BBC News School Report gives 12 and 13-year-olds from UK schools the chance to make their own video, audio or text-based news at school and to broadcast it for real.
While the project is devised for this age group, students aged 11 to 14 may also take part.
Using lesson plans and materials from this website, and with support from BBC staff, teachers help students develop their journalistic skills and become School Reporters.
News Day
On 13 March 2008, schools around the country will take part in a News Day, simultaneously creating news reports and publishing them on their school websites, to which the BBC aims to link.
During last year’s News Day students and their work featured on News 24, Breakfast News, the One O’clock and Six O’clock News, Newsround, Radio Five Live, Radio 4, 40 local radio stations, 12 regional TV stations, BBC Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and many local BBC Where I Live websites.
The School Report website also became a channel - School Report LIVE - for the day, streaming nine hours school-based activities and pupils’ news reports. It was also available on the BBC’s red button service.
The BBC aim to create a similar event this academic year.
BBC News presenter and former teacher, Huw Edwards, is working on School Report. He said: “Over the years I’ve run many journalism workshops in schools. So I’ve seen how much fun it can be and how much can be learnt when there are real deadlines, real audiences and real standards to meet.”
In October 2007, School Report was nominated for a Children’s Bafta in the Secondary Learning category.
