Lights! Camera! Action! Some of our Year 8 pupils took a trip to BBC Newcastle for a tour this week.

They saw how both the TV and radio studios work and put the theory into practise. The team performed a radio play with half taking on the roles of actors and the other half operating the sound effects.

The highlight of the day was being in the TV studio where BBC Look North is filmed.  Each group had prepared a weather forecast and followed local weatherman Paul Mooney’s top tips for a successful broadcast.  Oh, and just to make it extra challenging, they performed their forecasts in French!  Bravo les enfants!

“The day was amazing.  We got a full tour of the studios which was a great experience.  I would definitely recommend it!” Lewis Eke

“We all got to sit in Colin Briggs’ seat – Look North’s morning newsman.” Sam Yates

“I had a go at operating and reading from the autocue for that morning’s news.”  Kate O’Halloran

“I operated the computerised sound effects in the radio play.  There were ton of buttons to press and I had to make sure I chose the right sound effect at the right time.”  Beth Lightley

“I was in charge of sound effects using props.  I had to wave rubber gloves around frantically to make it sound like vampire wings.”  Jack Simm

“Rosie, Katie and myself performed our weather report in the Look North studio.  We practised our script over and over again which meant during the performance, we could look straight at the camera rather than a sheet of paper. “  Fay Bloodworth

You can watch videos of the day by following the links :