Rossett School teachers braved the live-to-camera experience recently as the school broadcast its open day in real time.
With Covid restrictions putting a stop to traditional open days where schools welcome prospective students through their doors, many have organised pre-recorded virtual tours and presentations to give a flavour of what they offer.
But Rossett School decided to go one step further and present their open day via a live stream event on Saturday morning. The hour-and-a-half broadcast included a welcome and presentation from Hannah Grabham, Director of Learning for Year 7, along with a Q&A session with three students from years 7, 8 and 12.
The camera then switched to show live lessons from the English, Maths, Modern Languages and Science departments, featuring everything from live chemistry and biology experiments to French and Spanish cookery, quizzes and challenges.
Ms Grabham said:
Given that we were unable to open our school to the general public, we took the bold – and some may say brave – decision to broadcast live from school on Saturday morning. We felt it would be the next best thing to actually having people visit us in person, and the response we got was incredible.
Interspersed with the live event were recorded snippets from current Year 7 students talking about their experiences of Rossett so far. There were also pre-recorded presentations from Headteacher Helen Woodcock and members of the Senior Leadership Team, focusing on the school’s teaching and learning approaches, and how it supports students, including the excellent remote provision via the iPad scheme.
The live broadcast finished with a virtual tour of the school hosted by Year 10 student George Papadopoullos, which included introductions to the DT, PE, Arts and Humanities departments, as well as a student’s-eye view of the the Resource Centre and the catering facilities.
Ms Grabham added:
The live event was put together internally by our staff rather than a professional film crew and went without a hitch, thanks to our very talented IT technical team and the teachers and students who took part. We’re very proud of our school and staff, and I think we managed to give a real sense of how fantastic our provision at Rossett continues to be with a preview of our committed teachers.
For those who missed the live event on Saturday, it is now available to view on the school’s website, along with all the other pre-recorded presentations.
