BBC News School Report

As Dixons Allerton Academy opened in September 2009, this was the first time we had participated in the BBC School Report.  Our BBC team was made up of ten Year 8 students who developed their journalistic skills over a 2 month period. 
 

Our school reporters got the chance to meet and ask questions of two members of the Eastenders cast on February 10th to mark the soap's 25th anniversary (Albert Square comes to Bradford).  In the build up to the School Report Day, two reporters headed to London to interview Harriet Harman MP (Politicians put on the spot by younger generation) and look around the Houses of Parliament.

On Wednesday 10th March, the Wells Sports Foundation, a sporting charity set up by entrepreneur Barrie Wells to help support sports at grassroots level, granted Dixons Allerton Academy a visit from up and coming swimmer, Anne Bochmann, through its Sporting Ambassador scheme.   Anne, who collectively won 4 gold medals at the 2008 and 2009 European Junior Championship, is becoming 'one to watch' for the London 2012 Olympics and beyond.  The BBC team interviewed Anne and reported on her visit to the academy ahead of their School Report deadline at 1600 on Thursday 11th.
 
Other stories included the impact of humanutopia (a people first development company - www.humanutopia.com) on the academy, the introduction of cashless catering into the academy and the recent Year 8 York Dungeons trip.
 
In addition to developing their journalistic skills, the students learnt how to assemble, order and broadcast the news, including how to use chroma key compositing (also referred to as greenscreen).  On Thursday 11th March we were also part of the attempt to produce the world's biggest interactive weather report.  This secured us a place in the Guinness Book of Records.