Wednesday 16 October 2019 The BBC Bitesize schools tour came to The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL) this week, hosted by Radio 1 and CBBC presenter Katie Thistleton. BBC Bitesize is on tour to schools across the north with an interactive, engaging experience that showcases the wide range of careers available in the creative industries. The visit to GSAL is one of 80 school visits intended to reach around 50,000 pupils. Katie said: “The aim is for everyone in the country to have heard about BBC Bitesize, like they have heard of David Beckham! BBC Bitesize is not just about revision; it offers advice, support, information on careers and inspiration every step of the way.” The session was in a Q&A format with supporting videos, opening the students’ eyes to the variety of career opportunities in the creative industry. The three panel members were Al Jones, junior press officer at Welcome to Yorkshire, Hayley Ford, media assistant at Doncaster Rovers Football Club, and Georgia Ball, production coordinator at Daisybeck Studios. The panel members explained what their jobs entail, what they had studied and how they ended up in their line of work. They all agreed that while many subjects provide invaluable transferable skills, pupils should choose subjects that they are passionate about and will therefore perform better in. For Hayley, her role combines her two passions – sport and creative writing. Katie firmly believes that personality indicates what future job you should do, telling the audience that the character Horrid Henry is voiced by a woman whose penchant for doing impressions landed her in detention at school – and now she makes a career of it! It was then question time from the audience of pupils in Years 7 to 10. Asked about what they thought of school, the panel’s consensus was that although there were definitely less interesting parts, the key is to always try your best and find out what you love doing. Year 7 pupil Theo is pictured with Katie Thistleton. General Senior School News
