English Career Resources

Key Stage 4: Create a careers magazine TV programme for young people (14-16)

Teachers' Notes

In the course of this unit students will have the opportunity to contribute to a TV careers programme aimed at their own age group. Each group will contribute a two minute production which could be in documentary or drama form about a career of their choice. Students should be encouraged to keep to this time limit: it will help to concentrate their minds on the clearest form of expression of their ideas, save audiences from sprawling productions and be much more doable in the context of the time you can afford to make available.

Before setting the assignment it would be useful take some soundings to establish the range of the class's interest in careers. Once you have an idea of the kind of work they are interested in, you can liaise with careers teachers, or Connexions, and gather a body of material, print, recommended websites etc to have available for students' research.

Some useful websites:

1. Introducing the brief:


Brief 1 for Specialist Careers Groups (PDF)
Brief 2 for Presentation and Production Group (PDF)

Explain that the class are making a careers show for peers with an equal opportunities message. This can be implicit or explicit. In relation to this distinction you will need to discuss issues of representation. You could use some of the material you have gathered to assess the ways in which they are, or are not, aimed at an inclusive audience.

Explain that the programme will be made up of the different groups' productions; introduced and linked by a presentation and production group, whose task it is to put it all together. Students will be familiar with this format from weekend shows like T4 http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/t4/index.html on Channel 4 and BBC2 Switch http://www.bbc.co.uk/switch/.


2. Arrange groups according to interests in different careers: make sure that there are no more than 4 in any group, though they could be smaller and individual work could be an option. They can choose whether to use interviews, talking heads or a documentary format or a combination of all three. They need to consider their audience and make sure it's engaging enough to hold the class's attention.


The (P&P) presentation and production team will need to work closely with the other groups initially: they will propose a working title and two of them will present and link the show. They will need organisational skills and leadership qualities! (You could have an application process if demand to be in this team is overwhelming).

You may find the Grid 1a (PDF) useful to monitor the groups' progress, either for yourself or your production team.
Give each group a planning sheet 1b (PDF) and 1c (PDF) to complete


3. Explain the process to students. They are expected to show initiative and organise themselves, but should expect to give a brief account, group by group at the end of each lesson, of what they have done and what they need to do next.


Depending on your own expertise, you may need technical support to provide appropriate skill levels in digital video production. You may find Teaching Digital Video Production at GCSE (BFI 2007) a useful resource, especially if you are concerned to have high production values for the outcome.


4. Each stage of the process provides opportunities for assessment for skills and leadership.
• research chosen career and report back
• produce storyboard /script and present
• pitch to executive producer (teacher) in classroom simulation
• discuss practicalities in groups
• permissions gained, visits arranged, rehearsal of any performed material (intro/links) - transactional talk
• Editing - decision making dialogue.