In December, Year 9 students visited The Guardian newspaper offices on a trip organised by the Computer Science and English Departments. An interest in both subjects proved valuable, as the workshop was titled “Behind the Headlines” and focused on creating a newspaper front page.
We met at school and walked to Cockfosters, where we took the Underground to King’s Cross. The Guardian’s offices are located in an attractive waterside setting beside Regent’s Canal, close to Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, and Google’s King’s Cross headquarters.
The day began with an introduction to The Guardian and its long history of high-quality journalism. Students were then introduced to “the wires” – a live news feed providing updates from the newspaper’s network of journalists around the world. After reviewing the day’s stories, students selected those they considered most newsworthy for the front page.
The next session focused on the role of a sub-editor. Students learned how to edit stories to fit the limited space available on a front page while preserving the key information using the five Ws: who, what, when, where and why.
In the afternoon, students selected suitable images from the wires and crafted their own eye-catching headlines to capture readers’ attention. Stories of the day included flying taxis, a super-flu outbreak and Arsenal’s victory over Club Brugge.
The workshop was a fantastic experience and helped to foster a real enthusiasm for writing and journalism among many of the students.
