OE Peter Sumpter’s successful career with the BBC has resulted in the School getting involved in an award-winning national project aimed at developing journalistic skills among 11-16 year-olds.
Peter (1968-74), who is the Craft Lead of the Technical Managers for BBC TV news, has worked alongside a huge number of famous people, including Nelson Mandela, top musicians and various American presidents. Pictured here is Peter’s pass from the 1997 General Election campaign, during which he followed soon-to-be Prime Minister Tony Blair. He has most recently been heavily involved in the BBC coverage surrounding Nelson Mandela’s death.
“I wasn’t the most academic of pupils, although the ethos of the School has served me well,” he says. “Over the years, I have designed lighting for several programmes and lit several music items for TV. I have worked on BBC events around the UK involving local communities. During the last seven years, I have helped to develop the award-winning BBC School Report project, which won the 2013 European Diversity Award for journalism.
In addition to his own history as a QE alumnus, Peter also has a work colleague of many years’ standing who is the father of the School’s Senior Year Head, Alexandra Pearson. Through this connection, he suggested that QE become involved in the School Report project, visiting the School recently to explain it in person.
As a result, QE will be a School Report participant in 2014. Using lesson plans and materials from a dedicated section of the BBC website, and with support from BBC staff and partners, Head of English Susannah Sweetman and English teacher Tom Quinn will help QE boys develop their skills to become ‘School Reporters’. In March, schools take part in an annual News Day, simultaneously creating video, audio and text-based news reports, and publishing them on a school website, to which the BBC aims to link.
“With real-time deadlines to deliver an end product, the experience the pupils get out of this is fantastic and it gives a different dimension to the traditional learning process,” says Peter. “I am looking forward to working with the teachers and students at QE to ensure that this is a great success.”
Tom Quinn reports that the project has got off to an encouraging start, with no fewer than 30 Year 9 boys coming along to an initial meeting involving BBC News presenter and former teacher Huw Edwards, who works on School Report.
“We discussed the project after I gave an initial presentation on what it entails, and the boys were very enthusiastic and receptive; they came up with possible general focuses for a report, ranging from the effects of video gaming, drugs in sport and environmental challenges, to the developments of technology for young people, changes in British education and the impact of celebrity culture,” Tom said.
“We also discussed the diversity of roles and responsibilities to be fulfilled from Peter’s suggestion list.” This includes not only student correspondents, but also editors (a senior editor, news editor and sports editor), researchers, a director, cameramen, picture editors, lighting operatives, a soundman and those with the skills to build a QE-branded backdrop and design the graphics. After a further meeting at the end of term, the boys will be working on their ideas over the Christmas break.