Two Mosaic West Midlands schools, Kingsbury School & Sports College and Washwood Heath Academy, attended a very special ITV News Central open day where the next generation of journalists and broadcast engineers were invited to find out more about the industry.

The open day provided an opportunity for students to explore an industry that they otherwise might have little access to, and allowed them to ask questions about the industry. Following the visit, ITV has invited 2 students back to meet with ITV’s Diversity Advisory Panel, an informal meeting of representatives of various faith, cultural and disability groups who monitor ITV’s work and feed back to their opinions with an emphasis on attempts to reach a range of diverse communities.

Gary Newby, News Editor at ITV Central, said: “We’d welcomed the opportunity to share our skills and knowledge but hadn’t appreciated how well the students would embrace the experience and the insights it offered.  It appeared they found the day to be as rewarding as we did.  We look forward to following the students’ progress and to repeating the project to support others.”

The two successful students commented on their experiences:
“My name is Ellis and I am in year 11 at Kingsbury School and Sports college. When I went to ITV, I found it a very fascinating experience because I want to go into TV or Music when I’m older,, so to see how it all worked behind the scenes was exciting and interesting. I study Creative Media and when I went to ITV, I learnt how the programme was actually broadcasted which was great to see because we got to see how the sound and camera works. I think I was picked to return to the ITV studios because Cameron and I volunteered to do most things and we took advantage of this opportunity which showed how keen we were to learn. To me, it means a lot to be picked because I am always looking for ways to get involved in school activities and I am always looking for new and exciting things to write down on my CV. I am excited to return to the ITV studios because it will help me to achieve my long term goals of being in TV as this experience will get me the knowledge of what happens behind the camera.”

Ellis, Year 11 student, Kingsbury School and Sports College
“I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the ITV studio in the city centre. My favourite part was when my peer ‘Ellis Izon,’ read the weather out on the machine. I also tried, but I wasn’t very good. The interview I did at the end was very exhilarating, cameras scare me. I think that we were picked because we were very on task and also we volunteered to a lot of activities and interacted well with the staff. It means a lot to be acknowledged by ITV and I’m sure it is important that I try my best when we go back. I’m very excited to see the company again.”

Cameron, Year 11 student, Kingsbury School and Sports College