AS the government rolls out more studio schools across the country, it’s reassuring to know that Huddersfield still leads the way.
The groundbreaking Creative and Media Studio School, based at Netherhall Learning Campus, Rawthorpe, has become the role model for all studio schools across the country.
The government has just announced a new wave of 13 of them nationally, bringing the total to 40.
It claims studio schools will bridge the gap between school and work.
Leaders and staff at the pioneering Creative and Media Studio School are in demand to give lectures and attend conferences all over the England to pass on their recipe for success.
And the Rawthorpe school has had a steady stream of visitors from all over the country since it opened in 2010 including a recent Royal visitor, the Duke of York, Prince Andrew.
At the Rawthorpe Studio School, formal rows of desks are a thing of the past.
Students with laptops work alongside creative, media and digital businesses based both inside and outside the school to gain practical skills and experiences.
The 14 to 19-year-olds who come from all over Kirklees are encouraged to become entrepreneurs and already run commercial music, fashion and digital businesses from the school.
Motivation, independence, hard work and self-reliance are key elements of the pupils’ success.
The Studio School’s new multi-million pound enterprise centre is due to open on the campus this November.
As well as containing an array of industry-standard equipment, such as a green-screen TV studio, fashion design studios and suite of 28" iMacs, the centre will also house the Kirklees Youth Enterprise Centre and a number of businesses including Fourteen19® - a youth marketing agency. Students will work alongside them on real commercial projects.
A Kirklees Council spokesman said: “Since opening in 2010 as the first Studio School in the country, the school has become a national model of how students can benefit from a more practical, work-based curriculum.
“The school regularly receives visits from education officials around the country and has been influential in refining the curriculum to meet the needs of young people.”
Principal Joan Young said: “The progress of the new building and the positive number of young people wanting to enrol at the Studio School has created a very exciting environment.
“We have waited a long time for the building to be built, and now that the opening is getting closer we can't wait to show the people of Kirklees that they have one of the best education and enterprise facilities in the UK on their doorstep.”
Chairman of the Studio Schools Trust, Geoff Mulgan, added: “Studio Schools have shown their worth in providing young people with the skills and attitudes they need to make a success of work and life.
“Young people learn better when they’re tackling real life problems, and they learn better when there’s a clear line of sight linking what they do in school to future jobs and careers”.
