What is the Welcome to Wandsworth Journalism Project?

• The journalism project targeted KS3 pupils across all secondary age schools, including PRU and SEND settings. Our ambition was to engage 2000 pupils in total.
• Part of the project was the creation of meaningful resources and teacher CPD that have a legacy beyond the London Borough of Culture.
• This was 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.

Each Secondary school across the Borough was offered an assembly, workshops and a term-long extra-curricular programme to inspire, upskill and amplify young voices and storytelling. 

This culminated in a 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 began with a whole year group assembly with industry professionals, introducing students to the wide range of career opportunities and skills required in the sector.
• This was followed by whole-class workshops exploring journalism, reporting and storytelling. These were led by professional journalists and broadcasters, adapting the model to each setting as required.
• Each school then selected 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.
• This extra-curricular programme involved a visit to a professional London news studio, including Sky News and CNN.
• Participating groups got together for a celebration event with a range of industry professionals.
• Reports created were shared on Welcome to Wandsworth and social channels to amplify and celebrate the perspective of young people across the Borough.

• 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