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Dumbarton School Kids and Teachers Reap Rewards From Having Theirvery Own Award-Winning TV Station

Posted on: Wednesday, 29 March 2006, 06:00 CST

By Craig McQueen

EVERY day, people the length and breadth of Scotland work tirelessly to improve our schools.

From teachers to support staff, every school has its own success story of people working together to make the school a better place.

And now it's time to pay tribute to those people at the fifth Scottish Education Awards.

Nominations have already been flooding in for schools and staff who have gone the extra mile to make a difference.

There are 15 categories of award, with the winners being announced at a ceremony at the Hilton in Glasgow on Friday, June 2.

They are presented by the Scottish Executive in association with the Record, BT, CBI Scotland and Determined to Succeed. Reporting Scotland presenter Sally Magnusson will host the awards.

Among the winners last year were Our Lady and St Patrick's High School in Dumbarton. They won the coveted award for learning in Information and Communication Technology after launching a TV station within the school.

OLSPTV was Scotland's first pupil-led station, with shows broadcast on 16 widescreen TVs across the school.

The project quickly flourished, with pupils and teachers working together to develop the station.

Head teacher Charles Rooney said: "We were very keen to develop the use of information and communication technology. We felt there was a chance to maximize expertise across the school by developing an in-school TV station where we placed emphasis on theskills involved in media production.

"Our Lady and St Patrick's is a large school serving a wide geographical area, including areas of significant deprivation, and we feel that the success of any school lies in the school ethos.

"We needed to develop a sense of achievement and the TV station gives us scope to showcase talent and empower pupils.

"We can bring together a series of strands of school life, in terms of extra-curricular activities but also learning and teaching.

"As every subject department is engaged in looking at opportunities for creativity, the TV station gives them the chance to collaborate and publicise achievement."

OLSPTV uses the latest technology at every stage of the process from filming and editing through to adding soundtracks.

David Docherty, principal teacher of Business Studies, Computing and ICT, said: "We had to look at what we wanted to promote within the school, and things we talked about at assembly, at registration and at pupil councils.

"But they had their own ideas of how to take things further forward, so they would come to us and say 'This would work for a programme.'

"It could be an event taking place in the school or an ongoing project.

"The pupils have then looked at how they could take the basic films they made and add to them by using sound and things like that.

"Our job as teachers was to provide the pupils with the wherewithal to keep going.

"The way in which the pupils work together as a team is amazing.

"To see them develop their team working skills has been a real eye-opener and I wouldn't have thought something such as TV at this level would have allowed for that. It's fabulous."

Since launching the station in 2004, the school has developed it as a creative forum allowing pupils to recognise each other's achievements and be more aware of school issues.

Mr Rooney said: "The initiative itself has gone forward quicker than I thought and it has enthused staff across the school.

"Departments tap into it, and the staff are supportive as they see how they can access technology to support their teaching.

"Without doubt, it has raised the profile of technology within the school and it's given us the chance to work with outside groups who have offered support such as funding.

"We've placed the emphasis on developing the skills of pupils, and to see them accept responsibility for capturing footage across the school, editing it and then presenting it back to their peers is great."

And Mr Rooney added that winning their award gave everyone involved in the project the perfect incentive to keep going.

He said: "In terms of having the confidence to take the project forward, it's great to see it being form ally recognised.

"Given the investment made in it, it's good to see someone else considering it as successful. It also helps to give the parents confidence in what the school is doing."

Source: Daily Record; Glasgow (UK)

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