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Sky to launch dedicated schools TV production facility in Leeds

Sky has today announced that its Leeds site will open its doors to a pioneering new educational facility that will welcome young people from across Yorkshire.

The Sky Academy Skills Studio will enable young people to experience the excitement of a behind-the-scenes TV production environment.

The launch of the new facility follows the success of Sky’s first Skills Studio which opened in London in 2012.

In a little over a year, the London studio has offered almost 14,000 young people the chance to build life skills by using its state-of-the-art technology to make a news report on subjects they are studying through the curriculum.

The Leeds Skills Studio is set to launch in 2014 for use, free of charge, by teachers with groups of students aged eight to 18.

The new facility aims to help young people from across the region develop important skills such as creativity, communications, problem solving and team work, whilst also raising their aspirations and career ambitions.

The young people will be given the opportunity to write, shoot and edit their own TV report in a selection of ‘live’ studio environments, using real-life HD cameras, editing desks, green screens and props.

The final reports will then be topped and tailed with clips from Sky presenters.

To help inspire young people, Sky Academy will work with role models from television, sport and the arts, as well as drawing on the passion and expertise of Sky’s own employees. David Beckham, as Sky Academy Ambassador, will lead a team of top names including Jessica Ennis-Hill, Darren Campbell and Ashley Banjo to get young people from across Britain and Ireland involved.

Jeremy Darroch, Sky chief executive, said: “Building skills and nurturing talent are vital not just for business success but for society as a whole.

“We want to use our position as a successful company to support young people across Britain and Ireland and launching Sky Academy Skills Studio in Leeds is a really important step in helping us to achieve that.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Mark Lane .