The Newspaper Education Trust’s ‘Save the NET’ campaign

I visited The NET last year. Tucked away in a national print works in Docklands, they’re an educational charity that provides a real-life newsroom for pupils so they can be a journalist for the day. Schools can book either of two editing suites: one for Primary and one for Secondary and Post-16 student groups. They also do a guided tour of the print works (trust me, if you love printed paper and you’ve never been around a printers before, it’s amazing to see a real printing press!) You can get a feel for what they do from the following video.

Sadly, they are struggling with the recession and are having to campaign for additional donations to keep going. The irony is they provide a popular and valued service for schools and pupils. The programme inspires children who might never consider a career in journalism. It helps them engage with what goes into a news story and at a time when there are massive changes in the industry, provide real inspiratin for the future generation of journalists. It would be a shame if they couldn’t keep going.

If you’d like to find out more about the fundraising campaign you can contact Anna Pangbourne on 020 7531 5079 or anna@the-net.org.uk.