Careers College – Journalism Workshop

This week, 1,200 students in Years 9 and 10 from schools across South Dorset are at Weymouth College for ‘Careers College’.  Each student completes two half-day career tasters that they have chosen from the forty on offer. One of the tasters is Journalism. The articles below have been produced by the students on this taster.

The varying responsibilities of a Principal

Students from local secondary schools visited Weymouth College for Careers College and some young students participated in a journalism workshop.

We spoke to the Principal, Julia Howe, about the responsibilities within her job and the steps she took to get where she is today.  The college she manages, Weymouth College, with around 2,700 students and 450 members of staff, takes up a big portion of her life. An average day in her job involves making sure that every lesson is the best it can be and being accountable for finances and safeguarding for all students and staff. Julia said that she is receiving calls and emails every day, even while on holiday!  She finds that it’s difficult to switch off from work life and that she doesn’t really have a work/home life balance.  When we interviewed her, it was around 10:15am and she told us that she’d already had “3 phone calls and one Teams meeting” even though she is meant to be away for a few days!

Julia spoke about what she did to become Principal. She left school at 16 with no A-levels and then she went straight into work and later decided to go to university to get her Masters over a course of 5 years. She would study every evening or whenever she could.

Interviewing Julia taught us that you shouldn’t give up, even if you’re struggling and if you feel like you may not achieve your goal.

Matilda, 15, Thomas Hardye School

Katy, 14, All Saints

An Arresting Chat with PC Legg

The Careers College day at Weymouth College gives young students a chance to see the various courses Weymouth College has to offer, with professionals running the different workshops. PC Legg of the Force Support Group was running one area for pupils. His work includes counter-terrorism searching, public order, advanced methods of entry and many more skills, including the use of drones. When asked about the response from students to the workshop, he said that a lot of the pupils had enjoyed it and it was, “something different”. It was certainly an informative workshop that provided students with a practical look at potential future careers.

By Jacob, 15, All Saints

Weymouth College has been running a two-day Careers College for year nine and ten students from schools across the county. We interviewed pupils from three different workshops to see what they’d been up to.

Weymouth College? or Weymouth COLLAGE…

We interviewed Katie, 14, from the Purbeck School. She was participating in the Art workshop, where they’d been creating collages all about the summer season. We asked Katie about why she’d chosen to do Art as one of her workshops, and she told us she was eager to do it as she’d chosen Art for her GCSEs and wanted to dive further into the subject. Eliza, 14, from Beaminster School, explained how the workshop helped her relax and express herself through the creative activities. She also claimed it was good experience and would benefit her in the near future.

Order in my workshop!

We went to the Law workshop to decipher what it was all about. We spoke to Felicity, 14, from Beaminster School, who explained to us her curiosity about the informative, complex subject. She expressed that she was intrigued to take the workshop as it has been a keen interest of hers, and could aid her to pursue a career in law. We asked her what they’d been discussing and she told us they’d been exploring the riveting topic of solicitors and how they’re related to law. Earlier in the day, Felicity took part in the Teaching workshop and said it was more interactive, however less factual compared to Law.

ACT-ive learning for these pupils…

We visited aspiring actors in the Drama department. We talked to Millie, 13, from the Purbeck School, who was involved in vocal and physical exercises as well as script writing and performing. We asked Millie what inspired her to choose this workshop, and she relayed to us that she was eager to try something new and step out of her comfort zone. She also conveyed how the workshop felt a more sociable interactive environment compared to her previous workshop in Medical Careers, due to an enthusiastic teacher and lots of freedom to express herself. She saw acting as a good opportunity to learn people skills and gain confidence.

Izzy and Daisie (Purbeck school, both aged 14) and Lila (Beaminster school, aged 14

A Stitch Up at Weymouth College

At Careers College, Fashion and Design seemed a big hit with the students, who were all certain that they, “wouldn’t change a thing” about the class. When we visited the workshop, the small group was on the job, creating clothes and designs using a technique called ‘draping.’ They were busy experimenting with fabrics and unique clothing profiles. Anna and Eleanor, two students from Wey Valley Academy, agreed that the teacher was lovely and praised her highly. Anna, 15, who chose the course because of her interest in fashion, said she enjoyed working with the mannequins. Eleanor, 15, said she chose the course because she wanted to make a mess and that she enjoyed exploring her creative side and learning new artistic techniques.

A backdrop for the future of film

The TV Studio workshop introduced the Careers College students at Weymouth College to the world of film making and the many jobs within the industry. 15-year-old Anastasia chose the workshop as she thought it seemed, “different and cool.” When I arrived, the group was beginning to film an interview. Some students were controlling the cameras and sound whilst others took creative control. Anastasia enjoyed the session and was pleased that it gave her a real idea of what working in television would be like. She had been learning to change the camera angle and adjusting the lighting. She could only think of one thing to change – a more exciting backdrop for the interviews to take place against!

Cooking that’s worthy of astronauts

Gwen, 15, from Wey Valley Academy, found that her introduction to Weymouth College’s Chef course inspired her to innovate with food, particularly for astronauts in outer space. Inspired by her passion for the industry, Gwen was pleased when she got Cooking as a workshop. The group was working on creating pizza dough, though Lucy, 15, from Wey Valley, explained that hers was in need of more flour. Gwen thought the course seemed “great fun” and it gave both girls an insight into the cooking industry. The group was working on many technical skills, including kneading and stirring..

ERIN, 15, WEY VALLEY ACADEMY

Watch out Ronaldo! Weymouth College Star on your Case

Today, we interviewed students that are taking the Sports Careers College course, which is designed to inspire sports stars of the future. A student who we interviewed was called Connor. He is 14 years old and goes to Colfox. He said the following: “My favorite sport is football because my friends play it and generally I like playing all sports because it’s a good way to get active.”

He then followed on to say that: “I have chosen Sport, Health and Fitness because I am interested in taking a future job in it and my friends play it.”

After that we questioned him on his inspirational sports hero and future star.

Here’s what he had to say: “In my opinion I think Ronaldo is my future star and inspirational hero because he’s got great skills and is really good looking.” Connor told us he wants to follow in Ronaldo’s footsteps.

After that, he finally mentioned about how his generation and his age group can get into doing a future job in sport’s health and fitness. He said he was considering becoming a sports physio.

Luke, aged 14, Colfox Academy