Journalism Workshop in Derbyshire

We’ve just finished our second Journalism Workshop in Derbyshire for the Writing East Midlands Young Writer’s Group. The first workshop took place at Ashbourne Library in Derbyshire on 6 February 2018 and catered for 8-11 year olds. Last night’s workshop at the same venue was for 12-16 year olds and we saw just as much talent and hard work in the senior writer’s group. We even had a parent eager to join The Rockhaq Community at the end 😉

What did we do?

As in our earlier Journalism Workshop in Derbyshire, we organised time into two parts, kicking off with a brief careers overview and outlining what The Rockhaq Community is. We then ran a special music review quiz, where writer’s had to find the answers among our user reviews. In the second half of our Journalism Workshop in Derbyshire we explained how to write the first paragraph of a music review by looking at Sam’s review of Beyonce’s Lemonade. Can you spot a pattern here? Sam’s choice of Beyonce helped to engage with young female writers in the room which was ace! His Childish Gambino review also appealed to the group too and inspired several of them to analyse the emotional impact their chosen songs had upon them. Thanks again to Sam for writing such high quality yet easily accessible reviews.

Because the Internet is a beautiful character study that will make you consider the importance of love, the problem of responsibilities and the meaning of life. In a world full of meaningless music, it’s always a great feeling to find an album that’s profound and encourages you to reflect.”
– Because The Internet, Childish Gambino: Sam Brookes

Each student had been told to bring their own choice of music along to the workshop and a wide range of artists were reviewed. Highlights included Jessimay reviewing Beyonce, a few students reviewing songs from The Greatest Showman and Eloise reviewing Ed Sheeran.

Yet again several students went well beyond writing just their introduction paragraph. One new student, Alice, even wrote a whole review in 20 minutes :O Jaw-dropping stuff! We’re really looking forward to seeing more of these youngsters complete their reviews and share some of them on The Rockhaq Community.

Want to get involved?

If you’re a parent, teacher or music hub just get in touch to find out what we have planned and how you or your young writers can get involved. Thanks again to Sian, Emily, Ashbourne Library and Writing East Midlands for inviting us to run a Journalism Workshop in Derbyshire. There may be more workshops coming up around the East Midlands over the coming months, so keep your eyes peeled.