Duke of York finds his visit to Studio School “outstanding"

This article was written by Nicole Eves who is a 17 year old student at the Creative & Media Studio School in Huddersfield. She is currently on a journalism placement at Fourteen19®, a youth marketing company engaged with the School. She was introduced to the Duke as part of his tour, and she took the opportunity to interview him for her article.

On the 21st of May 2013, The Duke of York visited the Creative & Media Studio School in Huddersfield. The Duke, who has the honorary role as the Patron of the Studio Schools Trust, was keen to see how the Creative & Media Studio School was benefiting young people. HRH took a tour around the Studio School and spoke to a number of students, teachers and engaged businesses.

Students at the Studio School had the chance to demonstrate what they do in their subjects and exhibit their work. Each creative area prepared a taster lesson, delivering a short snippet of what a day at the Creative & Media Studio School was like. The event included live demonstrations from Music Technology, theatrical performance work from the Drama department with set design provided by Art and Design; green screen production from Media Production; as well as a Fashion show hosted by Fashion and Textiles.

The Creative and Media Studio School also offers other forms of support and The Duke was also interested in finding out more about these areas. The Kirklees Youth Enterprise Centre offers opportunities and financing for young entrepreneurs interested in starting up their own creative & media businesses. A number of local businesses were also at the event providing opportunities for young people to develop skills for real life work environments through business engagements and work placements. The School also provides personal coaching to develop and prepare students for life post-Studio School.

HRH described the school as “outstanding!” He was “struck how well students understood how all the creative disciplines worked together and how to work as a team.” Above all he recognised that the Creative & Media Studio School provided a “safety net” for young people who wanted to succeed.

He concluded by saying that the support of the School meant that students “can fail or make a mistake in a safe environment and learn from it. Experienced-based learning is important, as you must experience in order to learn. Studio Schools provide experience and give young people the purpose and knowledge for a fulfilling life.”