Brighton studio school backers to share their plans

The college behind plans for a studio school in Brighton are holding an information event in the coming week.

City College Brighton and Hove is hosting the event to share information about The Hive Creative and Digital Media Studio School.

The information event is taking place at City College’s Pelham Street campus on Wednesday (18 September) starting at 6pm.

Presentations are planned in the college’s Exhibition Room with refreshments being served on the 1st floor balcony.

The Hive website thehive.ccb.ac.uk has also gone live.

The site spells out how The Hive aims to help 14 to 19-year-olds learn the skills and make the contacts to win jobs in Brighton’s digital and creative sector.

Lynn Thackway

Studio schools are a new model for education and training with an ethos rooted in the business world and intended to equip students for successful careers in the digital economy.

The Hive is supported by a range of industry and education partners including Epic, i-Crossing, White Hat Media, Lighthouse, Propellernet, Shed Media, Latest TV, Brighton University and Sussex University.

And students can expect masterclasses from EMI Music’s Creative Channels, Channel 4, BBC, Reuters, Ogilvy and Discovery.

The school is due to open in September 2015 for 300 students who will be expected to follow the national curriculum while focusing on digital media, creative and enterprise training.

City College principal Lynn Thackway said: “To have this sort of educational provision in a vibrant creative hub like Brighton and Hove makes perfect sense which is why City College is committed to making The Hive a reality.

“We’ll be working with some of the most dynamic and innovative local businesses to deliver a curriculum that will enable talented young people to work on live projects and get hands-on experience of working in industry.

“Achieving work-readiness and enterprise skills while at the same time not compromising on academic rigour is something that I realise parents will expect and this will be fundamental at The Hive.”

City College digital media consultant Jack Hiett said: “The City of Brighton and Hove is one of Europe’s most vibrant creative and digital hubs with a thriving community of entrepreneurs, innovators and business leaders.

“The sector is growing two and a half times faster than the sector nationally, companies are expanding and new ones are choosing Brighton in which to locate so plans for The Hive Creative and Digital Media Studio School could not have come at a better time.”

City College said that demand for places at The Hive Studio School was expected to exceed capacity.

It said that parents or students who were interested should register their details at thehive.ccb.ac.uk/contact.