From Bright Ideas to Brilliant Bunting
Bright ideas were soon taking shape, and hanging proudly for all to see, when students from Bridge Learning Campus visited Knowle West Media Centre (KWMC) as part of the Bristol WORKS Future Ready programme.
Bridge Learning Campus is one of four south Bristol schools KWMC is supporting through Future Ready. This exciting partnership is giving young people opportunities to experience local workplaces, meet employers and discover new ways of putting their own ideas into action.
The students were welcomed by Jason Grout, KWMC’s Young People’s Programme Producer, who soon sent the learners off on a fast-paced scavenger hunt. This got them exploring the building, meeting the team and discovering how KWMC has used creativity and technology to support its local community for more than 30 years.
Students also got a glimpse of some of the equipment KWMC uses to turn digital designs into real objects including vinyl and laser cutters, a UV printer and a CNC machine, which as the learners discovered is a computer-controlled tool that can cut and shape materials accurately from a digital design.
After this introduction to KWMC and what they do, it was time to get making. Students thought about their interests, values and hopes for the future before turning these ideas into their own piece of ‘aspiration bunting’. Armed with fabric, coloured vinyl and pens, they created individual designs before using a heat press to produce their own unique piece of bunting. The finished pieces were joined together into a colourful display to take back to school.
Miss Robyn Mogg from Bridge Learning Campus was delighted by the students’ response:
“All the interactive and hands-on activities had the students fully engaged, and they all wanted to show off what they’d done.”
The session produced more than just some fantastic bunting. One student said they had learnt:
“That even though stuff is hard, you don’t give up.”
They also gave KWMC perhaps the best review a workplace could receive:
“I would like to work here someday.”
A huge thank you to Jason for delivering such an energetic and welcoming session. We are incredibly grateful to the whole KWMC team for their enthusiastic support of Future Ready.
Could your organisation help Bristol’s young people discover new skills, workplaces and possibilities? Find out how you can support Future Ready or other Bristol WORKS programmes by visiting the Bristol WORKS website.
This activity was delivered as a part of the Future Ready Fund; funded by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority and Careers and Enterprise Company.
