Nicholas Szczesny, a Year 8 student at Gunnersbury Catholic School in Brentford, writes about their visit to the Sky Studios HQ in London.
On 14th March 2024, a group of 32 students were invited to go to Sky Studios HQ, Osterley and create their very own video news report on four selected climate topics. The students were organised into four separate groups per news report and were each given the task of assigning roles in the team and finally producing the video report.
The trip was an amusing but educational one; being able to see the professional world of journalism but also experience first-hand what it would be like. The visit linked to the topics of climate change and global warming which we were covering at school, so this trip sufficiently aided us in the learning process when we had to research facts, figures and events on climate for our news report.
Leading up to the trip each of the four allocated groups was given a week to arrange roles between themselves and plan the script as well as research key facts for the script while verifying their sources to make absolute sure they were correct and not misleading.
Sky Studios was a very modern looking environment with abstract shaped buildings standing tall and proud. We went over to the presentation room where we had a small snack, were briefed on safety and also briefed on our activity as well as given name tags for our corresponding roles.
“The Sky Up Academy Studios trip ended in a success with everyone happy and also fairly educated on the world of journalism.”
The time in the studio seemed to go really fast and it almost felt like we wouldn’t be able to finish on time, however that prior preparation really helped us to go straight to costume picking and rehearsing the lines to get it right.
After we finished recording and editing, we went to watch a live recording session for Sky Sports. Except for the increased number of roles and better grade equipment, it didn’t look too much different. Finally, we returned to the studios and sat down to watch the final product and it genuinely was pretty good for the circumstances we were under. I was proud of all the groups and we all had a laugh at some of the goofy outfits worn.
I personally would love to go again and would highly recommend the trip to any demographic.
The Sky Up Academy Studios trip ended in a success with everyone happy and also fairly educated on the world of journalism. On behalf of the students, I would like to thank Mr Harris and Ms Leng who volunteered to go and to all the amazing staff at Sky Up Academy Studios. We also thank Mr Boothe for organising this trip as it wouldn’t have been possible without him.
Teacher comment
Selwyn Boothe, who organised the trip, said they had a brilliant day and he made use of the resources available both when booking and on site. He added: “All the students who attended enjoyed it immensely and some wish to go again. We have already booked for 32 Year 7 students to go in May.
About Sky Up Academy Studios
A visit gives your class a VIP look behind-the-scenes at Sky, helping to develop their confidence and build skills like creativity, communication and collaboration.
Suitable for ages eight to 18 there are two locations, one in Osterley London and the other in Livingston, Scotland. You can take up to 32 students on a free visit. They will take on real-life media roles and work with a team of experts to create a news report or trailer.
Find out more about school trips to Sky Up Academy Studios here.
