A group of wannabe journalists have produced their own newspaper.
The pupils from Ysgol Dinas Bran, Llangollen, were delighted to get a behind the scenes visit to Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod and to interview its chairman Gethin Davies.
Despite being in the middle of the busiest week of his year Mr Davies took time out to meet with the pupils, tell them about the history of the eisteddfod and answer their questions in the event’s official press room.
The group of pupils, all in year eight, were involved in a journalism project being held at the school throughout the annualEeisteddfod week. It was one of a number of activities at Ysgol Dinas Bran, supported by European funding from Llwyddo’n Lleol, a project in Denbighshire, which aims to spark a culture of enterprise among young people to help further develop the local economy and communities.
Among Llwyddo’n Lleol’s objectives is to build people’s entrepreneurial skills to boost their employment potential, to foster increased confidence among younger generations in the various opportunities local communities can offer them and to nurture a can do attitude.
Jenni Edwards, Llwyddo’n Lleol project officer with Denbighshire County Council, said the organisation offered much needed support for skills development schemes, particularly among young people in North Wales.
She said: “The work we have been involved with at Ysgol Dinas Bran is particularly beneficial because during the school’s special week of activities we have been able to introduce pupils to skills they might not otherwise have had the opportunity to learn. What’s more, they have put those new-found skills into practice. The journalism project is a prime example of this with pupils participating hands-on, going out interviewing people, writing, editing and taking photographs, The booklet that they produced at the end of the activity offers clear evidence of the new skills they have learned.”
Each year during the Llangollen Eisteddfod week, Ysgol Dinas Bran comes off its normal timetable and a series of different activities are held every day for all pupils to take part in, along with visiting Year 6 youngsters from local primary schools who will be moving up to Ysgol Dinas Bran the following September.
This year, to commemorate the anniversary of the start of World War I, all the activities held during the week were themed on the war.
Teacher Ms Deborah Halligan, who supervised the journalism group during their visit to the International Eisteddfod ground, said: “It was so beneficial for the group to be able to speak to Mr Davies, who explained to them about the peace ethos which is at the heart of the eisteddfod. That ethos was very relevant to the theme of the booklet the pupils were working on.”
The key task of the nine-strong journalism group during the week was to write, design and edit a commemorative booklet about all the activities taking place in school over the course of the week, including those funded by Llwyddo’n Lleol. In all, Ysgol Dinas Bran pupils and transition visitors from local primaries had the chance to participate in about 20 different activities including cookery using only ingredients which were available during World War I, designing and making posters with a war theme, and making poppy wreaths for an end of week display in the school hall. There were lessons on war poetry, creative writing, music, comedy and famous entertainers of the era, and the importance of animals in the war, such as horses which were used in battle and homing pigeons which were ‘recruited’ to deliver secret coded messages.
The journalism group’s members visited all the sessions, with each of them having a chance to interview participants, write articles, take photographs, make up headlines, learn about newspaper design skills and proof the booklet before it went to print.
They were guided and advised by professional journalists, James Shepherd and Debra Greenhouse from leading PR firm Ceidiog Communication.
Debra said: “We were there to help them, give them interview tips and teach them some basic journalism skills, but the pupils did all the practical work themselves. They were an extremely enthusiastic bunch who produced some excellent work that they can all be proud of.”
