Journalism Project
Find out more about this fully funded opportunity for KS3 students across the borough that celebrates youth voice, storytelling and creative careers.
The Welcome to Wandsworth journalism project is offered to all non-fee-paying secondary schools in the borough, including PRUs and SEND schools. This project will ensure youth voice is front and centre throughout the year of celebrations, and will enable young people to tell their stories, report on London Borough of Culture, and share their perspectives on art and culture in the borough.
Working with partners such as the BBC and Sky, the journalism project will also offer skills development opportunities and engaging experiences with professional creatives for young people, enriching children’s education and inspiring the next generation of cultural leaders.
Who is it for?
- The journalism project is targeted at KS3 pupils across all secondary age schools, including PRU and SEND settings. Our ambition is to engage 2000 pupils in total
- Included in the project will be the creation of meaningful resources and teacher CPD that have a legacy beyond the London Borough of Culture
- This is an exciting way for young people to grow skills in journalism and storytelling; an opportunity to learn, share, build community and celebrate culture - offering value for the whole school and the community beyond
Programme Structure
Each Secondary school across the Borough will be offered an assembly, workshops and a term-long extra-curricular programme to inspire, upskill and amplify young voices and storytelling.
This will build to a termly celebration event with professional journalists showcasing stories from students, reporting on events, sharing cultural stories with impact and growing skills in journalism and storytelling.
- The project begins with whole year group assembly with industry professionals, introducing students to the wide range of career opportunities and skills required in the sector.
- This is followed by whole-class workshops exploring journalism, reporting and storytelling. These will be led by professional journalists and broadcasters, adapting the model to each setting as required
- Each school will then select up to 30 students to join a 7-8-week extracurricular journalism project run by a trained facilitator in their school, forming a group to build their skills and report their cultural stories and on the activities in London Borough of Culture. A proportion of places will be ring fenced for disadvantaged, pupil premium or less engaged students.
- Part of this extra-curricular programme may involve a visit to a professional London news studio – partners currently being approached include: Sky News, BBC London, Apple and ITV London.
- At the end of each term participating groups will get together for a celebration event with a range of industry professionals.
- Reports created will also be shared on Welcome to Wandsworth and social channels to amplify and celebrate the perspective of young people across the Borough.
Deliverables & Legacy
- Media toolkit supplied to each school
- Mentoring legacy and relationship-building between schools and partner organisations
- Collaborations and connections with key Broadcasters and Digital Media Companies
- Teacher CPD
- Skills development for creative career paths
- Developing storytelling capability and digital skillset
- Build partnerships, contacts, community links and career options for young people
- Enhance digital literacy, with impact beyond the school for parents and the wider community
Timeline
February - March 2025 | Promote offer to schools Schools sign up to the journalism project |
April 2025 | Launch the project |
Summer term 2025 | First term of activity in participating schools Celebration event |
Autumn term 2025 | Second term of activity in participating schools Celebration event |
Spring term 2026 | Third term of activity in participating schools Celebration event |

Get involved
Don't miss out on this opportunity for school. Sign up to take part in the journalism project by completing this short Expression of Interest form before 1st March 2025.