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Student Voice for BSF

At the beginning of 2008 Hartlepool schools took part in a consultancy exercise with the Sorrell Foundation based at Somerset House in London. Five pupils from each school were asked to give their opinions on what schools of the future should look like in Hartlepool. At Manor the five students were taken from Y7-Y9. In February Laura Jenkins, Jessica Jackson, Ben Wignall, Corey Healey and Alex Page met with students from other schools to discuss the process before visiting London.

The students were asked to consider their present school and areas which they wanted to improve. They toured the school and took photographs of areas they felt needed improvement. These areas were then discussed on their first visit to Somerset House. Toilets were the main area of concern for pupils from all schools in Hartlepool, closely followed by Learning Spaces, Dinner Halls and Social Spaces.

The visit to Somerset House was followed by witnessing the Red Arrows on a fly past (not purely for our pleasure!) and then a visit to the Royal Festival Hall and the British Film Institute on the South Bank. This gave the students the chance to look at a new build and a refurbishment, two of the options for schools in Hartlepool. They took photographs and discussed the pros and cons of areas and features. They liked the open feeling given by use of windows and the wide staircases which were so different to the ones in the present building.

After returning from London the students carried out a questionnaire with students in KS3 to find out what their concerns were. The students then spent a day working with the other schools before a second visit to London. On this day, a film crew visited Manor and asked to be shown around the school to look at areas which the pupils felt to problematic. The result of this work was incorporated in the film made by the Sorrell Foundation covering the Hartlepool BSF project and can be seen below.

Sorrell Foundation - Pupil Brief Part 1:

Sorrell Foundation- Pupil Brief Part 2:

 

The final visit to London allowed the work to culminate in the creation of various Mood Boards. These show the pupils’ solutions to some of the issues and also their creative ideas. At a celebration event, held in Hartlepool the students presented their results to an audience including Head Teachers, Councillors and BSF project managers. The portfolio that was created can also be accessed by clicking the link to Manor College of Technology portfolio.

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