THIS week the Echo is once again bringing you reports from an event we are supporting at Weymouth College.

Last week was Careers' College, where teenagers get to try out occupations which interest them, and those picking journalism became Echo reporters for the day.

This week, it's the turn of Year 6 children who are attending Primary College, who will be taking pictures and writing short articles for the Echo.

  • Cooking Craze at Primary College 

This week, Primary College has created a range of activities such as cooking delicious food. Cooking delicious food at Primary College was enjoyed by all: it was a huge hit. Especially for Charlie, who kindly volunteered for an interview.

He chose this activity because he likes to cook and he said, “it was a mind-blowing experience!” It was definite that he would love to participate in this experience again. Charlie learnt many things, such as about different types of flour. He had so much to say, indicating that these activities teach you a lot.

Another thing he said was that he wouldn’t change anything about what he was doing. Cooking at primary college has inspired him to take this up as a hobby.

By Charlotte , 11, St. Andrew’s Primary School, Katy, 11, St. Andrews Primary School, Rebekah, 11, St. Johns Primary School

  • Flower Fantasy at Primary College

All this week, Primary College is taking place at Weymouth College. Amelia, 11, from St. Augustine’s, chose Silk Flower Headdress as her morning activity on Thursday. She chose this activity because it sounded fun and delicate. She also said, “it was a fiddly task, but the finished product was very pretty!” Amelia had done the Silk Flower Headdress activity before; and she explained she would want to do it again.

Understandably, she decided that this would not be an everyday career, but it would be a hobby for now. A Silk Flower Headdress is made with wire, different flowers and ribbon. They are then made into a crown shape, and you can use it as a head band.
By Katy, 11, St. Andrew’s Primary School, Charlotte, 11, St. Andrew’s Primary School, Rebekah, 11, St. John’s Primary School

  • Kickin' out of the scene

The second day has come for the Year 6 pupils at Primary College. We got the chance to interview Christiano, aged 11 from Holy Trinity Primary School. 

He was doing sport on the college football pitch. Christiano was in the middle of a football match against many other players from random schools when we got the chance to interview him. “I really enjoy this sport,” he explained. “When I’m older I would like to do this in the future, because it’s really great fun. You also get paid a lot.”

Another question we asked him is if he would change anything about the sport, but he stated that it was perfect as it was already.
By George and Jessica from holy trinity and Josh from Southill, all aged 11

  • Unique Pinhole Photography

Day two of Primary College has arrived! All of the eager students of the Chesil Education Partnership have enjoyed their activities so far. We have interviewed a student (Ella) who is very interested in pinhole photography. Ella explained to us, ‘I would like to do this as a future career because it is fun and you get to take photos.’ 

Their skills were fantastic, yet they had to face the challenge of finding a suitable background for their photos. They all managed very well, and the final products were amazing – especially as they had never participated in this activity before.

By George and Jessica from Holy Trinity and Josh from Southill, all aged 11

  • You Will Love Our Beauty Treatment Interviews

Welcome to Primary College! This is Echo reporters Rhiannon, Solly and Kasey. We interviewed students to see what all the year sixes have been up to. We had an amazing time interviewing Sophie, who was in the Beauty Treatment salon. Sophie told us that that she liked everything, but her favourite activity was the massage. She described what she was actually doing and told us the group were having facials. Sophie said she likes doing beauty because it is her sort of thing. She also told us she would do it again anytime she could. 

Perhaps you should also try the Primary College Beauty Treatment workshop. All the people having the beauty treatment were calm, relaxed and chilled out. Maybe it would work for you too.

By Rhiannon, 11, St. Nicholas and St Laurence primary school, Solly, 11, St. Johns primary school, Kasey, 11, St. Nicholas and St Laurence primary school

  • Colourful Kaleidoscope Making

In a course taking place at Primary College, a St. Augustine’s pupil named Daisy (aged 11) was interviewed whilst in the process of making a fabulous kaleidoscope. Even though it was not her first choice of workshop, she was thoroughly enjoying it.

Daisy told us, “although some things have gone wrong, I would do it again because it’s so much fun.” When we came into the room, she was creating a disc to go on the tube which would eventually spin to create the illusion of a shining pattern. She was making something new that she didn’t know if she would like when it was finished.

This was a new experience – not just for Daisy, but for the other children in the workshop that Primary College had created.

By Jessica and Laura from St. Augustine’s and Christopher from Southill, all aged 11

  • Driving us Crazy for Car Maintenance

In the Car Maintenance workshop of Weymouth College’s Primary College, two Beechcroft pupils (Aimee-Grace, aged 10, and Finley, aged 11) were interviewed. They were asked about their experience, and Aimee-Grace said, “I am very interested in mechanics and how cars work.”

The two pupils were in the process of taking apart an engine and putting it back together again, although this involved learning challenging skills. Even though both of them had dirty hands, it was an enjoyable time.

If they had to improve anything, they said they wouldn’t; and they said that they would definitely do it again because it was fun. For all of the Year 5s in Weymouth, make sure you put your name down for Primary College next year, as there are bound to be many more classes like this on offer!

By Laura and Jessica, from St. Augustine’s and Christopher from Southill, all aged 11

  • Watch out Ibiza

2017’s Primary College has certainly brought lots of excitement to the soon-to-be year 7s. We caught up with a student taking part in a virtual DJ workshop.

Riley quoted that he did not choose this activity, but thought that if he had to choose again, then he would definitely pick it. The aim of the exercise was to pick two songs – in his case Timber by Pitbull Ft. Ke$ha and another default disco rave track – and then change pitches, loudness and speed. He then fused the two tracks together to make a mashup, which turned out to be a real dance tune!

I and my fellow journalists all think that this year’s primary college has been a huge success and we are certain that next year’s Year 6 students will enjoy it just as much as we did!

By Solly, 11, St. Johns, Rhiannon, 11, St. Nicholas and St. Lawrence, Kasey, 11, St. Nicholas’s and St. Lawrence’s