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What young journalist and others have said about Cube work placements...
Published writing
“I still have the first article I wrote in print, it's very important if you're thinking of becoming a journalist. I wish there’d been something like Cube when I was at school” Freelance Journalist Carolyn Waudby
“I’ve always been the type of person who loves writing. With Cube it actually gave me chance to put my views forward and get them published… and loads of people read the stuff that I write.” Sadia Riaz, long term Ex-Cube Journalist |
Sheffield Young Writers supplement work, Issue 9 |
Exciting and individual assignments
“I’m really proud of interviewing the Chief Editor of Sandman Magazine…you don’t always get to do that!” James Leesley, 15
“I most enjoyed being floor manager at Cube TV,” Roisin Martindale, 15
“I loved my interview on BBC Radio Sheffield.” Tom Clayton, 15 |
Tom Clayton and James Grant with Toby Foster after interviewing him live on BBC Radio Sheffield |
Career paths highlighted
“Even people who haven’t got particularly high aspirations, it will give them more confidence and help them to succeed. It helps define what you what to do”. Liam Wilson, 15
“Beth got a focus and a direction about what she actually wanted to do because she had a good experience. She wants to go on a do Journalism after her GCSEs. With James, he’s really interested in web design and that side of media and I’m just delighted he had the opportunity to do it and he’s now got an idea what he wants to do too”.
Wendy Nunnington, Parent |
Megan McCart interviewing music industry Photojournalist Chris Saunders at Vision Mix Careers Conference 2006
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Student voice
“It’s… YOU GET HEARD.” Sadia Riaz, 17 - long term Cube Journalist
“Actually being able to say even just to an employee or a friend that you’ve had an article publish on your views, your options, in your own writing is a feat not many people will do in their lifetime”. Rhiannon Griffiths, 15
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Chelsea Shirtcliffe, Emceeing
at Cube |
A real work context
“It’s not putting you in a work place where you’re going be doing a little job, it’s putting you right up there where you’re doing something major.” Alessio Godhard, 15
“Other work placements, while they’re very exciting, going off behind the scenes, the children there can’t do very much. They come to Cube and they can choose what they want to do, they can use all the equipment, they can go and interview real people and do a real article.” Wendy Nunnington, Parent |
Interviewing at Lovebytes International Digital Arts Festival |
Journalism and communications training
“I learnt a lot about journalism like the difference between hard and soft news and how to write a feature. Also about how to get a good interview and be professional.”
Megan McCart, 15
“I understand now why structure is so important in writing and what each part of an article is about, like the stand, intro and kicker. It’s made me look at things I read differently too.” Paige Brooks, 15 |
Interviewing a patient at Sheffield
Children’s Hospital
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Challenge
“At Cube we worked to deadlines just like you would in a real magazine production team. You have to work hard, but the benefits are incredible. You may have knock backs, but it is how you push on from there that counts”. Joe Williams, 18 - long term Cube journalist
“We didn’t get told to do everything. We had to use our initiative and work on our own. It was really different from school and I enjoy that.” Cheryl Campbell, 15 |
Problem solving at Cube |
Team work, interpersonal skills and leaderships opportunities
“I’m really proud I got to be editor.” Helen Daniels, 15
“I learnt I can get on with people regardless of who they are or where they come from” Anne Colins, 15
“I developed my confidence skills because I lack them and I don’t like to speak out” Sarah Guest, 15 |
Image: Paige Brooks being interviewed by her editorial team for the role of editor |
Flexible response to young people’s abilities, aptitudes and interests
“It’s so fun and diverse and everyone gets a change to do what they really want to do rather than just being shoved into a work place”.
Amy Collins, 15
“You get to experience journalism but in a less competitive way” Sarah Hembrough, 15
“It’s very close to a work environment but there is a safety factor in that they’ve got adult help and that adult help is very much looking for them to succeed and looking for them to find individual qualities and experiences for themselves”.
Becky Parry, Founder of Cube |
Cube journalist Shola Gordon discussing her ideas with journalism degree student
David Muller |
Independence and ownership
“It’s different from a lot of other work experiences because you’re not just out the way, not doing anything useful. You learn a lot from Cube and you get loads of responsibility.” Priscilla Caballero, 15
“It’s a support system. So when someone was doing their article and they couldn’t finish their radio edit, there was always someone who was willing to fill in. And that in itself has taught us more about the value of friendship that you would think a magazine doing journalism would actually teach you.” Rhiannon Griffiths, 15 |
Ownership – girls from Firth Park make decisions about their issue of Cube |
Personal development
“If I didn’t work with Cube I don’t think I could do the stuff I do now, I wouldn’t be able to stand up in front of 50 people and give a speech. I wouldn’t be doing that now!”
Sadia Riaz, A-Level Student / long term Ex-Cube Journalist
“It gave me the confidence to tell people about my illness.” Jess Senior, 14
“I’ve realised I’m good at creative writing and developing my own ideas efficiently” Liam Wilson, 15 |
Debating and discussing at Cube |
Motivation
“It just gives other people another side to you and it just shows, yeah I can do this!” Laura Wilkinson, 15
“It’s innovative, it’s inspirational and it’s quite clear that all who participant in it, love it”
John Birks, Manager of Sheffield South City Learning Centre
“It’s just great to work on a project that’s read by so many people.” Helen Daniels, 15 |
First editorial team
of 2006 |
Industry standard training in ICT
“Beth did a practice reading the news and we’ve now got the video of her reading the news in a TV studio” Wendy Nunnington, Parent
“I learnt how to make an animation and about camera angels. Now I’m more confident with IMac computers”. Sam Cotterill, 15
“I feel more confident on computers and laptops and using software to edit interviews and images”. Jasmin Lapp, 15 |
Journalism training at Cube |
Portfolio of real journalism and media work and the potential for accreditation in related GCSE subjects
“I got some really good feedback from teachers and fellow pupils and it just gave me a bit more confidence with my own English at school and I think it helped me in my GCSEs”
Charlotte Rowley, 16, A-Level student |
Magazine illustration - Susan Burnell |
Employability skills and competencies
“Cube brought out the tenacity in me that I felt I already had. We had to answer phones and send e-mails and letters which sounds simple enough but without these skills you can be held back later.” Joe William, long term Ex-Cuber, 17
“I didn’t actually think I was very good at organising people and telling people they need to get things finished. Now I think I’m pretty good at that.” Helen Daniels, 15
“In a lot of areas it almost doesn’t teach you the skills, it shows you you have them. I think that was a really important thing to a lot of people.” Rhiannon Griffiths, 15
“It gives them an insight if they want to go onto college. It’s more that newspapers, it’s more than TV”. Michael Rowley, Parent |
Writing request letters
Telephone skills
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Future opportunities and ongoing support
“I’ve loved it that much I’ve come back for a 2nd year, in my own time, in my summer holidays, between my GCSEs an my 6th form, to have another go at something else and to help out other people who are doing it for the first time.”
Charlotte Rowley, 16, A-Level student |
Audition to be a youth presenter through Cube
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References and real evidence for Record of Achievement/CV
“I couldn’t believe what I was hearing about me when my work reference was read out to me!” Megan McCart, 14
“Instead of something just on a reference it’s your own work, you’ve actually produced a magazine. Not many young people can say they’re actually produced a working magazine to that standard.” Liam Wilson, 15 |
Voluntary placements at summer Cube 06
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A high quality placement
“Everyone gets treated differently, not like ‘just ignore them, they’re kids’. WE are the important people in this faculty.” Rhiannon Griffiths, 15
“I just think it’s one of the best work experiences you could possibly do.”
Grace Cook, 14 |
Cube photography at the Showcomotion Film Festival 2007 |
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Cube
Magazine, Sheffield South City Learning Centre, Near Newfield
School
Lees Hall Rd, Sheffield, South Yorks, S8 9JP, UK
cube@cubeweb.org.uk
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