Creative Channel 4 project inspires Dewsbury pupils at Educating Yorkshire school

The Dewsbury secondary school was the subject of the station’s 2013 award-winning documentary Educating Yorkshire.

Ten years on, pupils in Years 7 and 9 were visited by the company as part of the 4Schools initiative, in which youngsters participated in a range of workshops, including linking skills, creative careers and pitching an advert.

4Schools was launched by Channel 4 last year and aims to motivate young people to picture themselves in the creative sector.

Matthew Burton, headteacher at Thornhill, and who became a household name after appearing on the Educating Yorkshire series, said:

“Understanding what it’s like to work in exciting and diverse careers can have a life-shaping effect on our young people.

“Every child should have the opportunity to find out about a breadth of careers, including those in the creative sector.”

4Schools offers workshops, live assemblies, digital resources, a national competition, and talks with industry insiders and current Channel 4 employees on how to set about securing a successful creative career.

Michael Longhi, from 4Schools, said: “When students think of TV, it’s probably presenters and actors that first come to mind. But there’s a host of incredibly important people behind the scenes that allow on-screen talent to star in the programmes we all know and love.

“4Schools introduces students to careers such as set designers, location managers, sound mixers, scheduling managers and many more options that could become an achievable future for them all.”