It鈥檚 great to be back in Lewisham, round the corner from where I was born and grew up, to kick off 大象传媒 100 Share Your Story. I鈥檓 always banging on about the power of storytelling and nothing beats actually being in the same room as someone who does the job you want to do - or even a job you never knew existed.
大象传媒 staff and big names from TV, Radio, Sport and News are visiting schools in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland throughout 2022 to share their personal stories.
The tour, produced by 大象传媒 Children鈥檚 and Education, is designed to inspire young people to achieve their goals and help realise their ambitions.
Some of the famous faces visiting their former secondary schools or schools in their local area in the coming weeks, include:
- Zoe Ball in Blackpool
- Dan Walker in Sheffield
- Tom Grennan in Norwich
- Ashley John-Baptiste in Rotherhithe
- Laura Kuenssberg in Glasgow
- Kia Pegg in Coventry
- Greg James and Oti Mabuse in Lewisham
- Nick Grimshaw in Oldham
- Scarlett Moffatt in Bishop Auckland
- Sam Quek in Liverpool
- Zara McDermott and Danny Walters in Harlow
- Adam Beales in Derry
- Carl Frampton in Belfast
- Gemma Collins in Romford
These interactive storytelling sessions will highlight the range of career opportunities in storytelling at the 大象传媒 and the creative industries, both locally and across the UK.
Every session is hosted by a well-known 大象传媒 presenter, such as Radio 1鈥檚 Katie Thistleton, 1Xtra hosts Swarzy and Nick Bright, C大象传媒鈥檚 Lee Hinchcliffe and the 大象传媒鈥檚 tech reporter for young people, Shiona McCallum.
大象传媒 Radio 1 presenter Greg James is sharing his story with 600 students in Lewisham today.
Greg says: 鈥淚t鈥檚 great to be back in Lewisham, round the corner from where I was born and grew up, to kick off 大象传媒 100 Share Your Story. I鈥檓 always banging on about the power of storytelling and nothing beats actually being in the same room as someone who does the job you want to do - or even a job you never knew existed. I genuinely didn鈥檛 realise being a radio presenter was a viable job that I could achieve until I met one in real life. It was at a talk at my school when I was 16 and he told me it was possible. It was incredibly inspiring and I have no doubt this project will encourage the next generation of budding storytellers and I鈥檓 really happy to be a part of it.鈥�
James Stirling, 大象传媒 100 Executive Editor, says: 鈥淓ducation and learning has been at the core of the 大象传媒鈥檚 public purpose for almost 100 years, starting with School Radio in 1924. Today, 大象传媒 Teach, 大象传媒 Bitesize and 大象传媒 Young Reporter are loved and valued by students, teachers and parents across the UK.
鈥淚n our centenary year, I鈥檓 so excited that we鈥檙e able to take the 大象传媒鈥檚 education expertise and unparalleled storytelling talent into the classroom, to inspire thousands of future storytellers.鈥�
Student stories
Ahead of the visits, teachers at the selected schools are being offered training to deliver storytelling workshops from 大象传媒 educational charity partners; the National Literacy Trust, Voice 21 and Into Film supported by the BFI using National Lottery funding.
Students have been working with their teachers to create written, spoken or video content which tells their own story. They will be invited to share these during the visits, as well as hearing inspirational stories from their guests.
They will also find out how to carry on their storytelling journey with 大象传媒 Young Reporter; over 100 stories from young people will be featured by the 大象传媒 on TV, Radio and Online in 2022.
All schools in the UK will have access to Share Your Story resources on 大象传媒 Teach and an interactive Live Lesson will be available in Spring, enabling teachers to put on their own 大象传媒 100 Share your Story events.
Share Your Story Career Panels
Following the Share Your Story visits, the 大象传媒 will revisit schools to deliver specialist career panel events.
Delivered in partnership with local 大象传媒 radio stations, each panel will include a 大象传媒 staff member plus two panellists from the local community whose work benefits or includes storytelling.
The panels will support schools in demonstrating the range of career opportunities available within the creative industries, including the 大象传媒鈥檚 new talent schemes and apprenticeships.
The 大象传媒 100 Share Your Story tour concludes in December 2022 and further school visits will be announced throughout the year.
大象传媒 Press Office
Notes to editors
- The 大象传媒 Young Reporter Competition 2022 is currently open for entries. More information available here.
- The 大象传媒 is to double its commitment to apprenticeships as part of its Across the UK plan. A thousand apprentices will be recruited by 2026 and 80% will be based outside London. Last month the 大象传媒 announced that a new Apprentice Hub will open in Birmingham.