January is a very busy month for a college student. A month of constant stress and pressure. Mock exams came around quicker than I thought and I found myself wrapped up in untouched revision booklets and past exam papers. But I knew by the end it would all pay off and be worth it. With that in mind, I kept on going through the night until I felt fully confident. With half a night’s sleep and a stomach full of vital vitamins, I completed my exam with a smile at the end.

My UCAS application was another one of my concerns for this month. The deadline was creeping closer, I had no time to waste. I went to see my Progression Manager, who provided with useful advice and helped me complete a timetable which allowed me to organise all my tasks effectively for the week ahead. I felt much better after seeing her as I was able to let all my concerns out and have a clear plan for the week ahead of me.

One thing I’ve definitely learnt in this hectic month is to never give up, even if you’ve left things to the last minute! Stress is never easy to handle alone and speaking to someone always helps.

By Tamanna Khanom, ThinkForward Ambassador

The Sky News experience was one of a kind and an amazing opportunity for young people. The lucky group arrived at 10.00am where we were introduced to Isabel Moore – one of Sky News PRs. We all got to know each other before we were taken to the first part of our Sky News tour which was the Sky News Radio Room. Here we were given an insight into how Sky News Radio is produced and created. We also spoke to some of the Radio workers and the host. We were enlightened on facts such as Sky News (as well as the BBC) is the main News source for all commercial radio stations! Furthermore we found out that a Radio News Report needs to be no longer and no shorter than EXACTLY two minutes long. Also they plan and find news for the next day, keeping prepared and one step ahead. We also got a sneak peak of a news report being broadcasted live!

The next part of the tour was a tour behind the scenes. We got to see how everything works and how each individual’s job is important and crucial that they get it right. It was full of T.Vs and the production team was quiet with pure concentration. Their jobs included – auto-cue guiding and timing, camera angles and switching between news reports and interviews and also making sure there is signal and connection between their news room and the other country. We, as a group, learnt how much effort and how many people it takes for Sky News to run smoothly. The News Reporters rely on the production team to make sure the auto-cue is running at the right speed, starting and stopping at the right times and they rely on them to have their scripts ready and stays between the time limit given.

Next, we all had the privilege and opportunity to have a ‘Question & Answer’ session with the one and only Jane Secker – one of the main Sky News reporters! We got to find out about her life as a news reporter and Sky News as a whole for a whole hour, first hand! We got a real and deep insight into her experiences with Sky. She was once reporting from Afghanistan and had to run from insurgents while filming the action and was almost stranded out there. We then all got a selfie with her and we got to understand her role and what her job includes. To round off her interview we all got to go and have lunch!

We also got to watch the News presenters report live from their desk and were given a presentation on different News stories that have happened within the last 5 years. To end it all off, we got given a special Sky News Goodie Bag!

This opportunity is an amazing one for young people and makes our CVs look great! Being a part of ThinkForward gives you amazing (work) experiences like this and many more! You also get amazing support and guidance for your future and what you want to do as a career. ThinkForward will place you in opportunities that will benefit you and the career path you want to get into. Furthermore your coach will help you become fully independent and ensure that you have all the right resources, skills, CV and confidence to further your career and future. ThinkForward is an amazing and life changing programme that ALL young people need to hear and know about, as well as be involved with!

By Amirah El-Bashary, ThinkForward Ambassador

As an Ambassador for ThinkForward, you represent the whole of ThinkForward, for example, talking to potential investors and securing funding. You are the voice of the young people! One of the bonuses of the job is that you get paid for networking, meeting new people and it looks great on your CV.

You also need to attend monthly meetings. Our last meeting took place on 15th of October at the Oval Space, which is the new office of ThinkForward located just off Cambridge Heath. It is a great space as it is open plan and is local to a few of the Thinkforward schools (e.g. Raines Foundation School, Bethnal Green Academy). The meeting was attended by 14 of 21 ambassadors.

The main topic of discussion was the hopes and fears when leaving the programme. We had to list 5 fears and 5 hopes when leaving the programme and from that we discussed them and thought of some potential ways to prevent the fears from occurring and ways to make sure the hopes we all wanted could be possible. We then moved onto to some training around how to manage your time effectively and if you would like any help with that please ask your coach. It is key to prioritise the limited time we have and we also discussed the half term opportunities, of which there were many!

Please make sure you are being pro-active when seeking opportunities by talking to your coaches and the Ambassadors at your school. If you don’t know who they are find out by asking your coach or your peers! We will be looking to get the next round of Ambassadors soon so If you are interested in becoming an Ambassador next year, contact Susannah Behr at Susannah.Behr@impetus-pef.org.uk.

By Tommy Breen, ThinkForward Ambassador