Press release

Education establishments launch own station

3 Oct 2008

Schools are to get their own television channels under a scheme being launched this year.

In total, 29 Notts and five Nottingham schools have signed up to The Life Channel project. Television screens placed around campuses will show a mixture of centrally - produced programmes as well as material made by pupils from each individual school. Teachers hope the system will act as a way to get messages on things like healthy living and eating across to youngsters.

But they also say it will give young people a chance to learn technical skills and showcase their work. Lesley Lyons is joint head teacher at the Manning School, in Aspley, which is taking part in the project. "It will give schools an excellent opportunity," she said. "It will enable us to show students and visitors recordings of achievements in dance drama sports and music."

Schools will update the channels' content every month with programmes on current issues and initiatives. Mrs Lyons explained that it took a minimal amount of staff time and training for schools to quickly add visual media of their own, such as photographs and video clips. "It is extremely flexible, it can be used on the screens in school or the materials can be used on interactive white-boards in classrooms - it's a great way of celebrating student achievement," she said.

The channel originally started out as a health project five years ago, broadcasting in GP surgeries and health centres around the UK. A pilot scheme for the schools version of the channel was launched in County Durham last year and is now being rolled out to schools who want to take it up. Other city schools involved include Snape Wood Primary, Bulwell St Mary's C of E Primary, Cantrell Primary, in Bulwell, and Fernwood Junior School, in Wollaton.

In the county those taking part include Dayncourt School, Radcliffe-on-Trent, Garibaldi School, Mansfield, Grove Comprehensive, Newark and Carlton Digby School, in Carlton. The city council have also had a presentation on the system and is looking at the possibility of rolling it out to all schools. The Life Channel can be shown in primary and secondary schools as well as colleges and universities.