King Edward VI College Testimonial

After completing work experience at King Edward VI College, I received feedback on my performance. Claire Bou-Aziz, Subject Leader for Communication and Culture, left me with many positive comments:

"Abbey has worked exceptionally hard during her placement. She has participated a lot in lessons by talking to students and helping them with tasks set by the teacher. Her communication skills are excellent. She prepared materials for two Communication and Culture extension workshops and facilitated the sessions. She was organised, motivated and enthusiastic. Staff and students have really enjoyed working with Abbey. If she decides to go into teaching she will be outstanding."

I am extremely happy with the feedback I received. It has given me a lot of confidence when approaching media outlets for work placements and I'm sure will reflect positively in my performance in future work experience. I believe working at King Edward VI College was a very useful, helpful and insightful process.

Abbey Hartley

King Edward VI College Work Placement Report

In January 2013, I spent two weeks at King Edward VI College in Stourbridge, gaining some insight into the career of teaching. Being a teacher is a possibility for me, so I thought getting some hands on experience within the sector would be vital and insightful. 

As a previous student at this third placed sixth form college nationally, I studied the subject of Communication and Culture. This is where I first discovered my passion and interest for media study. I enjoyed this subject so much that I achieved an A* at A Level, indicating that I had a natural flare for Communication and Culture.

During my two weeks at King Edward VI College, I assisted in Communication and Culture lessons, as well as some Film Studies and English classes too. I talked to AS and A Level students about their coursework and used my knowledge and experience of media to help them improve their writing. Watching over a lesson being taught has also provided me with a vast amount of information about teaching skills and techniques.

I challenged and pushed myself during my two weeks of work experience. I never thought I’d teach a lesson in just three days of settling back into King Edward VI College. I led two Communication and Culture extension classes to A Level students, by helping them analyse and understand academic readings. I hoped my experience of university work and an A* grade would significantly help the students with their studies. I was a bit nervous about this task, but it went extremely well. I also gained an insight into the lesson planning process when preparing for these extension classes.

In just two weeks, I learnt a vast amount about teaching techniques and what being a teacher involves. Being a journalist is still my most desired career but teaching will definitely act as a back up.

Abbey Hartley

Bedroom Tax Investigators

For a two month period between January 2013 and March 2013, myself and a group of aspiring journalists, have been investigating the upcoming policy of Bedroom Tax, particularly the effects it would have in Birmingham. Seven of us have been working towards this investigation and all had a specific role to play. These included: Editor, Deputy Editor, Network Journalist, Community Manager, Data Journalist and Multimedia Journalist. 

My roles were to be Deputy Editor and Data Journalist. As Deputy Editor, I was required to assist the Editor in their duties and ensure all roles were being completed to good standard. I proof read my team's work and offered constructive criticism to help them improve. Being a Data Journalist was a very different role. This involved me focusing on data, statistics, documents, reports and regulations that framed the story I was pursuing. Therefore, I was investigating who was being affected by Bedroom Tax and the demographic of this set of people. I also researched into what parts of Birmingham would be affected the most and least by Bedroom Tax.

As well as analysing data, I conducted some interviews. I spoke to charity workers, to gain information on the amount of and how disabled people and foster carers would be affected by the benefit cuts. This gave me a massive insight into source seeking and interviewing techniques. 

Throughout the investigation, my team documented our efforts through an online blog, found at: www.bedroomtaxinvestigated.wordpress.com. Look out for my stories which will have been posted by 'abbeyhartley'. Most of my work will be featured in the 'Stats and Figures' section. I hope you find my investigative work interesting and inspiring.

Abbey Hartley

Update: Since completing this investigation, my work has been featured on the Birmingham Mail's website! I'm very proud that my work has been published by a regional newspaper. Click here to read the article.

Interviewing David Shaw, Chief Constable of West Mercia Police

As part of a project in November 2012, myself and a group of aspiring journalists produced a student magazine called Fresh. For one article, I interviewed the Chief Constable of West Mercia Police, David Shaw, to write a story encouraging young people to enter the Police Force. Here is the finished article:

Chief Constable, David Shaw, of West Mercia Police: Why I Love Working Within The Police Force

This week, Fresh magazine talked to David Shaw, the Chief Constable of West Mercia Police. He’s eager to inspire young people to enter the Police Force in the next few years. We've talked to him about what made him become a Police Officer and what he enjoys most about his career. He also gave advice on what skills and qualities he likes to see recruits have.

David began his Police career at the age of nineteen, when he joined West Midlands Police. He has served within a wide range of areas in the force. David began his career as a Police Constable and worked his way up to Assistant Chief Constable. During his time at West Midlands Police, he worked alongside the Force Inspectorate and Operational Planning. David joined West Mercia Police as Deputy Chief Constable in 2008 and was appointed Chief Constable last year. Overall, David has over thirty years of experience within the Police force.

David discussed how he hadn’t always wanted to join the Police. “Unlike some people it wasn’t always going to be my life’s work”, the Chief Constable explained. “I wasn’t one of these kids that grew up watching every Police programme, reading every detective story.” David went on to state what encouraged him to join the Police. His reasons were that it contained action, team work, uniform service and he liked the idea of excitement. The Chief Constable described what he felt like after working within the Police for a month: “I was literally going home every single day on a buzz. I felt like I fitted.”

We asked David what he enjoyed most about his job before becoming a Chief Constable. “I loved being Detective Chief Inspector because you’re working with the most dangerous people”, David replied. “I investigated murders and rapes, kidnaps, bomb making - an extraordinary range of things.” The Chief Constable then told us about another important job he’d performed: “In the West Midlands, I was in charge of Crime and Counter Terrorism. So you really are dealing with the most extreme end of things, including some really dangerous terrorist plots.” Ultimately, David stated that variety is what he has enjoyed most about the Police. “There’s a chance to do different things and spread your wings and be pushed.”

There are a number of skills and qualities the Chief Constable believes a Police Officer needs. “I think you need to have a strong sense of right and wrong”, David stated. “I also believe you’ve got to be very resilient. You’ll see some really evil things and you’ll think how did that person do that to another person. But you also see fantastic members of the public.” The Chief Constable explained that there are times when being a Police Officer is really tough, but you’ve got to find a way to deal with it. “What’s really important is that you’ve got to keep your humanity”, David advised.

The Chief Constable went on to describe how important communication is when performing duties as a Police Officer. “Communication is massive. It’s even more important than being physically strong”, David explained. “You’ve got to be emotionally intelligent. You need to be able to read people. The best cops are brilliant at people skills.” Fundamentally, the Chief Constable stressed how important it is to be able to read a situation and handle it in a calm and effective way.

David also gave us some advice, in regards to what young people should do if they aspire to be part of the Police force. “Find out as much as you can, because it isn’t like films and television”, David suggested. “Speak to friends or family who have been in the Police or go down to your local Police station.” Joining the Police Specials was another piece of advice. This is where members of the public volunteer in their spare time to help police their local community. “You get the same powers and equipment. You get really good training now, you’ll work with a team of officers and it gives you the best insight”, the Chief Constable emphasised. He also explained that voluntary work shows how dedicated and passionate an individual is.

The preferred age of a Police Officer recruit was discussed with the Chief Constable: “It’s not about age. It’s about what you’ve done with your life. You need to know yourself and have a degree of maturity.” David explained how the Police force is extremely mixed in age and it depends on the individual whether they are suitable to become a Police Officer. “Our recruit selection is smart enough to detect who is ready and who is not”, David pointed out.

We all know that young people have a negative representation in the media when it comes to crime. The interview closed with David sharing his opinion on the subject: “There’s a dreadful misrepresentation of young people in the press, on television and in the media.” The Chief Constable continued to speak positively of the younger generation, “I don’t think there’s a moral collapse within young people. Many are growing up to be fantastic members of society.” 

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Whilst at West Mercia Police Headquarters, I also interviewed David Shaw about the Police and Crime Commissioner Elections, for a Kidderminster Shuttle blog post. If you would like to read this story, click here.

Abbey Hartley

Bareface Media Testimonial

After completing my two weeks at Bareface Media. Simon Morris (Managing Director) provided me with a testimonial, where he commented on my performance whilst on work experience. A large amount of positive feedback was given. Here is an extract from the testimonial:

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"Abbey was involved in many varied tasks that required a considerable amount of project management and multi-tasking. She handled these tasks very well and showed an ability to pick up and learn what was required of her in a very short time. 

Abbey displayed a genuine interest in the activities undertaken in the business and she used her skills to help deliver many of these. Our company philosophy of jumping in at the deep end pushed Abbey into many areas she hadn't undertaken or been exposed to before, she was very capable of demonstrating initiative within these areas."

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I was extremely pleased with these comments and believe I worked very hard to earn approval from the Managing Director. Some constructive criticism was also given to help me improve my skills in the future:

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"Abbey demonstrated an ability to think beyond the usual level of that expected at her ability to date, she just needed a small amount of encouragement. We believe that with a bit more confidence she will be a force to be reckoned with. 

We would recommend that Abbey does spend some time considering her future direction and think about how she might demonstrate her skills in the area she chooses, but also makes sure she communicates her desire to pursue that line of career. We would love to have seen more of the passion we could sense was lurking underneath her skin and fighting to get out."

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I believe since January 2012, I have taken this advice on board. I now display a lot more confidence as a media apprentice and I'm more aware of my future direction within the media. I also think I show more passion towards my career aspirations due to my increased certain approach. Overall, work experience at Bareface Media has helped me progress significantly in my personal and professional skills.

Abbey Hartley

Bareface Media Work Placement Report

In January 2012, I completed a two week work placement at a company called, Bareface Media, who specialise in services such as website design, online marketing, social media marketing and graphic design. This digital marketing agency works with various organisations and companies from solicitors firms to manufactures, to create an effective corporate identity and house style. Ultimately, Bareface Media helps their clients receive more customers and awareness within society.

My role when working with Bareface Media was to be an Account Executive. This involved performing routine tasks within the office to help the agency’s work run smoothly and effectively. I worked alongside the professionals in the office and completed a number of specific tasks. One major job of mine was to write website content for one of Bareface Media’s clients. This manufacturing company specialises in locks, hinges and latches and Bareface Media were assigned to create and design a website for this client. My role was to provide all of the written content which would appear on the website. I found this task very difficult, as I did not know anything about the subject area of locks, hinges and latches. I had to research the topic to help with my writing. I also found writing website content a lot harder than I thought it would be. The words had to be eye-catching, dynamic and effective to grab the reader’s attention when online. After completing this task, I learnt the important techniques needed to write an ideal piece for the client's website. To add to this, I realised that I did not want to work on written website content in a future career, especially if it is on a topic I am unfamiliar with.

I learnt even more about this client when the Managing Director provided me with a short presentation in regards to all the different types of customers. He explained how we should be aiming the website towards these customers. I learnt a lot from this presentation. I did not realise how many different types of clients there were for some companies. It was really fascinating to receive in depth knowledge on the background of this industry.

Another task I was given to complete was to receive a number of printing quotes from various printing companies. Bareface Media needed four A3 glossy sheets to give to a client. This involved me researching local printers and communicating with them over the telephone. I then compared all of the price quotes to find out which was the best value. It was important to discuss deadlines with the printing companies to ensure that the documents would be ready for the desired date. Further to this, I had a different task to complete which also involved communicating on the telephone. This time I had to take messages for the Managing Directors whilst they were busy in meetings. I was very nervous when first completing these jobs as I have never felt confident talking over the telephone. However, I believe these small tasks raised my confidence significantly and improved my communication skills, particularly over the telephone.

Whilst on my work placement at Bareface Media, I was given a variety of tasks involved with website design. I learnt how to create site maps, which are planned layouts of the pages within a website. I had no idea such planning and organisation went into the structure of a website. I believe this task made me more aware of the website planning process. I also edited a number of photos for Bareface Media’s mobile site by using Adobe Photoshop. This consisted of me altering the size and shape of image files. I had not experienced the use of this software before, so I gained a number of new technological skills when completing this task. To add to this, I received an insight into website design by observing my colleagues at work. It looked extremely complicated, detailed and confusing which has encouraged me to not want to work in the website design industry in the future.

Further to this, I was asked to create a site map for a client who Bareface Media were meeting with in the office. I had to work quickly and effectively under pressure, as the site map needed to be completed under a time scale for a deadline later in the day. I got an idea of what working to deadlines felt like when conducting this job. I found this very pressurising. However, when delivering the work on time to good standard, I felt very pleased and proud of myself which was extremely rewarding.

Conducting job sheets was another task given to me. Job sheets record and file every task Bareface Media has to complete. The date opened, whether the job is active, the client it is for, the job number and who made the sale are all written on the job sheets. This helps the agency keep track of their jobs. This is some of the only information written on paper within Bareface Media, so it was important to complete this task accurately. I also had to check whether these jobs were written on Bareface Media’s Excel files and add any to the grid that were missing. This gave me a huge insight into the organisation behind a business. I found it interesting to see the hidden tools of Bareface Media.

One task I found extremely interesting was helping a colleague create and design a brochure for a client on Adobe InDesign. We had been given all of the information and images to place inside the brochure. Our job was to organise the layout and to make the brochure look visually dynamic. I had completed very similar work to this in a university degree module, so it was great to see these techniques used in the working world rather than in the classroom.

On a whole, I would evaluate my performance at Bareface Media positively. I believe I learnt many new skills quickly, as I was experiencing new environments and blended into the company very well. I feel that I put in as much effort as I possibly could and completed tasks to the best of my ability. I also think that I multi-tasked to good standard, due to completing a variety of jobs at the same time. Further to this, I believe I applied skills I learnt in the classroom at university, to help complete tasks effectively whilst on work placement.

Abbey Hartley