Aspiring journalists use their reporting skills to promote the work of local charity Romsey Mills

Second-year aspiring journalists at Cambridge Regional College have been taking part in a real-world project with new client, Romsey Mill.

The students explored the work that Romsey Mill does as a charity helping young people in Cambridge and the surrounding area to demonstrate their understanding of how to use the codes and conventions of news reporting and multimedia feature-writing.

Working to two briefs; one exploring the work of the charity in the fast-growing community of Camborne and another looking at how the charity helps tackle the problems caused by economic inequality in the north of Cambridge, the students wrote their features using the multimedia storytelling application Shorthand, an industry-standard platform used for long-form reporting by many of the big players within the industry.

The aspiring journalists liaised with their client through meetings, emails, and phone calls, and those who were able, visited Romsey Mill’s various centres to interview users and take photos.

To conclude the project, the students formally presented their work at a client meeting at the charity’s Cambridge headquarters earlier this year, and to celebrate their achievement, the final articles have been published on a website set up by course lecturer, Andy Darley.

Andy said, “At its heart, journalism is about telling the stories of people and their lives. That’s why it’s always best for journalism students to work on real projects whenever they can – classroom exercises just aren’t the same thing. This project was a significant challenge, testing the students’ ability to research, plan, and organise as well as their practical skills. I am extremely proud of how they rose to that challenge.”

Romsey Mills is a Cambridge-based Christian charity that works with children, young people, and families, many of whom are facing significant challenges in their lives. Established in 1980, the charity delivers a variety of programmes and projects to support the community.

The showcase website can be visited following this link, Bringing People Together in a New Community

Find out more about Romsey Mill