Marcus Taylor and Georgia McConnell, pupils at St Benedict’s School in Ealing, were recently selected as outstanding school reporters by the BBC.
Their assignment was to film, with the Blue Peter team, their own news story on Helen Skelton’s epic high-wire adventures – tightrope walking between the chimneys of Battersea Power Station.
“Bubbles to Battersea” is how Marcus Taylor described his experience for the Blue Peter project, “Girl on a Wire”.
BBC School Report is a nationwide BBC project involving hundreds of schools, which are encouraged to “make the news”.
Georgia and Marcus were chosen for this special project on BBC News Report practice day in February in recognition of their presenting and researching skills, and also their enthusiasm.
They joined the Blue Peter team and 20 other Year 9 reporters on a boat on the Thames to film a special “behind the scenes” report on Helen Skelton’s high-wire walk between the Battersea Power Station towers.
On February 1 hundreds of excited primary school children were cheering her on. Georgia and Marcus quickly set to work, with the help of their BBC mentor for the day, writing, storyboarding, interviewing and recording. It was hard work on the icy Thames among excitable children.
The Blue Peter film of Helen Skelton’s successful high-wire walk was shown on BBC One on March 11. The video will be on the red button on television on March 24 and also on the front page of the BBC News School Report website.
Georgia and Marcus enjoyed their day with the BBC. Georgia said: “I would like to be a journalist and I especially enjoyed working with all the high-tech equipment.”
Marcus said: “This was a lovely insight into the glamorous world of video reporting, seeing what goes on behind the scenes.”
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