Over the last few weeks our Year 10 Future Ready students from Unity Academy Blackpool have descended upon Manchester on their annual PIE visits! Armed with all the waterproof gear (under Munji’s guidance) no one was prepared for the two days of clear blue skies and sunshine.
The boys group were lucky enough to be greeted with hot drinks at Oxford Road Train Station before they made their journey to Old Trafford. Thank you to Café Nero on Oxford Road, not many coffee shops would handle an order of 20 hot drinks as smoothly as you did! On arrival to Old Trafford, the group had a tour of the stadium and learnt about the history of Manchester United as well as some lesser-known facts about the club. Who knew garlic is sometimes used on the pitch as a pesticide?! Here, the boys visited the locker rooms, sat in the press room, as well as walking down the infamous tunnel. Our visit to Old Trafford didn’t stop there, as we were booked in for a session in their newly revamped Skills Lab. The group had a super useful session on ‘Managing the big event’, whatever that event might be. Taking away practical tips and tricks of how to handle pressure in all situations. Considering their mocks were starting the following week, this session came at the perfect time!
The students had definitely built up some hunger from all the walking, so a stop off at the notorious Nell’s Pizza was needed. Our Blackpool students never disappoint with their impeccable manners, as once again we were complimented by the staff at how well they behaved and how they tidied up after themselves. With a short amount of time left before their train home, the group had a speedy walking tour through Chinatown, Canal Street and the student-filled wonder that is Oxford Road. They had such a fantastic day and it was lovely to watch them explore the opportunities on offer here in Manchester!
The girls group had equally good weather during their visit but a slightly different schedule! Once again, the group were met at the train station but instead made their way to Media City (with a quick pit stop at Costa of course!). Here we made our way up to ITV Studios ready to spend the day learning all about opportunities in the media, broadcasting and journalism. The girls were led onto the set where the news and weather is filmed and were giving an informative talk on how broadcast journalism really works. Then, they had a go at using the set themselves! We loved that they got stuck in and attempted some weather presenting – using a green screen isn’t as easy as it looks!
The group were lucky to speak with a range of employees at ITV during the panel segment of the day and hear all about how they worked towards their role and where their passion came from. This definitely sparked some interest within the girls! Following this, we all crammed into the editing room to see the lunchtime bulletin go out live on TV. We had such an amazing time and met so many great people. We have to say a big thankyou to Gamal who organised the day for us and helped the group feel so comfortable in such an alien environment to them!
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