High Ability Program

Dystopian Stories : English Podcast Masterclass

As part of our ongoing work enriching student learning in Year 7 and 8 as part of our High Ability Program, (VHAP) we ran a series of workshops, this term focusing on the English students. In these sessions, students could explore their creativity and put the theories they have been learning into practice. We curated sessions in which students were to create a narrative audio production from developing their idea to final product all in one day: an act that not only tests their creative spirit but also their organisational skills!

A word from some of our students on the sessions:

A couple of weeks ago, as an extension to the VHAP course we completed, a group of us took the day off to further explore our understanding on the topic of dystopia. The task was to create a podcast on a dystopian story of our creation, diving into the world of audio and sound. From underground ropes to point-driven societies, the day ended with three podcasts being completed (some in the nick of time). Overall, I enjoyed the day greatly, and would do it again in a heartbeat. 

-Gabe Matthews Year 7

This masterclass was a day-long project where we worked together in small groups to write, record and produce a short dystopian podcast. The process involved discussing other podcasts and movies of the same genre and using these to collaborate on ideas, create a story structure and edit our podcasts. The masterclass did a brilliant job of getting us to think like podcast writers and producers and explaining how to use the hardware and software we needed even to those of us with no prior experience. We definitely all learnt a lot and had lots of fun making our podcasts! 

- Freya Rossouw Year 8