Primary school pupils become broadcasters for the week thanks to university outreach initiative

Primary school pupils went behind the scenes of broadcast television this week thanks to Glasgow Caledonian University’s flagship outreach initiative.

The Caledonian Club, in partnership with QTV, delivered a series of broadcasting workshops at Film City Studios in Govan.

More than 300 P5 children had the opportunity to enjoy hands-on activities and challenges to inspire and educate them about work opportunities in the broadcast industry as part of a wider STEM programme.

The Caledonian Club works with Glasgow communities to tackle below-average progression rates into higher education, challenge perceived barriers to progression and provide positive and rewarding experiences within a higher education setting. The club works with five communities across Glasgow to deliver curriculum-enhancing projects with learners aged three to 18.

Staff and volunteers from QTV, which specialises in sports broadcasting and live events, showcased the vast array of equipment used and types of careers available in the broadcast technology industry. They shared both their knowledge and experience with nine- and ten-year olds from six schools in the Glasgow area across five days.

Presenting all aspects of the broadcast industry, QTV offered activities involving filming with broadcast cameras, lighting sets, setting up audio equipment, sports broadcast replay operating, and much more.

Caledonian Club Manager, Nathan Tagg, said: “Our P5 STEM project helps pupils explore different topics and careers across STEM industries. The partnership with QTV, that grew through a connection with the University’s Audio Technology degree, opens up the exciting world of broadcast and introduces pupils to roles and careers they may never have considered. TV is so familiar to us all and, through this year’s P5 STEM project, the pupils will develop an understanding of the number of people and diverse roles it takes to bring programmes to our screen.

“These pupils could be the broadcast engineers of the future and, with the fun, interactive experiences QTV are able to provide, pupils can see themselves in these roles and be inspired to follow a new career path.”

Lucy Lake, QTV’s Director of People and Purpose, said: “We have been faced with a skills shortage in many areas of the broadcast technology sector and wanted to build a long-term strategy within the education sector to build a sustainable, diverse and engaged pool of talent in Scotland. The industry needs more social and economic diversity within the STEM-aligned roles involved in broadcast and we are very grateful to be able to pilot our workshops within the Caledonian Club’s well established and successful outreach initiative.

“These workshops are a drive to alleviate the 'elusive' accessibility of careers within the broadcasting industry, which acts as a barrier to entry for many people, especially those of underserved communities. By engaging children from a very young age, we would hope to inspire more of them to open their eyes to the technical side of broadcasting as a good, resilient and exciting career path.”