Prospectus
Year 8 Students Making News
The big day!
Finally! The big day arrived, with lots to do, the news room was frantic, covered in papers, cameras and technical leads. The Downs news team had to create and film eight stories, posters, web entries and broadcast before 2.00pm. As the challenge loomed ahead, tension grew, but one of The Downs most original broadcast started to comes to life! 
The main story of the day was the We Will Rock You musical and the richest man in the world. Our broadcast features new technological 3D advances and the possibility of having more ICT equipment in school. To finish it off, our grand finale, our huge coverage of The Downs School ski trip.
We almost made it! The news was made and recorded. Putting it all together and editing took a bit longer than we had hoped, but we were still in with a chance of meeting the 4pm deadline for getting it on to this page, when it was realised that a gremlin had been at work and further editing would be needed!
We made a decision to make our broadcast the best it could be and postpone it's publication. Although it was a few hours late we hope it was worth the wait. Use the player below to watch our news bulletin. The video may take a short time to completely download before playing.
On the 11th March twenty-four Downs School students reported on the current news and issues that they found interesting. In this challenge they have learnt what it is to be a journalist, with real deadlines and proper filming equipment. In preparation they have learnt how to research, write and broadcast a variety of news packages, such as the possibility of more advanced technology in schools. There have been other experiences like auditioning for the anchor positions, dealing with high pressure and the stress of working to a real deadline.
This will be the third year that the Downs School media teacher, Miss Blakeman, has run the event. She describes the opportunity as:
a fantastic chance for them to experience the working life of a journalist
Below are links to previous years' reports:
2009- Thurday 26th March –We've done it!
2008 - Thurday 13th March – It’s finally here!
For more information link to the BBC page for this project.
