A WEEK OF WONDERS by Sara John
OVERVIEW AND THE CONCEPT Some years ago, when I was working at the BBC, I read an article in the newspaper describing a successful experiment in what we would call a ‘Junior School’ in New York. There had been concerns about youngsters from poorer backgrounds, having little support from the authorities, when it became time for them to leave school, decide what they were going to do for a living, find out more about possible jobs and successfully get underway in the big world out there. In those days I was a member of an internal Equal Opportunities Committee and was mindful that in Cardiff at that time, television and radio came from what appeared to be a well-guarded and secure building that did not openly welcome visitors without invitations. A fairly inscrutable institution. We were also outside the ‘centre’ of town therefore not readily accessible. To accentuate this the award-winning building was clad in acres of plate glass so no one on the outside could see inside. What went on in there? Did they ever close – the answer in those days was “No” they did not. What has such set-up got to do with New York? Our organisation, like many others at that time, was under pressure to more effectively reflect the make-up of the local community in our staff profile. I was aware from my other activities that youngsters thinking about their future needed to know what was required prior to making a hopeful job application. I mentioned their dilemma for discussion at the Equal Opportunities Committee meeting hoping for some support. Few
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realistic ideas were forthcoming until a gifted member of the HR team spoke. He was knowledgeable about how career opportunities were dealt with for school leavers, recognised the problems and, promised his support. I was, by now determined to do “something” about this apparent unfairness, almost postcode injustice, for those from poorer backgrounds, after all, who were and, hopefully would remain our viewers, or customers and our licence payers of the future.
PREPARATIONS Thinking of the New York experiment, I embarked on a plan to create a one-week course and visit for twentyfive or so local children aged around fourteen years. I sounded out a few trusted chums and colleagues in various departments around the organisation and met with a positive response to my sales pitch. All of them used the welcome words, “Yes. Yes. Count me in.”
Beforehand, I had listed further preparation in terms of who I needed to speak with to gain approval for the scheme. Fortunately, I was invited to a reception on the Saturday morning of a rugby international with local departmental heads, guests from BBC headquarters, sports celebrities, councillors, and the Lord Mayor. I moved around the room as naturally as possible to publicise my proposal but may have been mistaken for a local do-gooder selling raffle tickets for funding the replacement of a troublesome transmitter, somewhere well north of Aberystwyth.
