Our top story tonight: Prime time pupils present the TV news

Mere Green School TV stars are saying ‘move aside’ to Bob Warman and Sameena Ali-Khan’, because they’re taking over the evening news!

This week, reception pupils from Mere Green Primary School created video reports retelling the classic story of ‘Chicken Little’ and some of their work appeared on ITV’s popular Central News programme.

The children’s news reports – which cover the story of a chicken who fears the sky is falling in – first caught the eye of TV producers when they featured on social media as part of a remote lockdown learning project.

https://twitter.com/ITVCentral/status/1356614720506183680

Four-year-old Bert Fekete’s video was screened during Central News’ bulletins and main evening programme on Tuesday (2 February). The roving reporter did not disappoint – both viewers and presenters have been impressed with his impeccable performance.

Mere Green School TV stars

Lucia Thornton, early years foundation stage (EYFS) lead at Mere Green Primary School, which is part of the respected Arthur Terry Learning Partnership (ATLP), explained how the project came about.

She said: “At Mere Green, we want to provide exceptional learning experiences for all children and bring their learning to life, even in the current circumstances with remote learning. We start each week with a wow moment to create excitement for the learning ahead.

Reception pupils from Mere Green Primary School created video reports retelling the classic story of ‘Chicken Little’ and some of their work appeared on ITV’s popular Central News programme.
Reception pupils from Mere Green Primary School created video reports retelling the classic story of ‘Chicken Little’ and some of their work appeared on ITV’s popular Central News programme.

“As part of our topic of ‘Traditional Tales’, this week we are learning about the tale of ‘Chicken Licken’. Before we read the story, the teachers dressed up as key characters from the story and gave the children an account of their version of events. The children then had to weigh up the evidence and write their own report based upon this. The purpose was to develop their speaking and listening skills by presenting their own news report based on the evidence. They also had to enhance their learning through the use of technology and the children had to draw upon their technical skills to produce their final news report.”

“We were extremely impressed with the high quality of reporting, which
was also praised by the
professionals from TV,”
– SEAN BOYD, DEPUTY HEADTEACHER,

She also praised the team effort of her colleagues in reception, Miss Murray, Mrs Hayes and early years practitioners Miss Ashmore and Mrs Cartmell, who all helped her bring the project to life.

Sean Boyd, deputy headteacher, said: “We were extremely impressed with the high quality of reporting, which was also praised by the professionals from TV. We are all very relieved that the sky has not fallen in and that quite the opposite has happened, as children realise there is a world of possibility ahead.”

For more from Central News, click here.

For more on Mere Green Primary School, click here.

To visit the Mere Green website, click here.

https://twitter.com/mgcps_b75/status/1356225605319204869
Gary Phelpshttp://garyphelpscomms.co.uk
Gary is an award-winning journalist who has edited nine newspapers and helped launch numerous online news brands. He created UK School News and Sutton School Life to provide platforms for local schools to share positive news stories, helping them engage with their local communities and celebrate their successes. He has appeared on TV and radio on numerous occasions, presented evidence to Government ministers, lobbied on behalf of the media industry and trained dozens of young journalists. Gary was an Associate Lecturer in Journalism at the University of Derby, and has also advised Wolverhampton College's award-winning Journalism course accredited by the National Council for the Training of Journalists.

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