FOUR schools have today been named as the winners of the Schools Question Time Challenge 2009.
Eight students - two each from Bristol Grammar, in Bristol; Pates Grammar, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire; SRC Bede's 6th Form College in Billingham; and Tiffin Girls School in Kingston, London will join the Mentorn Media production team and David Dimbleby to produce BBC One's Question Time on Thursday 9th July.
David Dimbleby says: "I am very much looking forward to working with the winners of this year’s competition. If previous years are anything to go by they will be stimulating and original colleagues for the special Schools edition. I hope we will learn things from them about the attitudes of a younger generation to politics – and that in return they learn something from us about the political process and public accountability".
BBC Schools Question Time Editor Lizz Loxam says: "This year the standard was higher than ever. The student-produced events we saw around the UK impressed us with their creativity and inventiveness as well as with their organisation and planning skills. I'm looking forward to working with another enthusiastic young team. The students definitely teach us as much as we learn from them. Their energy and ideas are inspiring".
Early in May the students will meet for the first time for a two-day workshop to learn team-building and production skills. They'll also meet the Mentorn Media and BBC teams who make Question Time, and David Dimbleby of course. They'll also start to plan their own edition of the programme which will be broadcast from The Lowry Centre in Salford in early July.
The four schools were selected from a shortlist of ten finalists who each staged a Question Time event as part of the judging process.
For more information or interviews with the local school, please contact Plank PR on 020 8995 3936.