School 21: Offering students an opportunity to experience the world of broadcasting

School 21, based in Stratford, East London has an innovative approach to work experience with their Real World Learning Programme – “working with local businesses and the community to provide meaningful experiences that will change lives.” 

Students are given authentic problems to solve in a real organisation. The projects can take any form, as long as there is an authentic outcome which is of genuine value to the organisation. 

Previous students have re-designed elements of the BT Sport app and presented a prototype and business case, where some of their ideas have actually been realised.

BT Sport continues to partner with School 21 offering students from all backgrounds an opportunity to truly experience the real world of work, a chance to find their voice, develop deep knowledge of the various job roles in broadcasting and create exciting work that has real value beyond the classroom.

Year 10 student Baqir said: “BT sport is a great way to learn about the media and the job roles within them. Over the last two terms I have enjoyed every single session. Not only did I learn about different roles I got to meet great people like Ugo Monye. Overall it’s great and each lesson is entertaining.”

Fellow student Niamh added: “While working with BT Sport I learned about the main aspects of a great leader. It’s important because in this project we had to step out of our boundaries and do things we usually wouldn't do, such as taking on the role as a leader.”

Cassie Cramer, Programme Manager of Real World Learning and Partnerships at School 21, said: “It is always a pleasure to work with BT Sport, and this year the team took on the challenges of remote delivery with so much enthusiasm.

“Although it was difficult at first, by the end of the project the Year 10 students had really come out of their shell and produced some great work. I saw students develop a new sense of confidence, and an ability to speak to people from many professional backgrounds without hesitation. Many of the students who participated in this project have said it was their favourite part of the entire first term of the academic year.

“By working with BT Sport students had the opportunity to develop really key employability skills, while gaining an understanding of how the media industry operates and what options there are for their futures right on the doorstep of Stratford, East London.”