BBC Careers Day

Last week, a few selected people were chosen from media and graphic design to visit the BBC offices in White City.

At the beginning of the day we were given our visitors passes along with a few other schools.We were then led up to a presentation room where a BBC representative did a short introductory speech about what kind of fun exciting activities we'd be getting up to throughout the day.

We were put in different groups,mixing all the colleges and schools together.This benefited us because we met new people and continued to network with others our age.

I was in group 2,along with a few graphic design people from my college. Our first workshop involved coming up with a new entertainment show for the BBC.Before we delved into this we were asked what kind of programmes we enjoy and also had to guess what the sentence long tag lines were for popular shows. We then managed to brainstorm our new show entitled 'David Tennant's Time Travel Challenge' in which two celebrities battle it out in a selection of daring challenges in a different historical era each week.Our contestants for the pilot were Joey Essex and Boris Johnson.The challenges were jousting, boxing (in sumo suits),a pop quiz section and finally they had to eat a selection of medieval food.

The second workshop was to do with CV's and how to write/improve our CV. We had a guest industry professional, Andrew, come in to talk to us about how he and a few of his colleagues got into the media and ways in which we can get into the industry as well. He was a very good speaker and a very down to earth man. Also,he was talking to us about a new show he's planning and producing with his team involving the services of Miranda Hart presenting. This was probably the most valuable workshop of them all because we got first hand information from someone who is currently working in the industry.

The third workshop was with a few people who worked for Radio 1 & 1Xtra. It was pretty much the same format as the BBC 3 entertainment show workshop.So we had to come up with an idea for a radio show. Me and a few others were asked to decide what DJ to have on and two guests.We chose Nick Grimshaw as our DJ and Noel Fielding and Russell Brand as our guests.

Three other people were in charge of what the content on the show would be.They came up with an item called 'Dumbo of the Week' - getting people to call in and tell their embarrassing stories. Nick Grimshaw will then ask guests, Noel and Russell, for their embarrassing stories.

The last three people were on the social networking side of things. They said that they would have a film crew filming the show and posting various videos on social networking sites.They also came up with the hashtag #dumbomoments.

The final workshop of the day was all about sports commentary. I commemted on a football match between Man City and Chelsea. This was a really fun but incredibly difficult experience, you don't realise how much you have to talk.

Other groups of people commentated on the 2012 Olympics one hundred metres final and the Wimbledon final where Andy Murray won. Then the teachers had a go at it. This workshop opened my eyes to how difficult it is to commentate on sport and above all keep the audience interested.

Finally we all gathered together once more and filled out a questionnaire about the day. A guy in charge of people who do apprenticeships at the BBC then gave a final speech which was informative and I think I'll definitely apply for an apprenticeship at the BBC.

All in all a very fun, educational and exciting day for everyone. Each workshop had something for everyone and I'd like to say thank you to all the people who took time out of their busy schedules to talk to us. I would definitely recommend it to anyone, even if you do not want to work in the BBC. The information you are told throughout the day is priceless.

*The Community Doorway programme from BBC Outreach & Corporate Responsibility gives BBC staff an opportunity to work with various charities and community groups and meet members of our audiences identified as harder to reach. Applications are particularly welcome from organisations based in the neighbourhoods where a large number of our staff work - namely the London boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham and Westminster, Salford and Greater Manchester - and those that work with 16-24 year olds and/or groups that are considered to be disadvantaged or socially excluded.

This careers day was organised with Eastside Educational Trust, a charity engaging and educating school students through direct participation in the arts. It inspires all young Londoners to develop their potential, share their talents and enrich their lives, targeting those that are disadvantaged or disaffected and young people that have special educational needs, learning difficulties or disabilities.