One of the biggest employers in Livingston, has announced plans for a new academy which will be used to educate school pupils from across Scotland in media skills. Sky has been granted planning permission for a brand new dedicated learning facility to be located at its existing Livingston site.
Sky Academy Skills Studios Livingston aims to provide 12,000 young people per year with a free learning experience that will link to the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence and help students build life skills. Students will be able to create their own TV report about a subject they are studying at school using Sky’s state-of-the-art technology, including broadcast quality cameras, green screens and touch screen edit tables.
Work will begin on Sky Academy Skills Studios in Scotland this month, with an expected launch date in early 2015. The facility will build on the success of the first Sky Academy Skills Studios at Sky’s headquarters in West London. Since its launch in September 2012, 18,000 students have taken part in the experience, which is proven to inspire students and help them build skills such as communication, creativity and team work.
The Skills Studios in Livingston are part of Sky Academy, a ground-breaking set of initiatives that aims to help one million young people build skills, confidence and self-belief by 2020.
Bella Vuillermoz, Director of The Bigger Picture, Sky, commented: “We are very excited to see the plans for Sky Academy Skills Studios in Livingston move forward. From 2015, we will invite thousands of school children from all over Scotland to Livingston each year to take advantage of a state of the art facility where they can write, shoot and edit their very own television reports related to subjects they are studying at school. Teachers will be able to sign their schools up for the experience from autumn 2014.”
Isla MacLennan, Acting Principal Teacher for Pupil Support at St Margaret’s Academy, Livingston, adds: “The Skills Studios in London provided an excellent experience for our students and gave them additional knowledge and confidence for when they move onto the working world or further education. Having a Skills Studios in Livingston will be a fantastic facility for the local community and I am sure that schools in and around the area will benefit hugely from visiting this centre.”
Sky Academy Skills Studios Livingston will be available for use by students aged eight to 18 from schools across Scotland. Teachers will be able to book free visits for classes from their school online from autumn 2014 at www.sky.com/academy.
Sky has approximately 3,000 employees in Livingston, located in the town’s Kirkton Campus and Alba Campus. In addition, there are a further 2,700 employees in Dunfermline and Uddingston, making Sky Scotland’s 9th largest private sector employer. Sky in Livingston has previously worked with local primary schools including St Mary’s, Balbardie, Torphichen, Toronto, Windyknowe and Knightsridge.
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