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BBC News School Reporting Day 2013
Welcome to Blackheath High School's BBC School Report pages - BBC News School Reporting Day 2013
Yesterday, 21st March 2013, our students 'made the news for real' as they took part in BBC News School Reporting Day 2013. They had to publish their news stories by 1600 GMT. Please see the results of their hard work below (also available to download at foot of this webpage) and on our audio, image and audio galleries by clicking the links below:
Audio gallery
Video gallery
Image gallery
Our roving reporters will be hurried around grabbing interviews with staff on a variety of local and national issues, including: Save Lewisham Hospital, Save Blackheath Conservatoire, The Horsemeat Scandal, Celebrity Pressures and the Media, iPads in Education and Technology Today, The Pope, The Olympic Legacy, etc…
We were delighted to welcome prominent local people who were interviewed by the students on current local issues. our guests included:
Tony O'Sullivan, the Director of Paediatrics at Lewisham Hospital,
The Lib Dem Councillor for Greenwich, Chris Maines,
A representative from Friends of Greenwich Park – John Mitchell
The Mayor of Lewisham – Sir Steve Bullock
A Representative from Blackheath Conservatoire
The Conservative Councillor for Blackheath Westcombe Ward, Royal Borough of Greenwich, Geoffrey Brighty
The Next Banksy? Is the 'Lewisham Natureman' a vandal or the new Banksy? By Aanandita, Emerald and Danica
Around three months ago, a mysterious herd of stags have been appearing around Blackheath, Brockley, Greenwich and 
Lewisham, followed by engraved Lewisham Crown and with growing daisies. This graffiti is supposedly by an unknown character, called the Lewisham Natureman. Many locals are campaigning to save the art, and it has already been added to the listed street art in the area. However, not everyone is happy about this, as they say it may give people the impression that it is okay to graffiti.
Cllr. Chris Maines describes the stags as urban art, rather than graffiti. He says:
“I think the stags should be saved, as it is urban art. We should contact the council and the owners of the walls and we could maybe put Perspex, (a hard see-through plastic), over the art to stop people tagging it, as they already have done on the deer drinking from the river Quaggy.”
There is also an association between graffiti and gangs, as some people say that if there is graffiti in the area it looks abandoned. So what is the difference between elaborate tags and this ‘art’?
Sir Stephen Bullock, (Mayor of Lewisham), said that if the locals who live near the graffiti are happy with it, he doesn’t mind it being there. However, it is hard to know where to stop, as some people may describe some elaborate tags as art. For example, if someone tagged the stag would it be right to remove it (the tag), because in people’s opinion the stag is better?
Now the question is: should we save the stags, or should we get rid of them, like other graffiti?
Is the Media Too Intrusive? By Isobel, Year 7
In this modern age, most of our lives are influenced by the media. Media comes in many different forms, from newspapers to television or the internet, media is everywhere -but is this a good thing?
There have been many cases where the media have been a part of major accidents such as the media chasing Princess 
Diana when she died and now following Kate Middleton and the news of her royal baby.
Many people such as Emelia, Blackheath High Pupil, think that “the Media is too intrusive because it can ruin people’s lives”. There are some extreme cases of this such as when Kate Middleton was in hospital with morning sickness. Kate’s Nurse, Jacintha Saldanha, was tricked by two Australian DJ’s into sharing knowledge of Kate’s Medical condition. The DJ’s were making a prank call pretending to be Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles. They did this just for an attention grabbing story but turned out ending lives. They Mayor of Lewisham commented that “You can’t say that you can dig into their lives and publish what you want about them”.
However many people are of the opinion that the media have the right to publish what they want about people because it is “its informing everyone on what happens and its pretty exciting to know what happens” – Hana, Blackheath High pupil. Lacey, another Blackheath pupil, has the same views that it’s “their job and they need to be intrusive to get a house and get food so it’s both sides”.
In conclusion, many people have different views on the press but some who think that the media have a right to their job. Everyone said that they need to be careful in their methods.
A New Pope - Pope Francis was elected on the 13th March 2013 in the Vatican City after Pope Benedict XVI resigned. By Lara and Lacey, Year 7
Pope Francis was an Argentinian cardinal before he became Pope. He travelled to the Vatican City soon after he heard Pope Benedict intended to resign. He was not a favourite because he was only two years younger than Pope Benedict XVI when he was elected.
Many people in Britain feel Pope Francis will not help Britain’s continued claim over the Falkland Islands because before
being elected he said the Falkland Islands belong to Argentina.
We asked Mrs Stevens, a teacher from Blackheath High School, what she thinks the Pope will help with. “I hope that the Pope is quite a forward thinking man and changes people’s opinions on geographical sides. I hope he will focus people’s attention and change opinions.” We also spoke to ward councillor, Chris Maines. He said that the Pope “needs to raise the issues of world poverty and world population is also an issue the Pope should deal with.”
People hope the Pope supports all Catholic countries fairly and with the same respect.
The actual News Day itself by Eve and Sofiya, Year 7
Today, hundreds of schools all over the UK are writing, recording and filming reports for BBC News School Report Newsday 2013!
This year is the 7th anniversary of BBC School Report since its launch. Over 1,000 schools are taking part in the UK, as they turn their classrooms into newsrooms. Additionally a huge amount of people around the globe are being interviewed, from Wales to Australia, for BBC News.
All over the country hundreds of topics are being reported about as the young journalists take up their microphones. The variety ranges from ‘The Horsemeat Scandal’ to ‘The Return of Doctor Who.’
At Blackheath High School, pupils have been interviewing many important people from around the area, such as the Mayor of Lewisham and a representative of Blackheath Conservatoire. The pupils have been busy from 8.30am collecting, interviewing and researching their chosen topics. In the afternoon the reports will be finished, videos edited and radio news recorded.
Miss Johnson stated, ‘I think that today is going really well. There is lots of hard work and many interviews going on.’ A student also commented, ‘The day went really well, and I’ve managed to interview Chris Maines for my report.’
Overall many people have said that the day went very well and a lot of reports, films and audio podcasts have been published. Students hope that their reports will be read with interest.
Who says girls don't do Physics? We participate in Word Record attempt for the World's biggest practical Science lesson
By Georgia and Ashviny, November 2012
On Tuesday 13th November, we attempted to enter the world record books as part of the programme of events to celebrate
GDST’s 140th anniversary. A science experiment involving over 2,300 girls at 26 schools across the country – 62 of them from Blackheath High School – measured gravity in a bid to set the record for the world’s biggest practical science lesson in multiple venues.
At 11 o’clock, the clock struck the time at which, on 13th November, our Y8 would be part of a massive experiment to attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the world’s biggest multi venue practical science lesson.
In order to break the record, the GDST needed a minimum of 1000 participants across at least 10 schools with at least 25 participants in each school. Witnesses and officials from the Guinness World Records checked that the activity was carried out properly.........
Click here to read the full report.
At the recent BBC School Reporting Training Day in City Hall, our fantastic Jubilee Film was shown as an example of excellent practice. See the film on the BBC School Reporting website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schoolreport/18299836
Tense Test Hockey Tournament Proves to Be a Success
Hockey: a sport played internationally, a sport that has been around for thousands of years, but also, a sport which is played, and loved, by the girls of Blackheath High School - Juniors and Seniors.
On Wednesday 2nd May, a group of Year 3, 8 and 9 Hockey players went to the Riverbank Arena at Olympic Park to watch several well renowned womens’ Hockey teams play and I was among the lucky few. 
When we first arrived at Stratford, we were all waiting in anticipation; one girl in Year 3 said, ‘I am so excited!’ to which we all agreed, especially when we were able to walk through Stratford Westfield and most of the Olympic Park.
Aside from all the security (like that at an airport), we were able to walk through the stunning Olympic Village which looks exactly like the initial planning drawings we had seen. We took pictures in front of the Olympic Stadium, stared with mouths agape at the largest McDonalds in Europe and witnessed many other famous stadiums that we’ve seen at school or in the news. We were slightly disappointed to reach the end of the Village and see the Riverbank Stadium, which I assume will be recycled after the Games.
When we’d settled down into our seats, along with many other schools, we watched, in awe, the Chinese and Argentinian match. This match, with the Chinese’s agility and flexibility; and the Argentinians, with their aggression, power and aerial shots would prove to be tense and nail-biting. Of course, looking at the statistics of both teams, it seemed that Argentina would come out on top; they were the more established, better team. It was a sour defeat for China who lost 3-0. But, though they were losing severely and most of the audience were cheering for Argentina, their skill and determination continued, displaying what the Olympics are about. 
So, in the words of a Year 3 student, ‘We sang songs [the national anthems of the countries] and Argentina won against China.’ After a lunch break we waited to watch Great Britain and South Korea. As you would expect, most of the people were rooting for Great Britain but there were a few South Korean supporters. As with the previous match, this one was tense and nerve-racking, not only for the teams but also for the audience watching. Both teams were about even until we reached the last ten minutes. While Team GB supporters were losing hope, the players pulled through. Within the last minutes of the match, Great Britain scored! Cheers went all around and by the end of the match, we felt absolutely ecstatic and ‘…thought it was amazing to watch because the players were so skilled,’ as said by a Year 9 student. As we left the stadium, we waved to the British team who seemed very pleased with the win.
The visit to the Olympic Village has shown the girls of Blackheath what you can accomplish. Many of the girls who went said, ‘It was very inspiring to watch…It motivated me to do better in hockey…An experience that I will never forget…Brilliant!’ Hopefully our hockey teams can show Blackheath - home of the rules of hockey we use today - what we are made of. With spirit and flexibility, like the Chinese and South Koreans, and power and agility like the Argentinians and Britons; who knows, we may come out on top next year!
Finally, we would like to thank Miss Reed for organising such an amazing trip and Miss Noden and Miss Girvan for helping out on the day. A truly unforgettable, once in a lifetime experience!
See our Marvellous Marathon feature on the BBC News School Report website at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schoolreport/17826986
Blackheath’s Book Night Extravaganza
After starting just last year, World Book Night has become a Worldwide Festival of reading and listening and most of all, the giving of our most beloved books.
This year, it was celebrated in the UK, Germany, Ireland and the USA where in each country 20,000 passionate readers will give 24 copies of one of their favourite books to encourage those who don't regularly read.
Click here to read the complete report
Sunday 22nd April - Marvellous Marathon Makes Many Proud
On 22nd April 2012, Blackheath High girls got up and out early for a Sunday morning to support the London Marathon runners. We held out water bottles as the thousands of grateful runners swept past the school just after beginning the race. Sweat ran and so did they! 
There were many inspirational runners in a variety of costumes. This included a man dressed as snail; it will take him 3 weeks to complete the 26.2 miles! We also saw Dora the Explorer, a variety of Rhinos, people on stilts, Pink Lady Apples and the Wizard of Oz group – to name just a few. Superman lived up to his name by speeding to the front of the fun runners. We spoke to one young runner who, despite being in the middle of her A-levels, managed to train by doing two hours running every day after school and sticking to a strict diet. 
One of the most inspiring people we saw was former event rider Claire Lomas who was paralysed in horse riding accident. It will take her around 2 weeks to complete the full distance, completing one and a half to two miles a day. She was raising money for Spinal Research. Claire told us that she only had three hours sleep the night before to prepare for her long walk, as her young daughter Maisie had kept her up. When we asked her why she was doing the marathon she said it was because she is ‘a bit mad!’ 
By the BHS Reporting Team: Sophie aged 11, Phoebe aged 11, Eden aged 11, Evie aged 12, Poppy aged 12 and Honor aged 13.
Thursday 15th March - BBC News School Reporting Day 2012
click here to view the complete presentation of BBC School Reporting Day 2012 images 
School reporters meet the King's Troop at Woolwich Barracks
"We (Jiyhun, Eden, Laurel and I) were given the opportunity of a lifetime as we were able to go and see the King’s Troop. We were greeted by Sergeant Vernon who took us to see the guns first..."
Alex Wilson, Conservative Councillor for Blackheath Westcombe interviewed by BHS roving reporters
"Alex Wilson represents the local council’s views; he also sorts out problems of the people in the borough of Greenwich. In 2006, he was elected and then stood for election again in 2010....... "
Click here to read the reporters' interview
Alex Grant, Labour Councillor for Blackheath Westcombe interviewed by BHS roving reporters
"Mr Alex Grant has been a councillor since 1998; he is one of the youngest councillors. He grew up in London, and has lived there for 30 years. Grant’s mother and father were also very much involved in helping their community, like Alex is now....."
Click here to read the reporters' interview
Dr Liz White, Technical Director of The Frozen Planet talks to BHS
"The interview took place in Blackheath High School’s Radio Room. There were photos taken, a rustling of notes and nervous smiles of the interviewers, but a broad charming smile of the inspiring director. The red light of the ‘Mic Live’ sign was switched on to indicate that we were on air; a friendly introduction from Megan and we were off!...."
Click here to read the reporters' interview
'Real' reporter, John Bartram, gives BHS girls some hints and tips
John Bartram has been a journalist for 31 years, working for a newspaper called "The Royers" for 28 years. He has been based all over Europe and Asia ............."
Click here to read the reporters' interview
Brilliant Book week at BHS
By Issy
The time had come yet again for Blackheath High School’s ‘Book Week Extravaganza.” Personally, book week is my favourite week of the year because of all the fantastic activities and devotion to literature each day brings.
This year at Seniors, we were incredibly lucky to have author Geraldine McCaughrean author of “Peter Pan in Scarlet” and “The Kite Rider” visit us and present an assembly as well as creative writing workshops for the Y7s. I caught up with Rosie and Rosie (the two Rosies) from 7PJ. The girls talked about the creative story character they made up with Geraldine called “Pamerian”. Involving an animal with the body of a cat, the snout of a pig, shark teeth and multi-coloured feathers! This terrifying monster lived in a tree house next to McDonalds. Geraldine talked in our assembly about the importance of imagination in our work and how we could use it greatest effect.Of course, some do not believe how important dressing up day is to the girls of Blackheath High. We take it incredibly seriously and fierce competition leads up to the Friday where even the teachers made a fool out of themselves in front of the whole school!
This year we exceeded our own expectations and some fantastic outfits and ideas emerged. After some tough decision making, Miss Hill (“The ghost of Shangri-la”) and Ms Waygood (“Elizabeth Bennet”) picked the winner, “The Lord of the Rings group” who sported some amazing outfits including the ring as a foil covered hula hoop.
The runners up were;
Medusa,
The Three Blind mice,
The Latin family from the language textbooks and
Pride and Prejudice.
As well as the costume competition, at lunch time we enjoyed the “Balloon debate” where each book character had to argue their way out of being thrown out of a hot air balloon.
The winners were Pria, who came as food from a menu and Esme, who came as Medusa. Her main argument was she would turn you to stone if you didn’t vote for her, evidently, it worked!
The much anticipated winner of the teacher’s costume competition was Mrs Hibberd who came as “The Kite Runner.” This year’s book Trail and Sale in the Resources Centre went brilliantly with the 5p book sale and the book trail, which many entered. The winner is yet to be announced …
Chamber Choir Trip to St Edmund Hall, Oxford
On Sunday 12th February, 14 members of the chamber choir accompanied by Mr O’Malley, Mrs Dudley and Miss Johnson, braved freezing temperatures to travel to Oxford to sing at choral evensong at St Edmund Hall. Upon arriving at the college, we were introduced to the chapel choir and their senior Organ Scholar, Rachael O’Malley. We then rehearsed the evening’s programme with the choir.
Evensong was held in the Chapel which was built at the end of the 17th century and has some beautiful Victorian stained glass windows by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris. Although it was a tight squeeze to fit us all in, the performance itself went very well.
The combined choir sang hymns, including ‘To Be a Pilgrim’, a song well-known to many of the students at BHS, Preces and Responses, Magnificat, Psalms and Nunc Dimittis. There were Bible readings from one of the college students and Lata Nobes, and a sermon from Revd Clare Hayns on True Greatness. Revd Kris Kramer, the college chaplain, also requested that we all sing ‘If I Were a Butterfly’ as it had been performed by some members of the choir at a baptism that morning.After the service and drinks, we were taken into the dining hall. After grace was said in Latin, we enjoyed a three course meal, the highlight of which was a chocolate tart for pudding! During the meal, some of us had the opportunity to talk to the undergraduates, who were doing a range of subjects from history to modern languages, and to learn something about life at an Oxford college.
We eventually arrived back at school late that evening, having enjoyed a unique musical experience which we would like to thank Mr O’Malley for organising.
An Introduction to Jane Bowler: Blackheath High’s Artist in Residence
17th January 2012
Reported by Victoria, Fatima and Isis (9DL)
Jane Bowler works in the fashion and textiles industry. Since she was a young girl, Jane wanted to have a profession in art. Through talent and dedication, she has been able to fulfil her dream and is now a fashion designer. Some of the art pieces that she has designed have been used and worn in the London Fashion Show and celebrities such as Jessie J and Lady Gaga have worn some of her pieces. Jane enjoys working with schools and is known for her innovative approach to design. Her collections highlight her passion to transform inexpensive and everyday materials using unique processes. Jane has been into school this January to work with and inspire our budding artists. Her website is: www.janebowler.co.uk.
Interviewing ITV News Presenter and former BHS student, Charlene White
Interviewed by Alex 9DL, Harriet 9DL and Bethany 9KJ
At the end of last term we were very lucky to be able to interview Charlene White, former pupil of Blackheath High, who is now a member of the school ’s Governing Board. Charlene is a news presenter for ITV’s London Tonight. Charlene felt that her strongest subjects in school were English and Drama which helped shape her future career (and a couple of the teachers who taught her are still here!). We were fascinated to find out about her life.Charlene had always wanted to be a journalist and, in particular, a broadcasting journalist. She has been working in journalism for 14 years and has moved workplace a couple of times: she worked at ITV at the start of her career then moved to the BBC. However, in 2008 she returned to ITV where she has been working ever since. We asked Charlene why she chose ITV and she said that the network reflects the fact that “we are a generation that changes all the time”. She finds working for the company is really fun and interesting. Charlene explained that she has lots of opportunity to read National news on live TV……and, of course, ITV also wins a lot of awards!
Charlene loves her job and says that the best part is getting to do something different every day. She has had many great opportunities in her career, such as interviewing stars including Beyoncé and Jay-Z. As we are big fans of Jay- Z, we asked her what he was like to interview. Charlene had really positive things to say: “he was really nice, friendly and very easy to get on with.” She also said that he was confident in being a star and was generally a lovely person to talk to. Charlene has also lived and worked in America, which she says was an opportunity she wouldn’t have missed for the world.
Charlene told us that her favourite news reporting experience was the night that Michael Jackson died. It may sound morbid, but she told us that it was an amazing experience to report on someone so outstanding and of whom she is a big fan. The most inspirational person Charlene has interviewed is Maya Angelou, as she has been reading her books since she was 13 years old.
We eagerly asked Charlene if she has her own stylist. She told us that, unfortunately, she doesn’t, but does buy a lot of her dresses from Bullfrogs in Greenwich!
We asked Charlene what happen when you make a mistake on live TV. Charlene told us that you just apologise and carry on – if it was about a funny story, you could have a bit of a laugh before moving to the next feature. She told us about one of her experiences in the studio while being on live TV: “I was presenting the evening news and I had a cold that day. I then started to have a coughing fit halfway through and couldn’t speak my voice was very hoarse and all I heard in my ear was, ‘get Charlene some water!’ Someone came into the studio to give me some water however they couldn’t give it to me because I was still in shot. For three stories I had very little voice and it was very croaky. When the adverts started I managed to get a drink of water and my voice was fine after that, thankfully!”
Although very enjoyable and rewarding the job can involve long hours, “sometimes you could be working for 12-13 hours a day, through the night and at weekends.”
Charlene was a very friendly and inspirational person to talk to and interview. We really enjoyed meeting her and she has given us lots of tips and advice on how to become a journalist or TV presenter. Thank you Charlene.
Culture Calling: London 2012 isn't all about sport
Three of our Y8 students visiting BBC BroadcastiongHouse in central London to find out about the Cultural Olympiad's programme celebrating art, drama, dance and music. Our budding journalists listened to a speech by Director General, Mark Thompson and also managed to grab a few words from him afterwards! They also interviewed Roger Wright, Controller of Radio 3, Roger Mosey, BBC's Director for London 2012 amongst others; covering issues including the choice of Olympic theme music, BBC Proms, Shakespeare's plays, the 'All the Bell' project and much more.
Read the roving reporters' report here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/school_report/
Junior Cross-Country Competition
18th January 2012
By Isis, Fatima and Victoria
On Wednesday 18th January, at our Sports Ground, Blackheath High School girls, in years 6 and 7, took part in the first set of Cross Country Races ever held by the school.
In total, there were three races in which everyone took part. They were racing for their house teams and each score was added up at the end of the races. In each of the races, competitors had to run three times around the entire field (1 mile), all competing against each other.
The afternoon was wet and cold but many spectators came to support the runners. Family and friends of the students cheered and all the positive support was reflected in their performances.
Just 10 minutes into the races, we spoke to Caitlin grandmother: “I’m here to support my granddaughter and I love energy the students have. I’m loving the races so far.” Her granddaughter, Caitlin in Year 6, went on to win a bronze medal in the third round.
After the three races were over and medals had been handed out, Mrs Hallet said a few words: “The support has been really positive and the races have been exciting. The event has also been a great success, since it has been the first cross-country race held in Blackheath High.” Mrs Laws also went on to say she was thankful for the cheers and support from the spectators.
One parent commented “I am really happy with how the races went. The girls were really supportive of their peers.”
In the first race, Georgina in year 6 not only won the race but she also broke the school record! She said “I really enjoyed it”. Georgina admitted that she had not trained for the race at all and was really happy to have won.
In second place, Julie managed to cross the finish line soon after Georgina. She is also in year six; and last but not least, in third place, Lara.
In the second race, things were looking good for Meridian; Angelina, year 7, came first and said that she had been worried about accidentally tripping up a competitor in an attempt to overtake them! A very close second place was awarded to Olivia West and,lastly, Ellie in year 7 came third. In the third and final race of the day, Tegan in year 7 was able to snatch first place from Danika and Caitlin came third. Once all the points for the races were handed in, all everyone had to do was to wait for Mrs Laws to announce the house winners: in third place, Paragon. In second came Vanbrugh and joint first came Morden and Meridian.
Full details at : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/school_report/9502815.stm
