge Learner Forum mission 'Its not how intelligent you are, its how you are intelligent that matters' and 'there are many paths to success'.   The session focussed on taking responsibility for your own learning journey and featured discussion around Marty and Jenni's Learning Journey and that of Practical Learning Role Model Kevin Curran [Profile].   Finally the young people were asked to make a pledge as to how they would take responsibility for their own learning journey from this day forward.   The results were fantastic and can be found below!   Thanks to all those who contributed.

"I was nervous at the start, but i got to see what people wanted out of edge and it was good to see different opinions, especially those who knew exactly what they wanted to do in the future.   I felt it went really well and boosted my confidence.   Answering questions from the young people actually made me think about  what i'd like to change so it was good"

Marty

 

THE PLEDGES

I will always be myself and not get jealous of what other people have or do. I will try to reach my full potential and never care what other people think about me. I will not let anyone prevent me from achieving my dream of being a performer / teacher!

I will always make sure that no one stops me from my dreams or makes me anyone other than myself. I will study at university in London and enjoy my life

I will get an ICT GCSE in my free time so that I can take an extra year of art and music to improve my skills and confidence

I will research into jobs that I might want to get and decide what I’m going to do in the future

I have learnt from personal experience, to fight through difficulty and to know that there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. To persevere in what I want in life and close my ears to negative input and open them to positive faith

I will aim to pass my GCSEs and go onto College and maybe become an F1 driver

I will follow my ambitions confidently and without fail

I will continue to keep to my goals and tm and make the most of life. And also get the job I will enjoy and will stick at

I will collect more action figures and eat more food and drinks. I will help other pupils and make new friends. I will help my mum more often

I will revise for my GCSEs 

I will join an organisation like Green Peace

I will like to work in an office that uses computers in the future

I will follow my own path and choose my own GCSEs, not doing everything my friends are doing

I  will attend and succeed in my interview

I will work as hard as I can in my GCSEs next year

I will be the bigger person and beat the bullies

I will carry on with martial arts until I become a black belt; I will not give up

I will continue to stick with my goal of becoming a lawyer and to work hard and be focused through college and university in order to achieve that goal

I will stay mentally strong and strive to achieve my potential

I will try to bring my homework in on time

I will revise for all my tests

I will save so I can go to university to get a degree to take me further

I will do anything to work my way to the top (nothing illegal  )

I will take every opportunity that could benefit me in any way for the future

Keep up to date with all my coursework!

I will achieve above my predicted / target grades this year in order to set myself up for my future

I will pass Grade 8 on guitar

I will try not to give up on my dream – however unlikely it may seem

I will be successful and would love to either be a solicitor or be on telly as I like my voice to be heard and I would love to be a solicitor as I want to have a good job, also take every opportunity that gets thrown at me as you only love once! 

I will with children who need someone to help them

I will talk to my parents about my education path after secondary school

I will find out what I want to do when I’m older

I will try harder to improve in the subjects that I do not like very much and the subjects I’m not very good at

I will help people who are struggling in life to find their way

I will try to set up my own political party

I will become or be dedicated to the country by representing a constituency or area in some way

I will try to get plastic bottle recycling introduced at my school

I will try hard in every subject not just the ones I am good at

I will try, at every given opportunity, to fulfil my goals in life whether it be at university, living away or at home or in a job

I will look to see how life is being a plumber

I will try to work better and behave better in both in and out of school

I will work in a school with children

 

Friday 19th February, 2010

xmas party

By Mark

On the 5th Dec the North Yorkshire edge learner forum (ELF) met up for the 2nd Christmas party. Which was held in Millers Yard (York)

The people who attended where: 
Cat, Jade, Emma, Sim, David, Jenni, Jess, Max, Steph, Mark, and me (Marty) 
And also Abdul and Divan from the London forum. It was good to meet up with everyone again. 

The 1st task we did was a match up task.
There would be bits of paper on the floor which would make up the right answer to the questions.
Such as the North Yorkshire forum has done …… projects in the last year, and we had to find the paper that said 12 or 1524 etc.
When we all found the correct answers we were all amazed of what came out of it. This then gave us a good look at how we did it and if we can do more or less for this year.

Mark quoted "I never knew how much work we had down and taken on in the year"

The 2nd task was more relaxing (which Max loved) it was a head massage held by Karen she showed us all different ways that can be done it was amazing how fast it worked to just take you out of a bad mood to a more relaxing you. 
Max then told us "i would so pay for this now i know how it feels"
After that we got into pairs and tried it on each other, while the pairs did that Max, David, Divan, Abdul and myself did a quick interview with Max saying about how he felt before and after he had the head massage done. 

The 3rd task was a more "go and have fun and enjoy it" task.
We meet up with Scott 'Akoz' Ensbury who is a break dancer and does photo shoots on a green screen. 
"This gives you a change to mess around with photos and edit them once you like and just relax and have fun with the camera"
We also had Naomi Nye who was a make-up artist (Credits include: Stardust, Hollyoaks and The Bill).

Hayley Legg who is a hair stylist studying at york college.We put some music on and had a great time.We were joined by Scott who showed some of us how to break dance while some got there make up done. e.g special effects/ general make-up after we used the green screen to get some photos taken to edit them on a computer, e.g backgrounds. adding text. At the end of the day we came home with good memories from the party with the photos we had done hair and make up and feeling fresh.
Overall it was a fab day and I’m sure we all fully enjoyed ourselves. 

Click here for Photo Gallery 1

Click here for Photo Gallery 2

Big up CJ, Kev and Kirsty. Without you guys this would not of happened.
And thank you to Naomi, Hayley and Karen for taking your spare time to come and join us.
also a special thanks to Millers Yard (York) who let us use there studio for the day.

Friday 12th February, 2010

William Howard School Edge Instead

By Admin

The Cumbria Learner Forum completed the biggest pupil-led Edge Instead Inspection to date at William Howard School in North Cumbra just before Christmas.  The school  has 1600 pupils and we completed 90 lesson observations, 1100 student questionnaires, feedback from a diary room and lunchtime workshops.  The school has embraced the report that we produced and is implementing its recommendations.  The Head Teacher, Lorrayne Hughees, commented; "it will be a resounding success".  The Edge Instead was supported by 15 students from Ulverston Victoria High School and the William Howard team is supporting their inspection in the Spring term.  Click here to read the article in the Cumberlan News Learning Supplement . . .

Friday 29th January, 2010

responsibility for 2010

By Mark

name: mark benton, marty kidd

As of february 2010 mark benton and marty kidd will be taking responsibility of the north yorkshire learner forum website. We hope to achieve many skills throughout the year