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fashion - adventure - news - apprenticeships - universities - gap years - challenges - interviewsfashion - adventure - news - apprenticeships - universities - gap years - challenges - interviews

TOP 30t h i n g s t o d o a s a s i x t h f o r m s t u d e n t

' t h e m a g a z i n e f o r S i x t h F o r m s t u d e n t s '

www.elev8online.co.ukwww.elev8online.co.uk

to elev8, the first national magazine for Sixth Form students. Our aim is to make sure that you, the 1.7 million Year 12 and 13 students out there have the absolute best time you possibly can before you head off to the world of work, an apprenticeship, university or maybe even a gap year.

Right now in other schools and colleges around the country your peers are doing incredible things; some are working with Dragons' Den star Peter Jones, others are planning trips to the other side of the world to build schools for orphanages; incredible things but here’s the not so big secret, they are all out there and all of them achievable to do as a Sixth Former.

Unlike other magazine or lectures we're not totally focused on personal statements and picking the right course, instead we want to tell you how you can have fun; trekking to the Arctic and how to raise the £4,000 you need to do it, we want you know how you can go and race Ferrari's and get into Glastonbury for free.

Some of you may already be involved in some of these enrichment opportu-nities but our mission is to make sure that you are aware of everything that is out there. Here's a taster of some of the things we've got lined up for you in the coming issues:

With thanks to everyone who made this possible: Leila Gaber, Debroah Labat-tee, Liz Yeatman, Ann Martin, Alistair

Kershaw, Keith Airey, Sue and Graham Davies and Kim Airey

www.elev8online.co.uk

@elev8online

The Team

James DaviesMitch RafertyAbby Waylett

Rachel DenninsonKarren McCann

Charlie NewportAlex Matless

Cailten MoonGemma Allen

Jennifer MandersLea Weller

Rebecca Miles

© Altitude Media 2011. All rights reserved. The content of this magazine is intended for consumer us-age only. All image rights have been obtained and no element of this maga-zine, in whole or in part may not be re-produced or retransmitted without the express written consent of The Director, Altitude Media.

How to travel the world for free

Dragons' Den star Peter Jones wants to give you a tenner

"How I made £1,000,000 before I went to Uni"

How to score a full scholarship to University

Be an extra in a film

Spend a year diving on the Great Barrier Reef

Discounts and Vouchers

Funny place names and epic fails

Ways for you to earn an extra 300 UCAS Points

Customise your iPhone and Blackberry

Top jobs for students

Fly a plane

Start your own business

How to break into the world of fashion

Reviews of student bank accounts

How to host the best Sixth Form prom

But before all of that we wanted to kick this off properly so in this issue we show you how you can Meet The Duke of Edinburgh, Get an extra £100 for your old mobile, Raise £4000 to fuel your passion, Visit another country earn-ing an extra 70 UCAS points, and never have to pay to call 0800 numbers from your mobile again.

And don't forget to check out our website elev8online.co.uk and apps avail-able on the App and Android stores where we have loads more articles, re-views, tons of vouchers, competitions and more.

James DaviesEditor

Altitude MediaAlpine Street,

Basford,Nottingham

NG6 0HS02081333529

[email protected]

Issue 1, September 2011

All copies printed on FSC accredited paper

Magazine printed by Precision Colour Printing Limited,

Telford, Shropshire

Any and all prices listed in this publi-cation were correct when researched

however we cannot guarantee that they will be that price should you request

them at the time of reading.

For any advertising queries please call 02081333529 or email us, advertising@

altitudemedia.co.uk

welcome

4

p38 Career Focus : How to get into... The Media

p26 A Levels in the Jungle Overseas Adventures as part of your Sixth Form

p8 Apprenticeships at Bentley Mo-tors

p19 The Top 50 We explore the most incredible things out there for Sixth Formers to be a part of

p34 Fraser Dougherty The jam boy who was a self-made millionaire by the age of 18

contents

5www.elev8online.co.uk

6

Colour Me CleverA School the South London borough of Greenwich has started colour coding its students by ability, with high fl yers wearing purple ties and other students sporting red or blue ties depending on their capability.

Pupils are not only divided by coloured ties, but are also separated into colour co-ordinated buildings, play in separate, fenced off areas and go to lunch separately. At 11 years old, the pupils are taken and divided into their separate schools, a teaching style that the Head maintains is the way to stay afl oat in a market driven school system. As a result of the controversial system the school’s GCSE results are up and behaviour has never been better.

Some say that because the pupils in each school are of similar ability, they work at the same level and so work better, resulting in a huge improvement in behaviour while others argue that it is unfair to separate students from their friends in favour of elitism

After cropping up in cake baking and graffi ti, chick-fl inging game Angry Birds has now moved from Smart Phones to exam papers. One exam board has decided that the best way to captivate its students in Physics tests is to use the game in one of its questions.

The question asks students to calculate what angle the

slingshot should be set at to hit the green pig and knock him a post. As internet users have commented, you would get more points for hitting the wood underneath the pig however it seems that examiners are not quite as in touch as they would like us to believe. In any case, at a cool seven marks question was no throwaway gimmick.

“You’ve failed, here’s £5000” Blackburn College is following the trend of schools across the country giving out fi nancial incentives and rewards for students who achieve certain grades, only this time, the college is paying out if you fail your exams.

The college is so sure of its ability to get its students through their A Level exams that they are off ering up to £5000 to any student that fails a subject whilst studying there. The college says that it is making the promise as a way of reassuring parents and students of the quality of teaching there.

But don’t think of turning up in September and skiving off for the rest of the year turning up only to

get your name right on the exam paper. Students will have to ensure that they attend at least 95% of classes and hit all their deadlines throughout the year.

You’ve heard of the cost of failure? Well now it’s enough for a 2-year-old Vauxhall Astra.

Pay for extra school time?Private tutoring companyies are to set up shop in fi ve secondary schools across England. The company will provide extra lesson time for those students who pay for it. The schools will pay the tutoring company £22 for an 80-minute lesson, and make a profi t by selling the classes to parents at £27 an hour.

Although there are obvious benefi ts to one-on-one tuition many are saying that the scheme is unethical because it off ers an unfair advantage to students whose parents can aff ord to pay for private tuition. However, teachers and unions have argued that the lessons will be great

for pupils who need to catch up on some missed classes or need that little bit of extra help.

Angry Birds Infi ltrate Exams


Schools are encouraging their students to apply for university far too early according to UCAS. Some students are applying a full year before the course starts having been told to apply for courses they don’t even want to do so they can make sure they get a place on something rather than missing out completely.

The worry is that in a pre-fee-rise panic, the heightened number of students applying for university in 2011 will leave more than 220,000 students without a place.

The Government is currently consulting on changing the application process so that students would not apply to their chosen University until after their A

Level results have been published so reduce the stress about getting or not getting the right grades.

As yet there is nothing confi rmed on this- we’ll keep you posted.

Universities are to compete for top students by off ering cash bursaries and cut prices tuition to entice high fl iers. This revelation comes amid fears that Universities will loose funding from the Government if they fail to attract students with as good grades as they did in the previous years.

The president of Universities UK, Sir Steve Smith, has pointed out that

many mid-table universities may reconsider their decision to charge full £9,000 tuition fees in the light of this possible bidding war for successful students so that they can attract students with better grades.

Whilst the prospect of lower fees might be a good thing, some have pointed out that a bidding war between universities may take away money that would have been

Universities in ‘bidding war’ for high achievers

spent on enabling students from low-income backgrounds to attend University. The desperate need for the funding that these high fl iers create comes as a result of an 80% cut in teaching budgets.

IIt remains to be seen whether the universities will be able to strike a balance between business and education.

Changing the way to apply for university

news

Putting your future in the

Fast LaneApprenticeships are becom-ing an ever more viable alternative to University. Getting trained and paid for it at the same time is a real pull for hundreds of thousands of students who are not interested in going to Uni or have been put off by ever higher fees. In this section we will be profiling some of the UK’s top companies who offer award winning Apprenticeships and where better to start than with a company who make cars for some of the most fa-mous and successful people around, Bentley.

For apprentice Louis Warburton, designing the Bentley Continental GT coupé is just another day at the office. Globally renowned luxury car manufacturers Bentley Motors are funding an award winning scheme ofering an exciting

opportunity for those who have an interest in the automotive industry and want to start their career through work based learning.

As an apprentice, daily activities in-clude introducing local young students to apprenticeship schemes, local community work and working in the prototypes department to make sure the quality of the Bentley name is preserved, every day is dif-ferent.

Louis chose to apply to this scheme as it seemed like ‘the obvious choice’, due to the unique opportunity of working with these prestigious cars, as well as the chance to learn a trade and earn wages at the same time.

Although Louis faced challenges with the maths involved in the course, help was available in differ-ent forms, such as the Bentley acad-emy and the apprentice mentor scheme meaning that he was able to learn a range of new skills that he could transfer into any job rather than just being trained to work for the one company for the rest of his

life. As an apprentice, one of his fa-vourite moments of the scheme was the unique opportunity of being in-terviewed by BBC North West during their visit to the factory, although he says that the best days of all were travelling to Germany to see the new prototypes being tested.

Charlotte Gough wanted an alter-native to a University education and felt that practical learning was the best option. Charlotte’s great-est achievement was winning the impressive Apprentice of the Year award for her hard work and com-mitment.

Having now completed their ap-prenticeships, Louis and Charlotte have gone on to work for the com-pany on a permanent basis, Louis working closely on production as a Trainee Build Support Engineer, and Charlotte as a Trainee Electrical Engi-neer. Both are completing engineer-ing degrees funded by Bentley.

The scheme, split across job based learning on site at the world head-

quarters in Crewe and one day a week at a local college to complete course related studies, has twenty openings each year, however, com-petition is fierce, with over 900 ap-plicants for last year’s intake. The ‘Junior Engineer Apprenticeship,’ one of the company’s most popular schemes leads to a full degree and requires 3 A levels including Maths and a Science although entry re-quirements vary on a yearly basis and can be found on the company’s website.

Applications for each of Bentley’s programs open in March for a start the following September, with all apprentices receiving a ‘competitive’ salary. Following successful comple-tion of the scheme, Bentley aims to offer permanent positions to all apprentices, although this cannot be guaranteed. prenticeship pro-gramme before going to interview.

For further information visit bentleymotors.com/careers

apprenticeships

8


ad

10

Average entry tariff 329 UCAS pointsNumber of students 19,665Societies 120+

Location Canterbury and MedwayWebsite www.kent.ac.ukOpen Days Sat 8 October 2011

University Music Performance Schol-arship: worth up to £5,000 per year.

University Music Lesson Scholarship: up to £500 of free vocal or instrumental tuition a year.

Sports Scholarship: between £250 and £5,000 to help pay for equipment, physi-otherapy and travel.

‘Study Abroad’ Schol-arships: this is off ered as part of the universi-ties four year degrees and are worth £2,000.

The Anglo-Jewish Scholarship: Between £500 and £2,000 is available to Jewish students

Ian Gregor Scholar-ship: Covers tuition fees plus off ers a £500 maintenance grant for one year’s full-time study.

Europe or the United States.

Entry requirements have increased dramatically over recent years how-ever these are in line with other in-stitutions; in 2005 students were ac-cepted to my history course with a B, C and D at A Level however now the University demands “at least an A and a B with the remainder of the 340 points from other subjects.”

The University prides itself as “The UK’s European university” and al-though that may have something to do with the fact that Canterbury is only 15 minutes from ferries of Do-ver and the Eurotunnel in Ashford does attract a large number of stu-dents from the European mainland and further afi eld including Brunei, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Canada and Bahrain adding to the multicultural vibe at the University.

“I came to an Open Day and I thought the atmosphere was really nice. Everybody was so friendly and I just fell in love with the University. There’s a buzz here that the other universities I saw didn’t have.”

Scholarships

university

11

Going to Kent was the best thing that ever happened to me. I made some of the best friends I will ever make, I never struggled for some-thing to do or a new society to join and every night we were out at one of the fi ve bars on campus or in our own nightclub, The Venue where Ministry of Sound, Radio 1 and the likes of Zane Lowe were, and still are regulars. It was incredible.

I studied History at Kent, the reason being that it was one of the best Uni-versities for teaching my subject. The standards of teaching across subjects are continually improving and this year the Guardian Universi-ty Guide ranked Kent 27th, up again from last year.

The University has a number of cam-puses but the majority of subjects are taught at the 300 acre campus that looks down over Canterbury. Campus itself has six colleges includ-ing the new £35m Woolf College which opened less than three years ago and houses world class research and library facilities.

The Canterbury campus is ideally situated in a thriving, cultural city and off er students access to numer-ous galleries, the annual Canterbury festival and the Marlowe Theatre which showcases top dance, music, comedy, drama and ballet.

The university off ers a huge list of subjects to study, most of which have the option of year in either


12

gap year

Life as a wildlife vet in South Africa The next day we went to take blood

samples from 10 buffalo. I helped by drawing up vaccines, changing needles and making sure there were enough tubes for the blood and hand-ing them to whoever was taking the samples. We then went back to the clinic and treated a cat who had been hit by a car before heading back out to treat a buffalo bull that had a nasty wound on his head. We then went and darted a lioness and injected her with a contraception stick. At the end of the day we released some black rhino into a new game reserve. I had such a good time here. Everyone is so friendly. Last night we ate round the campfire looking out into the African bush. Whilst we were eating 6 giraffe walked past! This country is so amazing.”

“Today was such an incredible day! We got up at 4am to go and treat an injured elephant. The elephant was part of a trained herd at a game park where they give rides to tourists. When we arrived they let out all the elephants as they all lined up in front of us. The injured elephant was a bull with a very bad limp. They thought he had stepped on something. The el-ephants all knew who the vet was and they scattered when they saw him. The bull walked right up to the vehicle to check us out and the vet took that opportunity to dart him. We pushed him down and made him comfortable and looked at the foot while the other elephants were kept a few metres away by the handlers. The vet found a huge piece of wood in his foot! He stuffed the hole that was left full of bandaged soaked in antiseptic to stop it getting infected. It was so amazing we were so close to the elephants. As we left the elephant to come round all the other members of the herd crowded round him, making a circle to protect him while all the babies jumped on him to try and wake him up. It was so sweet how they were all so worried about him and protected him until he got up. When he got up his limp was a lot better and they all went off into the bush to forage for the day.

insert introduction James to write about the topic and set up the fact that this is an ex-tract from the diary/ we spoke to someone about their adven-ture

13

14

Are YOUUP FOR THE CHALLENGE?

Imagine canoeing down foaming rapids every weekend. How about hearing the satisfactory thud of an arrow hitting the bull’s-eye? Or perhaps go-karting or power boating or skydiving. Or maybe just sitting in on a weekend and playing a spot of Mah Jongg. All of the above scenarios are possibilities for people who take the Duke of Edinburgh Award, ensuring boredom free weekends.

What is the Duke of Edinburgh Award?

The Duke of Edinburgh Award (Or DofE for short) is a programme for young people, designed to reward commitment, a positive attitude and good old fashioned hard work. Whilst on the DofE, people fi nd they

get fi tter, meet new friends and participate in activities they’d never even thought of. Besides, the award looks great on anyone’s C.V. and employers worldwide will recognise the achievement.

“The Duke of Edinburgh awards are a unique opportunity to meet new people, learn new skills and set yourself new challenges. Obtaining the award says a lot about you as person and demonstrates long term commitment, the ability to work in a team and a keen attitude to get involved.”

(Lauren Peters, 18, Gold Award holder).

The Award is split into three levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold, and those levels are divided into diff erent

sections – Volunteering, Skills, Physical and Expedition (there is also a Residential section in the Gold level). The variety of diff erent sections means there is never a lull in the programme or a shortage of activities to do.

Activities and Sections

In order to achieve a DofE award, time has to be spent doing diff erent activities in each section. Each level of award has a diff erent requirement of time needed to be spent on that section.

Physical

From team sports such as Football to Extreme sports such as Mountain Biking, this section pushes the human body to the limit.

the duke of edinburugh award


Bronze: 3 Months. (Choice of extra 3 months)Silver: 3 or 6 Months.Gold: 3 or 6 Months.

Skills

Ranging from writing poetry to clay target shooting, massage to bird watching, many of the activities in the Skills section many people already do on a weekly basis.

Bronze: 3 Months. (Choice of extra 3 months)Silver: 3 or 6 Months.Gold: 3 or 6 Months.

Volunteering

Whether it is litter picking or teaching someone how to play a musical instrument, this

section is about helping people in the community.

Bronze: 3 Months. (Choice of extra 3 months)Silver: 6 Months.Gold: 12 Months.

Expedition

Ever wanted to cycle around a foreign country? How about roaming around on horseback and camping under the stars? These are just a couple of the possibilities in the Expedition section.“I personally fi nd the completion of the Expedition sections as the most rewarding; this section pushes you both physically and mentally.” (Samantha Creed, 18, Gold Award participant).

Bronze: 2 day, 1 night.Silver: 3 day, 2 nights.Gold: 4 day, 3 nights (In “wild country”).

Residential

The residential section is an extra section in the Gold Award programme. In order to achieve the Gold Award, participants have to spend 4 days and 5 nights away from home on a shared activity with people they haven’t met before. This can include learning to Snowboard in Scotland, or teaching English in a foreign country – as before, the possibilities are endless.

Gold Award achievers have the privilege of being presented their award in the presence of either HRH The Duke of Edinburgh or HRH The Earl of Wessex at either St James’s Palace (London), the Palace at HolyroodHouse (Scotland) or Hillsborough Castle (Northern Ireland).

Visit the website for more information on costs and how to start up at www.dofe.org

challenge

16

The 0800Buster, www.0800Buster.co.uk isa great tool which allows users to call 0800 Freephone numbers from their mobile as part of their included minutes. 0800 numbers were originally intended to be free and still are from landlines but the mobile operators charge up to 35p a minute, making a “free call” quite expensive! By ringing the special 0800Buster number, it’s classed as a call to a land line and is therefore included in a mobile tariff ’s minutes. To use the service call 01249200800 and when prompted, enter the 0800 number that’s required, and then press the# key to start the call. Using the mobiles

inclusive minutes, there’s no extra cost, just an additional number to call. There’s no registration to use the service and it’s completely free provided the user has the minutes. It’s so easy to use, and a great idea that could save a fortune. We were surprisedthat there was no catch to using the service; we didn’t have to sign up and our mobiles haven’t been getting loads of spam texts. The service is genuinely free to users because the company receive a small amount of money for handling toll free calls- the money doesn’t come from the caller, it comes from the mobile networks. However, great as this service may be, it doesn’t

include 0845 or 0870 numbers, which are popular choices for many other companies. It also doesn’t apply to those without free minutes included in a mobile contract tariff , so those on Pay As You Go or have used up their minutes will be charged, however only at the local, and not the premium rate which saves on average 12p per minute. The 0800Buster is an easy and fantastic service to use helping to combat the expensive cost of calling so called free number from mobiles. 5* rating and highly recommended with nothing to lose!


We’ve all got them, old mobile phones. A few years ago there wasn’t a kitchen in the country that didn’t have a draw that could have been mistaken for the cellular graveyard but then came along websites like MazumaMobile and Envirofone who bought old and unwanted mobiles for cash. Although very few people could ever say how these companies made money it didn’t stop us from using them, everyone cashed in and helped to create a £100 million a year industry with new companies setting up shop all the time.Each of the recycling companies work in much the same way; the user tells the company the make and model of phone before being given a quote. If the user accepts the quote a prepaid envelope is sent and provided the phone passes a few tests the user is paid by cheque or in vouchers.

But with so many companies all doing the same thing how can we make sure we are getting the best price for our old mobile? Alarmingly our research has shown that some companies will off er over £100 less than others for certain phones don’t worry, but we’ve found the solution. From MoneySavingExpert.com, the MobileValuer (mobilevaluer.com) is a price comparison website that searches over 20 mobile phone recycling companies including Mazuma, Envirofone and cashinmyphone to make sure it’s users get the best price for their old mobiles. The website is simple, very easy to use and, updated to include the very latest handsets. Although the MobileValuer displays a disclaimer saying that prices quoted cannot be guaranteed until the user clicks

through from the MobileValuer to the phone companies website, we would stress that in our tests the price from the MobileValuer was always what the company was off ering. The site also benefi ts from additional searches to assess the value of old laptops, cameras and other electronics, although the accuracy and usability of those services could not match the mobile comparison tool.On the negative side, not every company is included in the comparison, so we can’t guarantee you won’t fi nd a better price if you continue to hunt and phones are not insured in the standard postage envelope so it may be worth looking at Recorded Delivery if the expected pay-out is more than £30.

resources

1818

“It has been the most amazing life changing experience ever. I met the most amazing people, inspirational leaders and made some friends for life; whilst also pushing myself to the limits. If you want a holiday, World Challenge isn’t the thing to do, but if you want an adventure that will stay with you for a lifetime World Challenge are definitely the people to turn to!”Emma, Challenger 2011

Anexpedition ofalifetime

Contact us for an application pack or to find out more

T 01494 427651E [email protected] www.world-challenge-expeditions.co.uk

Destinations include:

Iceland Sri Lanka Tanzania

during a 3 or 4 week expedition

programme.

WC elev8 advert AW.indd 1 24/08/11 7:41 PM

19

TheThings

To Do

a s a S i x t h F o r m e r


Yes it’s obvious and yes everyone who makes a 17th Birthday card seems to think that’s all that there is to celebrate, but bare in mind that an increasing number of

employers are looking for staff who can drive. Most driving instructors off er packages of lessons, the best we’ve found is 10 lessons for £99 from 4wheelz.co.uk

From scuba diving in Australia to skiing in the Alps, caring for lions in Africa or teaching English in Cam-bodia, more than 1/3 of all school leavers take a gap year before go-ing on to University or a job. A gap year doing worthwhile activities rather than just lying on a beach can add real value to a person and help make them more attractive to universities or employers on their return. STA Travel and Real Gap are great starting places for ideas and the availability of what is out there.

A great CV or personal statement building tool, doing a bit for charity need not necessarily be a chore, indeed whether raising money for a good cause (see page 30 for our ideas,) helping out doing the garden for elderly neighbours or starting a dance group for Primary

School students, charity work can be hugely fun, tremendously rewarding and open doors that you had no idea existed. For those looking to fundraise for charity have a look at www.100fundraisingideas.co.uk or have a think about what matters to you.

Do something for charity

Learn to drive

Leavers Hoodies have become huge business over the last few years; previously the domain of Universities, they are now the must have fashion accessory for Y13’s

about to leave. There are plenty of place that will create and print a hoody from about £18 including delivery. indigoclothing.com has a good range of what’s available.

Leaver’s hoodies

20

Plan Your Gap Year

top 30

The first of our ‘try something new’ ideas, scuba diving is tremendously fun, not that expensive and has led plenty of people to start a new career where the world’s oceans are their offices and fish and corals their . There are over 20,000,000

certified divers worldwide. Local swimming pools are used by regional dive centres nationwide who offer try dives from as little as £10. For more information contact PADI padi.com or SSI divessi.com

From the coast to the mountains, get out and see our country. As great as traveling to the far cor-ners of the world can be we have some fantastic sights right at home, better still with a bunch of mates make it about the journey and not the destination.

Learn to scuba dive

With jobs being as limited as they are nowadays you really need to think about how you can enhance your CV and make yourself stand out to an employer...adding an extra qualification will not just do this, but it also gives you a back up,

think about it as another branch on the career tree! And it doesn’t take too long! Go on...ask your tu-tors about what to do next. Go to www.direct.gov.uk and search “vo-cational qualifications”

Earn a vocational qualification

Arrange for your sport’s team to compete against another 6th form or college! Start a new club and spread the word, it’s a great way to keep busy and to meet

new people! It makes a change to just sticking to your college, so speak to your head of sports and see what you can do to get the ball rolling!

Go on a sporting tour of another country

Go on a road trip


Try and get a sponsorship or even a scholarship! Or work through the summer and pay for it yourself! It will save you a lot of time and a lot of money in the future, get saving while you can!

It’s one thing to spend a summer working a part time job at the local pub or supermarket, but come on lets think bigger. Year 12 and 13 students have the opportunity to work at Disneyland Paris, Formula One teams, on yachts in the Mediterranean as well as at big blue chip companies. We’ll have a big article on the best summer jobs in an issue out early next year, but think big and don’t be limited.

22

Whether as an extra in the back of the schools production of Grease or as the frontman of your band,

Create a group open to anyone in your 6th form on a specifi c inter-est... it could be about fashion, tex-tiles, celebrities, crafts...anything! Arrange a day for you all to meet up, book a room out for you all to meet at and get started! Nobody wants to be bored on their lunch and with this you don’t have to be!

Have your work published hereWe are always on the lookout for new and exciting talent with an ability to tell a story or create graphics that look amazing. If you have a passion and a desire to get into journalism, we want to hear from you. Check out our website for details of how to contact us.

Whether you know what career you are after or not, work experi-ence will help you either way, and it will show you the world of work which is a plus! CV boosting!! Jobs are competitive so make yourself stand out, get your CV done and sent off !

It’s never too early to plan, you’ll be amazed how time fl ies! Get out there and see what there is on off er, you never know you might surprise yourself in what catches your eye! Check out your local university website to fi nd out the dates and go along!

Create a society

Setting a World Record isn’t just about running the 100m faster than Usain Bolt, there are thousands of records that anyone can attempt to break; from getting a school together to do set a record for ‘dancing in the style of a robot’ (current record 492 people) or ‘most people in a Mini’ (21 people) to individual records like ‘eating the most

marshmallows in one minute’ (12). Attempting to set a World Record is sure to be great fun, will get the press involved and can be used as a really eff ective platform to raise cash for a good cause. Details of how to set a World Record or for information on current records to break see guinessworldrecords.com

Set a new World Record

University Open DayWork Experience

Get an awesome summer job Get University funded Get up on stage

top 30

23

Download, Leeds, Reading or V, attending one of the major festivals is a rite of passage and an experience that few ever forget. Now is the time to start thinking about next summer’s events and who to go with. Just don’t bank on heading to Glastonbury next summer, there isn’t going to be one. Tickets for next summer’s gigs start to go on sale and presale from November.

There are loads of agencies that are looking for extras to stand in the back of a shot, be it having a coff ee in a hospital canteen for a daily soap or dressed in chain mail running into battle as part of the climax to a Hollywood. No talent or previous acting experience is needed, and expenses including lunch are normally paid. It won’t necessarily be an aspiring actors big break but its great fun to playback

the DVD and say “That’s me, the dot over there underneath those dead guys.” Agencies like studioextras.co.uk charge a fee to join whereascastingcollective.co.uk take a registration fee out of the amount your paid by the fi lm or TV show.

We recommend that if you are interested you go down the latter route so that your never out of pocket.

Star in a TV show or fi lmAttend a festival

Nothing is impossible. Before going to University Alex Tew decided that he was going to try and fi nd a way to fund it, he created TheMillionDollarHomepage.com and sold each pixel on the page for $1, within a few weeks he was

a millionaire. Other businesses run by students have created young millionaires- Dominic McVey who introduced micro scooters to the UK from his bedroom was a millionaire by the time he left school.

Each year over 150,000 people in Britain die in situations where First Aid could have saved their life. St Johns Ambulance off er fi rst aid training nationwide and if asked will come to a school to deliver a training session. Your school will be able to get a cheaper rate, pester your tutors and Head of Sixth to sort out a training session if they already haven’t. It might just save someone’s life. St John’s Ambulance www.sja.org.uk

Become a millionaire

Become a part of history working on the 2012 games, look up www.london2012.com/jobs for more details! Whether you’re an athlete or not, there’s something for everyone and it would be amazing to be part of such a big event, no matter what you do!

Some Sixth Forms allow their students to wear whatever clothes they choose, others have formal attire, whichever category you fi nd yourself in host a diff erent uniform day (pirates, superheroes, in national dress) just make sure that when the day comes you’re not the only one who goes through with it.

Be part of the 2012 Olympics

Costume Day

Learn some First Aid


24

top 30

Exchange programmeThis is just a ticket of freedom, experience and culture all in one! What better way to spend your summer! A different country with a loving family ready to teach you about a completely different culture! The chances are endless and you would be a fool to turn one down!If you like this check out www.youth.webproductive.co.uk to see what you can do.

ZorbingEver wanted to feel like a hamster in a ball?!! Yeh I thought so!! Go zorbing! How much random fun can you have! AND it’s not too expensive!! Around £39 for an experience like this is surely worth it! Go to www.intotheblue.co.uk and have a look!

Got an idea or fancy yourself going up against The Dragons’ then consider starting a business, or have a hobby that you think people will pay for. You don’t need to invent something as huge as Facebook or the iPhone but plenty of young people start their own businesses whilst at school with little or no investment required. Common businesses are ebay stores, milkshake shacks or pancake stands on farmers markets.

Better still for those with practical skills gardening and DIY handyman type jobs are always in demand. See our interview with Fraser Doherty on page 34 to see how one student created a multi-million pound business. Young Enterprise and The Princes Trust have plenty of ideas to help people create ideas for their businesses and information on how to get started.

Create a portfolioA portfolio is essential for anyone wanting to go into the world of media, art & design, or web design and is a great place to store evidence of skills learnt and awards won. Starting a portfolio early would be advantageous as any candidate can then show how their skills and abilities have developed over time.

Adventure dayGet on your scruffs and go fishing or out in the woods for a trek! Get on your bikes and get dirty off-roading!! The list is endless of what you can do! Boys will be boys remember! Get out there and have fun, not everything requires money.

Start your own business Race a FerrariDo you have the need for speed?? Find somewhere local that offers you a track day for you to rally around to your heart’s content! get behind the wheel of a Ferrari 360 or Lamborghini Gallardo each with over 450 horse power and tear around circuits all over the country. For £65 you can have the ultimate adrenaline rush lap after lap. Vouchers available from buyagift.com.

Learn another languageHaving that extra skill under your belt will make you stand out amaz-ingly! Once you’ve learnt one, try your hand at another! The world is your oyster! Go to your local library and ask for books on your chosen language they may even have tapes! Teach yourself or even ask your school to start up a language class.

Become a TutorTutors do not have to be fully qualified teachers. Helping younger students with their subjects, especially in the run up to GCSE’s can be quite lucrative. Year 12 and 13 tutors with good GCSE’s and great references can charge £6 an hour for their time.


T. +44 (0)1454 269 182www.conservationafrica.net

Conservation and wildlife management

Elephant, cheetah & leopard research

Animal care, rehabilitation & veterinary work

2-12 week projectsSUMMER PLACEMENTS

GAP YEAR

Stand out text- to be finalised by JD no later than 1/9/11

26

overseas adventureswe would be working with. Having improved our Spanish, researched the local area and customs and organised big events (more on page 30) to raise money, the hard work seemed like it had paid off and we were ready for the trip of a lifetime. There are hundreds of Overseas Expeditions specifically designed for Sixth Formers. Whether learning jungle survival techniques whilst working with Orang-utans in Borneo or push your physical strength by climbing the Himalayas now is your chance to experience something you’ll never forget. How about an Arctic expedition filled with

“I was standing in the iconic Plaza de Mayo, Buenos Aires soaking up the electric atmosphere of political activity and South American vibrancy. As Spanish conversations whirled around me, to the sound of Tango music, I realised I was experiencing a world filled with exciting new landscapes and people. I had travelled to Argentina with fifteen other students from my Sixth Form to help out with a local charity.”

This was no ordinary holiday; we’d spent months researching and planning our trip as well as forming a team to fundraise for the charity

mountaineering and carrying out research on the local glaciers? Want to experience the extreme heat of the Namibian desert, or explore the Amazon River by canoe? Whether you want to zip wire through the Costa Rican rainforests and work in a Turtle Sanctuary on the beach or teaching English to children in Sri Lanka there are hundreds projects, hundreds of countries just waiting for you to explore.

Organisations like World Challenge and Outlook Expedition offer worldwide expeditions tailor made for Sixth Formers, most carry an extra 70 UCAS points or the trip can be used to count towards a silver or gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. Additionally they look great on Personal Statement’s and give the adventurer a real unique selling point at job or university interviews.

If you like the sound of these sort of adventures, you might still be worried about the cost factor. OK, yes, they can cost three or four thousand pounds each but, and it is a big but, the exploration company are about getting everyone involved, they focus on helping you raise the funds you need to get there and has been known to turn out to be tremendous fun. For a World Challenge, Outlook Expedition, or similar expedition, teams are expected to raise a significant portion of their funds.

27

The great thing is that they’ll do everything they can to help, by hosting special fundraising events like sponsored abseils, giving you a fundraising guide or connecting you with companies or organisations like the local Rotary Club who offer grants for the intrepid explorer. For my adventure, we organised fashion and talent shows, and themed non-uniform days. It was amazing to be able to present our charity with the money we’d raised, having just seen how much fantastic work they do. Whether you fundraise to get there or for the project or charity you’re going to work with, it’s all about having fun and seeing how much you can achieve. No matter how you do it, fundraising will not only get you to your destination but will enhance the whole experience. For more ideas for raising money turn to page 30.

So what are the adventures actually like? I travelled with a group of school friends to Argentina, where we worked with the organisation Voluntario Global. We volunteered in their community co-operative, which supports people from the slum area in the La Boca district of Buenos Aires. Here, we spent time in their soup kitchen, learning how to cook Argentinian dishes from

scratch and improve our Spanish by chatting with the adults and playing with the children. As a team, we learnt to work together to cook and serve efficiently, whilst having fun. More importantly, we all had our eyes opened to the problems faced by different communities and were inspired by learning how people like us could help. It was incredibly rewarding seeing families come in and eat our meal and be incredibly thankful for what we’d done. We went away appreciating the hard work that these organisation do and determined to bring their generosity and community spirit into our own lives. We also worked in their other project, a kindergarten for children from the shantytown area, where we had the rewarding experience of taking the children for days of fun and games in the sun, allowing them to get away from the problems of their home life, problems like malnutrition and violence.

One of the highlights for everyone was a day spent in the co-operative’s T-Shirt factory. After learning how the small factory provided essential employment and income for the community, we had the chance to help out and even make our own T-shirts! Our days were balanced between volunteering and enjoying

the culture of Buenos Aires, taking Tango classes and practising our Spanish. Andrew Furness, one of my fellow explorers loved the project so much he is going back to spend a year working with the same organisation starting this month. He says, ‘Experiencing the lifestyle of Buenos Aires had a big impact on the person I would become. Being in a city so busy and vibrant and yet calm and welcoming at the same time made me think about how to get involved with different projects. Working as a general volunteer was a great way to see all the different sections of the organization and was the main motivation behind choosing to base my ‘Year Abroad’ with university plans at the same place’.

But the volunteering only makes up about half of the expedition. Depending on the location, the last week of the project is usually set aside for sightseeing and or trekking with options to see the Pyramids, cycle The Great Wall of China, trek in the jungles of Vietnam and visit Base Camp at Mount Everest. On our trip we enjoyed the breath-taking Inca ruins at Santa Rosa de Tastil, trekking over the Chani pass at 4200m, learning about the local wildlife, getting to grips with navigation; it

28

was an experience I’ll never forget. Others in the group got to try their hand at traditional Argentinean horse riding, canoeing in the wetland area of Chaco and spotting the incredible Howler Monkeys in their natural habitat.

Everyone comes away from their adventure with a different perspective. Some like Andrew end

up returning to the project for an extended amount of time; others develop long-term relationships between the school the community visited, pledging further assistance and some simply come back having explored a part of the world they never would have thought of visiting, but glad they did. The combination of hard work, planning, volunteering, adventure and fun something really

worthwhile and interesting to talk about on a personal statement or at an interview, it shows a level of dedication and commitment that employers look for. My experience has inspired me to look into other community projects, both at home and abroad, and I am eager to get back out there on another expedition.

29

overseas adventures


Name: World Challenge

Typical expeditions: Packed with eye-opening cultural exchanges and physi-cal challenges, our exciting 1-4 week expeditions offer the experience of a lifetime and the chance to make new friends. Explore some of the world's most awe-inspiring destinations whilst taking part in activities in-cluding trekking, rewarding project work and rest and relaxation.

Additional information: Students have the opportunity to earn up to 70 UCAS points (ASDAN CoPE Level 3 Award) and can gain the Universities Award

Phone 01494 427651 www.world-challenge-expeditions.co.uk

Name: British Schools Exploring Society

Typical expeditions: From the Artic to the Himalays and even the Amazon Rainforrest, BSES offers physically challenging adven-ture trips around the world developing young peoples leadership, communication, organisation and manag-ment skills.

Additional information:

Phone 02075 913141http://www.bses.org.uk/

Name: Far Frontiers

Typical expeditions: As the UK leader in providing Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award expeditions Far Frontiers challenges range from 17 day Qualification Expeditions in Ecuador to weeks in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.


Phone 08448 00929www.farfrontiers.co.uk

Name: THE SAILING ONE

Typical expeditions:


Phone

Whether off on an overseas adventure, setting up a project or simply wanting to raise money for a cause you are passionate about the prospect of raising a few hundred or even a few thousand pounds should not put you off doing it. Raising money for a cause can be one of most rewarding things a Sixth Former can do and is a great use of any extra time you have, plus it looks great on any applications or CV’s.

So we set our team the challenge of finding the most ingenious ways to raise the biggest amounts of cash; no selling fairy cakes for 20p here.

Here’s what they came up with.

30

fundraising

Host a series of eventsProjected Profit: £200-£4,000

Charity Auctions are real money spinners.

We coned, bribed and otherwise coerced anyone and everyone we knew to donate some of their time or

professional services which we auctioned off. We managed to find someone who would donate a track

day in an Aston Martin which someone’s dad bought, and by contacting local businesses, sports and music arenas, restaurants,

spas, wine tasting groups and even accountants we had a huge number of items to auction. It’s all about being a bit cheeky and asking for something for free. If the worst comes to the worst there’s always a personal fitness session with the P.E teacher. These have a limitless projected profit; you

never know how much someone will be willing to bid for one of your prizes!

Chris Gudde led a ‘Slave Auction’ at his school, which auctioned off Sixth Formers to younger pupils for the day to do small tasks. Finally we held a talent show at the school; we arranged the

Dinner PartyProjected Profit:

£500+

People pay money to have a good time and how do they have a good time? With a meal out.

We negotiated a special discount to book 100 seats at a local Indian restaurant on its quietest night and for £5 per person the

restaurant would serve a main course and drink. We then sold those tickets to other students for £7, making £200 and giving everyone a great night out. Everyone loved it so much we did one of these nights every term at a different restaurant.

Make sure not to pay for anything ‘up front,’ agree with the restaurant that any seats are ‘sale or

return’ so as not to chance losing money. The restaurant made loads of money that night and

wanted us to come back, so we arranged another night for teachers and school staff, this time

charging £8 or £10 for a ticket.

venue, judges and acts for free and then charged the audience for admission.


Non-uniform or dress up day with a twistProjected Profit: £300

To raise money for a charity for the blind, we all wore our sunglasses to college for

the day, and there was a prize for the most outlandish. Making the event

funny and memorable really helped get people interested and so we were able to charge everyone £1 to do it.

School

MerchandiseProjected Profit: £1,000

Ellice Stevens, who raised money to go on an expedition to Borneo told us that

she wanted to do something that would stand out, ‘we made a calendar with all the

teachers and staff dressed as characters from the Carry On films and then sold it to pupils, parents

and anyone else we could think of.’ Ellice’s project managed to get a local firm to make them ‘Borneo

Expedition’ pencils and managed to sell loads of these to pupils, staff and parents. When

we heard this we started making not only calendar, but diaries, badges, stickers, bumper

stickers, anything we could think

of.

Be

entrepreneurialProjected Profit: who

knows!

We’ve heard about a school in Walsall that has a nearby Indian bakery that all the students love. Their Sixth

Form has a deal each week to buy 500 Samosa’s at 50p a time; they then take them back to

school at morning break and sell them at £1 a time, they make £250 a week!

Just check with your Head Teacher to make sure you’re allowed because of

health and safety.

Grants and donationsProjected Profit: £1,500

A quick Google showed us that there are loads of schemes and

grants available to young people venturing on expeditions or charity

projects. Even if you send a hundred letters and only get one reply, that one

grant will give you a significant boost. We found that the Rotary Club was a good place to start.

It’s worth checking out the websites of organisations like World Challenge and charities like Oxfam. They often have fund-raising plans and ideas and also organise their own fund-raising events for you to take part in.

In total we raised over £4,200 and had a great time doing it. The biggest lesson we learnt is that people have to want to you their money, but if you can offer them something that they want, they will pay a lot for it. So forget trying to sell cakes for 10 pence, it’ll never make big amounts, instead focus on trying to sell people stuff they would normally pay for even if it wasn’t for charity.

32

Fundraising

• www.fundraisingideas.com• www.justgiving.com• www.charitychoice.co.uk

Casino Night

Turn the school hall into a casino for the night by hiring a fun casino and charge Sixth Formers and Parents to come to the evening. Make a big deal out of it, enforce a dress code- people pay more when they get smart and lay on some posh finger food. The schools won’t need any sort of licence as real money isn’t gambled but if you can find a prize for the person who wins the most ‘fun’ money in a night.

Sporting Sweepstakes

Run a sweepstake on the Premiership, FA Cup, Grand National, Darts or any other sports you can think of. £1 or £2 a ticket and the winner takes half of the total pot, the other half goes towards the event or cause with zero outlay.

Book and Film Exchange

Setting up a book or DVD exchange is simple and offers everyone the chance to see new films or read the latest best seller without having to fork out for it. 50p or £1 to borrow a film for a week undercuts the rental shops and although not much, will add up over the course of a year.

Book and Film Exchange

Setting up a book or DVD exchange is simple and offers everyone the chance to see new films or read the latest best seller without having to fork out for it. 50p or £1 to borrow a film for a week undercuts the rental shops and although not much, will add up over the course of a year.

Harry Potter marathon

Celebrate the release of a new film by showing it at school. You’ll need to ensure that the school has a special licence, check with the secretary or Head of Sixth. For a series like Harry Potter there’s the opportunity to show every film back to back on a Saturday if a couple of staff will agree to supervise. Entry prices could be doubled or even tripled by selling sweets, popcorn and having film related competitions throughout the day.

Guitar Hero Comp XBOX Championship

Held over the course of a week’s lunchtimes a Guitar Hero or other Xbox or PlayStation tournament is great fun and might even be possible with some local sponsorship.

Pancake Breakfast

Fancy making £100 in an hour? Arrange to cook breakfast for everyone at school one morning before classes begin. £1 for 3 pancakes that students can then decorate with sweets and any number of jams and spreads.

Goodbye messages

Sell students the opportunity to buy little ‘goodbye’ messages wrapped around chocolates or other treats for fellow students at the end of the year. For 50p they can send their goodbyes and have them delivered to their friends.

fundraising


Interview with a teenage entrepreneur

Fraser Doherty: getting into sticky situations

Aged 14 Fraser Doherty started making jam in his Grandma’s kitchen. Today he runs SuperJam, a small empire with products in over 2,500 stores in the UK, Europe and America proving that students and young people can set up and run their own successful businesses. Fraser has been so successful in fact that even the Prime Minister and a Dragon want in on his act. The youngest supplier to a British supermarket in history, he spoke to James Davies about creating an international brand, keeping chickens on the TV, and making jam sexy.

Fraser Doherty is a guy I’d like to run into on a daily basis. His calm voice, his polite whit and his general good nature can’t help but lift those around him. Even on the other end of a phone I can’t resist smiling when he starts talking about the story of his company with such passion and energy that all of a sudden I really fancy a piece of toast with some of his jam. Born Edinburgh, Fraser started to make jam with his Grandma when he was just 12. The young tycoon had a head for business and decided to see if he could sell his creation and so went down the street to see if his neighbours wanted to buy any. They did and pretty soon Fraser was setting up his own micro-factory in his parent’s kitchen. “It was amazing to think that people were paying their hard earned money for something I’d made, it made me feel like I’d made something that was worthwhile.” Armed with that thought and little else he started selling jars of his home made jam at local farmers markets and stalls. Pretty soon he was selling a thousand jars a week and

34

Interview with a teenage entrepreneur

Fraser Doherty: getting into sticky situations

at the age of 16 left school, deciding it was time to take his business to the next level, and that meant going after the supermarkets. Fraser applied to all of the major stores and found that most had open days where suppliers could come and meet the buyer, something Fraser later referred to as “kind of like the X-Factor for selling to supermarkets.” Thinking that his jams needed an edge he experimented with a radical new type of recipe, one which he thought could turn around the decline in jam sales. “I did quite a bit of research and found that sales of jam had been in decline for a number of decades, because jam’s really quite unhealthy, 80% sugar with lots of additives and I figured that I could make a healthier type of jam so I came up with a way of making jam 100% from fruit which I had the opportunity to pitch to the buyers.” The buyers at Waitrose loved the idea but

told Fraser he needed somewhere that would manufacture 20,000 jars a week rather than the 1,000 he was currently churning “my parents could never get in to cook the tea as it was making 1,000 jars a week and I realised that if I was going to make any sort of business out of this I was going to have to figure out how to move production into a factory… and be as competitive and professional as any other jam company.” Fraser would need to create a company brand, labels for his jars and a whole marketing campaign around his new idea, big challenges for a teenage entrepreneur with next to no money.

“I spent over a year getting labels designed and all of the packaging. I came up with what I thought was a great idea about a comic book- SuperJam was like SuperMan and I could be his sidekick The JamBoy.” Having ploughed his time and money into hiring designers and agencies to create his JamBoy persona Fraser was ready to pitch to the buyers

“A lot of the time the people around you, family and friends try to protect you from getting hurt by saying that

you should give up but thankfully I only listened to what people wanted and my

idea was what they wanted.”again. Unfortunately their comments weren’t the ones he wanted to hear “I was told that my ideas were ridiculous, everything that I’d put my love and energy into was wrong. My family, friends and everyone around me told me to give up.”

But he didn’t, convinced that those first customers from the farmers markets had bought his jams for a reason Fraser went back to the drawing board. ‘It was the lowest point of my journey. However I really believed in the idea, people were buying the product and I knew they wanted to buy jam without sugar in and so I figured that the only people I needed to listen too were those customers.” A year later having spent more time and money working on a new set of graphics and designs he returned to pitch again to Waitrose. The third time was the charm, the Supermarket liked his toned down designs and the chain agreed to launch SuperJam in their stores. Seeing his product on the shelves was the greatest moment of the whole journey for Fraser “I bought a jar and kept the receipt and when I got home stuck it on my wall. The moment my products were on the shelves, it was a moment I’d been working towards for many years and I realised that hundreds of thousands of people would be putting SuperJam on their toast in a morning.”

SuperJam has been the big success for Fraser, and he may have created it when he was still only a teenager, but it wasn’t exactly his first business. “When I was about 10 we lived next to a Chicken Farm and one day we convinced the farmer

interview

35

Fraser’s books, The SuperJam Cookbook and SuperBusiness: How I Started SuperJam from My Gran’s Kitchen; My Guide to Starting a Business, Having Fun and Doing Good Along the Way are available at all good book stores and on Amazon.co.uk

to give us a box of eggs. We took them home and explained to my mum and dad that I had this great business idea to keep the eggs warm so that they would hatch out and we could start a chicken farm in the back garden. My parents weren’t particularly keen on that idea but they gave it a shot, not thinking that a 10 year old could figure out how to hatch eggs. Anyway we put the box on top of the TV where it was warm and, amazingly four of the eggs hatched into chicks. The poor things must have thought that Jerry Springer was its mum! We kept them in the house then put them in the back garden where they started to lay eggs which we sold to the neighbours.”

Since launching in Waitrose Fraser has been nominated for, and has won a number of awards including The Global Student Entrepreneur of The Year at an event in Chicago where he competed against 750 other students from around the world and had to pitch his idea, like Dragons’ Den to a panel of successful business men and women including six billionaires. “It’s a great competition for any student out there whose setting up their own business. I also get to go and talk at events and Gordon Brown heard about my story when he was the Prime Minister and invited me to Downing Street for tea which was pretty surreal.” The SuperJam empire is going from strength to strength with the SuperJam Cookbook launching last year and

quickly becoming a best-seller. Fraser has also started his own charity using the profits from SuperJam to host over a hundred SuperJam Tea Parties in various different regions every year providing elderly people on their own or in care homes a chance to get out and meet new people their own age whilst enjoying some scones and SuperJam.

Fraser’s story has proved that to make and build a successful and profitable company a person doesn’t need to create something from scratch, they don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Shows like Dragons’ Den and all the thoughts we have about needing to be a dot com prodigy to make it have been put into perspective by the fact that this young person has seen an opportunity to make an existing product better. Like the reinvention of vintage clothing has he made jam sexy? He laughs at that one, “probably not, but it’s been great to help improve the image of a product and help get jam back in vogue.” So what does Fraser say to those who think a person has to be a grown up to start a business? “I think that if people have an idea then they should really go for it- I’m almost evangelical about that, you mustn’t be afraid to try. Create a product, sell it on a small scale and go from there and try and find a mentor who has experience of whatever business you want to start to help you along the way” and what about the fact that young people starting their own business might not be taken seriously? “If I was thirty I don’t think I would have ever started the business” and as a result he wouldn’t have just been to Australia to launch his business down there.

interview

36


38

HOW TO GET INTO ...

THE MEDIA INDUSTRYea Weller is the Editorial Assistant of an international journal, she is currently

starting out in television working on regional news programs and is also a researcher and production assistant on an upcoming film. Here she reveals how she got her start in the industry.

“Getting into any area of the media is difficult. I needed the right stepping stones to get my foot in the door. Most job opportunities are not advertised so I needed to be prepared to be resourceful, write letters, face lots of rejection and do whatever it took to get my start.

It may seem really simple but I was able to get my first TV job by

writing lots of speculative letters. I found potential employers by researching contact details online at Northern Exposure (http://www.northern-exposure.info) a directory of freelance Producers and TV staff as well as the Yellow Pages, Kemps, The Knowledge or BECTU (the trade union website.) In my letter I explained that I was a student eager to work in the media, I was passionate about film and television and that I really wanted to kick start my career, and after a whole bunch of letters I had a call offering me some unpaid work experience.

Again my role as a researcher and production assistant for our new film, The Feet of Angels, (on YouTube in the next few months) was the result

of me asking around and making sure as many people knew what I wanted as possible. My lecturer knew how much I wanted to get started and emailed me saying that there was a film being made and would I like to be involved? So much of this industry is about knowing people. I would definitely recommend doing as much networking as possible, attending events. I use Linkedin.com, a professional social networking site which allows me to promote myself as a freelancer, and get in touch with producers and directors.

I use The Internet Movie Database imdb.com, all the time. It’s great for gathering information on current films and allows me to keep on top of films the pipeline. It’s really

L


My lecturer

knew how much I wanted to get started

and emailed me saying that there was a fi lm being made

and would I like to be involved?

if I hadn’t known what was going on and I hadn’t known what new fi lms were coming

out, I probably wouldn’t have got the position.

When I did research on the diff erent careers in the media, looking at things like entry requirements and training I spent a lot of time looking on www.prospects.ac.uk and www.skillset.org. Skillset has a list of useful publications which also keep me up to date with the latest developments in the media, while Prospects provides information on salaries, working conditions, entry requirements and career development. I would recommend anyone interested in fi nding out more looks at them as soon as they can.

Anyone wanting to break into the media will start off as a Runner, a position that doesn’t offi cially need any qualifi cations, just lots of energy and enthusiasm although be warned competition is still fi erce. During my time as a runner I was responsible for client hospitality, looking after guests and providing them with refreshments, handling deliveries and stepping in if someone was absent and any number of other basic tasks. I learnt so much about the business and the behind the scenes work; it was a great introduction.

important because I never know when I’m going to get the call from someone wanting to interview me for a job. About 3 months ago I was shopping in the supermarket and I got a phone call off ering me work experience with my local newspaper. I had applied for it months earlier and had all but given hope of hearing back; if I hadn’t known what was going on and I hadn’t known what new fi lms were coming out, I probably wouldn’t have got the position.

I have a blog where I write about fi lms, television, my work experience and anything else I have an opinion on. Blogs are a great starting point for budding writers as it quickly becomes your portfolio, and one of the best ways to sell yourself because lots of employers search blogs looking for new talent. It’s easy to set up a blog, I use Blog.spot.com, it’s completely free.

If your interested in getting your start the BBC off ers a range work experience opportunities in lots of diff erent areas of the country via www.bbc.co.uk/careers/work-experience as well as the BBC New Talent program that helps to develop talented individuals get a start in their area of television. It has information on how to get into the television industry as well as advertising jobs and being able to apply for work experience. Other sites I looked at that also had this information were;

www.itvjobs.com/http://4talent.channel4.com, www.startintv.com and http://corporate.sky.com/

Getting into the media industry may be hard and a lengthy process but don’t give up as persistence will pay.

how to get into

40

Luke Price, 26, Male fashion is creat-ing such a stir recently, with the controversial debate: What is too feminine? Luke’s shirt, from Bur-tons, is a fairly ‘girly’ shade, this is all the range for men right now, not forgetting the checkered pattern. Another trend I am positive you will have noticed amongst boys is CHINOS; they are everywhere. They are such a great pair of trousers any guy should definitely have in their wardrobes this year, they go with any outfit: smart, casual, lazy. Luke is very interested in music, and gains his style inspiration from artists such as Kanye West, Olly Murs.

Sean McCann, 21, Currently com-pleting his masters degree in Sheffield, rates fashion highly and believes that the way you dress can reflect your personality. Sean creates ensembles perfect for any occasion by mixing high street, vintage and designer pieces: here he is wearing Topman top, vintage leather jacket, Republic chinos and Gucinari designer shoes. Sean says, ‘Accessories are so underrated for lads, I have a massive collection with trouser braces, Topman neck-laces and leather Pandora bracelets, which actually look better on men.’

Jordan Shepley, 18, ‘The best bargain I have got recently, has to be these Doc Martins, they were only £15 from eBay,’ said Jordan, a fashion Journalism student, living in London. Jordan’s look is quite grunge, which is a popular trend this year. He says, ‘I take inspiration from a variety of places, musicians such as NataliaKills, because she isn’t afraid to dress differently... and neither am I.’ The statement DM’s that are actually suede match his Topman shirt, his leather Jacket from Zara (which has the best male section EVER) match his H&M skinny jeans, which overall amazing outfit.

Burtons ShirtTKmaxx Shoes

Vintage JacketAlternative chino colour

Top trend!Statement Doc’s

Get the look:Out and about in... Blackpool


Dani Perfect, 18, Oversized bag, plus oversized scarf, equals FASHION HIT! The scarf is the obvious salient point of this ensemble, so by keeping the top, jacket and boots all black, our attention is taken by the salmon pink wool.Dani, who loves to take full advan-tage of vintage boutiques, has a real edge to her style- her clothes may seem pretty simple on a whole, but the real power of this look comes from her red hair, her facial pierc-ings and jewellery. This is a great example of how hair, make-up and accessorizing can take a good look to a FANTASTIC look.

Stacey Shaw, 18, Sprinkle with shots of colour: mustard New Look satchel and blood red bangles, bought from eBay. What I especially like about this outfit, is that Stacey is wear-ing a Fred Perry jacket, a 60’s dress from Oxfam and shoes from George at Asda... this shows that it doesn’t matter where your clothes are from, it’s the way you style them; this brand mixing is just genius! Stacey is almost a modern day suffragist as she says, ‘I grab the best bargains from charity shops and eBay, you really can find some amazing pieces, for such good prices.’

Megan Upton, 18, Punk rock, meets colour blocking. Miss Upton has hit the jackpot in terms of styling, as she has made some big brand names look personal: Doc Martins are fairly making a come-back in today’s youths, but Me-gan makes them look totally individual. Megan, a fashion student and part time model, said, ‘Because my mum man-ages a charity shop, I can get the first look at what comes in, I have noticed the large amount of teenagers using charity shops.’ I think this is so true, not only are they for a good cause, but you really can find the best pieces, and you know everyone on the street won’t look identical to you. Why not give it a go?

Oversized ScarfRetro 60’s dress

Popular Black Tights Figure Flashing WaistcoatBright DM’s

fashion

Open Days, Gap Year talks., Dance School or Drama Auditions, we’ve got your calendar covered

University Open Days

Aston UniversityTuesday, September 20th

Loughborough UniversityWednesday, September 21st

University of Bristol: Wednesday, September 21st

Robinson College, Cambridge Thursday, September 23rd

Queen Mary, University of London: Friday, September 24th

University College Birmingham: Fri-day, September 24th

University of Warwick: Friday, September 24th

University of Worcester: Friday, September 24th

Heriot-Watt University: Wednesday, September 28th

Emmanuel College, Cambridge:Wednesday, September 28th

University of Liverpool: Saturday, October 1st

University of Wolverhampton: Saturday, October 8th

University of Portsmouth: Wednesday, October 12th

Aberystwyth University: Saturday, October 15th

Keele University: Sunday, October 16th

Teesside University: Wednesday, October 19th

Coventry University: Saturday, October 22nd

Leeds Metropolitan University: Sunday, October 23rd

University of St Andrews: Wednesday, October 26th

University of Derby: Saturday, October 29th

Performing Arts Schools

Tech Music School has an open day on Saturday 5th Novwww.techmusicschool.co.uk020 8749 3131

The Aberdeen Academy of Performing Arts is now accepting applications for courses starting in September 2012. Auditions will be held in the March. For more information or for an appli-cation form, visit www.academyperformingarts.co.uk or call 077 5376 6113

The Paul Nicholas School of Acting and Performing Arts in Lancashire will be holding auditions through-out September for their perfor-mance of Jack and the Beanstalk. There will also be open days at the end of September for the Tom Bright

42

whats on

Comedy School. For more information, visit www.pnsa.co.uk or call 01253 858529

The Guildhall School of Music & Dra-ma in London will be holding the fol-lowing open days this autumn:

Music Therapy Wednesday, October 26

Wind, Brass and Percussion Tuesday, November 8

Technical TheatreFriday, November 11

Jazz Friday, November 18

Electronic Music andComposition Tuesday, November 22

Anyone who is applying to the school to do BMus Music please note the deadline is Saturday, October 1.For more information, visit www.gsmd.ac.uk

SAGE Academy of Performing Arts, based in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, will hold an open evening on Wednes-day, October 19. For more information visit www.sage-academy.co.uk

The Royal Scottish Academy of Mu-sic and Drama are accepting appli-cations for music programmes until the 1st of October. Open days in Oc-tober are on Friday, October 14 (Dra-ma and Dance Performance courses) and Thursday, October 20 (Drama Production courses)For more information, visit www.rsamd.ac.uk

The Liverpool Theatre School, which offers classes in ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, singing, drama and musical theatre, will be holding open days on Wednesday, October 12, October 19, November 16 and November 23For more information visit www.liverpooltheatreschool.co.uk or call 0151 728 7800

The Sylvia Young Theatre School in London are holding an Experience Day on Sunday, October 16. Lunch

will be provided and all those who attend will receive a SYTS bag.A number of famous popstars and TV stars were taught at the school, which has more than 30 years’ ex-perience training young people for stage and screen, including Billie Piper, Matt Willis and Denise Van Outen. For more information, visit www.syts.co.uk or call 0207 258 2330

The Institute, based in London and one of Europe’s leading schools of modern music, will hold an open day on Saturday, September 17. To book a place, call 0207 328 0222 or email [email protected]

Elmhurst in Birmingham has upper school auditions on Tuesday, November 8 and Tuesday, Novem-ber 29. For more information or for an application form, visit www.elmhurstdance.co.uk

Royal Academy of Music Open Days:Keyboard Tuesday 13th September

PercussionWednesday 14th September

JazzFriday 16th September

WoodwindTuesday 20th September

StringsWednesday 21st September

Vocal and OperaThursday 22nd September

CompositionThursday 22nd September

BrassFriday 23rd September

HarpFriday 30th September

Musical TheatreTuesday 4th October

GuitarThursday 6th October

ConductingFriday 7th October

Musical Theatre

Wednesday 12th October

Visit www.ram.ac.uk for more details.Royal Academy of Dance Open DaysThursday 27th October

Thursday 17th November

Gap Year Talks

The STA Travel tour, which offers students the chance to find about latest offers, gap year and travel op-portunities, exclusive student offers and anything else you need to know about travel from the STA Travel store staff.

Sheffield Hallam Monday, September 26

LeedsTuesday, September 27

Nottingham TrentWednesday, September 28

Oxford BrookesThursday, September 29

SurreyFriday, September 30

BirminghamMonday, October 3

ReadingTuesday, October 4

BournemouthWednesday, October 5

SouthamptonThursday, October 6

PortsmouthFriday, October 7

More upcoming events are posted on our website all the time.Sign up at elev8online.co.uk to make sure you find out about what’s on in your area soon.


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A huge congratulations to Blackpool Sixth Form college students who have been out and about achiev-ing great success in various fi elds, whether its performing arts, sports, volunteering....the list is endless! So here is a little taste of what they have been getting up to.

Let’s start with a bit of sport. For all those who are lovers of basket-ball, the college off ers students the chance to take their skills to an inter-national level thanks to a link with NBC camps, the largest provider of overnight basketball camps. Stu-dents spend two years gaining na-tionally recognised qualifi cations in coaching, refereeing and sports fi rst aid plus they spend two weeks in Se-attle, USA.

For football fans, there are male and female teams, trained by qualifi ed sport specifi c coaches, who compete against other British colleges and

the North West College organisa-tions. Like with Basketball, students can travel to sports camps both in the UK and abroad.

Other students have been showing off their talents worldwide. In July 2010, 47 music students took part in a fi ve day tour of Paris, performing at Parc Georges Brassens. While they were there, they also visited the Lou-vre, the Tuilleries Gardens, Arc du Tri-omphe, the Trocadero, Notre Dame and the Eiff el Tower. BTEC National Certifi cate and Diploma Travel and Tourism students have been visited Costa Brava and many other exciting places while other pupils have been across the ocean to learn more about the Big Apple – the Visual Arts and Media Department had a look round the fantastic art galleries and fi lm in-dustries and economic students ex-plored the city’s fi nancial institutions and the United Nations.

Other activities and events pupils have been taking part in include Battle of the Bands, an end of year Art Exhibition and Fashion show run and organised by students and an Enterprise programme where sixth formers can put their business minds to good use, developing their ideas and helping the community. One group of students worked hard to raise money for their project to re-build a primary school in India.

The college recently held their 2011 Student Awards with more than 90 pupils presented awards either for success in their courses or extra-cur-ricular activities. Some of the awards given out were Musician of the Year, the Oxford University Prize for Out-standing Achievement and the Rob-ert Platts Scholarship for Law. Well done to Blackpool Sixth Form School and we look forward to what your students will achieve in the fu-ture!

Blackpool Sixth Form College

sixth form profile

If you’d like us to feature your Sixth Form in our next issue, get in touch: [email protected]

elev8 is all about you and helping you to get the most out of your time in Sixth Form, here we look at what other students are doing; maybe they’ll give you some ideas.


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